If 3ds Max encounters an unexpected crash, it attempts to recover and save the file currently in memory.
Crash recovery is fairly reliable, but it does not always work: the recovered scene might have been damaged during the crash.
The recovered file is stored in the configured Auto Backup path and is saved as "<filename>_recover.max" in this path. See Using Auto Backup in Backing Up and Archiving Scenes. It is also placed in the INI file as the most recently used file on the File Menu. This makes it easy to return to the file, if you choose to do so.
By default, the crash recovery file is saved in the following location:
C:\Users[Username]\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsMax[Version]\ENU\autoback\
In this path, replace [Username] with your Windows username and [Version] with the version of 3ds Max you are using (e.g., 2022, 2023...).
The crash recovery system identifies when something in an object's modifier stack is corrupt. In these cases, the corrupt object is replaced with a red dummy object to maintain the object's position and any linked object hierarchy.
- Save your work frequently.
- Take advantage of automatic incremental file naming: Go to the Customize menu
Preferences Files panel File Handling group, and turn on Increment On Save.
- Use File menu Save Save As, and click the Increment button (+) to save incremental copies of work in progress.
- If you are forgetful about saving, use the Autobackup feature. Go to Customize menu Preferences Files tab
Autobackup group, and turn on Enable.
To view autobackup files:
- In the File menu, select Autobackup > Open Autobackup location.
The autobackup folder opens. Locate your crashed file there and follow the steps in the Handling File Corruptions topics to re-save it.