Get error when uploading ANcestryDNA

[michaelgo]

Same problem, only with MYHERITAGE.
Files are exactly the same as before, and now it doesnt work anymore.

[michaelgo]

Thank you for your replies. I will provide this information to the management team. I don't know if this is an IT bug or if Ancestry changed the files recently so it is not compatible with the current system. I will let you know what I find.

I was wondering if this is only a problem with Ancestry or if 23andme transfers are having the same issue. If anyone has been receiving the error with 23andme please let me know.

-Darren
Family Tree DNA

Hi Darren, same problem with MyHeritage. Worked before, now it doesn't anymore.

[wilters]

Ancestry have now replied to my asking why they had changed the version of the array for dna testing:

"Unfortunately, we do not have information as to why one test was done with a different version of the array than the other two. The results for all are accurate, as our algorithm takes the information from both versions of the test. We are not responsible if a third party is unable to accept one version or the other of our AncestryDNA test."

I have told them that "not having information" is not good enough and have asked them to find out.

On the second point (i.e. its FTDNA's fault not ours) I have told them that Ancestry and FTDNA's customers have an expectation to be able to transfer autosomal dna data and that both companies therefore have an obligation to their customers to continue to liaise such that transfers happen without the difficulties we have been experiencing.

Nothing from FTDNA yet. I shall keep you posted.

G

[MayaXo]

For those of you unable to upload Ancestry raw dna data to FTDNA.

The latest I got from FTDNA Customer Support asserted that "reads for specific SNPs are in the wrong locations in the files". This turns out to be rubbish.

I imported into Excel a file that would upload and a file that would not. I then got Excel to identify differences between the files. The differences are NOT associated with SNP locations. The differences are purely related to the pre-amble text in the Ancestry raw dna data files. By changing the preamble text, the files will upload.

The following preamble is from a file that will not upload:

#AncestryDNA raw data download
#This file was generated by AncestryDNA at: 05/15/2017 03:51:26 UTC
#Data was collected using AncestryDNA array version: V1.0
#Data is formatted using AncestryDNA converter version: V1.0
#Below is a text version of your DNA file from Ancestry.com DNA, LLC. THIS
#INFORMATION IS FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE AND IS INTENDED FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH
#ONLY. IT IS NOT INTENDED FOR MEDICAL OR HEALTH PURPOSES. THE EXPORTED DATA IS


However, this text will upload:

#AncestryDNA raw data download
#This file was generated by AncestryDNA at: 05/28/2017 23:32:38 UTC
#Data was collected using AncestryDNA array version: V2.0
#Data is formatted using AncestryDNA converter version: V1.0
#Below is a text version of your DNA file from Ancestry.com DNA, LLC. THIS
#INFORMATION IS FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE AND IS INTENDED FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH
#ONLY. IT IS NOT INTENDED FOR MEDICAL, DIAGNOSTIC, OR HEALTH PURPOSES. THE EXPORTED DATA IS

Ignoring the different times in line 2, the key changes are:

Line 3: "V2.0" instead of "V1.0"

Line beginning "#ONLY": add ", DIAGNOSTIC,"

When I changed the text as above, two Ancestry files that previously failed (many times) to upload, then uploaded at the first attempt.

Heaven knows why the FTDNA upload converter concerns itself with the preamble. Clearly GEDMATCH does not because as I and others discovered our unaltered files would readily upload to GEDMATCH.

And shame on you FTDNA to assert the problem was related to SNPs being in the wrong location. FTDNA: get your house in order!

There is, of course, another issue related to why Ancestry changed the collection version and other text. Ancestry DNA extractions in Feb and 28 May had "V2.0" text, while extractions on 15 May had "V1.0". I am tackling Ancestry on that point.

G

oh man, did not work for me (((
i'm losing hope...

[wilters]

To MayoXo

Two of us have succeeded by changing the preamble text, so I am reasonably confident it works.

1. Make sure the text is EXACTLY the same as in the example I posted earlier.

2. The resultant file size should be 18,110,076 bytes.

In an earlier reply to me FTDNA said that, unlike e.g. GedMatch, file sizes had to be of a particular size for transfers to work. It would be extraordinarily stupid if FTDNA really required every character of the preamble to be the same. It would be slightly less stupid (only slightly) if they required a particular file size!

G

[MayaXo]

To MayoXo

Two of us have succeeded by changing the preamble text, so I am reasonably confident it works.

