Fatal Error: Unhandled Access Violation ...

[Anonymous]

I have been put on a brand new computer running Windows 7 64 bit and AutoCAD Mechanical 2010.  This is the same software (Serial number etc.) that I had been using on my old computer which ran Windows XP 32 bit.

 I am currently working on a drawing I started on my old computer.  When I try to do anything (like scale, move or copy) with our company title block and border AutoCAD crashes.  I get an error message reading: “FATAL ERROR:  Unhandled Access Violation Reading 0xffff04d7 Exception At ec344e83h.”  Other blocks I've handled have caused no problem up to this point.  On the old computer (just yesterday) I was able to handle the title block and border din this same drawing with no problem.

I was assigned this computer a week ago and the same thing happened (with a different drawing), crashing until AutoCAD Mechanical would not load.  Regular AutoCAD would start in its’ place.  I would try to start Mechanical with the both the icon and from the Program File, I'd see the Mechanical splash screen, but regular AutoCAD would open (no Mechanical items at all and would also read AutoCAD 2010 at the top of the AutoCAD window.  After that AutoCAD Mechanical 2010 was removed then reinstalled and now the same thing is continuing to happen.  I was also told the video driver was updated to 13.251.1.0 at that time.  ATI page says 8.85.7.1 is correct for AutoCAD Mechanical 2010, so downloaded and tried to install but got an "Install Package Failure" message so uninstalled 13.251.1.0 and rebooted. Executed the 8.85.7.1 driver file and rebooted only to find 12.104.2.3000 installed.  I don't know where it came from or what happened to my manual install.

Fatal Error persists.

I've been unable to find any Fatal Error posts concerning similar circumstances.

Any idea of what is causing AutoCAD to crash when handling the title block and border and more importantly, any ideas on how to fix it?  Why did Mechanical stop loading and AutoCAD start in its' place?

Dell Precision T1700

Intel Corei7-4770 @ 3.40 GHz

16GB RAM

Windows 7 Professional 64 bit Service Pack 1

AMD FirePro V4900 (FireFL V) Driver Version 13.251.1.0 (and now Version 12.104.2.3000)

Thanks.

[pendean]

When AutoCAD starts, are you not able to go to the Profiles Tab in OPTIONS command and switch to the Mechanical Profile?
Is 2010 fully patched and updated?

Is there a reason you cannot edit your titleblock outside on your file (at the source then reinsert it)? WBLOCK it out if needed and open that file to edit if needed.

[Anonymous]

I did not try to locate AutoCad Mechanical by going through the Tools/Options tab but after AutoCAD Mechanical crashed numerous times and would only start in regular AutoCAD, I only tried accessing Mechanical through the Workspace Switching tab.

I'm told on the first AutoCAD Mechanical load up, after installation only SP2, which was supposed to be comprehensive, was loaded.  On the second load up first SP1 was loaded and then SP2 was loaded.  Neither method seemed to change the outcome.  Unless there are some other updates the machine should have been up to date in either case.

Where I work we do not use paper space, but bring everything into model space, draw everything to scale and scale the border and title block to fit.  This necessitates copying and scaling the title block and border at some point, either in the active drawing or in the base title block & border drawing where they are sepatate blocks.  We then print out of model space.

[Anonymous]

I work with sprstock and here's what we have tried since his original post:

Changed video driver on the video board to 8.85.7.1  This is supposed to be the latest verified driver to work well with this board and AutoCAD Mechanical 2010, according to AMD.  Still encountered the same error code.  I downloaded the NEWEST non-beta driver availabale for this board and installed it.  Still encountered the same error code. 

I noticed that Microsoft updates installed some additional .Net 4.5.1 updates, so this morning I made sure the updates were complete, then I uninstalled AutoCAD and reinstalled it, without SP1 or SP2.  I tested it, still encountered the same error code. I installed AutoCAD Mechanical 2010 SP1, tested again, still encountered the same error code.  I installed SP2, tested it, still encountered the same error code.

The specific steps that lead to this error are as follows:

Start AutoCAD Mechanical 2010 - OK

Open any file - OK

Perform any other operation other than MOVE or COPY - OK

Enter MOVE or COPY in the Command Line - OK

Select the drawing title block - OK

Right-click the mouse button to end select entities - OK

Left-click the mouse button to specify base point - OK

Move the mouse to a new location - AutoCAD begins to malfunction - cursor stops moving as mouse moves, etc.

Then FATAL ERROR occurs

I have noticed that the numbers (addresses?) on the Fatal Error codes change slightly from time to time.  For instance one crash yielded this message:

FATAL ERROR:  Unhandled Access Violation Reading 0xffff0030 Exception at e7304e83h

 and another crash yielded:

FATAL ERROR:  Unhandled Access Violation Reading 0xffff0433 Exception at f2cf4e83h

I am at wits end.  I have four brand-new Dell Precision T1700s sitting here, all dead in the water unless I can get this resolved.  This same PC also has SolidWorks loaded on it, and it runs great.  Would have never have dreamed that AutoCAD 2D would have been the difficult application to run on these PCs.

I have uploaded numerous crash reports to AutoDesk, so far no response back.

[pendean]

You never get a response: you are reporting only. You will need to contact them through subscription for a follow-up, if there us a known fix in the software and it's not a system issue.

I still don't understand how after a crash the user can't open MECH but can open AutoCAD: it's one and the same program using different profiles. Is the user actually have installed two separate programs?

Sadly, you are describing a video issue: change AutoCAD's hardware settings and see if the problem goes away.

PS: if this is as devastating a business problem as you indicate, then I suggest you contact a reseller in your region and pay for InSite service/installation and on site support immediately.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply. While the system is still crashing on COPY and MOVE commands, we have not had any more instances of having issues of AutoCad launching instead of AutoCAD Mechanical after recovering. I don't know why/how that was happening either but I saw it with my own eyes as well.
Our suspicions here are that it is video-related, but it's always nice to hear that someone else has the same hunch.

Thanks