Old files causing Windows 7 Explorer to crash?

[patricks]

I seem to be having an issue in Windows 7 64-bit where if I click on an old family file, like one that was last saved in 2006, it instantly crashes Windows Explorer. Then I have to wait for Windows to start Explorer again so I can navigate back to where I was.

This is an issue when I'm trying to delete old backup copies of families. I can select and delete them from an Open or Save dialog within Revit, but not in a regular Explorer window in Windows 7.

Anyone else seen this?

[ws]

Yes, I have the same problem.

I had not worked out why it was occasionally happening but you are right - if I select a Revit 2009 file in Windows 7 64 bit explorer it immediately brings up the 'Explorer has stopped working' message.

Doesn't seem to affect 2010 files

[patricks]

well that's just rubbish.... might need to run a batch upgrade tool or something.

[SCShell]

Hmmmmm,
I posted this today.
http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=113180

Still have not heard back from the factory.

But, I am running XP64 and I don't have this problem on any project files, upgraded, old or current.
Mine crashes when highlighting .rfa files. After 6 or 7 months of working fine~

ARGH
Steve

[patricks]

Hmmmmm,
I posted this today.
http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=113180

Still have not heard back from the factory.

But, I am running XP64 and I don't have this problem on any project files, upgraded, old or current.
Mine crashes when highlighting .rfa files. After 6 or 7 months of working fine~

ARGH
Steve

doh you posted that like 10 minutes before I posted this.

[ron.sanpedro]

Pretty sure this is the "autodesk thumbnails dll is @%#^ broke" problem in a different flavor. I have had files that I couldn't delete, and folders that would crash Explorer. In both cases I can turn off thumbnails and delete or open/save. Then turn thumbnails back on becasue it is a global setting and turning it off permanently makes working with images and such (where the thumbnail creating dll isn't "@%#^ broke" ) a real pain.
You can turn off thumbnails via Control Panel > Folder Options > View tab; check "Always show Icons, never thumbnails". Then reboot because windows is (still) stupid.

hope that helps.
G

[t1.shep]

Check out my last post @ this thread... http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=73488&page=4

[sultarc]

You should try another browser. Perhaps Firefox or Safari.

[ron.sanpedro]

You should try another browser. Perhaps Firefox or Safari.

I don't think it is the internet browser that is crashing, it is Windows Explorer, i.e. My Computer. Goofy of MS to name two VERY different programs "Explorer". Finder and Safari work much better as names as well as programs. ;)

Gordon

[ws]

Yes, nothing to do with IE.

It isn't straightforward though - earlier any 2009 file I highlighted in Explorer would crash it, now it works fine.

It's a regular occurrence though - but 'Windows Explorer has stopped working' wasn't unusual in Vista 64 and seems to be much the same in Windows 7 64.

May have nothing to do with it but I find that Windows 7 64 is very slow at accessing folders via Explorer - much slower than Vista.
Is there some sort of indexing going on?

[ron.sanpedro]

Yes, nothing to do with IE.

It isn't straightforward though - earlier any 2009 file I highlighted in Explorer would crash it, now it works fine.

It's a regular occurrence though - but 'Windows Explorer has stopped working' wasn't unusual in Vista 64 and seems to be much the same in Windows 7 64.

May have nothing to do with it but I find that Windows 7 64 is very slow at accessing folders via Explorer - much slower than Vista.
Is there some sort of indexing going on?

I think all local folders get indexed automatically, as you have to index to use the new "libraries" feature (thus they don't work for network folders unless you cripple your server with the lousy indexing service!), and you can use Libraries on local folders by default. But my experience has been that local folders respond quickly, while network folders a very slow. Given that we are not indexing on the server, I suspect that Windows 7 somehow access indexed data when opening a folder, and basically auto indexes if there is no data there, so the network folder is slower? Really not sure. Probably the server will be a problem till we get Windows Server 2008 R2, of course on new hardware, and THEN the new stuff will be almost as fast as what we replaced. Grrr!
I also think Windows 7 tries to build the "thumbnail" for every file in the background, even for folders that are not in Thumbnail view. My reasoning is that I would get the crashing or non deleting problem even on a folder that was not showing thumbnails. But turn off thumbnails globally and everything works fine.


Very frustrating, and unnecessary. If only autodesk would bother to take a little pride in their work and fix the stupid thumbnail thing. It has been broken since Vista, so four years and still broken? Pathetic.

Gordon

[Wes Macaulay]

Folks -- turn off thumbnails in Windows Explorer, and the crashes will go away. You can open and delete the files from within Revit, but not from Windows Explorer.

Go to Folder and Search options, then the View tab and check "Always show icons, never thumbnails".

[ws]

thanks Wes - and I also notice that turning off thumbnails makes folder access near-instant again :)

[SCShell]

You can turn off thumbnails via Control Panel > Folder Options > View tab; check "Always show Icons, never thumbnails". Then reboot because windows is (still) stupid.

