We recently rolled out two brand new Windows 10 installs, with ACAD 2021 installed on each. One machine is a very solid and reliable machine we've had for a few years - it was previously running ACAD 2016 and doing a fine job of it. The other machine is brand new hardware, purpose-built for ACAD, using components from AutoDesk's lists of approved hardware. The point is, both of these machines are robust, and more importantly - they are made of *different* hardware components.
And ACAD 2021 is crashing on both of them, in similar ways, with similar results. So it seems more likely to be a software problem rather than a hardware problem, but who knows - I'm willing to consider anything.
(Let me just interject that this has been going on for weeks, and we've tried many different things from internet search results... Reinstalling... Running updates to both ACAD and to Windows 10... Disabling various aspects of the graphics performance... But just when it seems like ACAD has calmed down and given us a couple days of solid performance, the crashes pop up again.)
So, here are some of the strange behavior that we've noticed:
1) It seems to only crash in a Layout Space, not in model space. It *might* have crashed in model space, but all of the crashes that I can remember were in a Layout.
2) We use drawing views (the VIEWBASE command) in our layouts. We use this instead of MVIEW because of the many, many superior features of using VIEWBASE drawings views. However, the VIEWBASE drawing views have been behaving erratically, and I suspect they may be at the root of our crashes.
3) We use Shaded view styles in our drawing views because we like to make use of materials - they allow us to create much more attractive specification drawings for our clients. They get a much better sense of what their products will look like when they can see shaded and highlighted materials.
4) Some materials don't behave properly when viewed in a drawing view, like they used to in ACAD 2016. It's difficult to describe accurately, but: Self-illuminating materials do not self-illuminate. Some texture maps, like the use of "patina" on a metal finish, simply does not appear.
5) VIEWBASE drawing views simply *will not* update. This has been happening a lot. We will make changes in model space - either physically moving objects, or physically changing an object's geometry, or changing an objects's assigned material - and when we go back into the Layout, the drawing views refuse to update. We try the update command - nothing. We try changing the view style from Shaded to Lines and then back to Shaded - nothing. The only thing that works is to delete the VIEWBASE drawing views and recreate them. And that - quite obviously - is not an acceptable solution.
6) While the crashed always happen in a Layout Space, they seem to happen at completely random times. Yes, it is often when we are trying to work with or edit a VIEWBASE drawing view. But other times it will crash when I simply try to MOVE some things. Or when I am editing MTEXT.
7) For what it's worth, our DWG files live on a central server, with direct LAN connections to the CAD machines. Our backup files save to the local machines - not to the server.
😎 We autosave every 10 minutes, to 2018 file type. We DO maintain visual fidelity for annotative objects. We DO maintain drawing size compatibility. We use 0 incremental save percentage. We DO create backup copy with each save. We DO NOT use full-time CRC validation. We DO NOT maintain a log file.
9) Data corruption is rampant and runs deep:
a) The crashes are often corrupting the DWG file, even when we do not try to save data (if the popup dialog box gives us that option).
b) The SV$ files are often corrupt as well, or simply do not exist (even for files that we have been working on for hours).
c) Even when we manage to complete work on a DWG file (after several crashes, that is), and we are able to successfully save and close the file, it can still be corrupted. I just tried to open a DWG file that I successfully completed, printed layouts, saved and closed, and now that file is corrupt. It cannot be OPENed, and it cannot be RECOVERed. This is a serious, serious problem.
Okay, that's the brief summary of what I'm going through. I am considering downloading ACAD 2019 and trying to work in that - on the theory that it might be more stable than this brand new 2021 version. But I'm worried about compatibility with all of the work we've done over the past few weeks.
I have been on AutoCAD since R12, in DOS (those were the days, am I right?!?). I've experienced my share of crashes, as well all have. But I have never encountered anything as insidious and as destructive as what I'm experiencing now. And despite 25 years of experience, I can't seem to figure this out. We are in serious trouble here - we need a stable platform, and we can't keep losing data, and the countless hours of productivity that go with it. We are missing deadlines because of crashes and corruption. If anyone can help with step-by-step suggestions about things that we can try, or additional information that I can provide, please let me know. I'm pretty busy trying to keep my department's head above water, but I will try to dedicate time to this forum each business day.
Thanks again for any help.
