Program starts, but won't open any files

[Anonymous]

I have auto cad 2015 student version. The license was supposed to be for 2 years, so I don't think that is the problem because I received license and installed in May of 2015.

I wanted to work on a set of documents. I opened the program and initially non of my recent documents showed up. I attempted to open the document from the file on my computer and it would not open. I closed the program and re-booted my computer. No luck, though this time I was able to view the recently opened documents. CAD still was not opening any documents and then I was unable to close CAD. I had to force a shutdown and restart. I wasn't able to try to open the program again until today and the same thing happened, but again I was unable to see the recently opened documents.

Also, I find the idea of a "forum" for technical help to completely absurd, chintzy, and annoying. While I am adept at using a computer, I deplore not being able to speak to an actual human person and hear an actual human voice to receive technical help. I also do not have this much time to spend searching for and waiting for an answer. Just had to put my two cents in about that.

[jggerth]

Since you're running a student edition, one could presume that you are in fact a student, and have the resources of your instructor and educational institution to call upon for assistance.  On the commercial side of things, there are a number of available support options at varying price levels.  For a free version of the software, you really can't complain about not getting free service from a vendor's staff, at least not honestly.  Even Helpdesk people need to get paid and eat...

However that may be, if you will provide a lot more information we may be able to help you out.  Operating system. account privileges, service patch level, how/when the software was installed, antivirus, etc.  Anything odd showing up in Event Viewer? any error messages popping up on screen?  have your tried using the Repair option from Setup? 

[rkmcswain]

Re: paragraph 1: What do you mean exactly when you say “files won’t open”? Do you mean that the OPEN dialog box does not appear? The OPEN dialog box does appear, but when you select a file and click OPEN, nothing happens? Same as the last scenario, except that the OPEN dialog goes away and then nothing happens? Please be more specific when describing the problem.

Re: paragraph 2: Are you contractually bound to use AutoCAD? If not, there are competitors out there who do offer better forms of support. Have you considered that? If you must stick with Autodesk for whatever reason, you can find basic and subscription support options here, and you can schedule a time for Autodesk Support to call you. Lastly, you can submit your general feedback here.\

[Anonymous]

Hey thanks so much for admonitions. They are ever so helpful. I am a
student. The professors at our school ARE NOT available for technical
issues issues with CAD, you must be joking. Even if they were, they would
not have a clue how to fix the issue. As a student I DO NOT have thousands
of dollars for a license as a business does. Auto Desk sets the price for
their student software NOT the students.It is not my fault it is free to
students. Regardless, they should have access to customer service because
we may be business owners one day and may or may not choose to subscribe to
use this software.

That being said, I am happy to pay a fee to be able to speak with someone
on the phone and receive live feedback as I trouble shoot if that were an
option. However, I have not been successful in getting any information on
an actual tech support.

I have licenses for other student versions of software and did pay a fee
for those, which have live tech support. Unfortunately, I cannot use that
particular software for So, the insinuating that I am some kind of moocher
is just being a jerk.


I also know that help desk people "have to eat" and get paid. That being
said Auto Desk is 2.5 Billion dollar company with a profit margin of 80%. I
think they can afford a "help desk" staff, especially since help desk is a
low wage job, particularly with the highly popular "outsourcing" of such
jobs.

I think I actually made it very clear what my problem is. I open the
program. I cannot open files. It responds to nothing. No commands work. I
can't even close it once it is open. I have to reboot my computer. I
re-open. It responds EXACTLY the same way.

So, thanks so very much for not helping me at all. I hope people were so
kind when you all were in school.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for actually trying to help me. I appreciate it. I am responding
to your questions in red



Re: paragraph 1: What do you mean exactly when you say “files won’t open”? I
mean I can't open any of my saved CAD files by any method. The program is
not responding to any method of opening files. Do you mean that the OPEN
dialog box does not appear? The OPEN dialog box does appear, but when you
select a file and click OPEN, nothing happens? Same as the last scenario,
except that the OPEN dialog goes away and then nothing happens? Please be
more specific when describing the problem. yes, I get the dialog box, no it
won't open files and just now when I tried it again, it crashed the program.



Re: paragraph 2: Are you contractually bound to use AutoCAD? I am not.
However, I have a started a project in AutoCAD and now I cannot finish it.
Meaning, I will likely have to start from scratch if I cannot make this
work. Our "computer aided design" work can be done in other programs, but
for the level of detail I need Auto CAD works best. If not, there are
competitors out there who do offer better forms of support. Have you
considered that? If you must stick with Autodesk for whatever reason, you
can find basic and subscription support options here
,
and you can schedule a time for Autodesk Support to call you
. Lastly, you can submit your general feedback
here .\ again,
thank you. having a link to another method of "help" is helpful. I searched
all over the site and could not find a number. I like to have live feedback
as I trouble shoot problems, it saves time compared to coming back to a
message board and trying something and then coming back to a message board,
ad nauseam.

[rkmcswain]

jslampern wrote: That being said Auto Desk is 2.5 Billion dollar company with a profit margin of 80%.

What is your source on that? Thanks.

[rkmcswain]

jslampern wrote:I am responding to your questions in red - yes, I get the dialog box, no it won't open files and just now when I tried it again, it crashed the program.

None of your red text came through, but I think I isolated your reply from the wall of text, as it appeared here at least.

Let me describe what I *think* you are saying.

• You execute the OPEN command.
• The OPEN dialog appears, and you browse to a file.
• You select the file and click the OPEN button.
• The OPEN dialog goes away, but a drawing does not open.
• In some cases, the program crashes, more specifically meaning that AutoCAD just vanishes from the screen.

This ^^^^ is the type of detailed description we (or Autodesk if they were helping you) would need.

[jggerth]

It might help us to isolate & resolve the issues you are experiencing if you can answer the questions I had previously asked. Acad is complex software, and PCs are complex systems -- lots of potential for things to interact poorly.  There is a Repair option accessible from the Control Panel -- that would be the first thing to try. 

It's to bad the the instructors and IT staff of the institution that you are paying for your education either won't or can't help you resolve problems.  Sorry if you got the impression that I was denigrating you as a moocher, but oddly enough, a few such do creep in and feel entitled to massive levels of unpaid support.  Along with a smattering of students who try to get their homework done for them.....

To reiterate:

Operating system?

account privileges?

service patch level? both OS and application...

how/when the software was installed?

antivirus, etc.  

Anything odd showing up in Event Viewer?

any error messages popping up on screen?

And to clarify, when Acad starts initially, is it in Drawing1?  or a start screen?

[john.vellek]

Hi jslampern,

Welcome to the Autodesk Community. I am sorry to see that you are having problems running AutoCAD on your computer. Have you made any system updates/upgrades since it last ran successfully?

Here are some suggestions that might get you up and running:

• Temporarily turn off your anti-virus and firewall.
• Reset Settings to Default
• Empty your user profile Temp folder

• If these steps don't work, then I would suggest that you go into Windows Control Panel>Programs and select Repair for your AutoCAD.
• Lastly, If none of these steps alleviate the problem, You might try a clean uninstall and reinstall.

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

[john.vellek]

HI @Anonymous,

I am checking back to see if my post or others helped you with your problem.
Please add a post with how you decide to proceed and your results so other Community members may benefit.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if a post or posts fully solved your issue or answered your question.

[RSomppi]

You need to tell it about your licence, if you have one. If you don't have a license, you can use the free trial for 30 days.

[pakhares921]

I have student access of 1 year.

[RSomppi]

In the botton right corner is a button "Change License Type". Hit that and put in your information.