# Can't open cards after exporting, really desperate **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Created:** [January 17, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/cant-open-cards-after-exporting-really-desperate/26466 "2023-01-17T17:49:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![doppenheimer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aca169/32.png) [@doppenheimer](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/doppenheimer)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/cant-open-cards-after-exporting-really-desperate/26466/1 "2023-01-17T17:49:44Z")
Hello, I exported my card collection to my desktop this evening (10s of 1000s of cards for med school). Now when I try to re-open the profile the collection was on, I get this error message: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/anki2/original/2X/a/ac6c3beee40b0642fbcc55a26a3946105ac96f34.jpeg) The reason I did the export was that I wanted to have a back-up whilst I tried to sync with my phone for the first time in over a year, in case something went wrong. I’ve not been syncing for ages since I started getting error messages; I was too afraid to dive in to it in case I made things inaccessible. Then this evening I decided to give syncing a go, because I’ve now got a long commute and wanted to be able to access my cards on my phone. Have tried re-opening anki with shift key and then opening the profile, I get the same message. Have tried creating alternate profiles and importing the exported collection to those profiles, it only opens a very small section of cards, from like 3 years back. Have updated anki as per the general troubleshooting guidance but it’s not helped. Am going to see if I can open my collection file on a friend’s computer, any other guidance greatly appreciated! I’m pretty desperate, pretty much my whole medical degree is in there…thank you ---
**Author:** ![doppenheimer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aca169/32.png) [@doppenheimer](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/doppenheimer)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/cant-open-cards-after-exporting-really-desperate/26466/2 "2023-01-17T17:51:58Z")
I’ve not tried to hit the ‘open back-up’ button, because I don’t believe I have a back-up. If I log in to my anki account online, the deck configuration I see there is over a year old… I’m guessing if I hit open back-up, I’ll definitely lose everything, so I’m leaving that as a last resort. ---
**Author:** ![zrk](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/zrk/32/12696_2.png) [@zrk](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/zrk)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/cant-open-cards-after-exporting-really-desperate/26466/3 "2023-01-17T18:20:11Z")
I don’t have an answer for you. However, I recommend you create a manual backup before experimenting any further. Open Windows explorer, type `%APPDATA%` into the path field and press Enter. This will open the directory where Anki’s data folder is stored. ![2023-01-17_10-21-50](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/anki2/original/2X/4/434e7daf2449c44e1df9fffd0c1d283304a845dc.png) Then make a copy of the `Anki2` folder. Name the copy something like `Anki2 backup 2023-01-17` and save it somewhere safe like your My Documents folder. ---
**Author:** ![ferophila](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/ferophila/32/10566_2.png) [@ferophila](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/ferophila)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/cant-open-cards-after-exporting-really-desperate/26466/4 "2023-01-17T22:50:28Z")
Trying the build-in backup is the way to go. You will be presented a list of backups to chose from. ---
**Author:** ![dae](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/dae/32/65_2.png) [@dae](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/dae)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2023, 4:19am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/cant-open-cards-after-exporting-really-desperate/26466/5 "2023-01-18T04:19:16Z")
Anki creates backups automatically, which you may be able to recover from: [Restoring an Automatic Backup (Recovering from Data Loss) - Frequently Asked Questions](https://faqs.ankiweb.net/restoring-an-automatic-backup-recovering-from-data-loss.html) ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/anki2/original/1X/8f1279ababc5879d54e4838989f606cfe55af8c7.jpeg) [@system](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2023, 4:19am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/cant-open-cards-after-exporting-really-desperate/26466/6 "2023-02-17T04:19:44Z")
Closed on February 17, 2023, 4:19am UTC This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.