3ds Max 2017 gets stuck on initializing splash screen.

[Anonymous]

Hello all, i recently acquired a student license for 3ds Max 2017 but after installation, I just get stuck on the splash screen then it just closes. I checked the event logs and i get Event 1026 and the source is the .Net Runtime 4.0.30319.

Here is what i see in the event log:

Application: 3dsmax.exe
Framework Version: v4.0.30319
Description: The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception.
Exception Info: System.AccessViolationException
at <Module>.wWinMainCRTStartup()

The guides I've found on this forum go back to re-installing .net 4.0 but this comes pre installed with Windows 10 so i've tried turning it off and on again but 3ds Max still gives off the same error. 

I also tried running 3ds Max with both 372.90 and 373.06 drivers from Nvidia. But it always just stays at the splash screen the closes. Based on the event logs however It really looks like the problem is with the net framework.

I've also ran the .net framework repair tool but i still get the same error in the event log.

My system is a desktop running

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit version 1607

i5 6500

8gb Ram

GTX 970 (372.90 drivers). 

[irishman_team_kilber]

Are you using the 3ds max 64 bit on your computer and not the 32 bit of 3ds max because you will not get anywhere with the 32 bit and your trying to install it on a 64 bit computer,

have you update windows? do you have the most recent net time on your computer,

also you will need over 7gb to run max nowadays and all you have is 8gb you will need a lot more ram (memory) i think you need 7gb just to install it to my knowleadge and then to model you need about 16gb to 32gb of ram, so i would increase that amount of ram

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Anonymous,

This has become an issue for a number of users in the past month or so, seemingly coinciding with the anniversary update in Windows 10.  As for it being .Net framework issue, that could be a possibility.  Fixing problems with .Net on W10 seems to be tough as the repair tools specifically don't support Windows 10 as seen here.  (W10 missing from supported OS list.)  Some users have reported that this link helped repair problems with C++ libraries in the case that this isn't a permissions or .Net issue.

There's something about that patch that is creating a lot of problems for users and permissions.  Given that your error is an access violation, I believe that this is what is happening to you.  3ds Max is trying to create a bunch of folders when it first starts up in "C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsMax\2017 - 64bit" and (most likely) Windows is likely telling it that it's not allowed to do that.  Since Max cannot create those folders, it's failing to start.  This has come up a few times recently.  Can you please verify if you have the folders there at that path?  Can you also please verify for me that the Flexnet service is running?  You can check that by going to your search blank and typing "service.msc" and opening that, then scrolling down to FlexNet licensing.  I'm curious if that service isn't running.

Another thing you could try is to make sure it's running as administrator which should give you the permissions needed.  It might be worth it to investigate that folder listed above and try to change the permissions on it. This thread on MS forums shows other with similar issues with folder permissions.  There is also an article here about troubleshooting issues with 3ds Max in Windows 10.  I realize this is a lot of information, please keep me updated.

Best Regards,

[Anonymous]

Hello, I have tried the c++ repair but it still changed nothing.

I can indeed confirm that the folders exist and that the flexnet service is running. I also changed the permissions to the folder following the ms forums link. I have also tried the fixes in the troubleshooting link but i still get the same error in the event logs.

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Anonymous,

Thank you for the update and for trying that.  I've had a user recently with a very similar issue report that he had to completely uninstall all the C++ libraries and then reinstall them, but your issue does seem a bit different.  However I think we should try it because it's been working for that user so far.  There is also this page which details some issues and resolutions with Windows 10, but I'm not sure your issue appears there.  

I've only seen this on W10 and with the anniversary update, so this is an entirely new issue seemingly caused by W10 (or aggressive anti-virus) and permissions.  I am still looking for answers and confirmation of fixes because I cannot repro this issue.  Thank you for keeping me updated as we work through it.  Please let me know if the C++ library reinstallation helps at all.  In addition, maybe you could temporarily disable your AV (unplug from internet first) to see if somehow the anti-virus is causing the access violation.  

I've googled this issue for other applications with Windows 10 (lots of results) and some users are reporting that they needed to update drivers and that fixed the issue.  Can you please make sure you have up to date drivers for your motherboard?  (You've done the graphics drivers as noted in your original post, so I left those out.)  Let's also try to run 3ds Max with a different display driver to test the driver theory.  (Try Legacy D3D and/or OpenGL)

Another user reported for a game on steam that the tablet plugged into his machine was the issue, can you also try removing unneeded peripherals and try again? 

Best Regards,

[Anonymous]

Thanks for helping me work through this.

I have tried disabling my antivirus (windows defender) but it still just stays at the splash screen and closes. I also get the same error when i start the change graphics driver shortcut as mentioned in the link. My motherboard drivers are updated to the latest as well but nothing has changed when i run 3ds max. I've also tried unplugging all unnecessary peripherals but the problem still persists. 

Could this be a problem with the anniversary update? It seems to be the case but can we expect a patch from Autodesk for this anytime soon? or would this be on Microsoft's end?

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Anonymous,

That's a good question and I'm not sure how to answer it because I haven't discovered the cause of this issue.  It does seem to happen specifically with the AU however.  Did you get a chance to reinstall the C++ libraries?  It may be that the AU has some .dll's in it that overwrote some of them provided by the C++ libraries which causes the problem.  

I want to get to the bottom of this but I can't seem to reproduce the problem.  I have no doubt it's happening because in the past week or two I've gotten 4 or so of these threads all of a sudden.  The only reported fix so far was the reinstallation of those C++ libraries.  I did make a bug tracker case referencing the AU issues.  If you'd like I can take a look at the event viewer logs for the exact error messages and perhaps a fix can be found that way.  If you don't want to post them here you can PM me a link to them and I'll check them out.  

