IMAGINiT Technologies Support Blog

How to update your video card

Check to see if your video card is on the list of certified Autodesk tested video cards and if there is an update. If your video card is not listed or you are still having issues go to your video card manufacturers site.

 

If you run windows updates, look at Optional updates for your graphics card update. If you don't see one you still need to verify it is truly up to date. I like to look at my system specs to verify my driver is up to date.

Open the Run dialog box by clicking your keyboards Windows+R keys to open the Run box. Type “msinfo32” into the “Open” field, and then hit Enter.

You should immediately see the System Information panel.

Expand Components and click on Display. You will need to widen the Value column so you can see the entire Driver information. The date of your driver is the last time it was updated.

You will then go to your graphics card manufacturers website to find out if there is an update. 

As you can see I have gone to the NVIDIA drivers website and found that compared to my driver in the system information above I have an update.

 

AMD video cards can be found at the AMD website and the Intel on-board graphics cards you need to go to your machines manufactures website to find your update i.e. Dell, HP, etc.

Custom Plotting Programs Fail On Windows 10

Issue:
You have custom programming (LISP, .NET, VBA, etc.) that you use for plotting/Batch plotting and after upgrading to Windows 10 it fails and no plots are produced.

Causes:
This is caused by a change in the Windows Environment in regards to Paper Sizes.  In Previous versions of Windows the dimensions of the paper size were using a lower case "x", and in Windows 10 it has been updated to the Unicode character for the Multiplication "x".
 
Solution:
The easiest way is to modify the programming to use the new Unicode character.  You can find the correct paper sizes and what characters to use in this registry key:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Forms

 

Warning! Problems caused by improperly editing the Windows registry could render your computer/operating system unusable. Microsoft provides a wealth of critical information that you need to know about the registry in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.  Use the Microsoft® Registry Editor only at your own risk and only after backing up the registry as well as the system.dat and user.dat files as outlined for your operating system in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.  Additional information about the registry is also contained in the Help topics in the Microsoft Registry Editor.

If you are in a mixed environment, then you will need to have separate programming for Windows 10 versus the other working OS's.

It is NOT recommended to change the registry, as unwanted results may occur when printing in other applications.

Autodesk installation error 1303

When installing your Autodesk software you get an error message:

Error 1303. The installer has insufficient privileges to access this directory: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 20XX\Sample. The installation cannot continue. Log on as administrator or contact your system administrator. 

This is a user permissions issue and not the Autodesk installer issue.

You will need your IT to log into the machine to run the installer.

Have your IT verify the following permission under your user login by following my blog called Autodesk Permissions: What folders need full permissions for each user?

 

"Error 1303. The installer has insufficient privileges to access this directory: C:Windows\Installer\{AB...}. The installation cannot continue. Log on as an administrator or contact your system administrator."

If you are getting error 1303 when trying to install or reinstalling your Autodesk software its related to a microsoft windows issue or a permissions issue. Here is what you can do to fix this:

• Have your IT log into the computer using the computers administrator login and password. Even if you are apart of the administrator group you still might not have enough permissions to install the software.
• Have your IT fix the machines permissions by giving the user full control of the C:\Windows folder and all folder locations that Autodesk needs to install to. Click Autodesk permissions to read more on what folders need to have full control.
• Run the Microsoft Fix it Tool. 
• Last resort that I don't think anyone wants to hear is that you will need your IT to re-image your machine.

 

All Updates for 3DS Max/3DS Max Design

 All update after 2017 are now on the Autodesk website within your account page. Go to manage.autodesk.com to donwload your update. Here are all the ways you can download your updates https://knowledge.autodesk.com/customer-service/download-install/install-software/update-software/enhancements 

 

3DS Max 2017

• Service Pack 1
• Service Pack 2
• Service Pack 3

3DS Max 2016

• Service Pack 1
• Service Pack 2
• Service Pack 3
• Service Pack 4

3DS Max 2015

• Service Pack 1
• Service Pack 2
• Service Pack 3
• Service Pack 4

3DS Max 2014 

• Service Pack 1
• Service Pack 2
• Service Pack 3
• Service Pack 5 (Due to an issue in Service Pack 4 it was promptly removed from Autodesk.com and is being replaced by Service Pack 5.)

3DS Max 2013

• Product Update 1 
  
• Product Update 2
• Product Update 3
• Product Update 4
• Product Update 5
• Product Update 6

3DS Max 2012

• Service Pack 1
• Service Pack 2
• Product Update 3 - No update
• Product Update 4 - No update
• Product Update 5 - No update
• Product Update 6
• Product Update 7
• Product Update 8
• Product Update 9
• Product Update 10
• Product Update 11- Due to a CAT defect in 3ds Max 2012 Product Update 11, it is no longer available. 3ds Max 2012 Product Update 11 should be uninstalled prior to installing 3ds Max 2012 
• Product Update 12

3DS Max Design 2015

• Service Pack 1
• Service Pack 2
• Service Pack 3

3DS Max Design 2014

• Service Pack 1
• Service Pack 2
• Service Pack 3
• Service Pack 5 (Due to an issue in Service Pack 4 it was promptly removed from Autodesk.com and is being replaced by Service Pack 5.)

