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VW 2012 Crashing - Repeatedly Daily >1 Year


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Hello

Multiple iMacs VW 2012 crashes repeatedly daily >1 year - Would anyone be able to help me resolve this?

I am an office manager looking after 14 Architects using VW 2012 Fundamentals on mostly brand new iMacs (Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3 and more recent versions). Daily for >1 year almost all iMacs VW 2012 crashes multiple times a day - v frustrating, upsetting as so much work is lost that has to be re-done. I don't mean once a day - I really do mean multiple times. Everyone autosaves every 10 minutes onto their local folder.

Vectorworks licence software providers (x3), iMac Consultants (inc those specialised in architectural software) etc have checked the iMacs, we have installed a new server & new IT provider, we have started templates from scratch - yet nothing stops the crashing. I am given excuse after excuse what the problem is and even suggestions of us not saving work properly (that we do). No one can tell us the cause so we cannot stop the problem.

Pls see attached:

- some examples of VW 2012 crash error messages (4 from one iMac, one from another)

- I have found VW crash log (as your bug centre mentions) though how do I send it to you, file format doesn't seem to be compatible?

Quite simply, we're at the end of the line... We cannot work like this any more with VW 2012 - and as a last resort I'm contacting you in case someone can help, otherwise we have no option other than switch software.

I am not technical myself though have read your forum, downloaded crash logs etc and have numerous examples of crash text + screen shots of crashing.

Is there anyone there who can help solve this problem? I mean properly - no more excuses about us not saving work properly or doing errors ourselves. I am v prepared to pay someone properly if they can solve this problem once and for all.

Many thanks

Catherine Owens

A very frustrated office manager who is complained to daily of VW 2012 crashing & would just love a solution.

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Make sure you restart VW 3 times a day: one before noon, at noon and one time in the afternoon. This can help avoiding crashes. Also make it a habit working at one document at once and between switching documents, restart VW. Since I do this, I have little to no more crashes.

There are also options in the VW preferences that can make it easier for your computers to cope with VW. Also check these out.

Can I also ask what documents you work on mostly? I have experienced more crashes when for example I use a lot of tile hatches etc....

Edited by DWorks
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Make sure you restart VW 3 times a day: one before noon, at noon and one time in the afternoon. This can help avoiding crashes. Also make it a habit working at one document at once and between switching documents, restart VW. Since I do this, I have little to no more crashes.

I concur with DWorks that multiple open files do cause problems, especially when switching from one to another. Since we have avoided this, we've had way fewer crashes in VW2012. Our iMac i7's have 16GB of RAM and our files are typically 80MB - 120MB in size.

V-G, eh.

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Hi everyone

Thanks, appreciate your replies.

- Tamsin - Great, thanks for your email.

- Kizza - No not yet resolved.

- DWorks + VectorGeek - Grateful for your comments, here is more info:

Really, if you have to restart VW so many times a day and not open multiple files, then how are we supposed to work?? Isn't that the point of the software?

Here are some more details:

- iMacs 10.7.2 runs 16GB RAM + processor 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 (+ some newer iMacs with similar memory)

- File size varies max 1GB though mostly less (presentation sheets about 4.6MB)

- Drawings Type - We mainly do 2D drawings using standard VW hatches that comes with software

- Limited number of layers and classes

- Data File - A typical drawing set up with data file as one VW drawing

- Presentation Sheets - We use individual VW files that reference the data file

Any more ideas?

Thanks so much!

Catherine

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Really, if you have to restart VW so many times a day and not open multiple files, then how are we supposed to work?? Isn't that the point of the software?

Why would you open multiple files at once? If the reason for this is copy-paste from previous drawings, then you might consider using libraries instead, which is a more stable and reliable way of doing things.

Please mail me your template, and/or some drawing files so I can look at it to spot some possible causes for these crashes.

Edited by DWorks
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i have multiple files open at once, do it all the time, and can have prob 4-5 open at once, only crashed on me a few times when switching files.

if it is the case that this is a major problem for some with heavy files, then its a complete joke, i have not heard of another piece of software that has this problem..... another major failing of VW

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I have a new iMac see specs below, I have been having many crashes, usually related to rendering and memory issues, even though I have lots of ram. Restarting often solves a lot of this. I have been working with tech support but no clear indication of where the problem is. I also got apple to replace my logic board, did not seem to solve anything . Though the last couple weeks I have not used vw much.

Some exmple of crashes where vw quit, once I was moving a texture with the attribute tool, once a big render was interrupted by the auto save , others occurred after multiple rerenders.

My guess is its the graphics card or drivers, or just something in mountain lion, or possibly the Fusion drive.