Best Regards,

[Anonymous]

I haven't uninstalled all of the c++ libraries because i have multiple versions of some of the libraries and I'm not sure if Microsoft provides downloads for different versions. As far as I know they only provide the most recent version for the different libraries.

As for my event log, I have attached it here. 

And also I'm not sure if it will help narrowing it down but I also have problems running Maya 2017 it just shows the output window then crashes. So it could be possible that the AU affects the rest of Autodesk's products. There could be a common error but I don't get any event log errors with Maya so I can't be sure. 

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Anonymous,

I've looked these over, and there are two main things that stand out to me.  First is a Distributed COM error 10016 and the only reason it stands out is that this shows up on just about every event viewer log I've seen when a user is having problems.  I've got one or two on my own machine but 3ds Max still works so I don't think it by itself is a show stopper, but I do believe it can contribute to problems in combination with other errors.  (Specifically Ucrtbase.dll, which you don't have errors for and your 2nd error listed below.)

The 2nd thing is a lot of .Net runtime errors.  This would impede usage of 3ds Max and Maya so I think this is the real thing that is stopping you from starting 3ds Max.  The problem with Windows 10 is that it manages .Net automatically, so fixing .Net problems can be tricky and there doesn't seem to be a foolproof 100% method for guaranteeing results that I am aware of.  The exact error code is:  Exception Info: System.AccessViolationException
at <Module>.wWinMainCRTStartup().  I can't offer much expertise on Windows 10, but I did do some searches for you and I have some links that may help.  I've read that this error can be related to the Dcom 10016 error, so that's interesting news to me.

There are various .Net repair tools for Win7 and 8, but they don't show W10 as supported.  I've read articles saying that W10 is supported on that tool, but just not listed for some reason so this may be worth a shot.  

Lastly, the AU is causing issues with Maya, Max, and AutoCAD from what I am hearing.

Best Regards,

[Anonymous]

Thanks for checking out my event logs. Unfortunately, I've also come across those links and programs you provided while searching for a fix on my own and both the verification tool and repair tool didn't fix anything nor did they reveal any fixes to the files. I still get the same error when I run 3ds Max.

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Anonymous,

I see, thank you for trying that.  It's not super clear how to resolve .Net problems with Windows 10 to me yet.  It seems to be automatically managed by the OS so it's hard to repair from what I'm seeing.  I've spent hours on Google looking for good information here but I seldom can find it.  If I find a better link on how to fix .Net in W10 I will let you know here, and please also post any great info you find here and I'll kudo you and be very grateful.  Thank you very much.

Was your W10 installation a clean install or was it upgraded from W7 or W8?  Just trying to gather information.  

Best Regards,

[Anonymous]

Thanks for helping me out these past few days as well. I've also been searching these past few days and I too haven't been able to find a fix. I will let you know and post here if I do find a fix as to help others affected by the problem as well. 

And yes, my installation of Windows 10 was a clean install. 

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Anonymous,

Thank you for doing that and for all the information in this thread.  It's not cool that you are going through this right now and if I find out anything I will let you know what I find.   I know that the powers that be are aware of some of these strange issues with the AU and are looking into workarounds currently.   Your community minded nature is much appreciated.  

Best Regards,

[Anonymous]

Yes I very much looked forward to learning 3ds Max after acquiring my student license but I suppose I'll have to wait until somebody can find a workaround or fix. Either way if I can find a workaround or fix I'll be sure to post back here. Hopefully Autodesk can release a small update or patch to fix this.

Thank you again for working through this with me. It is very much appreciated. If you need any more information about my hardware or software to help narrow down and identify the problem please just let me know. I'll be glad to help.

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Anonymous,

We sure did cover a lot of bases here early on in this thread.  The only thing left is a reinstall of the OS which I really try to avoid recommending in most cases because if it doesn't work then I just had a user waste a couple days doing something futile.  I think if I were you I might post the .Net error code on the MS support forums and see if they have any ideas there.  Thanks again for your time and upbeat attitude.

Best Regards,  

[lightcube]

What I'm sharing here is NOT necessarily a fix or the right path. But I'm going to share a few things.

After the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, I had several programs fail running. In almost all cases, the problem was that a required service was either removed or blocked from starting automatically. In my personal experience, those applications were license servers from Ephere and Afterworks. The fix for those was adding them back to the services and setting to run automatically with Windows.

The biggest problem in my case was the Vault Basic Server. It failed altogether. My only fix for it was to reinstall Vault.

So if this is a result of the Windows 10 Anniversary update, my path would be to search for required services that are not running (like the AD licensing service). If that leads nowhere... then uninstall Max followed by reinstalling it.

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Thank you @lightcube,  I will add this to my list of things to look for.  I wonder why it turns off the services like that?  This might actually explain the sudden shutdown and the exclusion of the .exe from the event viewer if it never got past the license check.  Thank you for the tip!

@Anonymous, if you type "services" in a search blank in Windows, or go to Settings and type it there, do you see the FlexNet license service?  Is it started?  

Best Regards,

[Anonymous]

I have tried reinstalling 3ds max multiple times already but I still get the same result. And yes the FlexNet service is running. Although I had to set it to start automatically myself. When I first saw the service it wasn't running so I set it to start automatically. 

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Anonymous,

I'm confident those .Net errors are related but I don't know how to convince Windows 10 to update them.  The only suggestion I have left other than reinstalling Windows is to post on the MS forums and ask them how to repair the .Net installation.  Since W10 is at the center of the issue MS should be in a better place to suggest how to repair the components.  If you do this and they give you a solution I'd very much like to know what it is so I can suggest it in the future. 

Best Regards,

[Anonymous]

I do hope Microsoft can send out a fix as this problem probably affects other programs as well. Either way I'll try posting on the MS forums and see if I can find a fix with the people over there.