3DS Max Design 2013

• Product Update 1
• Product Update 2
• Product Update 3
• Product Update 4
• Product Update 5
• Product Update 6

3DS Max Design 2012

• Service Pack 1
• Service Pack 2
• Product Update 3 - No update
• Product Update 4 - No update
• Product Update 5 - No update
• Product Update 6 
• Product Update 7
• Product Update 8
• Product Update 9
• Product Update 10
• Product Update 11- Due to a CAT defect in 3ds Max 2012 Product Update 11, it is no longer available. 3ds Max 2012 Product Update 11 should be uninstalled prior to installing 3ds Max 2012 Product Update 12.
• Product Update 12

How to assign users to the Autodesk software

Find the Autodesk Contract Manager for your company. This is going to be the person who purchased the software. Need more help? Here is my blog on Who is my company's Autodesk subscription contract manager.

Once you have figured out who is the Autodesk Contract Manager for your company they can sign into https://manage.autodesk.com using their Autodesk user name and password.

If you don't know your sign in or password you can enter in your work email and click NEXT.

Then click on the FORGOT? link to rest your password.

HOW TO GIVE PERMISSIONS TO YOUR USERS

NOTE: By default one of the Autodesk seats you purchased will automatically be assigned to you the Contract Manager. Sign into your Autodesk account and verify you don't have unnecessary seats assigned to you.

Click on User Management in the panel on the left. If you are the Autodesk Contract Manager and you do not see these icons to the left of your Autodesk Account contact your Autodesk reseller so they can get this fixed for you.

Verify the user(s) is showing in the list of All Users. If there are users missing you need to add them by click on the Add button at the top of the page.

If there are users in the list that no longer work for the company you can delete them by first clicking on Edit Access and removing any check marks then click Save.

To Delete their name click on the X by their name. If there is no X that means they are the Contract Manager or the Software Coordinator and you will need to call your reseller to get them removed.

To assign a user to the software you will click on Edit Access on their name.

Scroll down and put a check mark next to the software. 

If you cannot put a check mark next to the software because there is zero seats available this means that someone else or the Contract Manager has the software assigned to them.

If you don't know who has the seat(s) you can use the filter tool at the top of the users list. You can filter by software name or contract number.

 

AutoCAD first start up error: "Establish an Internet connection to continue" - caused by antivirus

An AutoCAD LT 2018 customer had tested all the known solutions in Autodesk's technical article here, but could not get past the message "Establish an Internet connection to continue" when starting up the single-user subscription license version for the first time.

The message looked like this:

For this particular customer, the cause for this message was ESET Endpoint Antivirus Protection version 6.3.2016.0 that was blocking the connection to the Autodesk license site at cur.autodesk.com.

IT turned off the ESET option to 'Enable HTTP protocol checking' in the Web access protection in ESET's Advanced Setup.

Note: Under WEB AND EMAIL, click Web Access protection and uncheck 'Enable HTTP Protocol checking'

We confirmed that AutoCAD LT 2018 was able to start up when that option was unchecked. 

So, we added the filter *.autodesk.com to the allowed websites in ESET and turned on the 'Enable HTTP protocol checking'  option again and confirmed that AutoCAD LT 2018 could start up again.

We discussed with IT setting that whitelisted filter for all other workstations that need AutoCAD LT as a group policy at start up.

 

Note: Also see this related blog article: Vault Client cannot connect to server - has a stalled 'Testing server connectivity...' message

 

Switching Licensing when moving from Suites to Collections

You updated and converted your old Maintenance Suites to Subscription Collections and want to know how to change the licensing over to the new serial numbers/product keys.

For Multi-user (i.e. Network Seats):

This one is fairly straight forward, and requires very little effort.

1. Update the license file on the server to the new Collection from the old Suites
2. Remove any products not covered by the new license and install the correct one from the collection
   1. Typically this operation is done when moving from a Premium Suite to a collection
   2. The products typically affected are Navisworks Simulate (replace with Navisworks Manage) and Inventor (replace with Inventor Professional)
3. Generally speaking, no other intervention or processes are needed.
4. If you want to have the users have access to any of the cloud-based benefits, then you will need to assign seats to them

For Standalone Seats:

Here’s a little important piece of Information to be aware of:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/customer-service/account-management/users-software/previous-versions/subscription-previous-version-rights#move-to-subscription

If I switched from a maintenance plan to a subscription, can I continue using previous versions of products from my original maintenance plan?
Yes. After you switch, you will be able to continue using previously licensed, installed and accessed versions of your software from your maintenance plan if the product is included in the new subscription. You will be subject to subscription terms and conditions, so if your subscription were to expire, you must uninstall and stop accessing all versions associated with the original maintenance plan and the subscription.

