Installation and update issues

[pior_o]

Hello all.

There doesn't seem to be a place dedicated to bug reports and other technical support, therefore I am posting this here in hope that it will get noticed.

I am a relatively new Fusion 360 user. I started using it about a month or two ago, and as far as core functionality is concerned it does everything that I expect from it. The interface still needs a lot of work (there is a lot of micro stuttering going on and many behaviors still lead to input error - see my previous reports on the topic), but under the hood things are solid.

That said, there seem to be something broken with the installer and/or the auto update system. Over the last few weeks I ran into three consecutive launch issues, two of them related to the known problem described here :

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Fus...

This is relatively easily solved by manually launching the .exe or creating a custom shortcut to it, but something like that shouldn't happen at all.

The other issue was the app simply not launching at all all of a sudden. No error popup - just an empty process running in the background. An uninstall/reinstall fixed it, but even after that I still had to create my own shortcut to launch the app.

The bottom line is that after a little bit of research and a reinstall I can now lauch the app again and go on with my projects and tests ... but I am left wondering why the app broke to begin with. Is that because of auto updates being enabled and forced by default ? If so, this is a HUGE problem. I am fine with tech enthousiasts feeling adventurous and enabling auto-updates for the sake of playing with the new features of an OS or an app, but a program should never put the work of users at risk *by default* just for the sake of auto-updates. Of course most updates are great, but there seem to be cases where they break the program or its launcher. I hope I am not misunderstanding the issue here, but if that's indeed the case and auto-updates are enabled by default, this setting should definitely be switched off in future releases.

Even security risks in a OS do not justify mandatory deployment of udates by default. Displaying a warning and a reminder is fine, but forcing the deployment of a fix which can introduce new bugs or even prevent the user from working is to be avoided at all costs.

I hope this makes sense !

[innovatenate]

Thanks for posting the detailed report. I'm sorry to hear about the troubles with the update experience. That is not the intended experience at all. 

Are you using the default shortcut icon to launch Fusion 360?

Or are you creating your own custom shortcuts (maybe by adding to the start menu or task bar)?

Mid-way through last year some changes were made to the launch mechanism for Fusion 360. If you are on Windows, you may have noticed the parent process, FusionLancher.exe, in the Windows Task Manager. This update allows Fusion 360 to utilize the same files between different install versions (updates), improving diskspace usage and update performance. Another advantage of the process is that the launcher allows better clean up. However, one caveat is that Fusion 360 must be launched via the launcher/shortcut.to trigger clean upon close of application. Launching from a custom shortcut may cause some issue during the clean up. That is what I suspect is going on here.

One thing I would be curious to find out is whether or not relying on the default start-up icon created during the original installation or update would help to avoid this issue.

In any case, a clean uninstall and re-install of Fusion 360 should get you back up and running. I hope this information is helpful. 

Thanks,

[pior_o]

Hello Nathan, thank you for the follow-up.

At the time of the initial post, my launch issues were solved as I did perform a reinstall and then launched the program from the most recent exe as described in the knowledge base article.

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Fus...

So, up until today my issue was solved in the sense that I had a workaround for it.

However ...

Today I was working on a design, saved it, and closed Fusion360. A little while later I thought of something else that I wanted to test out, therefore I launched the program again and started a sketch, which caused a crash (I assume that I started the sketch before the program was fully loaded, even though it gave me the hand to do so in the first place). After this crash I attempted to launch the program again, only to run into one of the aforementionned issues - that is to say, the program not starting at all even though its process is active. As shown here :

At that point in time I was attempting to launch the app through a manually created custom shortcut pointing to its exe, therefore I did not see a process called FusionLauncher in my process list. This makes sense, as I am bypassing the launcher in order to be able to launch the program.

From there, following your suggestion I attempted to run the application from its intended default shortcut (= launcher), and got the following popup again :

Note that in this context I am, indeed, seing the FusionLauncher process running - but Fusion itself doesn't start. But once more, if I browse to the indicated location (which is a new folder, different from the one I used to launch the .exe from before the crash) and manually launch the program from the Fusion360.exe located there, I can run the program again.

