Liquid Simulation doesn't run (3d Max 2026)

[Nesshi]

Hello,

I'm trying to run a liquid simulation in 3ds Max 2026, but it simply won’t start.

I've tried several solutions — including reinstalling 3ds Max and even formatting my computer — but nothing has changed.

To rule out scene complexity, I created a very simple test setup (as shown in the attached image). However, even with just a box and a plane, the simulation remains stuck on Sim Idle — the play button is disabled, as you can see in the screenshot.

The settings of my PC are:

"Processor AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12-Core Processor (3.80 GHz)
Installed RAM 32.0 GB
System type: 64‑bit operating system, x64‑based processor

Edition Windows: 11 Home Version 25H2
Installed on 11/11/2025
OS build: 26200.7462"

[MartinBeh]

Can you please talk us through those three screenshots? 

I see the Liquid001 > Solver01 > Play button - but to me it does not look disabled.

Have you tried clicking it? It should start the simulation.

If that does not work, here are two more suggestions:

1. Start from scratch and follow the official tutorial step-by-step - does that work?

2. Could you please share a .max file with your simple test setup so we can inspect what is going on?

[joaquim.moral]

Hi @Nesshi 
Thank you for posting in the 3DS Max Forum! I'm checking in to see if you need more help with this. Did the suggestions/information that @MartinBeh provided help you?
If so, please click Accept as Solution on the posts that helped you so others in the community can find them easily. If not, let us know if you have any more questions so we can help you.

Best,
Joaquim

[Nesshi]

Hello,

Sorry for the delayed response. I was dealing with a few issues.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to try to help me.

I tried plenty of tutorials and even recreated the entire system several times, but the result is always the same: when I click the “Start Solve” button, it returns null and nothing happens. For this file, I tried to create the simplest scene possible, and nothing happens either.

Here is the file I used.

Thank you again.

[Nesshi]

Hello Joaquim,

Sorry for the delay. I was dealing with some issues that took more time than I expected.

Well, the Liquid Solve simulation still doesn’t run.

Thank you

[MartinBeh]

---

@Nesshi wrote:

Here is the file I used.

---

No file attached...?

[Nesshi]

Oops! I attached it, but it didn’t upload 😶
Thank you again

[MartinBeh]

Sorry, but that file only contains a single box and nothing else.

Please share a .max file with your Liquid Simulation setup included.

[Nesshi]

Sorry,

I think the file was closed before the saving process was completed. I tried creating another one and followed each step carefully, but the result was the same: the button still doesn’t run. I’ve attached the file.

I really appreciate your effort in helping me, and I’m sorry for not being as prompt as I should.

[wernienst]

Now this is strange:

I tried your file and, in fact, the simulation is obviously running, but nothing seems to happen. Later the particles appear but they haven't moved at all...

So I reset 3dsmax and created my own simulation. Same result!

Then I quitted and restarted Max, loaded your file and: voilà -  Simulation runs!

I have to say, that I am using my own MaxStart.max file, but I have no idea what setting would cause this.

[Nesshi]

This is really STRANGE 😱

If we look at it from a shallow angle, my file could be corrupted (as the last one was). On this point, "ok", but you reset 3D Max, created your own, and even with this aspect, it got stuck (the simulation didn't start), right? But when the software is closed, restarted, and the file opened, it just runs!? This is out of my comprehension 😅

I did the same steps as you, and the Simulation Liquidis is still stuck.

[MartinBeh]

Not sure what is going on but the latest Liquid Test.max file works for me out of the box.

Just loaded the scene into 3ds Max 2026.3, selected the Liquid001 object, opened Simulation view and hit the "Start solve" button:

[Nesshi]

I suspect I've found the answer that sounded a bit "bad" to me: my version of 3ds Max is for students (onceI'm still studying ArchViz, it didn't make sense to buy the pro version because of the price). My initial intention was to create a reinterpretation of a honey jar pouring, but I couldn't do it because of this version's limitations. The plugins are enabled, but they don't work, apparently because of this student version.

[MartinBeh]

It does not look like your .max file is created by a student version of 3ds Max, at least I did not get any notification about this when opening it on a non-student version. And normally, a student version's .max file will be marked as such internally to avoid it being used in production. See this thread for more.

Also, I am not aware of any functional limitations in the student version - what makes you think there are any?

[Nesshi]

Hello, thank you for all your support, MartinBeh.

Well, in fact, my 3ds Max is the Student Version — I don't know why the system didn't acknowledge this, but it is.

I asked Copilot about the issue, and it pointed to a supposed “limitation” of the Student Version. But after reading your question about whether such a limitation even exists, I decided to search again and asked Gemini (which is set to give me precise answers). It confirmed that there are no limitations in the Student Version. Even better: Gemini helped me solve the issue.

I never imagined it could be something so simple. My 3ds Max was installed on a secondary partition (not on the main C:/). But the system used by 3ds Max to simulate liquids and other effects (called Bifrost) processes a large number of changes and physics calculations, and because of that, it needs to be installed on the same partition as the Local and Roaming folders (the main partition).

Well, this is a summary of Gemini's solution. The most important part: the liquid simulation is running now.

Thank you for all the support you and the community give to these questions.

[MartinBeh]

Interesting. So you say the simulation does not run when 3ds Max 2026 is not installed on C:\?

I need to check whether that is a known bug...

[Nesshi]

Yes, yes... as strange as that may seem 😅

And apparently, other software is exhibiting similar behavior. For example, Unreal Engine 5.5. I need to run some more tests with Unreal this week to clear up this doubt. 

[klankster]

Take a look at this video and see what you can see on your side. It might be helpful if you could record a screen-capture video on your side and post it here so we can see what's happening. Thanks.

[klankster]

I just tried the "Liquid Test.max" file in my D-drive install of Max 2026 and it works just fine right away. No issues at all.

As far as I know, there are no restrictions in the Student version that would affect this scene. @Nesshi please try my above suggestion and see what shows up in the Fluid system's Output Window; maybe there is some sort of basic system configuration issue that is causing the problem you're seeing.

[klankster]

@Nesshi One additional question -- what language/locale are you using on this machine? There have been occasional issues with non-English locales from time to time; maybe there is such an issue here.