AutoCAD 2017 Memory Leak?

[Anonymous]

So I was drafting away all day as I normally do... Later on in the day I noticed a lag when moving, drawing, trimming etc. So I check my RAM usage and it seemed quite high for the programs I had open. Open Task Manager and noticed acad.exe using over 2.5GB of RAM! So I save and close and reopen the same file (after closing all other programs). Now it's only using about 300MB of RAM. Simply zooming out 1 click and in 1 click repeatedly I can see the RAM usage start to grow but not drop at all. Within minutes its over 500MB by just zooming in and out. 

If I open the same file in AutoCAD 2016 the RAM usage stays around 330MB no matter how much I zoom in and out. 

System Info:

Windows 7 Home Premium

16GB RAM

250GB SSD

Intel i7 4790k CPU

Nvidia GTX 770

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

If you have time to experiment, try changing your graphics performance options in AutoCAD to see if that makes an difference in the memory usage. While it is normal for any software memory usage to go up over time, it would be nice to know if it is merely related to the graphics card or if it has something to do with add-ins and peripherals or something different as well.

Please post your results here.

Thanks for your contribution.

[john.vellek]

Hi Akralkay,

I am checking back to see if my post helped you with your problem. Please add a post with your results so other Forum users can benefit.

Please hit the Accept as Solution button if my post fully solves your issue or answers your question.

[Anonymous]

Hi @john.vellek

I tried turing hardware acceleration completely off and it made no difference. RAM usuage keeps climbing as I do anything including zooming and panning around. 

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

I use ram intensive things with autocad and the best way to sove a ram/lag problem is to reset/clear the ram: for desktop,

1st shut down/ unplug the computer (dont unplug until the hard drive has stopped spinning, (if laptop use manufacturers instructions, sometimes its tricky)

reseting the ram means to actually pop the ram out of the motherboard. if the ram is paired, reset exactly as it was installed,

lock them in an away you go. there are other ways to "clear" the ram but this is the safest way without damaging software/hardware.

I also use "clean-up" to remove junk files, or just use disk clean up in the operating system.

autocad needs a really large cache file and most times you will just be working with what was installed with the computer from factory.

also check into getting a better vid. card. bottle necking is usually the biggest problem with intense programs like autocad.

good luck.

tvisgood

[john.vellek]

Hi Akralkay,

Is this happening in all drawings? Do you have any add-ins installed? Are you logged into A360? How much free disk space is available?

Can you turn off UAC and any anti-virus software temporarily to see if they are a factor?

Try also clearing out your User Temp folder.

While some increased memory usage is expected, it shouldn't , IMHO, be climbing that high.

Can you also attach a sample drawing that exhibits this behavior?

I know  - a long list of questions for you but I would like to try and get this resolved for you.

Please hit the Accept as Solution button if my post fully solves your issue or answers your question.

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

Have you had the opportunity to answer any of the questions I posed in my last post? Please update your post so I can help to work through this issue with you.

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

IMPORTANT: Just to prevent future readers from following that incorrect advice:

>> to solve a ram/lag problem is to reset/clear the ram: for desktop,

>> 1st shut down/ unplug the computer (dont unplug until the hard drive has stopped spinning

>> (if laptop use manufacturers instructions, sometimes its tricky)

>> reseting the ram means to actually pop the ram out of the motherboard

RAM is a none permanent storage device/module. That means: at the same moment they are not supplied by power they loose the content.

It does not make sense to unplug them from the main board to clean the content! (instead in some sitations with static loading the modules and/or main board might be damaged).

For laptops: there it make sense to shut down the operating system instead of using the sleepmode, so the system get's rid of any loaded libraries not any more used, memory get's new initialized and so is not fragmented any more. But also here: Shut down means the RAM loose the content, no need to unplug them at all.

- alfred -

[Anonymous]

Just to keep people from getting bad advice when it comes to the bad advice that was just given,

sorry alfred, you need to do some research before you start rejecting qualtiy advice.

