Better way to save preferences?

[patrick8CTF6]

Feel free to educate me here, but how can I reliably save and overwrite preferences in 3dsMax?

I installed a new copy of Max on a new computer about a month ago. Rather than import an old MaxStartUI.mnux , I opted to modify my Quad preferences as needed.

It seems that every day there is some missing customization. How many times have I added the same custom options on the quad only to open the software the next day and find that it has not been saved.

Is there a better way to customize Max? It asks me if I want to overwrite the file and, of course I do, but the changes don't seem to stick.

[Mr.Mxyzptlk]

Sounds like a permissions issue.

[darawork]

Hi,

There have been a lot of posts this year about this. It does indeed seem to be a windows permissions issue.
Some advice has been to log into your pc under the Admin account, or an account with Admin permissions, then modifiy Max as you want... save and then it should stick. Some other advice mentioned actually checking the properties of the folder where your changes are being saved (the ENU folder) and changing its properties from Read Only permissions to Full Read/Write. 
Hopefully something fundamental will change in later versions, even if it was to prompt the user to enter the Admin password in a UAC pop-up for each time you try to save a 3DSMax modification it would be better than Windows simply ignoring the fact that the user is trying to save in a prohibited location and reverting any changes each time.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/3ds-max-forum/quad-menu-no-changes-after-edit/m-p/11675514

Regards,

[patrick8CTF6]

Why would ENU be Read-Only? And why would it save some settings some of the times, and not others?

Is this a product defect?

It's similar to the Privacy Settings dialog that appears each time I open Max, it would seem that the install is not correct.

[darawork]

Hi, 

Getting a privacy warning each time that you open Max sounds like somebody has set up your Windows group policy wrong alright. Max shouldn't be giving you UAC (User Account Control) warnings upon start up.

Trying to modify places like Program Files or the Windows directory, or trying to install something, or turn off antivirus or something, should only give you warnings or prompts for Admin password entry.

What version Windows do you have, and are you the Admin on your pc?

Regards, 

[patrick8CTF6]

So, we are looking at a brand new computer, logged in as Admin and installed using the Autodesk Desktop app:

 

 I've tried modifying the UnNamed.JSON file, but that doesn't seem to work: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/installation-licensing/the-quot-privacy-settings-quot-window-should-n...

Seems like the Autodesk Desktop app isn't installing with correct permissions?

[darawork]

Hi, 

There was a recent update for the licencing runtime in updates on the AutoDesk Desktop App, which I installed. It could fix it? (and after reading that forum link above (sorry I missed that link, doh, I just read the html, the licencing issue might certainly be fixed. I used to get signed out here on my home pc, but it seems to be staying logged in now, which is good news)).
But, If it's none of the above try this:

If it's straight from a shop, it might not have all the updates installed. 
It might even have something horrible, like Norton installed.
Or something that is being an unessesary Nanny to your pc? AntiVirus, or any number of things.

Did it come with windows 11, looks like it, And what version of 3dsmax are you running?

I'd just double check and update everything, services packs, graphic drivers, windows updates etc. 
Just to be sure. I don't work for AutoDesk, so I'm just guessing things to troubleshoot.

Regards, 

[rushabhthakkar_910]

@patrick8CTF6, Have a look at this..!! https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2020/ENU/3DSMa...

[patrick8CTF6]

I'll accept it as a solution, when there is one. This is what I see when I restart my system and launch Max: (attached)

Kind of a mystery considering this a new computer, administrative install, first install of any Autodesk apps on this PC. Windows 11?

Do I need to completely remove all Autodesk apps and clean install?

I set permissions on the ENU to be full control. 

Is there a documented solution for this?

[rushabhthakkar_910]

@patrick8CTF6, Follow this article and Restore factory settings..!! https://help.autodesk.com/view/3DSMAX/2022/ENU/?guid=GUID-3CA8D8D5-D819-41C5-974E-0578E465EC7C

[patrick8CTF6]

Sorry, Rushabh, this is not a solution.

[rushabhthakkar_910]

@patrick8CTF6, What I shared is one of the solutions..!! https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Consta...