Ask someone in the Max forum to convert it for you. You never know.

Just to set the record straight:

.3ds is the format 3D studio (DOS) used for years. When 3ds Max 1.0 came out (around '94 I think) the format switched to .max which is proprietary as stated above. The .3ds format is barely used any more because it has a polygon # limitation and is restricted to the old 8.3 name format.

The .max format changes with every new release of Max (9 is the current version). This has been their way of forcing you to upgrade all along and it has worked very well.

These guys have been around forever. They have a translator.

http://www.okino.com/products.htm