project file shrinks to 8KB - yes that's KB!

[Jennifer L.]

Using Microsoft Project 2003 Standard (with SP2 installed), I am managing
over 20 project schedules which are stored on a shared server. Each project
size varies from 300KB to 1.6MB. They are all connected to the same Resource
Pool (6MB). I have also created 2 Master schedules: Each contain all the
projects, but one has them inserted as Read Only.

So far my problems have only happened to three of my individual project
schedules (not the resource pool or master files), but they have occurred
several times with two of those three files. I am trying to determine if this
is a Microsoft Project problem or a Novell/Server problem.

The Problems:
At random, a manager will go into the folder that contains their file and
try to open it. Sometimes Project responds by saying "it doesn't recognize
the file and won't open it", other times Project opens the file without
problem. The weirder problem is when a manager tries to open their file and
before they even click on it, they can see that the file size has diminished
to 8KB. When clicked to open, the error reads "An unexpected problem occurred
while opening the file. The file may be damaged. Try using a backup copy."

What could make a project diminish in size like this? I've heard of file
bloat (and experienced it) but this is the exact opposite. And once it has
become an 8KB file I am never able to open it again. Our server backs up the
projects but only every two weeks. Any suggestion on what might be causing
this to happen?

Also, how can I set up Project to automatically backup my files for me
(automatically save a copy of the current project)? If this happens again I
need more recent backups than from two weeks ago.

Thanks for your help! I've always received sound advice from this board.
Jennifer

 

[John]

Using Microsoft Project 2003 Standard (with SP2 installed), I am managing
over 20 project schedules which are stored on a shared server. Each project
size varies from 300KB to 1.6MB. They are all connected to the same Resource
Pool (6MB). I have also created 2 Master schedules: Each contain all the
projects, but one has them inserted as Read Only.

So far my problems have only happened to three of my individual project
schedules (not the resource pool or master files), but they have occurred
several times with two of those three files. I am trying to determine if this
is a Microsoft Project problem or a Novell/Server problem.

The Problems:
At random, a manager will go into the folder that contains their file and
try to open it. Sometimes Project responds by saying "it doesn't recognize
the file and won't open it", other times Project opens the file without
problem. The weirder problem is when a manager tries to open their file and
before they even click on it, they can see that the file size has diminished
to 8KB. When clicked to open, the error reads "An unexpected problem occurred
while opening the file. The file may be damaged. Try using a backup copy."

What could make a project diminish in size like this? I've heard of file
bloat (and experienced it) but this is the exact opposite. And once it has
become an 8KB file I am never able to open it again. Our server backs up the
projects but only every two weeks. Any suggestion on what might be causing
this to happen?

Also, how can I set up Project to automatically backup my files for me
(automatically save a copy of the current project)? If this happens again I
need more recent backups than from two weeks ago.

Thanks for your help! I've always received sound advice from this board.
Jennifer

Jennifer,
Linked projects, including a common resource pool, aren't all that
robust. Periodic saving for backup essentially duplicates the link
structure each time and this can lead to corruption. It sounds like that
is what is happening in your case. In addition, having two duplicate
master files further complicates the link structure.

So what should you do? My first suggestion is to consider moving up to
Project Server. Server is specifically structured to operate in an
enterprise environment with multiple files. If you want to know more
about Server, check out the Microsoft Project webpage, and/or post your
questions on our sister newsgroup, microsoft.public.project.server.

If for some reason, Project Server is not viable in your case, I would
first clean up your existing file structure by re-building to clear out
the evolved complex link structure. Depending on the integrity of your
existing files, this may or may not be a very long painful process. I
would hesitate to recommend a specific set of steps to accomplish this
without seeing and analyzing the actual files.

If someone else has a better approach, perhaps they will chime in with
their ideas.

John
Project MVP