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Strange 2011 Performance Issue

8 REPLIES 8
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Message 1 of 9
nbawden
643 Views, 8 Replies

Strange 2011 Performance Issue

Our office has just introduced a few Dell OptiPlex 990 computers that have identical hardware and the O\S and all applications including Civil 3D are from the same system image.

 

After a few weeks I have noticed a continuing degradation in the performance of Civil 3D 2011 with SP1 on my computer but not the others. As an example on one of the good computers isolating \ unisolating objects takes about 3 seconds. On my computer it ranges from 6 seconds to a few minutes for the exact same data set. When it is taking forever to do this I check Task Manager and I am maxing out one of my cores wit Civil 3D (so the software is working hard at something) and memory availability is substantial.

 

I have brought over the C3D.cuix, C3D.mnr files as well as an exported profile from one of the good computers to see if I had corrupted something with my configuration but noticed no improvement whatsoever.

 

There are no noticeable issues with any other software on this computer - at this stage it only appears to be Civil 3D that has issues. I ran the Performance Test benchmark software from PassMark and the good computer scored 2492 & 2512 on 2 tests and mine scored 2468 2436 2439 2119 & 2420. With the exception of one result they are all within about 4% of each other and that could be attributed to what I had running at the time etc.

 

Before I go to the extent of reinstalling the software (probably just reapply the system image) - does anyone have any suggestions as to how I could track down what is causing this misbehaving?

 

I r

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8 REPLIES 8
Message 2 of 9
Jeff_M
in reply to: nbawden

Check your Windows TEMP folder for files left behind after C3D closes unexpectedly.....specifically pnt*.tmp, tri*.tmp, dat*.tmp. Empty the TEMP folder of all of these files that it will allow you to (some may be used by Windows itself).

 

It may not be the cause, but these files can become numerous and there can only be a finite amount before C3D/Windows starts complaining.

Jeff_M, also a frequent Swamper
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Message 3 of 9
nbawden
in reply to: Jeff_M

Thanks for your thoughts Jeff.

 

I did have a bunch of those files in my Temp folder and have duly deleted them. I will see how it goes but so far no improvement noticed at all unfortunately.

 

I have found 2011 to be very stable so far (thank you 64 bit memory access) and have had no crashes in the last 2 weeks.

 

I forgot to detail our computer specs in case they matter they are:

Dell OptiPlex 990

i7 2600

16 GB Ram

ATI FirePro V4800 with latest Autodesk certified Catalyst Driver (8.773)

Win 7 64 bit

 

As far as I understand it in my ignorant opinion - as it is a system image it should not be an install issue. It is either a post install software corruption (random file corruption or user stuff-up somewhere) or a hardware defect issue.

 

I have made very little change to my computer since receiving it. The only thing I have changed is the position of floating windows and minor system variables like edgemode. To rule out floating windows like Toolspace, Properties etc causing the issue I have tested the software with every floating or docked window closed (only model space and the ribbon is visible and only osnap is turned on). As expected that makes a very minor improvement (1 second or so) but nowhere near solves the problem.

 

I have 2012 installed and was going to test the same data set with it but our licence server is complaining that I can't get a valid licence for some reason (licence file was updated for 2012) - so another issue to solve before I do this test

Message 4 of 9
Neilw_05
in reply to: nbawden

I would suggest using some basic troubleshooting techniques to isolate the problem.

 

You might try exporting the profile from one of the computers that is performing well and load it onto your computer, then see if things improve with that profile current. You could also load your profile onto one of the other machines to see if it causes problems there. You could also try creating a fresh new default profile and see if it helps. If you find this makes a difference then start reviewing what settings differ between the ones that work and those that don't. There may be a tool out there can will report or perhaps even compare the settings in profiles.

Neil Wilson (a.k.a. neilw)
AEC Collection/C3D 2024, LDT 2004, Power Civil v8i SS1
WIN 10 64 PRO

http://www.sec-landmgt.com
Message 5 of 9
neilyj666
in reply to: Neilw_05

I have certainly experienced many problems with C3D (2011 & 2012) going into Not Responding mode which can last for a few seconds or a few minutes before it resumes - hitting CTRL sometimes stops this irritating behaviour

neilyj (No connection with Autodesk other than using the products in the real world)
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AEC Collection 2024 UKIE (mainly Civil 3D UKIE and IW)
Win 11 Pro x64, 1Tb Primary SSD, 1Tb Secondary SSD
64Gb RAM Intel(R) Xeon(R) W-11855M CPU @ 3.2GHz
NVIDIA RTX A5000 16Gb, Dual 27" Monitor, Dell Inspiron 7760
Message 6 of 9
hgohel
in reply to: nbawden

@nbawden

 

Could you clarify if the problem you are seeing occurs only with C3D 2012, or does it occur with 2011?

 

Besides isolating/unisolating objects, do you see the described behavior with any other operations?

 

Thanks

Himanshu Gohel
Autodesk, Inc.
Message 7 of 9
nbawden
in reply to: hgohel

Thanks for your thoughts & advice guys

 

@Neilw I have tested

  • Other people's profile on my computer.
  • My profile on other people's computer.
  • Fresh new default profiles
  • Civil 3D running locally only (no server access apart from obtaining licence)
  • All windows off
  • Repair install of .NET (a contributor on a forum somewhere - I think this one - said it helped them)

None of the above helped

 

@neilyj Ctrl unfortunately does not help me

 

@hgohel - The problem is with 2011. I was going to try and test it with 2012 but we have a separate issue with being able to obtain a 2012 licence in this office - out IT guys are looking into it. As soon as that is fixed I will give it a go.

 

We have a spare computer of identical specs that hasn't been given to its intended recipient yet. I think I will have to bite the bullet and use that instead and try reinstalling the system image to my misbehaving beast.

 

Message 8 of 9
granite07
in reply to: nbawden

Have the other computers settings been changed?

 

 

Forest Peterson, granite@stanford.edu; build-sheet
Message 9 of 9
nbawden
in reply to: granite07

In the end it turned out to be corrupted system user profiles.

 

After I had a new user profile setup the performance improved dramatically.

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