How to Recover Lost AI Files After Adobe Illustrator CC Crashes

Adobe Illustrator crashes on close in Windows 10/11

"This morning, I was editing a graphic on my computer using Adobe Illustrator CC 2019. Suddenly, the app crashed and stopped working while closing. Then, I tried to relaunch Illustrator but failed. As a result, I lost the unsaved graphics in AI. So, do you have any solutions to recover the lost AI file and fix the Adobe Illustrator that keeps crashing on Windows 10?"

Have you ever encountered Adobe Illustrator crashing or becoming unresponsive while opening or saving files without any prior indication? Or have you lost your Illustrator file data? If you're troubled by frequent Adobe Illustrator 2019 crashes and seeking practical solutions, follow the methods below to fix Adobe Illustrator CC crash errors on Windows 10 and easily recover your lost AI files.

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Why does Illustrator keep crashing?

Adobe Illustrator might crash due to an issue that it can't identify. The cause could be one of the following:

• Older versions of Illustrator, such as CC 2017/2018
• Third-party plugins
• Damaged fonts
• Network issues when opening or saving files

How to fix Adobe Illustrator crashing continuously on Windows 10/11

If Adobe Illustrator is crashing frequently while opening or closing, it can be quite inconvenient. Try the following solutions to address this issue.

1. Recover Lost AI File After Adobe Illustrator Crash

An unexpected crash in Illustrator can lead to the loss of an unsaved file; you can first try to recover an unsaved file and then address the issue causing the crash. There are two options to restore a lost AI file, and you can choose either method as per your requirement to recover your lost AI file.

Option 1: Recovering unsaved AI files from auto-save feature

If you have the Auto-Recover feature enabled in Adobe Illustrator, you can recover an unsaved AI file. This also works when trying to fix a corrupted Illustrator file. Follow these steps to recover your file:

Step 1: Click on “Preferences” > “File Handling & Clipboard” > Check “Automatically save recovery information every” (for example, set the backup frequency to 2 minutes) > Uncheck “Disable recovery for complex documents” for large files > Click “OK” to save all changes.

Step 2: Force quit Adobe Illustrator and open it again > Click “OK” > Save the recovered file as a new document on your computer. This should restore your unsaved AI file. If you can't find your lost AI file, follow this guide to recover AI files.

1. Navigate to the following path and open the "Preferences" file: **C:/Users//AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator Settings/en_US*/x64/Adobe Illustrator Prefs;** 2. Open the "Preferences" file with a text editor, then locate: **/aiFileFormat {/PDFCompatibility 1enableATEReadRecovery 0 /enableContentRecovery 0/enableATEWriteRecovery 0/clipboardPSLevel 3};** 3. Change the value of "enableContentRecovery" from 0 to 1, and save the file. If you cannot find `enableContentRecovery` under **/aiFileFormat**, add `/enableContectRecovery1` to the folder and save all changes. 4. Click "OK" to save the changes to your computer.

Option 2: Recover lost Adobe Illustrator files using Adobe file recovery software

If you accidentally delete or lose your AI files from the computer, don't worry. You can use a professional Data Recovery Wizard tool – Data Recovery Wizard, to directly recover lost Adobe Illustrator files from Windows PC in 3 simple steps.

This software allows you to thoroughly scan and find all AI files in Windows 10 with its Quick Scan and Deep Scan modes. If you simply want to locate missing Adobe Illustrator files, download the Adobe File Recovery software for free and follow the steps below to instantly retrieve your lost AI files. Apart from AI files, this tool also enables you to recover lost PSD files in any difficult situation, such as formatting, accidental deletion, virus attacks, and more.

Step 1: Choose a location and start scanning

Hover the mouse over the SD card, camera, or hard drive partition from where you deleted/lost your pictures and click on “Scan”.

Step 2: Select the photos you want to recover

When the scan is finished, select “Pictures” on the left. If you're looking for lost photos, click “Lost” at the top of the list. You can then search for your photos by device, type, and date.

Step 3: Recover Lost Photos

After the preview, click “Recover” and choose another location to save the photos you want.

2. Update to the latest version of Adobe Illustrator

Due to frequent crashes in Adobe Illustrator CC 2017/2018, it's recommended to update the program to the latest 2019 version.

Step 1: Open the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app.

Step 2: Tap on the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the app, then select “Check for app updates.”

Step 3: If you see an Update button next to Illustrator CC, click it to update the software.

After the update, try opening Adobe Illustrator again to see if it still crashes. If it does, try the steps below.

3. Fix Crashing Adobe Illustrator in Safe Mode on Windows 10/11

Here are some detailed steps you might need to follow to fix a corrupted AI file causing Adobe Illustrator to crash on your PC:

Step 1: Restart your computer and then relaunch Adobe Illustrator CC 2017/18/19 on Windows 10.

Step 2: Check and update Adobe Illustrator CC to the latest version.

Step 3. Click Run Diagnostics > Choose to start Illustrator in Safe Mode > Click on each item in the list that could be causing the AI crash (such as a corrupt font, plugin or outdated driver).

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Step 4: Review the troubleshooting tips for each item and take steps to resolve the issues.

Step 5. After all issues have been resolved, restart Illustrator by selecting Enable > Click Enable on Restart. After all issues have been resolved in Adobe Illustrator, Illustrator starts up in normal mode and works normally.