This means, that if a customer did the M2S, they do NOT have to change any currently installed and correctly licensed suites or end products provided that the installed software is included in the switched subscription license, but any new installations will have to use the collection install/SN/Key.  If someone had a premium Suite and moved to collection, they would only have to remove Navisworks Simulate and replace with Navisworks Manage to stay compliant.

Otherwise you are going to need to follow this process:

This one does require more steps to ensure it converts properly.

1. Have the Contract Manager or the Software Coordinator create users and assign the software they will be using
2. On each machine with the older Suites, you will need to uninstall each base product that is being replaced
   http://blogs.rand.com/support/2017/11/uninstalling-autodesk-software-made-easy.html - look at the bonus section at the end
   
3. Reinstall the products taken off, and reactivate using the new serial number/product key/User information
   • This step is REQUIRED, since the product keys for the software are fixed in the ProductInformation.pit file, and cannot be changed after activation.
   • You must uninstall the products, so you can go back through the activation and put in the correct product key when re-activating. OR SEE NEXT STEP!

If you do not want to uninstall and reinstall everything, there is another option:

Please note: the process below will only work for 2017 and newer Suites, any 2016 and older suites will have to be uninstalled and reinstalled, due to the fact that Licensing information was encrypted and stored on the machine at the time of installation. If the suite product key was used to install the applications the stored key would not allow for a Collections activation. The only solution is to uninstall and reinstall the products.

So, if you feel the need to update your current installs to the new Subscription here's the process to follow:

1. Have the Contract Manager or the Software Coordinator create users and assign the software they will be using
2. Install the Collection Software on a machine that doesn't have the Suite already installed.  Generally, Install the same products you have installed already as part of the Suite.
   1. You MUST install and activate each product and product year you are replacing in the Suite
   2. If you don't install and activate all products and all years, then you will have to uninstall and re-install the products you missed
      • For example, if you miss AutoCAD 2017, and try to run it after you replace the ProductInformation.pit file, it will fail to run and give you an error
3. Activate the Software with the License from the Collection on that machine.
4. Look for ProductInformation.pit file that is created in this folder: C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\AdLM. 
5. Make a copy the ProductInformation.pit file and save it to a location you can access later (USB stick or Network Drive)
6. Go to a machine that currently has the old Suite installed, and navigate to the folder C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\AdLM. 
7. Rename Old License Machine ProductInformation.pit file (so you have it available to restore easily in case new .pit file doesn't work).
8. Copy the saved ProductInformation.pit file from Step 4 into this directory
9. Open Autodesk Product and follow the activation screen and input the new Serial number and Product Key.

Were you also running single seats of Autodesk Products (like AutoCAD, Civil 3D, etc.) and have switched to Subscription for those seats as well, refer to the links below for information on how to update those versions:

1. 2017 and newer, use the following to reset/license licensing and serial number blog
   http://blogs.rand.com/support/2016/03/changing-license-type-in-autocad-2017-.html
2. 2016 and prior, use the following to reset/license licensing and serial number blog
   http://blogs.rand.com/support/2016/02/how_to_reset_all_autodesk_licenses.html

 

AutoCAD: AutoCAD 2018 "One or more referenced files could not be located or read" when opening files with embedded images

I came across this when a customer called in and had this issue which was not showing up in earlier versions. The User had embedded Images using Raster Design and never had this issue before. the Images are there and shown and everything functions properly, however every time they open the DWG this error comes up. You can select the "Always Ignore Unresolved References" option on the Error Message. however then you will not get this warning but you can still see the missing references if there are some in the Reference Palette.

 

Figure 1

 

This has been submitted to Autodesk and verified as a bug and has been submitted by Autodesk to Development to be corrected.

 

For more information about Autodesk products please visit
www.imaginit.com

3ds Max: Troubleshooting 3ds Max problems when running under Windows 10

3ds Max: Troubleshooting 3ds Max problems when running under Windows 10

See Link

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Troubleshooting-3ds-Max-problems-when-running-under-Windows-10.html

 

See Also:

How to disable Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode (Screencast video)
3ds Max 2018 will not launch, or will experience instability when file browsing after installation
3ds Max 2018 Crashes on Startup With Incompatible CPUs for the Arnold Render Plugin

 

For more information about Autodesk products please visit

www.imaginit.com

Autodesk: The new A360 Desktop Expiration Notice

You may have noticed a warning about your A360 Desktop expiration. This is to inform you that Autodesk will discontinue A360 Desktop. You can find Details and Updates about this at the site below.

https://a360.autodesk.com/a360-desktop/

For more information about Autodesk products please visit
www.imaginit.com