SOLIDWORKS System Problem? Try creating a new Windows User Account

You are likely reading this blog article because of inexplicable problems with SOLIDWORKS performance or stability.  Nothing else you have tried has helped, such as you found on the Javelin blog, or trying a SOLIDWORKS registry reset.  You may even notice degraded performance in other applications as well, including SOLIDWORKS Rx, Task Manager, Excel, and others.  When the system is not performing properly, but especially SOLIDWORKS, it may be time to test whether the Windows registry is at fault.  To this end, we test the behavior from a new Windows user account.

Creating a new Windows User Account is somewhat of a ‘nuclear option’ for Windows behavior correction.  Sometimes, to quote a line from the movie Aliens, “It’s the only way to be sure.”

Why create a new Windows User Account?

SOLIDWORKS performance issues can sometimes be caused by corruption in the Windows registry outside of the SOLIDWORKS subset of the registry.  Such corruptions can be difficult to diagnose and repair, so we prefer to simply create a new Windows user account, log in to that account, and test the behavior from there.  It is quick to try!

• Creating a new user account for Windows 10
• Creating a new user account for Windows 7 or 8.1

To keep things simple when setting up the test account, you can choose the options that skip over selecting a Microsoft account.

What to do if this solves the problem

If the unwanted behavior no longer occurs while logged in to the new Windows user account, then the original Windows account can be considered corrupt for whatever reason.  We recommend that you consult your IT resource to determine the best course of action, but at least you know where the solution lies.  Whatever solution you choose, be sure to not copy the old corrupt user account registry onto the new, lest it corrupt the new user account registry.

If the unwanted behavior is still occurring on the new user account, then the problem likely does not reside in the Windows registry.