In other words, before today's crash I had to run the exe from :

9dc57ac7328faaa98e6bb4734628b2fbd5d10ece

And now I need to run it from :

b27b8886033ec041b5428bdb49ebe7235e3857da

Now I am not sure if this folder is some sort of duplicated backup created during the crash, or if it is the result of a new update rolling out today. But in summary, my launch issues remain, as I now have to rely on yet another custom shortcut to lauch the program ... at the risk of running into the cleanup issues that the launcher is supposed to take care of.

I feel like this is going to keep happenning ...

[innovatenate]

Thank you for the detailed update! It seems like the crash maybe messing with the operation of the FusionLauncher. Are you submitting the error reports to Autodesk? I didn't find any with your email address. These could be helpful for the crash issue.

Would it be possible to get the FusionLauncher.exe.ini. file from your computer? It should be saved in a directory similar to the one below.

%localappdata%\Autodesk\webdeploy\production\6a0c9611291d45bb9226980209917c3d\

Note the last ID directory may differ, so you may have to look around.

If you edit this file with notepad, the contents should look something like this:

[Launcher]
stream = production
auid = AutodeskInc.Fusion360
cmd = C:\Users\chandln\AppData\Local\Autodesk\webdeploy\production\9dc57ac7328faaa98e6bb4734628b2fbd5d10ece\Fusion360.exe
global = False

Do you find that value for cmd in the .ini file matches the directory where you are launching Fusion360.exe from (the exe file you manually created a shortcut from?

I'm curious if manually editing the  cmd line in the .ini may be a potential fix for the issue. 

Let me know if you have any questions. Thank again for such a detailed update. It is really helpful!

Thanks,

[pior_o]

Hello Nathan,

- There was no error report window after the crash, the app crashed straight to desktop.

- Here is the content of the FusionLauncher.exe.ini file found in my 6a0c9611291d45bb9226980209917c3d directory.

[Launcher]
stream = production
auid = AutodeskInc.Fusion360
cmd = C:\Users\mon PC\AppData\Local\Autodesk\webdeploy\production\b27b8886033ec041b5428bdb49ebe7235e3857da\Fusion360.exe
global = False

- This reveals that it is already pointing to the folder ID that I run Fusion360.exe directly from (b27b8886033ec041b5428bdb49ebe7235e3857da), therefore something else must be going on here...

Could the space in the computer name be causing the issue ?

Also, is there an option somewhere in the app to enable update warnings ? I am fine with auto-downloads, but I'd love to have more control over the update process itself (as I wouldn't want to be caught off-guard by an update breaking my launch shortcut in the middle of a live presentation for instance).

[ting.lu]

Hello,

It would be great if you can post the log file and all Launcher files (including the FusionLauncher.exe) to us for further analysis.

Log file
%localappdata%\Autodesk\autodesk.webdeploy.streamer.log

Launcher files
%localappdata%\Autodesk\webdeploy\dev\6a0c9611291d45bb9226980209917c3d
+ FusionLauncher.exe
+ FusionLauncher.exe.ini

Thanks,

Ting

[innovatenate]

If there is any chance to get us the requested files let, please post them here or feel free to e-mail directly to nathan.chandler@autodesk.com. They would be a great help to investigate this issue. If you have any questions at all, please let us know. 

Thanks,

[pior_o]

Hi Nathan and Ting.

Sure ! Not a problem. I just sent them to the provided email adress. I hope this helps.

[pior_o]

On a related topic - today when running the program I got the following prompt :

There really should be a third option : "Update later". This would allow the user to keep working for a period of time without forcing in a patch. There is no reason to put the user's work at jeopardy because of a forced update. As a matter of fact, it can be company policy to never upgrade any important piece of software until the end of a production cycle - because unexpected bugs could be introduced, or the upgrade could cause the program not to launch ... as illustrated earlier in this thread.

I would go as far s saying that it makes the software feel unprofessional. Of course I understand the reasoning behind it (= making sure that all users are running the latest version) but again, as important as that may sound it is *not* as important as the user's work and time.

[pior_o]

After I went ahead with the upgrade, the program ran fine once. Later on, I noticed that my previously manually created shortcut broke (it says the .exe is not there anymore), and the newly created shortcut which appeared on the desktop gives an error similar to those described earlier in this thread :

As usual, the workaround was to create a shortcut to this specific .exe manually.

