Troubleshooting Problems Opening MSEED Files
Common Problems Opening MSEED Files
Incorporated Institutions for Seismology is Not Installed
When you double-click your MSEED file, you may see a dialog box from your operating system stating that it "Cannot Open This File Type". If this is the case, it's usually due to the fact that you do not have Incorporated Institutions for Seismology for %%os%% installed on your computer. Because your operating system doesn't know what to do with this file, you won't be able to open it by double-clicking.
Tip: If you know of another program that can open your MSEED file, you can try opening it by selecting the application from the programs listed.
Wrong Version of Incorporated Institutions for Seismology is Installed
In some cases, you might have a newer (or older) version of a Seismology signal exchange format file that is unsupported by your installed application version. If you do not have the proper version Incorporated Institutions for Seismology (or any of the other programs listed above), you may need to try downloading a different version of it, or one of the other software applications listed above. This problem is most common when you have an older version of the software application, and your file was created by a newer version that it cannot recognize.
Tip: Sometimes you can get a clue about the version of MSEED file you have by right clicking on the file, then clicking on "Properties" (Windows) or "Get Info" (Mac OSX).
Summary: In either case, the majority of problems opening MSEED files are related to not having the correct software application installed on your computer.
Other Causes of MSEED File Opening Problems
Although you might already have Incorporated Institutions for Seismology or another MSEED-associated software installed on your computer, you can still encounter problems opening Seismology signal exchange format files. If you are still having problems opening MSEED files, there may be other issues that are preventing you from opening these files. These other problems include (listed in order from most to least common):
- Invalid MSEED file references in the Windows Registry (the "phonebook" of the Windows Operating System)
- Accidental deletion of the description of the MSEED file in the Windows registry
- Incomplete or bad installation of a software application associated with the MSEED format
- Your MSEED file is corrupted (issues with your Seismology signal exchange format file itself)
- Your MSEED is infected with malware
- Device drivers of the hardware associated with your MSEED file are corrupt or out-of-date
- Your computer does not have the adequate system resources to open the Seismology signal exchange format format
Poll: What file type do you use most often?
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