Minitab crash-recovery prompt skipped after version upgrade: does the auto-save interval change which .MPJ state gets restored?

Direct answer

The auto-save interval controls how recent the restored project state is, but the recovery prompt always offers only the most recent auto-saved temporary file. You cannot select an older recovery file from that dialog. Version upgrades do not change the default auto-save interval (5 minutes) or the recovery-file location (user temporary folder), and they do not migrate recovery files created under the previous version.

How the recovery prompt selects a file

When Minitab restarts after an unexpected close, it scans the temporary folder for the newest auto-saved .MPJ file and presents that single file in the recovery dialog. There is no built-in list or dropdown to choose an earlier auto-save. If an older temporary file still exists on disk, you can open it manually via File → Open, but the prompt itself will not offer it.

Auto-save interval and file location across versions

As of Minitab releases up to 2024, the default auto-save interval remains 5 minutes and recovery files are written to the user's temporary directory (%TEMP% on Windows, $TMPDIR on macOS/Linux). No documented change to either setting has been introduced in recent releases. A version upgrade does not carry over recovery files from the prior installation; a crash immediately after upgrading will only surface a recovery file created under the new version.

Verifying the restored project

Minitab does not embed a checksum or integrity check in the recovery file. The recommended verification method is manual comparison:

1. After recovery, open the restored .MPJ and a known-good backup (or exported worksheets/graphs) side by side.
2. Compare key elements: worksheet row counts, column values, graph titles, and analysis results.
3. Any discrepancy indicates data loss due to the auto-save interval lag.

For automated checks, export critical worksheets to CSV before and after recovery and diff them with a script.

Practical verification steps

1. Open Tools → Options → General and note the current auto-save interval.
2. Locate the temporary folder via environment variables (%TEMP% or $TMPDIR).
3. Create a test project, make several edits, then force a crash (e.g., end the process via Task Manager).
4. Restart Minitab and observe which file the recovery prompt offers; confirm its timestamp matches the most recent auto-save.
5. Optionally, rename an older temporary .MPJ in the temp folder, trigger another crash, and verify the prompt still shows only the newest file.

Assumptions and uncertainty

The behavior described is based on typical Minitab operation up to the 2024 release line. The research flag requiresCurrentVerification: true indicates that exact behavior in the very latest release (e.g., Minitab 2025 or later) has not been independently confirmed. If you are on a version newer than 2024, run the verification steps above to confirm the current defaults.