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Why does Lumion crash or display an error when you load or save some Scene files?

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Lumion Support Center
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1. Here's why

If Lumion crashes or displays an error while loading or saving a Scene file, it usually means that the Scene file has been corrupted due to a save error. In older versions of Lumion, you may also notice that the .LS Scene file is empty, i.e. that the file size is 0 KB.

There are several potential causes:

1.1: Lack of disk space on the harddrive or network drive that you saved the Scene file to.

1.2: Lack of disk space on the harddrive or network drive that your Documents folder is located on.

1.3: Lack of Virtual Memory, i.e. swap space on the harddrive when Windows runs out of Graphics Card Memory and System Memory.

1.4: Overzealous anti-virus software that prevents Lumion from saving the file correctly.

1.5: Saving Lumion Scene files directly to cloud back-up folders, e.g. OneDrive. The back-up software might 'lock' the file before Lumion is done saving it which can result in file corruption.

1.6: Saving Lumion Scene files to a network drive. If the connection drops out while saving the file, the file can become corrupted.

1.7: Lack of Windows permissions. For example if the Windows User Account is a 'Standard' account instead of an 'Administrator' account.

 

2. Recommendations

To prevent save errors, we recommend that you follow these instructions:

2.1: Verify that there is plenty of free space on the harddrive/network drive that you are saving the file to (minimum 30 GB when working on complex projects).

2.2: Verify that there is a minimum of 30 GB of free space on the harddrive/network drive that the following folders are located on:

  • Lumion 8.5 and older: (DRIVE):\...Documents/Lumion (VERSION)
  • Lumion 9.0 and newer: (DRIVE):\...Users\(USERNAME)\AppData\Local\Lumion (VERSION)

Examples:

  • Lumion 8.5 and older: C:\Users\Username\Documents\Lumion 8.0
  • Lumion 9.0 and newer: C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Lumion 9.0

2.3: If you are working on complex Scenes, for example Scene file sizes in excess of 4 GB, please increase the amount of Virtual Memory to 100 GB:

Knowledge Base: How do you change the amount of Virtual Memory in Windows?

2.4: Please follow the instructions in step 1.1 and 1.3 in the article below to add an exclusion for Lumion to your security software:

Knowledge Base: How do you resolve anti-virus and firewall problems?

2.5: Save Scene files to a local harddrive first. You can then move the files to a network drive or to a cloud back-up folder/service when Lumion is done saving the files.

2.6: Verify that the Windows User Account type is an Administrator account. If it is a Standard account, please click on the link below and follow the instructions to change it to an Administrator account:

External Link: How to change a Windows 10 user account type

 

3. Checking for save errors in Lumion 8.3 and 8.5

Lumion 9.0: If a save error is detected, you will see a pop-up error message that describes the cause of the save error. You do not need to read the rest of this section. Please continue with section 4 below.

Lumion 8.3-8.5: These versions of Lumion include a different file verification check when saving .LS Scene files. If a save error is detected, you will see the error message on the screenshot below.



3.1:  If you move the mouse cursor to the red X, a tooltip will show you what the error code is.

The full list of error codes is available here.

3.2: If you can get it to save the .LS8 Scene file incorrectly again in Lumion 8.3 and 8.5, please let us know what the error code is at the Lumion Support Center.

 

4. Recovery of the Scene file in Lumion 9.0 and newer versions

If your PC crashes or Lumion 9.0 or newer is not closed correctly while you are working on a Scene, you might be able to restore the Scene the next time you start Lumion again.

4.1: If a Recovery Scene File is available, Lumion will offer you the choice to restore it when starting up Lumion again.

 

5. Recovery of the Scene file in Lumion 8.5 and older versions

It is not possible to fix a corrupted Scene file, so your only option is to try to locate an older version:

5.1: Please right-click on the .LS Scene file and select Restore previous versions to see if an older version exists.:



5.2: Check if there are any older versions available elsewhere on your harddrive or network drive.

5.3: Check if you have any back-ups of the .LS Scene file (via cloud back-up or file synchronization software).

 

See also:

Knowledge Base: Does Lumion save back-ups of scenes and model files?

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