I find if EXPORTC3DDRAWING isn't working well or taking a long time there is corruption in the drawing / references. I would use AUDIT / PURGE to clean the drawing and try again.
That being said, once in a blue moon I find a drawing that has issues that I have cleaned relentlessly. In that case (and I definitely try cleaning the file first), I use this procedure.
1. Bind or Insert All References.
2. At the command prompt type in AeccPromoteAllReferences. This will promote all data references into the current drawing.
3. At the command prompt type in AecOBJExplode. This will explode all Civil 3d objects into AutoCAD objects.
4. Purge all Civil 3d Styles. Now that the Civil 3d objects have been removed, this will help free up space.
5. Use the SAVEAS command to save the drawing to a new file name. At this point if necessary, you can select an older file format version. Do not use SAVE, which will update the current drawing with all the references promoted.
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