This is a list of common fixes for many AutoCAD (and
AutoCAD-related products). This is
listing is presented in order of “easy” to “more difficult”. Local Windows administrator permissions are
needed where noted.
Standard disclaimers for messing with your registry apply.
With AutoCAD Running
·
AUDIT the drawing.
o
Type the AUDIT
command on your drawing and type Y
for yes to fix any errors found.
·
-PURGE
o
At the command line type -PURGE (note the dash in front of the word purge). This will bring
up the command-line version of the purge command. Type R for regapps. Press
enter again to accept all registered applications to be purged. When prompted
to verify each regapp to be purged, type N
for no. Registered applications are "thumbprints" left behind by
AutoCAD verticals and third-party applications.
They frequently cause memory bloating and crashing.
- Disable
Hardware Acceleration
- In
Command line type 3DCONFIG
- Click
on Manual Tune and toggle off “Enable Hardware Acceleration”
- Click
OK and close all dialogs
·
RECOVERALL
o
Have AutoCAD running with the default
Drawing1.dwg open. Type RECOVERALL at the command line. This
will scan the main drawing and all related XREFs. RECOVER is preferable to
AUDIT because the drawings are not open at the time of scanning.
With AutoCAD Closed
·
Empty the User’s temp directory.
o
My favorite way to get to the user temp
directory is to type %TEMP% in the
windows address bar. With all programs closed, delete as many of the files and
folder from the temp directory as Windows will allow. (Some temp files are
always in use by Windows and will not go away.)
·
Verify that the most recent service packs are
installed.
o
To check what version of the service pack you
have installed, type ABOUT at the
command line. In the upper-left corner of the About box, you will see the
service pack version that is installed.
o
Check for and obtain the latest service packs
from: http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/downloads#?sort=score
o
Administrator privileges
are required to install service packs and updates.
·
Resetting the AutoCAD Settings to Default (Administrator privileges required). To do this:
o
Exit AutoCAD and all related software
o
Go to your Windows Start button.
o
Click All Programs > Autodesk > AutoCAD
201X > Reset Settings to Default (see attached screen shot).
o
The next dialog box will ask if you'd like to
make a backup. I recommend picking
"Back up and reset custom settings" option) Save the resulting zip
file wherever you like.
o
Allow AutoCAD to rebuild the files it needs.
AutoCAD will launch after this process.
o
For AutoCAD 2011 and older, and versions that do
not have the reset utility, use the following process:
·
Complete Uninstall and Reinstall (Administrator privileges required)
o
From the Windows control panel uninstall the
feature per usual.
o
Delete the following folders:
§
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD
20xx
§
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\AutoCAD
20xx
§
Note: These paths contain hidden folders. You
must turn on "show hidden files" in Folder Options to see them.
o
Verify that registry keys related to the
Autodesk product are removed
§
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\RXX.X\ACAD-xxxx:40X
§
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD\RXX.X\ACAD-XXXX:40X
§
Note: RXX.X represents the release year and
ACAD-XXXX:40X represents the AutoCAD “flavor” and language.
o
Reinstall the product under the following
conditions:
§
Logged in as local administrator
§
UAC (User Account control) set to Never Notify
§
Antivirus temporarily disabled (you may need
additional permissions to perform this step)
·
Other Ideas for fixing this issue (Administrator privileges required for all of the following):
o Uninstall and reinstall the .NET Framework
(see How to remove and reinstall the
Microsoft .NET Framework).
o Uninstall and reinstall Visual C++ (see How to remove and reinstall
Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Libraries).
o Clear the digital signature icons and then
uninstall and reinstall the application (see FATAL ERROR: Unhandled Access
Violation Reading 0x0000 Exception at 4048b9h).
o Update your graphics card driver. Install the
latest driver from your video card manufacturer or use an
AutoCAD-certified driver (see How to update your system to the
latest certified video driver).
