Cannot switch laptop graphics to high-performance for Fusion 360

[burrbrian25]

I have finally installed Fusion 360 on my laptop, but I am having difficulty solving a problem in order to use the program, and though I've tried many solutions, I keep running into dead ends.

When I open the program, the display seems to be really off.  It's nothing but a gray background, and if I open a file I've worked on, it is invisible in the grayness. I also get the following message:

"Your graphics card might not be optimal to run Fusion 360. Open Graphics diagnostic from the help menu for more information."

I follow the instructions, and find that the Graphics Diagnostic tells me the program launched with the integrated graphics instead of the high-performance graphics.  I go to the Autodesk page online, and find that there is a page which describes this problem, and how to fix it:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Poo...

I begin following the instructions, including changing the performance options to "High Performance," though in the picture they include they show options that aren't available to me on my machine. I then attempt to follow what comes next:  configuring custom settings for Fusion 360 on the NVIDIA driver software.  It gives 4 steps that I try to follow.

#1) I try to follow Step #1 the best I can, and though NVIDIA's website has an error that says it needs Java to operate (even though I previously downloaded the latest version already; I beleive it's a problem with Java, web browsers, plugins, etc.), I download their GeForce program instead and find that my graphics driver is up-to-date.

#2-3) I follow these steps exactly as described

#4) This is where one of my dead-ends is.  No matter what I do, if I right-click, it never brings up "Run with graphics processor" as described--it is never mentioned, no matter what boxes I check or uncheck in the NVIDIA menu.

So, I don't find any other helpful information on the page and try to find a different way around the problem.  Navigating Autodesk's support website, I find another page which seems to describe the problem I have and how to fix it:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-f...

I begin following the numbered steps on that page for an NVIDIA graphics card:

#1) Again, as far as NVIDIA's GeForce Program says, my graphics driver is up-to-date.

#2) I run into the same problem again, when I right-click, that option isn't available to me, no matter what I do.  It then says "Alternatively...", and I then follow the #1 and #2 steps that follow. (i.e. navigating to the appropriate place in the NVIDIA Control Panel).

#3) I try to "Select a program to customize...", but Fusion 360--or anything related to Autodesk--is not listed.  I deselect the option that says "Show only programs found on this computer", and still nothing shows up in that list.  I try clicking the "Add" button, but the program is nearly impossible to find.  I try three separate times to find an .exe file that I will be able to select, and I choose the shortcut on the desktop, the Program Launcher in the installation folder, and the actual Fusion 360 .exe file in that folder, respectively. 

#4 and #5)  I then follow these steps for each .exe file, and test to see if any of them worked in Fusion 360.  None of them worked--the Fusion 360 Graphics Diagnostic still lists the program as using the integrated graphics and not the high-performance graphics, and I can't find any other .exe files which might work.

I even tried switching my entire machine to using the high-performance graphics and not just Fusion 360, and my computer began becoming unresponsive, leading to a restart and a system restore--and finding myself back at square one.

I've tried to describe the best I can what my problem is and what I've tried to do to fix the problem on my own.  I've tried to read anything I can on Autodesk's support website, reading questions and responses on forums, searching for information anywhere--and nothing seems to help.  If anyone out there could help me figure out what seems to be wrong, I would appreciate it!

[jhackney1972]

I faced the same problem with my new laptop but the Nvidia Control Panel application handled the video card assignment easily.  Follow the screencast and see if you missed a step.  Make sure you have run Fusion 360 recently so if it does not appear in the list, it will be under Recently Used when you add it, this is what I did.

[burrbrian25]

I appreciate your efforts to help. The solution you offered, though, doesn’t work on my machine, though I have tried the best I can, just as you explained.

If I press the “Add” button as you explained, and it brings up the menu which says “Select a Program:” at the top, the list is totally blank, and selecting any of the options in the “Sort by:” drop-down menu doesn’t change anything—no programs listed whatsoever.

I tried pressing “Browse” to add it that way. To search for an .exe file to select, I could not navigate to the location of the Fusion 360 folders though that menu, but had to copy and paste the Fusion 360 folder locations.  I tried to search for the proper .exe file and select it, but nothing I tried worked. I tried the actual “fusion360.exe” [orange “F” icon], and told it to select the high-performance graphics processor. That did not work, so I tried the same process again by adding the “fusionlauncher.exe” [black+white rocket icon] and the “autodesk fusion 360” desktop shortcut [again, orange “F” icon].

Nothing I have tried has changed anything; the graphics dianostic in Fusion 360 still shows each time that it’s still using the Intel integrated graphics and not the NVIDIA high-performance graphics.

[burrbrian25]

A small update:

Seeing as how I never got the NVIDIA Smart Scan to work originally, I went back to trying it just in case it had any possibility of fixing the problem.  Turns out the only one of four internet browsers installed on my machine that does work with Java is Internet Explorer.  I ran the Smart Scan, and found out that there was actually a driver it recommended to me.  So I installed it, and went back to the NVIDIA Control Panel once again.  I also chose to run Fusion 360 once again, just in case, and then close it.

This time, I clicked the “Add” button in “Manage 3D settings”, and this time, Fusion 360 did show up in the list of programs.  I added it, selected the preferred graphics processor to be “High-performance NVIDIA processor,” and hit the “Apply” button at the bottom.

But, after starting up Fusion 360 again, the graphics have not improved any, and the graphics diagnostic still shows that it is operating on the Intel integrated graphics. I’ve reached another “dead end”; if anyone has any other ideas to offer, I’d be very grateful.