Dear Customers,



In an effort to inform all reported important bugs and workarounds to

you as quick as possible, here is a communication for you to keep the

best advantage of your 3ds max investment.



=> If you are not running Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 and do not wish

to install it, or you are not exchanging files created on Windows 2000

Service Pack 4 by someone else, this message is not for you, and you

can delete it.



=> If you are running Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 or want to install

it, or if you are exchanging .max file done on Windows 2000 Service

Pack 4, we would like to grab your attention.



We have identified and confirmed that installing the Windows 2000

Service Pack 4 causes the corruption of .max files. All 3ds max (.max)

files saved with Windows 2000 SP4 installed will no longer load in 3ds

max on systems with Windows 2000 SP2 or SP3 installed.



Our Engineering Team has narrowed in on the problem and is working

with Microsoft to resolve the situation.



In the interim it is strongly advised that all 3ds max users do not

install the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.



If Windows 2000 SP 4 has already been installed it is suggested that

customers revert back to SP2 to create usable (.max) file content.

This affects all 3ds max files created in versions 3 through 5.1



3ds max files created while Windows 2000 SP4 is installed can be

retrieved through either of two workarounds:



Option 1

(Please be aware that some data will still be lost in this

workaround.) Revert Windows 2000 SP 4 Systems back to SP3 or earlier

Use "File Merge" to retrieve data from corrupted .max files created

under Windows 2000 SP4 and resave. Note: If you have Render Effects or

Atmospherics in your max file, use the Merge button in the respective

dialogs.



Option 2

Open corrupted .max files created under Windows 2000 SP4 in Windows XP

and resave. Revert all systems back to Windows 2000 SP3 or previous.



Bear in mind that 3ds max 5.1 is officially supported for Windows 2000

SP2, so for optimum stability revert to this operating system platform

to use 3ds max 5.



Thank you for patience and assistance in getting this problem

resolved. More Information:

http://discreet-news-emea.discreet.com/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eBs30B8N6h0BxS0Bt

Y0AH and click on "Late Breaking 3ds max bulletins"



The Discreet Europe Team