Can a "Broken" KML file be fixed?

[Motty]

G'day Guys,

I hope this is the correct place to ask, I've looked but can't find
any other topics that cover my question.

My computer crashed (self re-booted) just as I was shutting down
Google Earth last time I used it and now, when I go to open Google
Earth I get the following error
"Loading file failed:............/myplaces.kml"
"Error message: Parse error at line 1, column 0: not well-formed
(invalid token)"

When I click "ok" it loads the "backup" file but this seems empty and
has none of the placemarks I have made over time.

I have tried renaming the "broken" file back to it's original name to
try and reload it but I just keep getting the above error message.

Is there a way to repair this file and recover the data in it?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Cheers,
Motty.

[barryhunter [KML Guru]]

It all depends. It might, but it depends on the extent of the damage.

It might be a simple few missing chars, or it could be extensive.

The best if you dont think you have anything sensitive in your files
is to upload them somewhere and someone can take a look for you. THe
files section of the group could be used.

Otherwise try opening the file in something like notepad, and seeing
if you can see any data in it. And if you can you might be able to
copy and paste bits at a time (<Placemark....</Placemark>)

[ManoM]

Most likely, somehow there's tags in there without the proper close
tags. You can use an XML editor, such as Oxygen or Netbeans to locate
them. I like Oxygen best, and there's a free 30 day trial:
http://www.oxygenxml.com/

Netbeans is free, however.
http://www.netbeans.org/

Also, http://www.feedvalidator.org/ might work.

Mano

[Motty]

Thanks for the help Guys,

It seems there is something seriously wrong with the file as if I try
to open it in notepad or Oxygen, I just get a plain, white screen
(something is there as I can scroll around the page a lot) but when I
load a "normal" file, it shows up ok.

Looks like I'll just have to go and make all my placemarks again. :-(

Thanks again anyway.

Cheers,
Motty.

[Motty]