I don't usually have multiple files open - just wanted to comment on the instabilities.

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VW 2013 crashes are not uncommon here either. Often several times x day depending on the file. I have found deleting a viewport & recreating it with the same Class & Layer visibilities and render settings alleviated it somewhat.

This can only be a bug.

As for multiple files open - yes, why not?

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Hi everyone

Thanks again for your replies.

I have shared your comments with the architects team here - I wasn't sure if anyone was even going to read my post let alone reply so really appreciate it. If you have further q's or anything pls ask!

DWorks - Regarding multiple files:

- From time to time we do open 2 different data files + copy + paste. Though as in e.g. standard software Word/photoshop we can copy + paste so we thought we should be able to do so in VW also

- We use core data files + multiple other files that reference the data file, to create presentation sheets.

- Sometimes we will be annotating within a viewport a drawing that is referenced from the data file that we also have open. If in the process of annotating the drawing we might realise something is wrong in the data file, we switch to the data file --> make revision to the model --> save --> switch back to presentation sheet + update reference --> then continue to annotate

- Most iMacs crash daily any time. Though one iMac crashes between 4pm-6pm almost daily without fail!

monkey - Agree surely we can have multiple files open + copy + paste if necessary!

Hippothamus - Glad you've found the source of your problem

Steve S - Sorry that you've had problems too.

- We don't get involved with textures or doing rendering.

- We do have autosave switched on --> sometimes it switches on when in middle of something --> lock up

Hope that helps better explain how we work. Any more ideas very welcome.

Catherine

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Hi everyone

Thanks though we don't use VW for 3D renders, it is only 2D work.

bcd - Great comment about deleting viewport & recreating it with the same Class & Layer visibilities and render settings alleviated it somewhat.

Whilst this isn't a solution, good idea! Though again we don't do rendering.

Catherine

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Hi. just a guess! as it is on many computers... maybe its a corrupt typset thas has been installed on every computer.and reinstlled and reinstalled...for a long time.

i noticed that my program is running really solid with many files open referenced to other files than again referenced viewport and rendering and filesizes up to 120 mb ( including viewport cache) it sometimes crashes when editing typo and than autosave kicks in... but i think the typo is creating problems sometimes so it might not be in the program it might be causing a problem from outside... as i sayd its a guess, but it is suspicios that it happens on all computers!

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- We use core data files + multiple other files that reference the data file, to create presentation sheets.

- Sometimes we will be annotating within a viewport a drawing that is referenced from the data file that we also have open. If in the process of annotating the drawing we might realise something is wrong in the data file, we switch to the data file --> make revision to the model --> save --> switch back to presentation sheet + update reference --> then continue to annotate

References should work fine, but they aren't always. I experience many troubles with references through viewports and try to avoid them when possible. They can get corrupt really fast. I hope they can get them more stable. So maybe you can try to change your workflow to not use them a lot and see what that gives. You could test this on a project.

Also copy-paste from other drawings is really not the way you should work. You should have a library set up and import your stuff from there as this is a far better approach in so many ways. Also always start a drawing fresh and not start from an older one. Also make sure you never set the origin and keep it at it's original location, because moving the origin, or have your objects far from the origin can VW crash really fast due to too large numbers in the calculations. Check this in your drawings as I suspect this could be the case that comes from your way of working.

Please send me a file to look at. If the files also crash here fast, then it's something to do with the file and not with VW. To try finding the problem you need to filter things out.

Edited by DWorks
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I might suggest that in your copying and pasting, you've been introducing bad whatevers--text, textures, titleblock jpg's, templates or other--from work done in old to very old versions of Vwks.

Review your process of introducing older work into new drawings and see if you don't notice some funky stuff in there. Recreating it might be costly time-wise but may get you where you want to go.

I've suffered from periods of multiple crashes daily (v2012 & v2013), where files became more and more unstable as the day went on but have, in the last several months, emerged and am now sailing in pretty smooth water. And I have no idea what I or Vwks did that changed the behavior.

I'm confident you will break through.

Vwks Designer 2013, newest build

Mac OS 10.7.5

16 gigs, MacBook Pro i7

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  • 4 months later...

We have pretty much the same issues here.

New iMacs.. generally all with 24GB Ram. 3.4 GHz i7

Latest os: OS X 10.8.4

We use 2012 & 2013.

Both crash constantly throughout the day.

Files that used to work in 2012 on OS X 10.6.8 just a couple of months ago are crashing every 30 minutes in 2012 on OS X 10.8.4

So I know it's NOT VW directly... but somehow it's how VW is working in 10.8.4.

So when is VW going to put out a Service Pack? Soon? Very Soon?

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