Using a Dell Computer and having a crash when accessing files in Autodesk Products?

By Dennis Collin

I was recently conducting a Revit course and came across a curious situation where a couple of delegates reported the problem of Revit displaying error messages and crashing out to Windows when opening files. They also reported similar problems with other Autodesk products including AutoCAD. The problem was repeatable, even after rebooting the system, with minimal Apps running.

After checking they were patched up to the latest version and no other problems were apparent, I did a little Googling and noted that a problem exists with certain versions of Autodesk products and Dell workstations and laptops.

The problem is with a certain version (1.8.1.71) of Dell backup software that gets bundled with the PC and its use of Qt5 framework that conflicts with the accessing of files which is vital for any Autodesk product! Errors can result from not just opening and saving documents, but also referencing of files and outputting to PDF formats too.

This problem is documented on the Autodesk Knowledge Network here:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/3ds-Max-Crash-occurs-when-opening-saving-or-browsing-for-a-file-in-3ds-Max-2018.html

The example mentions 3ds Max 2018, but the conflict affects all products across several versions including 2022. Solutions to fix the conflict range from disabling the backup software to renaming key DLL files to a BAK extension. Both of which will solve the problem.

However, if the Dell Backup software is required then this problem can also be fixed by updating the Backup software to Version 1.9.2.8. It is also possible to install an older version (1.7.5.64) of the software, which doesn’t implement Qt5 framework, this will solve the problem as well.

Following these steps solved the problem in both cases and allowed us to proceed with the course with no more system crashes.

Crashing systems can also damage design files if they are being worked on. I have written some posts on how files can be recovered and repaired for some of the products from the Autodesk AEC Collection.

AutoCAD: https://www.cadlinecommunity.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/4631520456221-AutoCAD-2022-Recover-data-from-a-system-crash-?label_names=prod%3AAutoCAD

Revit: https://www.cadlinecommunity.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/360006835677-Fixing-problematic-Revit-files