You looked before you leaped.

I am a hardcore renderer with ACA and am actually supposed to be doing some splash screens for autodesk soon,

and yes with ACA alone not inventor, not 3ds max, just plain old ACA. good luck figuring out how i do it.

The ram usage plays more of a role than you think.

after a 24 hour render the ram will be full and the computer will need to be restarted/also to let the ram cool down etc.

before you proceed with another render.

If the ram is not cleared autocad "WILL" crash and mental ray will not be able to use the ram and cache file/ virtual memory.

Here is a beginners article for you to do some "continuing education" from:

Techwalla.com:

The RAM on your computer is a main source of memory. RAM works by keeping all of a computer user's latest actions stored within it's memory. This allows applications and processes to run smoothly and launch at a quick rate. For example, if you have 2GB of RAM on your computer, your computer is capable of storing up to 2GB (acually 1 gig. due to windows taking up at least 1 gig. to run the operating system) of your latest actions directly to RAM memory. RAM memory automatically empties and resets every time you turn on your computer. So, restarting your computer will also cause your RAM memory to reset. This is a quick way to clear RAM memory from a computer.

So what did we learn? that if you never clear your ram your programs will suffer.

Heres another from microsoft:

Why do low memory problems occur?

Your computer has two types of memory, random access memory (RAM) and virtual memory. All programs use RAM, but when there isn't enough RAM for the program you're trying to run, Windows temporarily moves information that would normally be stored in RAM to a file on your hard disk called a paging file. The amount of information temporarily stored in a paging file is also referred to as virtual memory. Using virtual memory—in other words, moving information to and from the paging file—frees up enough RAM for programs to run correctly.

Low memory problems occur when your computer runs out of RAM and becomes low on virtual memory. This can happen when you run more programs than the RAM installed on the computer is designed to support. Low memory problems can also occur when a program doesn't free up memory that it no longer needs. This problem is called memory overuse or a memory leak.

So when you have rendered and rendered and rendered back to back, the ram has an amount of information that cannot be cleared by just starting the computer alone. the connection from ram to the computer begins to lose contact, and removing and reseting the ram will solve this. (The same process is used for graphics cards that need to get the contact surfaces to work properly again.

Rendering is going the direction of using the graphics cards to actually process the render thats why BOX tech. now has an availabe 5 slots to install video cards. cuda cores are the future.

Just like when a phone battery starts to lose the charge quickly/ you need to litteraly clean the contact surface to restore normal usage:

I hate to say it, some of your advice although has good intent is inherently outdated.

like 1984 outdated.

By the way do you provide renderings directly to autodesk? I didnt think so.

FYI this is the one and only semi-negative response i ever have made and will ever make on the site.

but you brought it on yourself.

I guess thats old hat vs. new hat huh?   🙂  🙂

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> sorry alfred, you need to do some research before you start rejecting qualtiy advice

So you say shutting down a system (and so turn off power from the mainboard) keeps the data in RAM/memory modules.

- alfred -

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

From your post:

RAM memory. RAM memory automatically empties and resets every time you turn on your computer. So, restarting your computer will also cause your RAM memory to reset. This is a quick way to clear RAM memory from a computer.

So what did we learn? that if you never clear your ram your programs will suffer.

What did we learn, that shutting down a system will reset the memory.

Can you please tell me now (I'm interested in learning!) where in your quotations I can read that it is necessary to unplug the memory moduls?

