Backups and Troubleshooting Corrupted Models

(1) It is advisable to make backups of the model when important modeling milestones are reached, such that you have a valid model to use in the case the file gets corrupted for any reason.

(2) Manually save backup copies of you model when you reach important modeling milestones. If any problem occurs in the current working model, you can still fall back on the latest saved backup model, without potentially loosing all the work. This is recommended especially for complex models.

(3) The program automatically saves backup copies of the model in the model directory. Binary backup file has extension .sbk, while the text back file has extension .$2k. You can open or import these files to recover the model.

(4) Should the model file get corrupted, exporting and importing text file of the model may help to resolve the issue.

Running SAP2000 on a Vista Machine

In Windows Vista (as well as in Windows XP SP3 and Windows 7) , the User Account Control (UAC) is turned on by default. When UAC is turned on, you must explicitly give permission to any program that wants to use "administrator" powers. Any program that tries to use admin powers without your permission will be denied access. To get around this, you should simply right-click on SAP2000 icon and then click on "Run As Administrator..." (or "Run as..." in Windows XP SP3) command and run the program as administrator. You only needs to do this one time. Thereafter, the program can be run by double-clicking the SAP2000 icon as usual.

Program Usage