SolidWorks Assembly vanish – Please help

Details: Working with Solidworks 2004. The assembly size is about
15MB. During the work of adding parts and setting mating relations,
the assembly suddenly disappears. The graphics area has no part on it.
The FeatureManager looks normal, you can open a part or sub-assembly
but you can't see it on the assembly graphics area. If you check the
Windows Explorer, the assembly file is their with the correct size.
Reboot the computer does not help, the Assy file is corrupted for
good.
Any ideas what can cause the problem?

 

Delete the entire feature tree and then do a CTRL Z to recreate it.
Check on you graphics card, driver and settings.
Check for interferences. Remove them.
Remove any mate errors.
Tell us what you are using for a graphics card.

 

What?? Delete the tree??? I must have missed that class. What do you mean
"Delete the entire feature tree and then do a CTRL Z to recreate it."? The
only way I know of to get rid of stuff in an assy tree is to delete the
components, and then that just means starting over. I'm not trying to be
stupid here, I have just never heard of this and definitely want to know
what I missed and how it works. Thanks!

WT

 

When you say corrupted does that mean you can't open the assembly file or
that nothing appears in the graphics area when you open the assembly?

 

You delete the feature tree and then immediately do an undo. This is an
old trick. Make sure to save first. Deleting the feature tree and then
undoing will sometimes force things to recalculate from scratch and
thereby get rid of some forms of corruption.

 

Ok, I finally got back to this. How do you delete the Feature Tree? Kick
me if need be, but I am at a total loss as to how you propose doing it? Do
you mean delete all the items one at a time? All of them at one time?
Somehow delete the WHOLE tree? I'm confused, but maybe it's just me.
Thanks for your patience.

WT