- alfred -

[Anonymous]

Sure thing!
you should have read the entire post,
just like a battery in a cell phone, when the battery can no longer keep a charge the connections need to be cleaned/scrubbed, this is the same thing with all ram and graphics cards,

i used to render with ACA2008 and had serious problems with the ram not allowing them render one after the other, it filled up completely, and a standard re-start would never fix it, the computer was at a standstill, and maxed out for windows xp allowable ram 4 gigs, even with teh 3gig switch if you knwo what that is wouldnt help the problem.

so i went to a tech. who was smart enough to have worked with the police togo get tha bad guys in the digital world to solve the problem, i figured get the best, solve it and never look back, after all projects are on deadlines and i was at a standstill.

the simple fact is: your ram and your motherboard never actually delete all the information on a re-start, so your post was like saying my car is running weird so just use a hammer and add some duck tape and that should do it. computer systems these days are far more complex.

a hard reset will re-establish a better connection: say 4 channel system/ take the 2 in the last channels remove and install in the 1st 2 and vice-versa this ensures a full clear and my render problems went away after doing 24 hour renders filling up the ram.

The user in the original post undoubtedly restarted the computer to no avail. thats why they came here for help. so your answer was novice at best.

So back to the story, the tech. also said that when they go after the bad guys, they take the whole computer, not for the ease of carrying off the hard drive, but they want the ram too. you see your ram and your motherboard actually keep a large amount of information that will never be deleted just like your hard drive-even after re-formatting, a large amount of info is still there. this tech. take cares of servers servicing a community of 50,000 needing internet access and monitoring traffic on daily basis, so im going to believe him over you sorry.
and the results speak for itself.

even large format printers that have ram are being sent off when thrown away for extraction of info. to see who's who in small communities, probably places like new york too,
and what was printed will never really be cleared when you shut the printer down.

hence that's why law enforcement is so productive now, they have the tools finally to get the bad guys.

so a re-setting of the ram will typically cure the problem. it could also be that the user has 4 gigs and needs way way more, but a restart is a good start,
and will not damage the motherboard.

a memory leak is def. not the problem as it is very difficult to get AutoCAD to produce this and is 9 times out of ten a system problem,

so starting with the ram-reset is the best direction to go, i would also do a mem. test to see if any of the ram is bad.

above was a render that, yes filled the ram right up and ive got 32 gigs not alot but enough to get the job done,

i deal with maxing the system out on a daily basis 100% processor and 100%ram and 100% of the graphics card is used all day long.

regards

Edited by
Discussion_Admin

[Anonymous]

Hi @john.vellek

Sorry for the late reply. I just returned from holidays. I have tried everything you have mentions. UAC off, Disabled anti-virus. Do not have add-ins installed. Not logged into A360. Have 27 of 250 GB free on my SSD. 

This happens in all drawings including creating a new project so is it specific to just one. Let me know if you still want a sample project, although it seems highly unlikely that every drawing file I am using has this issue. 

Let me know if there is anything else you would like me to try. 

Keep in mind that AutoCAD 2016 and 2015 run perfectly fine and do not have the same RAM usage issues. Which to me seems like its an issue with 2017 and not my system. 

[john.vellek]

Hi Akralkay,

Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed your holiday.

Do you have any add-ins running inside of AutoCAD?

Also, can we try a diagnostic startup? If that seems to improve things, lets then do a selective startup until we can find the offending application.

Let's also empty your Windows user Profile temp folder.

Please post your results so we can resolve your issue.

Please hit the Accept as Solution button if my post fully solves your issue or answers your question.

[Anonymous]

Hi @john.vellek

As stated in my last reply, I don't have any Add-ins installed other than the ones that Autodesk installs automatically and I never use. i.e. Exchange App Manager and Import SKP File. 

I forgot to mention that I have cleared my temp folder before testing last. I also regularily clear that folder with my weekly maintenance routine. 

I don't see how running a diagnostic startup will help... I can tell you what the offending application is right now. It's AutoCAD 2017. I closely monitor my resource usage on my machine and ACAD 2017 is the only application with this issue. There was also no problem before installing 2017. All other programs and services consume and release RAM normally including ACAD 2016 and 2015. 

Since installing 2017 I've had nothing but problems. I am the BIM manager in my office so I always install and test software on my workstation before installing it on my collegues systems. Untill recently I wasn't even abel to open drawings in 2017 without it giving me a fatal error and crashing. After solving that problem, I noticed this one. 

