Crash on accessing Windows Explorer / File Manager

[kevin]

Two workstations in our office with similar configurations have been having issues opening files recently.

The problem occurs when trying to open a drawing, using either the keyboard shortcut, or the file icon. Autodesk will crash without bringing up the crash dialog popup. The program just closes. There is no indication in the Windows Event Viewer as to any application error. Occasionally, Autodesk will open with the Drawing Recovery Manager, if there were files open during the crash.

From all I can tell, there seems to be some fault in the interaction between Autodesk and the Windows Explorer processes, and I have yet to resolve the situation. It also isn't a consistent error. This may happen anywhere from 1-3 times per day, or as few as once every few days. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated.

Here is a bit more information about our scenario:

All of our project files are located on a local server. We are both running Windows 7 with the latest updates, and Autodesk Architecture 2015 SP2 with all the Hotfixes I can imagine are relating to this issue.

I have installed all the most recent Microsoft updates, inculding those that are relating to compatibility between Explorer and Autodesk.

I have changed both 'Number of recently-used files' in the 'Open and Save' options tab to '0'.

I have followed these steps to ensure that acad.exe runs as administrator after discovering an error in the Event Viewer related to WSCommcntr4.exe

I have recently tried setting CACHEMAXFILES to 0, and will report back to see if this helps.

Any other suggestions? Anyone else with similar crashes?

Thanks in advance!

[kevin]

After changing the CACHEMAXFILES setting to '0', and ensuring that the program runs 'As Administrator', I am still seeing crashes. It's hard to tell whether or not they are less frequent, due to the inconsistent nature of the error. One upside is that Autodesk seems to be a bit snappier after changing the max file cache value to '0', so I will leave things as they are until hearing additional suggestions.

My guess is that something is awry with the way Autodesk communicates with either Windows Explorer, or our server-side setup, although we haven't done anything to change these relationships aside from installing recommended updates to both programs and operating systems.

EDIT: I should also mention that other programs (SketchUp, for example) are showing some similar errors accessing files, so this might be a larger issue...

[Victoria.Studley]

Hi Kevin,

I'm sorry to hear you're encountering this issue. Which graphics card and driver version is installed on each machine? Are they certified for use with AutoCAD 2015 products? (You can check here.)

An uncertified graphics card and/or driver version can sometimes cause this issue.

[kevin]

Victoria - Thanks for the response.

My machine has an nVidia Quadro K4000 card, which is both "certified" and "recommended" as a compatible card for our Architectural Desktop 2015, from what I derive from the page you linked. The drivers are also current (version 347.52 - which is the version specified as "Optimal Drivers for Enterprise"). No "AutoCAD Performance Drivers" are available for this card, beta or otherwise.

The card can be customized for specific programs. Are there settings that would be worth specifying for AutoCAD, if this is a graphics card issue?

[Victoria.Studley · Accepted solution]

Hi Kevin,

I'm glad to hear you're running a certified card and driver. On the AutoCAD side, you can enable Hardware Acceleration to get the most out of a certified card. This is likely already enabled, but is worth checking.

Could you please try switching your Windows desktop theme from Aero to one of the Basic or High Contrast themes?

Additionally, please ensure the User Account Control is set to Never Notify.

[kevin]

Victoria,

Again, thanks for the reply.

User Account Control is already set to 'Never Notify'.

I will try changing the desktop to a non-Aero theme, although the software has been working well up until recently with Aero enabled.

Hardware Acceleration is indeed enabled in AutoCAD. In the 'Graphics Performance' window (GRAPHICSCONFIG), the only unchecked box is 'Advanced material effects'. All the others are checked. If it helps, I have attached the contents of the Tuner Log, which contains a bunch of system information.

EDIT: I might mention that I've had no crashes in the last two days - which might just be coincidental, but may be due to some configuration change I've made through this process. Hard to pinpoint, really.

[kevin]

Still no crashes since the last post. I'm now on a non-aero theme, with the above changes still enabled. Our server needed a few OS updates and had not been restarted in a while, so I might attribute at least part of this problem to server-side issues. I will report back with any future crashes, but at least things are running smoothly for now. Thanks for your help Victoria.

[Victoria.Studley]

That's great news, Kevin!

Let's keep our fingers crossed that the adjustments we've made fixed the issue. And absolutely, if the same crash returns, reply to the thread again with an update.