All Waypoints and Tracks Gone in Open CPN.

[mestrezat]

On the way up the Malacca Straits to Phuket, I booted up my computer and started up Open CPN(version 3.2.2) only to find that all my waypoints(two plus years worth) and recent tracks were gone. No clue what happened and have looked everywhere I know to see if they are still there but I haven't clicked on the right box to have them come back.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as we are planning on retracing our route in a couple on weeks.

[PjotrC]

You can recover tracks to some detail from the entries in the "opencpn.log" file (half hourly marks flagged by LOGBOOK). I remember some 3-4 years ago Pavel has written a tool to extract this (I think it was called "LogBookExtractor"), but you can also use a smart text editor.

If you cannot find any useful "navobj.xml*" file on your machine, and you have no backup done manually, and you did not put important things into a layer, the waypoints are probably gone.

True, it is much easier to _delete_everything_ than to _save_everything_ in recent OpenCPN versions.

[mestrezat]

Not sure how to do the things you mentioned. "Saving Layers"? No "Navobj" files anywhere in my computer. Have no idea what happened that could have caused this. Love the program but am mystified when it just shuts down and comes back up with info like waypoints and anchorages all gone.
Can you enlighten me about the "save" feature you mentioned?

[nohal]

mestrezat...
In case you are extremely unlucky and your primary navobject store gets corrupted during a crash, OpenCPN keeps 5 backups of your navigational data by default, more about that in Navigation Data Backup | Official OpenCPN Homepage
The location differs depending on your OS, more about that in Installing OpenCPN | Official OpenCPN Homepage
You are looking for the navobj.xml.X file which is big and has the lowest number X at the end.

It is essential that you don't keep starting the program and copy the files to a safe location while doing recovery.

In case you won't be able to find the files, tell us which operating system you are using.

Pavel

[mestrezat]

I've done a search for the "navobj.xml" files and found nothing in the computer. I also looked for just the "xml" type of file and found numerous but none that had what appears to have anything to do with Open CPN.
I've had the program do strange things before where it looses all the charts that had been previously loaded. Had to reinstall the CM93 over again. It's done that a couple of times. It also dropped out all the KAP charts that we had loaded. I reinstalled the program a while ago just to make sure it had all the bits and pieces the program needs to function.
Running on Windows 7.
Thanks for the help.

[nohal]

OK...
The navobj.xml files reside in a folder that is hidden by default by Windows. To show them follow the instructions in How to show hidden files in Windows 7 (or Installing OpenCPN | Official OpenCPN Homepage which I linked earlier)
When done, the files will be in the now visible C:\ProgramData\opencpn folder. Of course just in case you did not choose to clean up while reinstalling OpenCPN...

Pavel

[mestrezat]

I went in and clicked the box to make the hidden files visible(no clue why Windows does that anyway)and hit the "apply" button. I then followed your directions to the C:\Programdata\opencpn folder. All that was in it was "cm93" files. No navobj files at all.
Any suggestions where they might have gone or did they just get swallowed up by the computer ghosts and ghouls?

[nohal]

mestrezat...
They couldn't have gone anywhere. If OpenCPN was run at least once there is a navobj.xml file. The only explanation for the navobj.xml file not to exist at all is you just reinstalled and while doing so, selected to delete all the settings and data. In that case you are totally screwed and your data is gone. There are no ghosts or ghouls in the computers, just users clicking on everything that appears on the screen without reading what it is or asking someone who did so, usually.
Really, if you were using the same OpenCPN version even before this problem started, if there really is nothing in that folder now and if you did not make any backup during those years, your data is gone and there's nothing we can do about it.

Pavel

[mestrezat]

I reinstalled Open CPN when we were in Singapore. The waypoints didn't vanish till we were about 50 miles south of Phuket so the reinstallation of the program had nothing to do with them vanishing. I'd been entering new anchorage spots all along the way north as we talked to other cruisers. From time to time(a quite a while ago, I did have a window pop up as I opened the program telling me that it was moving my tracks to some file somewhere(don't remember where).
I'll do another search for the Navobj files but as of now, even after de hiding the files that Windows hides and rebooting and re opening the program, I'm just not finding any.
Should I just re install the program again?

[Stu Jackson]

We recently had a windows crash on our W7 laptop.

I can't encourage you enough to read Andy Rathbone, who wrote many of the Windows for Dummies books. Google him, there are two or three very helpful white papers on this simple stuff that many folks simply avoid until it's too late!!!

Do all three of the following:

Systen repair dic
System recovery disc
System Image (on discs or portable HD)

The system image will copy your data files, but I back up mine separately anyway.

All this takes maybe an hour a week. Geez...

From time to time(a quite a while ago, I did have a window pop up as I opened the program telling me that it was moving my tracks to some file somewhere(don't remember where).

You also now know to use pencil & paper when you see crap like this, right?

[nohal]

mestrezat...
No need to reinstall anything, it rarely if ever solves any problems, usually causes way more than there were before, as is most likely your case...
First a question: Did you start OpenCPN since your last reinstall?
If the answer is yes, then there really must be navobj.xml (at least useless and actually empty) and a logfile on your system. If you system is W7, then it really should reside in C:\ProgramData\opencn
As you now have the hidden folders visible, even the Windows search function should find it as far as I remeber, but better use something that surely works, like Total Commander - besides navobj.xml, we are also looking for a file called opencpn.log
Let me know if you find any of these.

Pavel

[wdkester]

Apparently, the W7 search is an exact search. On my W7 system search will find "navobj". It will not find "navobj.xml" because they all have a sufix of .1, .2 etc. The navobj files are indeed in ProgramData/opencpn, as are the config file and log files.

[CarCode]

Originally Posted by wdkester

Apparently, the W7 search is an exact search. On my W7 system search will find "navobj". It will not find "navobj.xml" because they all have a sufix of .1, .2 etc. The navobj files are indeed in ProgramData/opencpn, as are the config file and log files.

So that is another bug of Windows? There is a navobj.xml file because that is the actual current one. All others with suffix 1-5 are backups only.

Gerhard

[mestrezat]

OK, I've told my computer t oshow me the hidden files. i've gone into the program data file and scanned downed to the Open CPn file. it then pops up a file for CM93 which then goes to 'C_Users_OWNERS_Desktop_CM93 2008_CM93 2008_CM93__coverset_sig.A" followed by B, C,etc with dates for each file. still no NAVOBJ files anywhere i've looked.
No clue what these files are. I;ve clicked on them and they won't open or at least windows says it has no program that will openthem.

[nohal]

mestrezat...
Please, try to be a bit systematic and think twice before clicking on everything that appears on your screen, it will save you a lot of problems, really... Did you run OpenCPN since you reinstalled it last time at least once? Anyway, if there are no navobj.xml files, you more than likely told the installer to delete them while doing one of your reinstalls and you are doomed, sorry...

Pavel