System hangs from certain commands and just dings

[fautodesk]

New machine, 6-weeks old, Core i7 - 2600 3.4GHz, 12GB RAM, GTX 550, Windows 7 Professional x64, C3D 2011 w/ all service packs.

Once I install the fresh copy of C3D 2011 on this machine, I have never been able to access certain dialog boxes, mainly one concerning scale, for example OBJECTSCALE and SCALELISTEDIT. If I type in OBJECTSCALE at the command line, the computer hangs and just dings anytime I click the mouse and does nothing until I hit the escape button to exit the command. This happens regardless of how I attempt to invoke the command. Same thing happens if I use the Ribbon, the dialog box from the Properties toolbar, or the add/delete scale option from the shortcut menu. The only way I can access these commands is if I use -OBJECTSCALE or -SCALELISTEDIT and force it to not use a dialog box. This is very frustrating as I work with a lot of different scales. This morning, this same scenario happened with a new command, HATCH. I am running dual monitors. Autocad is acting as if the dialog box is opening but not accessible to the mouse. I have not tried unplugging the second monitor but I think I will try that first thing in the morning.

I have done a repair and a fresh re-install using the Autodesk recommended 'clean install' instructions. I do know the video card is not supported but it is what I was given.

Any suggestions what might be causing this errratic behavior?

[rl_jackson]

I would strip and reinstall from scratch - sounds like a net issue

Also try reinstalling .net it may help

[hgohel]

 If it's a "home-brew" type of system, check for BIOS and manufacturer driver updates - there was a thread on this forum in which several people reported successes by updating their system software.

Of course, windows updates and specific system manufacturer updates (HP, DELL have their own set of Windows updates specific to their hardware), would be another thing to check on.

And the most important thing to check is the graphics card driver. Here's the link to the AutoCAD Graphics Hardware List (http://www.autodesk.com/autocad-graphicscard) to check if their hardware + driver version is certified for AutoCAD or not.

Try these one at a time and let us what works.

[wfberry · Accepted solution]

Perhaps the computer you are using has been connected to a second monitor and now not connected.  It may have the dialog box on the "phantom" monitor, thus the DING!!

Bill

[fautodesk]

That is exactly what was happening. I disconnected the second monitor, tried the objectscale command and the dialog box popped up on the first monitor. I reattached the monitor and the dialog box stayed on the main monitor. Thanks for all the help.

[hgohel]

Thanks for the followup.  If this happens again, and you don't have a second monitor to use, you can use this key combination:

1. Alt+Space - invokes window menu

2. Select Move

3. Use the keyboard cursor keys to reposition that is off the screen to bring it back to the main desktop

These steps are from memory so a little experimentation may be required, or a google search might yield more exact steps.