2.30 FAQ-464 How can I recover a damaged Origin file?

Last Update: 10/9/2020

When you save an Origin project file, Origin firsts saves a copy of the file, as it existed when it was last saved, to backup. If you find that your project file has become corrupted, you may be able to recover the previously saved version of the file by opening a backup file:

In Origin 2018b and later, each project has its own backup file. These files are stored in the \Backup folder (e.g. at C:\Users\user\Documents\OriginLab\Backup) and named with a name such as MyProject-1234567.opju).
In earlier versions of Origin, there was a single backup file located in your User Files Folder (e.g. at C:\Users\user\Documents\OriginLab\2017\User Files) and named as Backup.OPJ.

1. Locating and Opening your Backup Project File

In Origin 2018b and later, choose Help: Open Folder: Project Backup (Folder) or choose Preference: Options, click on the System Path tab and copy the \Backup path and paste that path to the address bar in Windows File Explorer.
In Origin 2018 and earlier, you'll find a single Backup.OPJ file in the User Files Folder. Open Preference: Options, click the System Path tab and copy the User Files Folder path and paste that path to the address bar in Windows File Explorer.

Once you have located the backup file, open it in Origin. If this is the file you seek:

Origin 2018b and later: Save the file to a new location.
Origin 2018 and earlier: Save the file to a new location with a new name (i.e. something other than "Backup.OPJ").

2. Recovering Datasets from a Corrupted Project

If method (1) doesn't work, try the following: Open your corrupted project file, then open the Script Window (Window:Script Window) and type:

list s

and press Enter. If the file is not too corrupted, a list of datasets will be returned. The list will look similar to this example:

 1	MyData_Time
 2*	MyData_Sample1
 3*	MyData_Sample2
 4	Data2_A
 5*	Data2_B
 6*	Data2_C

Which lists two different worksheets : MyData and Data2. To recover these datasets, use the Edit command to recreate all worksheets one by one. For example, run:

Edit MyData_Sample1;

and press Enter. This will bring up the "MyData" worksheet including all three associated datasets.

After Origin 2021, you can use following command to recreate all worksheets at one run:

run -oc EditAllSeries;

Unfortunately graph windows cannot be recovered.

After "editing" each worksheet copy/paste the data from the first instance of Origin (the corrupted file) to a second instance of Origin (a non-corrupted file). Alternatively, you can export the worksheet data in the corrupted file (select File: Export ASCII from the main menu) and then import the ASCII data into a new Origin project file.

See Also:

Keywords:damaged file, recovery, corrupted,