Without A Net

Crash Problem with recent NVIDIA drivers in Windows 7 and Vista

We have recently seen issues where customers running the NVIDIA FX with the 191.00 driver are experiencing crashes when the screen saver enables, the user locks the system, or the system goes into hibernation. In these instances, AutoCAD will crash without generating a CER when you return to the application. The problem seems to be limited to 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista and Windows 7.

If you are running the NVIDIA FX with the 191.00 driver and are experiencing this problem, we recommend downloading and installing the following drivers instead:

32-bit Vista and Windows 7

64-bit Vista and Windows 7

Autodesk is actively working on certifying and posting newer drivers from NVIDIA.

AutoCAD Raster Design 2010 and Mixed License Types

Recently, Product Support has seen cases where AutoCAD Raster Design 2010 is failing to retrieve a license on launch. Installation of Raster Design runs without incident but when launching the integrated product, the following message displays:

In most cases this is the result of AutoCAD Raster Design 2010 having a different license type than the product to which it was integrated. Here are some examples of this kind of mixed-license scenario:

• AutoCAD 2010 Stand-Alone with an AutoCAD Raster Design 2010 Network license
• AutoCAD 2010 Network with an AutoCAD Raster Design 2010 Stand-Alone license
• AutoCAD 2010 Multi-Seat Stand-Alone (MSSA) with an AutoCAD Raster Design 2010 Stand-Alone license

AutoCAD Raster Design 2010 must be installed using the same license type (or deployment method – depending on the mix of license types) as the AutoCAD-based product to which it was installed. The requirements are as follows:

Network and Stand-Alone Products

• An AutoCAD Raster Design 2010 Stand-Alone license must be used with an AutoCAD 2010 Stand-Alone license.
• An AutoCAD Raster Design 2010 Network license must be used with an AutoCAD 2010 Network license. The exception to this requirement is if the Raster Design 2010 Hotfix has been applied, which allows AutoCAD Raster Design 2010 network deployments to be installed with supported Stand-Alone AutoCAD products.

Multi-Seat Stand-Alone (MSSA) Products

In the case of MSSA products, AutoCAD Raster Design can fail to retrieve a license if the license type is mismatched during the installation of AutoCAD Raster Design and the accompanying product. For example, when AutoCAD is installed from the physical media but AutoCAD Raster Design is installed from an administrative deployment, or vice versa.

The workaround for this scenario is to use the same deployment method for both products. For example:

• If AutoCAD was installed from the physical media, you need to install AutoCAD Raster Design from the physical media.
• If AutoCAD was installed from an administrative image, you need to also install AutoCAD Raster Design from an administrative image.

I've referenced AutoCAD 2010 in these examples but the same requirements apply to any products based on AutoCAD, e.g., AutoCAD Map 2010 or AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010.

This information is also available in the following technical solution:
AutoCAD Raster Design 2010 Licensing Mismatch

New Training Video: Multiple Language Support in AutoCAD 2010

I posted a new video to the Autodesk section of YouTube:

The video is about 8 minutes in length and is intended to provide an overview of how to download and install language packs for use in installations and deployments.

I used AutoCAD 2010 for the demonstrations but support for language packs also extends to the AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD Mechanical, Inventor and Navisworks products. AutoCAD LT 2010 does not support language packs.

Note: Support for language packs does not currently extend to products that ship to Eastern and Western Europe.

Updated HP drivers address AutoCAD plotting issues in Vista

HP has released updated drivers for the DesignJet 70 and DesignJet 500 series plotters that fix errors when plotting from AutoCAD in Windows Vista.

Click through to the following technical solution for more detailed information on the errors and links to the updated drivers:

Plotting to older HP plotters on Windows Vista causes error messages during plot and when closing application

Update 1 issues with Live Update and 64-bit IE8

I blogged about this in May but now that we have released Update 1, I wanted to remind everyone that it is still an issue:

Live Update and 64-bit IE8

If you are having problems with Live Update downloading Update 1 because you are running a 64-bit version of IE8, download the update directly from the Autodesk Services & Support pages at these links:

AutoCAD 2010 Update 1
AutoCAD LT 2010 Update 1

Update 1 includes a fix for this problem so this shouldn't be an issue in the future.

