[XeTeX] corrupted TeX file

[maxwell]

On Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:04:36 +0200, Peter Dyballa <Peter_Dyballa at Web.DE>
wrote:
> Am 25.10.2010 um 13:06 schrieb Vafa Khalighi:
> 
>> Is there a way to recover this tex file?
> 
> I know only one useful algorithm for these more than 128 K ASCII NUL  
> characters: convert them all to one. Or none. Which is better. Because  
> then no backup programme would try to save this useless and empty file.

I don't know what OS this was done on, nor with what app.  But if I had to
guess, I would say that the app requested and received a sequence of blocks
totaling 128k, into which it was about to write the contents of the buffer,
when the system crashed.  If that was not the first save (and if the file
was going to be 128k, I certainly hope it wasn't!), then before requesting
this block and naming it, a *good* app should have renamed the existing
file to some temporary name, precisely in case there was a crash while
saving.  Had it finished writing to the new file, it might or might not
have deleted the old renamed file.  But since it didn't finish, there is a
chance that the old renamed file is still there somewhere.  I would have a
look in the directory where the empty file exists, and look for similar
filenames, or a file with a suffix like .bkp or some such.  Be sure to look
for hidden files.  It's also possible there's something in /tmp, if this is
a *nix system.

   Mike Maxwell