1. Make sure the text is EXACTLY the same as in the example I posted earlier.

2. The resultant file size should be 18,110,076 bytes.

In an earlier reply to me FTDNA said that, unlike e.g. GedMatch, file sizes had to be of a particular size for transfers to work. It would be extraordinarily stupid if FTDNA really required every character of the preamble to be the same. It would be slightly less stupid (only slightly) if they required a particular file size!

G

Thank you

This is what I have:

#AncestryDNA raw data download
#This file was generated by AncestryDNA at: 05/14/2017 11:43:20 UTC
#Data was collected using AncestryDNA array version: V2.0
#Data is formatted using AncestryDNA converter version: V1.0
#Below is a text version of your DNA file from Ancestry.com DNA, LLC. THIS
#INFORMATION IS FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE AND IS INTENDED FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH
#ONLY. IT IS NOT INTENDED FOR MEDICAL, DIAGNOSTIC, OR HEALTH PURPOSES. THE EXPORTED DATA IS

I am on a mac comp and not sure how to make sure the file size is 18,110,076 bytes :/

[wilters]

I too am on Macs: is there any other way to go?

For file size: in Finder, right click on the file and select Get Info

G

[MayaXo]

I too am on Macs: is there any other way to go?

For file size: in Finder, right click on the file and select Get Info

G

lol

it's 18,110,074 bytes (18.1 MB on disk) !! is there a way to change it?!

[MayaXo]

Nevermind! it just worked!

i did change something in the file info.... in "sharing & permission"
"everyone" was set to "no access" i changed it to "read only"
not sure if thats what helped, but either way, Thank you!! for your patience

[wilters]

To MayaXo

Well done!

For others: my successfully uploaded file was also set to "no access", indicating that is probably not critical. The two "lost" bytes could be made up by inserting two spaces in the preamble. Note that the original preamble text has two spaces after the full stop at the end of sentences.

G

[ada]

None of this works for me. :-( My file will not upload.
BTW, the size of the file is 17,686 KB and the ancestry results were received by me on 5/13.
Anybody else still having the same problem?

[wilters]

Ada

I suggest you get a fresh download from Ancestry and then check the size and preamble text.

Graham

[ada]

Ada

I suggest you get a fresh download from Ancestry and then check the size and preamble text.

Graham

Hi graham,
The size is actually correct when i click on file properties
17.2 MB (18,110,076 bytes)
I have downloaded the file twice today, tried to upload at least ten times, both zipped and unzipped. .Nothing works.
I also downloaded the raw data from them twice before and in those older files the header is wrong. In the file i downloaded today the header is already corrected, it's just as you say it should be:

#AncestryDNA raw data download
#This file was generated by AncestryDNA at: 05/31/2017 21:31:21 UTC
#Data was collected using AncestryDNA array version: V2.0
#Data is formatted using AncestryDNA converter version: V1.0
#Below is a text version of your DNA file from Ancestry.com DNA, LLC. THIS
#INFORMATION IS FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE AND IS INTENDED FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH
#ONLY. IT IS NOT INTENDED FOR MEDICAL, DIAGNOSTIC, OR HEALTH PURPOSES. THE EXPORTED DATA IS
#SUBJECT TO THE AncestryDNA TERMS AND CONDITIONS, BUT PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE
#DOWNLOADED DATA WILL NO LONGER BE PROTECTED BY OUR SECURITY MEASURES.
#WHEN YOU DOWNLOAD YOUR RAW DNA DATA, YOU ASSUME ALL RISK OF STORING,
#SECURING AND PROTECTING YOUR DATA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE ANCESTRYDNA FAQS.
#
#Genetic data is provided below as five TAB delimited columns. Each line
#corresponds to a SNP. Column one provides the SNP identifier (rsID where
#possible). Columns two and three contain the chromosome and basepair position
#of the SNP using human reference build 37.1 coordinates. Columns four and five
#contain the two alleles observed at this SNP (genotype). The genotype is reported
#on the forward (+) strand with respect to the human reference.

[ada]

The only difference is that instead of 'corrupted file' error I was getting before (with the older files) the message I get today is:
The specified file 'AncestryDNA.txt' could not be uploaded. Please try again.

I keep trying but it just doesn't work.

[wilters]

Ada

Since the file size is now "correct" and the text seems to be that which worked for me and two others, I am at a loss as to why it will not upload.

You imply that Ancestry have changed something compared to your earlier download. Perhaps they have changed something else, and this is causing the problem.

If you have previously successfully uploaded a file, you might try comparing that .txt file with the one that will not upload. I did this by importing both to Excel on separate worksheets and then getting Excel to show the differences.

Graham