On Open - get "circular error" then crash

[Matt Kennedy]

I have a user that inadvertantly created a circular error in her project plan
when moving some tasks around that caused Project Pro on her desktop to
crash. I forced a checkin of her plan but now neither of us can open the
project. If we try we first get the "No calculations can be performed
now...There is a circular relationship in task..." error message and then
when we click "OK" Project Pro crashes. Obviously the problem here is I can't
help her correct the circular relationship if we can't open the project plan.

I did a search on knowledgebase and found nothing. I did a web search and
did find a few other people that have experienced this but no answers on how
to best address. I even found the exact question was asked here a few months
ago in the post at the link below but no answer. Any suggestions on the best
approach other than the obvious single plan restore?

http://www.microsoft.com/communitie...3-f612-4da2-acb8-fda8f850d645&exp=&sloc=en-us

Thanks!
-Matt

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Matt:

This would be a good time to rely on your daily backup. If you don't have a
backup, then you may be able to cut and paste a lot of the project
information from Project Web Access views. Sounds like some training might
help as well.

 

[Mark Carde]

I have used some of these steps in the past with varying success.

Method 1: Turn off Calculations

In some cases, a "bad" calculation may cause the file to stop responding. To
prevent Microsoft Project from performing calculations when it opens a file,
follow these steps:
1. Start Microsoft Project as usual, to a blank project (Project1).
2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
3. On the Calculation tab, under Calculation options for Microsoft Project,
click Manual, and then click OK.
4. On the File menu, click Open. Locate and select the project that you want
to open, and then click Open.
Method 2: Move the File

If your file is stored on a network server or floppy disk, use Windows
Explorer to copy the file to the desktop on your local computer. If the file
is already on your local computer, copy it to another computer.

If you are able to open the file successfully from the new location, you can
still repair any remaining corruption by using the steps in the "How to
Repair a Corrupted File" section of this article.

Method 3: Insert the Project into a New Project

In some cases, the default view or the view that was active during the last
save operation may be corrupted, which will prevent Microsoft Project from
opening the file. To open the project in a new view, follow these steps:
1. Start Microsoft Project as usual, to a blank project (Project1).
2. On the Insert menu, click Project.
3. In the Insert Project dialog box, locate and select the damaged project,
and then click to clear the Link to project check box.
4. Click Insert.

Microsoft Project inserts the file as new data in a new project.