SOLIDWORKS Crash Troubleshooting Guide (Part 3 of 3)

Part 3 of our SOLIDWORKS Crash Troubleshooting Guide offers steps relating to Windows and hardware. We recommend testing after each step to determine whether it resolved the problem before moving on to another step.

1. Are there any Windows updates pending?  Sometimes implementing them solves the problem.  This can also be undone if needed…keep reading for how to do that.
2. Try restoring to an earlier point in Windows.  This can typically take over half an hour for your computer to complete.  If restore is not available, there are other options to remove recent Windows updates.
3. Try creating a new Windows user account.
4. Test for mechanical damage to the hard drive.  If there are damaged sectors from which your computer is trying to read or write data, it can cause crashing.  For a SSD (solid-state drive), these types of drives are less prone to mechanical damage and often have their own drive controller that will find and fix this issue automatically.  For an older-style HDD (hard disk drive) that spins, run the Windows hard drive checking utility chkdsk /r.  This command, when run with the /r option, attempts to fix errors on the disk, locate bad sectors, and recover readable information.  It also detects physical damage to the disk (bad sectors) and attempts to move the data onto good sectors and isolate the bad sectors so that Windows does not use them again.  To execute, launch the command prompt (Start->type “cmd“) and then run chkdsk /r C: (or replace “C” with your drive letter) from the command prompt.  You may need to run the Command Prompt in Administrator mode if you are initially denied permission to run the utility.   It can take hours to run this step.  If chkdsk reports damage that cannot be isolated, you may want to consider replacement of the drive.

Running the Windows check disk utility with repair option

If none of these steps resolve the crashing, and you are on active subscription, then contact your SOLIDWORKS reseller for assistance.  Send along a SOLIDWORKS Rx problem capture report.

This will provide your SOLIDWORKS Value Added Reseller (VAR) with your SOLIDWORKS settings, visually illustrate how to reproduce the issue, provide system specs, and gather the log and registry files they need to investigate this problem. This will ultimately save time by reducing requests for additional information.

For Javelin customers, where the zip file is under 10 MB, then you can attach the zip file to a new support case. If larger than 10 MB, please request a link to upload the file to our file share site.

If the problem persists, check our related articles. You can subscribe to our blog to receive daily SOLIDWORKS tips and tricks via email.