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CS Crashes on Library Access

larry_137

I cannot get CS to work. If I access a library, it crashes. If I view a 3D image of my circuit card, it crashes. If I try to do a 3D edit a footprint, it crashes. If I run a rules check and try to save the PCB file, it crashes. I just paid my "subscription" fee, but the program is useless.

 

Note that I completely designed a PCB (it is now in production) using the same libraries and CS worked flawlessly (well, good enough). At one point several months later, I went to check something in the design files, and the 3D view no longer worked and the Libraries window showed only a line outline with a clear center section. OK? When I tried to exit CS, all I could do was press the kill switch in Task Manager to get out. Task Manager said that DXP.exe was "unresponsive". No kidding.

 

The PCB was designed under Win7 (and as I said all worked fine) and this lock up happened under the same Win7 (who knows what Microsoft updates do). OK. I tried reloading the program. Crash. Because Win7 expired, I had to update to Win10. Before doing so, I uninstalled CS using Wise Program Uninstall. This kills everything in the program including Registry Keys. I then installed the new operating system (wasn't THAT fun!). With Window 10 on board, most everything seemed OK with minor exceptions. I then loaded CS using all of the defaults, just as the installer wants.  Started CS, and navigated the license activation routine. Great! Good to go. Started CS, and the home page came up. Blank Project Directory on the left, home page in the middle, and thin Library to the right. I checked that the two default integrated libraries were installed. Yes. On the task bar I pressed View and then Libraries. Crash! Could only kill CS using Task Manager. None of my files (which I checked by downloading a 3D viewer and they all looked good) were in use. As an experiment, I loaded CS on my laptop (also Win 10) and did the same sequence. The two integrated libraries came right up, and the footprints showed 3D views on all of the parts.

 

I have tried asking the forum with no results. Anybody have an idea of a way forward?

  • 0

    Hi Lawrence,

     

    I don't use this software, but the response I've seen for Circuit Studio is that you need to contact Altium Support.

  • 0

    Hi Lawrence,

    Most users appear to be seeing reasonably few crashes.  I have a dim recollection that I had to update my graphics drivers to get CS working properly, although that was a long time ago.  It sounds like you're using a relatively clean Win10 installation and so it's quite possible that you're using some fairly generic drivers.  That would be my guess.

     

    Meanwhile, Altium don't offer any support for CS - I was in contact with them the other day and was told

    <quote>

    Sorry, we do not support CircuitStudio here. Please contact: Technical Service +44 3447 11 11 22

     

    https://uk.farnell.com/altium-circuitstudio

    </quote>

     

    Good luck :-)

  • 0 in reply to frog

    I'd agree it is likely to be a problem with Display adapter (graphics) drivers.  Others have reported similar issues.

  • 0 in reply to tarribred61

    That's relatively easy to verify. All he needs is to install CS into a virtual machine. I know for sure that CS works in Vmware Windows image and the virtual machine drivers will count as an interface between the real hardware and CS.

  • 0

    Hi folks, thanks for the response. My gut feel is that it may be the graphics. However, it used to work with the graphics card I have under Windows 7. It stopped working on Windows 7 and I could not get it going. Due to Microsoft, I then updated to Windows 10. Still did not work. I loaded the latest drivers from Nvidia. Still does not work. So yes, a pretty clean installation but with everything up to date. The Video card is Nvidia Quadro K2220 with the latest drivers from Nvidia.

  • 0 in reply to larry_137

    I had basically the same problem:

     

    Application Locks Up on PCB Open, Missing Library?

     

    It was resolved with an update to 442.50 Game Ready Driver (RTX 2080). Looks like latest Quadro drivers are the same version.

     

    Do you have integrated graphics you could try to see if it works?

  • 0

    CS works on my laptop but not my desktop (for purposes of work, the laptop display is too small for extended design). I did a file by file compare and all files in the two installations are identical (location, date, and time). The only difference I can find is that the laptop has Direct X 12 installed and the video card supports Direct X 12. The desktop has Direct X 12 installed but the graphics card only supports up to Direct X 11. CS requires only 10 or better. What I have read suggests that if CS only needs 10, then having 11 or 12 makes no difference. However, when I go to 3D view (and the crash), both machines show Direct X {function} except the part where the laptop starts to populate the 3D models, the desktop does nothing (up to this point, both behave the same) and is now locked. It appears to be a Direct X problem. Anyone have some experience here. Would upgrading to a Direct X 12 card solve the problem? If Window is using DX12 on a card that can only do DX11, I can see the problem.

  • 0 in reply to larry_137

    I think there is definitely a Direct X issue. Today, I went to my 2D layout (that used to work). Carefully watching the lower right pane of the window, I clicked on 3D View. In the window, I read: "Building Direct X Scene". Then: "Meshing: 1N4148W-7-F.stp". Then it just sat there, no rendering and unable to stop the program without using Task Manager. This *.stp file opens fine in a step file viewer.

     

    It seems clear that the problem is with Direct X. Does anyone have an idea on how to resolve the issue?

  • 0 in reply to larry_137

    This was my exact experience with it as well. It happened if I open a board that was in 3D view, open a part in a library that was in 3D view, or click on 3D view for on a board that was not opened in 3D view.

     

    Unfortunately, aside from the driver update on my PC nothing much else has changed. I don't see any updates that could have fixed it. I'm on Win 10 Pro x64 1809. I'm going to try to update to 1909 to see what happens.

  • 0 in reply to larry_137

    You could try to reinstall the DirectX 9.0c:

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34429

    CS might need something from there since it's parent code base was created when this was used.