Maya 2017 fatal error on render, 2018 viewport is blank black.

[Anonymous]

So, I just got a new computer and installed Mayas 2016, 17, and 18 (educational license).. '16 works fine. With '17, I installed Mental Ray for 2017 and Standalone Mental Ray for Maya 2017. Every time I try to render anything at all, I immediately get a Fatal Error.  In 2018, the viewport is all black, showing nothing at all. I can try to create a poly, or open a scene.... nothing. What do I do to fix these??

I'll be grateful for any kind assistance.

-C

[sean.heasley]

Hi @Anonymous!

Have you tried using a different renderer? Does it still give the fatal error or render normally?

You also may want to try an uninstall/reinstall of mental ray to make sure there weren't any issues when they were installed.

Also, are all your drivers up to date especially your gpu? This may be causing the black screen issue with 2018.

Let me know if anything changes!

[sean.heasley]

Hi @Anonymous

I'm just checking in again to see if you need more help with this. Were you able to triy using a different renderer and/or update your drivers?

[Anonymous]

Sorry!  I thought I'd answered this. Must not have clicked 'post'.

I've tried reinstalling re: 2017. No dice. And, it crashes on every rendering option, not just Mental Ray. Also, the drivers are all up to date.

[sean.heasley]

Hi @Anonymous

Can you post the hardware specs of your machine so I can make sure there are no compatibility issues with Maya?

Also have you tried creating a blank scene in 2017 and seeing if rendering that still causes the fatal error? 

Let me know if anything changes!

[mspeer]

Hi!

For Mental Ray to work you need at least Maya 2017 update 1. Please update your Maya.

Mental Ray for Maya 2018  is also available now.

The Maya 2018 Viewport problem is likely a problem with graphic card (/driver):

1. Try a reset of your preferences.
Rename the folder prefs in folder 2018 to something like prefs_backup, or to reset everything, the folder 2018 to 2018_backup. Maya creates new folders. Detailed at:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Reset-May...

2. Try different Viewport modes (like DirectX).

[Anonymous]

Intel i7-2600 3.40Ghz Quad Core Processor

1 TB Hard Disk Drive

16 GB Ram PC3-10600U    

Windows 7 64 bit

[mspeer]

Hi!

No 3D Graphic Card?

[sean.heasley]

Hi @Anonymous

@mspeer made a good point, when you get a chance can you please let us know what your graphics card is?

[Anonymous]

Duh! Sorry! Radeon HD 6450.

[sean.heasley]

Hi @Anonymous

While your GPU is not on our official compatibility list the card should be ok running 2017 and 2018.

Also I completely forgot to ask if you followed any of @mspeer's suggestions?

Did you try updating Maya 2017? You need at least Update 1 but I would recommend going all the way to Update 4.

Did you also try a different viewport mode like DirectX in Maya 2018? There's a chance that will fix your blacks creen issue.

Let us know if anything changes!

[Anonymous]

Yes, I have tried those solutions.I think I may try reinstalling 2017 and its service packs one more time, just to make sure I didn't miss anything.

As for Viewport X, I donj't see it as an option?  I am getting "Warning: The VP 2.0 renderer failed to render. Switching to default rendering mode" in the script editor.

[Anonymous]

Also, just to reiterate, 2017 crashes if even trying to hardware or software render, let alone mental ray.

[sean.heasley · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous

Sorry to hear the issue is still occurring!

If you are going to uninstall/reinstall please make sure to perform a clean uninstall/reinstall of Maya. This will make sure every file/folder related to Maya has been deleted and will allow you to have a completely fresh start!

As for the viewport issue I believe I understand where your confusion is. By a different viewport we mean making the change in your settings/preferences.

Steps to do so are:

1. Select Windows
2. Select Settings/Preferences
3. Select Preferences
4. Select the Display Tab
5. Under Viewport 2.0 you can change the default Viewport from 2.0 to Legacy
6. You can also change your rendering engine to Open GL or Direct X etc.

I hope these steps help resolve your issue, but if the issue is still occurring please let me know and we can troubleshoot further!

If one or more of these posts helped answer your question, please click Accept as Solution on the posts that helped you so others in the community can find them easily.

Kudos are greatly appreciated. Everyone likes a thumbs up!

[Anonymous]

ALRIGHT: 2018 problems are taken care of with y'all's fix. Gonna do the 2017 uninstall/reinstall/update now.

[Anonymous]

....And it seems like the reinstall did the job as well. Thank you both who helped!

[Anonymous]

Huhu, 

I had also the same problem. Maya 2018: installed, started and display black. 

The solution was to change the Viewport 2.0 to Dirext-x and restart Maya. 

I also updated my NIVDIA Geforce 1060 first. 

[Anonymous]

worked like magic