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Question

FME won't open saved workbench after a PC crash

  • September 30, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 35 views
kschon109
Contributor
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I’ve been having issues with my computer crashing that are unrelated to FME. But after the latest instance, which happened while i had my workspace open, I am now unable to open the most recent save to get to the recovery file. I’ve tried from the Form start window; I click and nothing happens. I’ve also tried accessing it from windows explorer but it opens straight to the start window again rather than opening the workspace. 

Has anyone ever had this happen before? I found a suggestion in a previous community thread to copy the workspace and its recovery file into a different file path, but that didn’t work for me. I’ve also verified that it seems to only be happening with this specific workbench, others are still working fine.

Am I doomed to have to recreate it!?

 

    1 reply

    donalmateer
    Safer
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    Hi ​@kschon109 

    Sorry to hear about the crash, but I don’t think you're doomed yet!

    After a Windows crash, the problem is often the small .fmw.recover file next to your workspace rather than the workspace itself. That file points to a recovery copy in your Windows temp folder. If the crash broke that link, FME Workbench silently stops trying to open the workspace. Copying both files together keeps the broken link, which is likely why that didn't work.

    Back up both files first, then try these, they might help:

    1. Copy only the .fmw (without the .fmw.recover) into an empty folder and open it from there. This should bring back your last saved version.
    2. To recover changes made after your last save, open the .fmw.recover in Notepad to find the path to the recovery copy (usually C:\Users<your username>\AppData\Local\Temp). If that file exists, copy it, add a .fmw extension and open it.
    3. If the .fmw is 0 KB or shows blank/NUL characters in Notepad, it was damaged mid-save. Your best options then are the recovery copy from step 2, or Windows Previous Versions (right-click > Properties > Previous Versions).

    If none of these work, let us know the file sizes and what the .fmw looks like in Notepad. You can also submit a support ticket at https://support.safe.com/hc/requests/new with both files attached.

    Let us know how it goes!

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