Serious question, has anyone else had a CAD file corrupt right before a deadline?

I was finishing a set of foundation plans for a client in Boise last Thursday when my entire 3D model went blank. I had to revert to a manual backup from 2 hours prior and redo the work overnight. What's your go-to backup method to avoid this mess?

3 comments

3 Comments

evahenderson2mo ago

My old drafting instructor in Tacoma drilled into us the 15-minute rule. I set my auto-save to that interval and always keep the two most recent manual saves open in separate tabs.

michael_green442mo ago

My cousin in Phoenix lost a whole kitchen remodel file the night before a client meeting. It's wild how we all develop these little rituals, like saving every hour or keeping three tabs open. You start to see it everywhere, like people backing up phone photos to the cloud or writing down passwords. It's basically a low grade anxiety about losing control of our own work. We're all just building tiny safety nets because we know the digital floor can drop out at any time. That panic of a blank screen really teaches you to make your own luck.

ryanm602mo ago

My old boss used to save a new file version every hour, which seemed crazy until it saved my skin on a big zoning submission.