Cleanup Utilities Updated for AutoCAD 2010

Autodesk has released new versions of the Scale List Cleanup Utility and the Regapp ID Cleanup Utility that now work with AutoCAD 2010. These utilities run outside of AutoCAD and can be used to clean drawings of excess annotation scales and excess unreferenced registered application IDs.

More information on these topics can be found here:

Excess unreferenced regapp IDs causing performance issues

Custom scales cause performance issues with Open, Xref, Copy/Paste and Insert functions

The 2010 versions can be downloaded from the following links:

Regapp ID Cleanup Utility for AutoCAD 2010
Scale List Cleanup Utility for AutoCAD 2010

The previous versions can be downloaded from these links:

Regapp ID Cleanup Utility for AutoCAD 2009/2008
Scale List Cleanup Utility for AutoCAD 2009/2008

New Training Video: Online License Transfer in 2010 Products

I just posted a new video to the Autodesk section of YouTube:

Online License Transfer in Autodesk 2010 Products

The video is about 15 minutes in length and is intended to provide an overview of the Online License Transfer feature in the Autodesk 2010 products. The video gives a general overview of OLT including:

• Exporting and importing stand-alone licenses
• Removing the License Transfer Utility from installations and deployments
• A recently released Proxy Licensing hotfix
• Answers to commonly asked questions.

I used AutoCAD 2010 for the demonstrations but the concepts apply to other 2010 products.

NOTE: Although I recorded this video using the Windows 7 Release Candidate, that does not imply current support for Windows 7. Rest assured, we are testing Windows 7 and I'll let you know when we announce official support for the shipping version.

AutoCAD “acad.vlx” Virus and Solution

There is a virus being reported by a couple of our AutoCAD-based product customers. Rather than repeat all the details, I refer you to Shaan Hurley's posting on the subject:

AutoCAD Malicious Code / Virus Alert “acad.vlx” and Solution

The following technical solution provides instructions on how to prevent further corruption by this malicious code:

Acad.vlx Virus Cleanup

Register Today Proxy Licensing Hotfix

A hotfix is now available to address a problem with 2010 products that could prevent online activation or online license transfer when behind a proxy server.

On Microsoft Windows 32-bit and 64-bit platforms, during the activation of your product or during a license transfer, an error message displays indicating that an Internet connection is not detected. This error can occur on clients behind a proxy server even when there is a valid Internet connection.

Register Today Proxy Licensing Hotfix

Autodesk Adds Boot Camp Support for Mac Users

Autodesk is now officially supporting Apple Boot Camp, a component of the Mac OS X operating system that enables customers to run Windows on their Apple Hardware. Using Boot Camp you can create a separate hard drive partition on your Intel-based Mac on which you can install a Microsoft Windows OS. Once installed, you can choose to boot to either the Mac OS or the Windows OS. If you start the computer in Windows you can install and run Windows applications at native speeds.

The following products are now supported running in Boot Camp:

AutoCAD® 2010
Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2010
Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design 2010
AutoCAD® Inventor® Professional Suite 2010
AutoCAD® Inventor™ Suite 2010
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2010
Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2010
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2010

Here are solutions for each product group that provides more details and answers the most common questions:

Apple® Boot Camp Support for AutoCAD® 2010
Apple® Boot Camp Support for Autodesk® 3ds Max®
Apple® Boot Camp Support for Autodesk® Inventor®
Apple® Boot Camp Support for Autodesk® Revit® Products

Support is limited to only the products and versions listed in these solutions. For example, even though AutoCAD 2010 is supported, Boot Camp support does not automatically extend to AutoCAD LT or AutoCAD-based vertical products.

Note: Support for Boot Camp does not mean support for virtual environments like VMWare or Parallels. There is currently still no official support for running Autodesk products in a virtual environment.