So just to reiterate : please do not force upgrades. No program is immune to bugs, and I certainly wouldn't want the program to not start (or crash) when on a tight deadline or when doing a live demo.

[innovatenate]

Thank you for the update on the progress. I apologize for the ongoing shortcut issue post-update. Development is aware of this issue and is actively investigating for a root cause and a solution (one that is more elegantly than manually creating a shortcut after every update). 

I do want to note that using the launcher files sent previously, we were able to use them in our testing to launch the application. So far, reproducing this issue has proven difficult. One thing we may want to look at is interference from anti-virus software. Would it be possible to add the installation directory to the exception list in the anti-virus software?

%localappdata%\autodesk\webdeploy\production

Thanks,

[pior_o]

Thanks for the follow-up Nathan.

I just added the provided location to the "Excluded files and folder" list in Windows Defender and also made sure that my UAC settings were set to lowest, but the issue remains ...

As for reproducting the issue : it looks like it has been brought up earlier this year and reproduced, as shown here :

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Fus...

, so maybe the author of that knowledge base article might have access to a system showing this behavior.

Back to the topic of updates : Is there a way to disable forced updates for advanced users ? I really need to make sure that I do not run into a forced update (and the shortcut jugging that follows) during a demo or a livestream.

[ting.lu]

We are investigating why this might be the case.

[ting.lu]

I am sorry about the troubles, I’d like to provide two methods to figure out what happens in your machine.

1. Use Process Moniter to dump FusionLauncher.exe process activity to me (ting.lu@autodesk.com).

    a. Add filter: Process Name is FusionLauncher.exe

    

    

    b. Make Sure there is only one filter item ( just remove other items).

    

    c. Launch FusionLauncher.exe in %localappdata%\Autodesk\webdeploy\dev\6a0c9611291d45bb9226980209917c3d

    d. Save the file in the format of PLM and send me the file.

    

2. Remotely connect to your machine if it’s OK with you.

    Please install TeamViewer, and tell me your ID and Password.

Thanks,

Ting Lu

[pior_o]

Hello and thank you for the follow-up. The process dump file has been sent.

In the meantime I would like to reiterate my related question :

How can I make sure that at any time, Fusion360 does not dowload and/or force-install an update ?

(I am fine with a reminder to upgrade, but I cannot afford forced updates with no opt out potentially hindering a live demo or a livestream for instance).

Regards,

P.O.

[ting.lu]

Hello,

Thanks for your dump file, with the analysis of it, we guess there is a file named “mon” in directory C:\Users\. Please have a check, if yes, do the steps below:

1. Rename it if it’s ok for you.
2. Launch FusionLauncher.exe in %localappdata%\Autodesk\webdeploy\dev\6a0c9611291d45bb9226980209917c3d
3. If step2 works, run Fusion from the default shortcut ( = Launcher), which can ensure shortcut still works after updates.

We are analyzing the issue, sorry for the trouble.

Thanks,

Ting Lu

[pior_o]

Excellent - removing/renaming this "mon" file allowed the launcher to start both by from its exe location and from the later created desktop shortcut.

As for the origin of this file : my guess would be that some program created this faulty file in an attempt to write something into my user folder (called "mon PC") which too starts with "mon" and unfortunately has a space in it (something I would usually avoid, but this name has been setup by the IT professional in charge of my machine installation and now cannot be changed). From there my assumption would be that Fusion probably got confused between this odd file and the User folder itself.

So, that solves this issue for now, and hopefully gives you a hint on how to reproduce it.

Any ideas regarding the disabling of automatic updates ? Feel free to contact me by email or PM if needed.

Regards,

P.O.

[marshaltu]

Hello,

We are glad to hear the issue has been solved in your side. Please feel free to contact us if you have other installation issues in the future.

About the requirement "disbling of automatic updates", there has been a request as below in our Ideastation. Please help vote on the topic. Our product management team are going to review those requests regularly.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/ideastation-request-a-feature-or/disable-forced-updating/idi-p/548075...

Thanks,

Marshal