Inventor Crashing

[EagleBee93]

I'm on my last nerve ending with Inventor. Three crashes in one week, and it does it when I'm doing the simplest operation/command. Even when it doesn't crash, it's constantly lagging. I don't know much about how computers and networks work, but is this an Inventor thing or does this have to do with my company's network not having enough "bulk" to it or low space? Any help is appreciated.

[Frederick_Law]

Files on Network?

Using Vault?

Model State?

Shooting in the dark.

[jimmygunz37]

I suggest you check or post your comp stats... you definitely need a good comp and graphics card... I have used so so comps and haven't had too many issues, but when it does choke on something it will lag or hang or crash...

Other tip to help, create a local (on your own computer) working directory to place all of your inventor job/project folders into. This way you are not being limited by your network server or traffic... I would say try this first (if you are not doing)

before investing in a new comp.

[EagleBee93]

@Frederick_Law  Yes, we keep all project and part/assembly, etc files on our work's network drive. No, we dont' use vault. And I barely ever have the need for more than 1 or 2 model states, and it's mostly on simple models. Nothing too major. @jimmygunz37 attached are the Comp stats/system info. Idk what Inventor recommends, versus what I have on this computer. Also, I don't think having files on a local drive is an option here. We're trying to keep everyone on the same page and have any employee be able to dig through other's files if need be for design/collab purposes.

[ampster40]

For any version you are using, simply do a search for "Inventor 2023 system requirements" and Autodesk's link will be towards the top of that list.

We're moving to 2023 shortly is the only reason I picked that number, we could possibly help you more if you provide which version of Inventor you are using and what updates if any have been applied.

[Frederick_Law]

Files on network is bad.  Cause for slow and crash.

Windows and Windows programs are not design for network.

Both expect to access files instantly, no delay, no disconnect.

I've only know a few in the forum has IT that can get IV running on network without problem.

Everyone else need to use Vault.

Do a test.  Copy what you need to local and work on them for a while and see if IV still slow and crash.

[Gabriel_Watson]

Most likely, your hardware and software are not updated with the latest patches, and/or your project is consuming/tied to libraries and resources placed on a network or cloud that is not properly configured. Another possibility is sheer bad practices in design that lead to unstable and corrupt model creation or import.

Start by updating your video card and the software (I would recommend Inventor 2023 with the latest patch, as the new 2024 release is not yet patched, and usually, new versions are still with bugs), then have IT help you ping/check connections and localize libraries where you have the best access (no double-tunneling VMs, etc.), finally verifying models (CTRL+F7 for corruption, mesh enabler conversion to solid bodies on imported geometry then repair those geometries) and Inventor settings (conservative/performance/software graphics options as needed).

[jimmygunz37]

Yeah working across a network isn't good, unless you have a decent server and or using vault... I am not much of a vault guy.

But I'd someone clicks on a file you are working on it will most likely crash you... also even working on your 'so-so' specd comp you would def have less problems... again set up a local work folder and dump your work into your network golden at EOD or figure out a protocol that works with you working on a local drive... btw if your comp doesn't have already (which it might not because I see it's a xeon/older comp), get an SSD and clone your drive and replace with ssd... that will help severely (along with local workflow)... thats what I did for my older comps to keep things moving with limited issues.

If you want to reduce frustration,, you should at least try some of these ideas or discus with your manager/IT what options can be exercised or changed to accommodate more stable Inventor environment. Even a Dedicated server, then maybe use vault? Good luck. I had to continually convince many employers to upgrade and operate differently, especially when they would ask why something isn't complete and I take them over to my or others comps and say sit and wait, then do the next click and sit and wait... let's say you do 1 click a second, that's 60 clicks per min... now try to do 1 click per 3mins (due to hang) and see how many days it will take to complete the same part. You would take 3 hours to do something that normally takes  minute.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Jason,

The hardware spec is better than my work machine. It is unclear to me what caused the crashes. Did you send in the crash report? If yes, please send an email to me directly johnson.shiue@autodesk.com. I would like to understand the crash better.

In the meantime, please make sure all critical Windows updates are installed and the graphics driver is updated. Also install the latest update applicable to your Inventor release.

You mentioned that you work over the network. Do you access files through the network and save the files over the network? Are there other users accessing the same files the same way?

Many thanks!

[mluterman]

We've been using Inventor over a network for 15 yrs (since IV2009).

No Vault. It's fast (even at 1Gbit/s). We use a Project File that points to the root of all folders.

We have 5 engineers on it at all times. The issues we've had were never the network (or its speed, surprisingly), it was how the Project File was set up and how all the comps (incl. the server) are kept updated. Your company needs to find IT support that is CAD-based to check its setup; the others (and we have one) just don't/won't know what to look for. However, a lot of these speed issues are also caused by not understanding how the Project File works, esp. in relation to your directory structure (this can be, and for us, was the biggest hindrance to our file access speed).