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14.10.14

Resolving “Generic” Fatal Errors in AutoCAD and Related Verticals

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   Rebuild the user profile in Windows (see Fix a corrupted user profile).
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).


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