At this point I am not too concerend about getting 2017 working properly if it is going to be this much work. I wanted to bring it to the attention of Autodesk in hopes they would look into and hopefully find/fix the problem. We have a subscription service in my office and everyone has 2016 installed and running well for the past year. It simply is not worth the effort to try to get 2017 working just for the few underwhelming new features such as an automatic centre line. We will continue to use 2016 and hopefulyl 2018 will be less problematic and more worthwhile to go through the trouble of switching. 

Thanks again for your help!

[john.vellek]

Hi Akralkay,

I am unable to duplicate the issue on my AutoCAD 2017 so there is something different in your environment that might be causing this problem. Are you running any language packs for instance? What happens if you uninstall the Sketchup Import and the Exchange App?

If you temporarily turn off your security software and firewall does it improve? Does this happen on other workstations? For instance, is it related to the installed graphics card and driver?

I would like to get to the root of your issue since I don't see it anywhere in my environment. Thanks for your patience.

[Anonymous]

Uninstalled all add-ins i could. Turned off Windows firewall and Microsoft Securty Essentials. My computer has also been powered down for 10 days before this morning. The RAM usage still climbs but it seems more inconsistant than before. Hard to tell without using it for several hours but within only 10 mins it was well over 550MB usage again and still climbing. Opening and playing around with the exact same .dwg file in 2016 I cannot get the RAM usage over about 450MB no matter what I do or how long I have it open. 

I have not installed this on other systems yet for reasons stated previously. However most of those machines are identical in hardware and using the same graphics drivers. 

It's hard to say if this is an actual memory leak or not but 2017 is definetly using significantly more RAM than previous versions on my workstation. 

I would love to help you get to the bottom of this and keep testing theories but we are a very busy firm and I have lots of drafting to do. The easiest and best solution to this problem for me is to simply keep using 2016. If 2017 wasn't basically the exact same program as 2016 it may be worth the effort to make it work. But like I mentioned before, 2017 has 0 valueable improvments for my firm and hardly warrants the time needed to even download and install 2017 on the other workstations assuming it worked perfectly. 

If I could make a suggestion... Autodesk should simply release updates with these small improvements rather than creating a whole new program which requires a fresh install. It seems like Autodesk feels obligated to create a new version of each program each year regardless of whether anything was actually improved or not. Which means us as the users need to fill our hard drives with many installations of esentially the same program. Revit is even worse since it is not truely backwards compatible. Taking the time and going through the trouple of downloading ~40GB of files then installing everything which takes up additional hard drive space rather than just updating or replacing older installations is a very ineffiecient system. The juice just isnt worth the squeeze for a couple small "improvements". 

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

I still think there is something other than AutoCAD 2017 causing this to happen. I left the app open for 9 hours last night  on my laptop and once in a while I would zoom or draw a line, erase it and so forth. The RAM usage in Resource Monitor is hovering still at about 580 MB and has not fluctuated very much.

Thank you for suggestions how we can improve the product.


You are also welcome to contact the product team directly through the Product Feedback page. The links below go into more detail about the best ways to make suggestions.
How to provide feedback on Autodesk products
Raising enhancement requests for Autodesk products

Another great option is to participate in the AutoCAD Customer Council. This is an opportunity for our customers to partner with the AutoCAD development team to improve future releases of AutoCAD by giving continuous feedback on ideas, designs, and early builds.
In order to get involved email autocad.beta@autodesk.com or autocad.lt.council@autodesk.com

[Anonymous]

you still think? lol
I am having same problem as Akralkay. It even climbs up to 4GB after couple of hours. AutoCAD 2017 deleted.

[RobDraw]

It's funny how quickly people are to blame stuff out of their control when problems arise. It seems like some people are having graphics and/or system related trouble with 2017 but doesn't that happen with every release? The vast majority are not having problems. That is why people should make sure there are not other contributing factors before playing the blame game.