My Question: How do I minimize the risk for or rather avoid NVivo to crash or project files being corrupted?
Our Answer: Always make sure that you have the latest upgrade of NVivo. Launch NVivo 10, go to File - Help - Check for Software Updates and if prompted, click on the notification to go to the download page and download the update.
Important for large projects: Go to File - Options, the General tab. Check Display plain text for nodes with 0 or more sources.This setting will display coded text as plain text not considering various fonts or other formatting attributes of the source item.
Here are some factors that might cause a project file to become corrupt:
The project file is on a network drive and the network connection becomes unavailable for some unknown reason.
The computer is shutdown abruptly or has gone into power saving (sleep) mode while NVivo is still running. It is always best to close the project if you are going to be away from your computer for some time. NVivo does not need to be closed but the project itself should be.
There is spyware or malware on the computer or the external USB drive where the project file is stored.
The project is not saved in a Windows folder when working on a Mac.
If you store projects on an external drive like a USB device, memory stick or external hard disk, it is suggested you don't work off these external drives. Instead:
- ·Copy the project file to your local computer.
- Work on the project from a local drive on the computer.
- Save the updated project back to the external drive when done by going to File - Manage - Copy Project. .
A Note on Cloud-computing
Some researchers we have worked with use cloud-based file sharing services like Dropbox, SkyDrive and Google Drive as a working solution for collaborating on an NVivo Project. These services allow changes to the NVivo project file to be made across several computers using the ‘cloud’. We recommend you turn off the live syncing features of these programs while you are running NVivo. We have been contacted by a number of colleagues and clients who have lost data while simultaneously using NVivo and syncing its attendant (.nvp) file. Again, cloud-based utilities can be useful for team collaboration, but taking the proper precautions can avoid costly loss of analysis time due to software crashes.
Dropbox synching feature is turned off by rightclicking on the Dropbox icon to the right on the taskbar and selecting Pause syncing and resumed by selecting Resume syncing.