Hey there,
I could not follow this in XP64. This only works in Vista and probably 7; however, I found this link. Have not tried it yet.
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/03/17/how-to-turn-off-image-preview-thumbnail-and-disable-windows-picture-and-fax-viewer-in-windows-xp/

Thanks in advance
Steve

[HJA]

The support staff at my reseller (ID8 - SF Bay Area) developed a workaround for me after trying for several days to uncover the problem and it works seamlessly so far.

Turns out that the default location for the library files was reverting to "read only" which seems to have some trouble with the UAC and no matter how many times we tried to re-assign permissions to my user account it would revert back to a protection status that didn't allow me to open the problem files.

Here's the solution (details may vary on your computer setup - mine is Vista 32 ultimate).

Turn thumbnails off.

Copy the entire Library file directory to a network folder. (In my case Public on my machine)

That re-assigned permissions to the data apparently and I could access my troublesome library files even using "thumbnails-on" from either Windows Explorer or Revit. You can re-assign the default location for library files to the new location in options

I didn't like my library files in the public folder, so I then re-copied the files to my desktop and it has worked well since then.

I'm not a computer expert, I use Revit as a tool (excellent when it works) for my primary role as Architect, so I'm concerned that the software developed by AutoDesk has so many flaws that erodes my confidence in an essential part of my practice. I just want something that works, consistently and reliably. Until ID8 came to my rescue, I was seriously considering moving over to ArchiCad on a Mac. My colleagues using that program in that environment don't seem to be having all these problems...

[patricks]

I just found out that I can change the setting to show icons but never thumbnails in Win7 on the fly, no rebooting required. I can switch back and forth if I want to.

But I'll probably leave it set to show just icons, as the thumbnail previews still work within the Revit Open/Save/Load dialog boxes, which is where I need it the most.

[ron.sanpedro]

I just found out that I can change the setting to show icons but never thumbnails in Win7 on the fly, no rebooting required. I can switch back and forth if I want to.

But I'll probably leave it set to show just icons, as the thumbnail previews still work within the Revit Open/Save/Load dialog boxes, which is where I need it the most.

So how are you toggling thumbnails on the fly?!

Thanks,
Gordon

[iswanson]

I wonder if this is my problem as well? I use AugoCAD 2010LT before 2009LT and 2004LT. All of a sudden during working with a file a get a "Fatal Error" message. After that I cannot save anything anywhere and everything I have done so far is lost. I have never had this happen before or 2004LT. IT has rebuilt my computer and reinstated the program, but I still get this message. Occasionally it expands to say that this format is not supported by the application and it must shut down. IT cannot seem to find the root of this, and nor can the Senior Designer at AutoCAD. All the files I use seem to operate OK on their 2010 3D application so they seem clueless. Has anyone experienced this and was able to resolve this issue? When I reboot the computer I can work on the file for a while and keep saving nearly after every change and sometimes I am able to go around this issue and produce a pdf before this happens.

[patricks]

So how are you toggling thumbnails on the fly?!

Thanks,
Gordon

um I dunno, I just change the setting, the screen flickers for a second, and it's done. No messages asking me to reboot for changes to take effect or anything.

[SCShell]

Hey there,
Well, for what it's worth, I figured out my problem.
The Factory sent me a few e-mails, none of which helped. Sorry, but I don't think that they have a clue what is going on with this "problem".

So, giving this some thought....
My I.T. guy suspected that it had to do with a poorly written program, not working and playing well with Windows. He thought it had to do with a shell extension of some sort. And, since the problem started the day I did my Windows Update, I suspect he is correct.

I also knew that the problem did not happen when running my machine in "Safe Mode",. which disables the little preview image on the left side of the directory window under Details. (This also, told my I.T. guy that it had to do, maybe, with a shell extension in Revit files.)

So, my fix was to simply change the offending folder's view to "Thumbnail", which disables the preview image on the left side under "Details". Voila. I can now highlight, browse, preview and right click on any file now without Windows Explorer crashing.

Hope this helps someone else.
Steven

[ws]

I've found a better method for speeding up Windows 7 64 bit folder accesses.

Disable the Windows 7 background Windows file indexing.

Run services.msc
Scroll down to Windows Search,
Double Click it,
Stop the Service and
Choose Disabled from the drop down list,
Click Apply and OK out.

Seems harmless so far, but definitely speeds up folder accesses.

[burke]

You can delete the file by end tasking explorer.exe from task manager then deleting from cmd.exe, but this is the same thumb.db problem that also crashed explorer in some setups.

If you explorer crashes you don't have to wait for autorestart of the process, just click CTRL+SHIFT+ESC then File | New Task | type "explorer.exe" this will restart explorer right away.

Disable thumbnails solves the issue for most.
Jeremy jb@dontpanic.biz

[patricks]

This issue in Windows 7 has since been fixed. I can't remember if it was a Revit update or a Windows update, but I currently have thumbnails turned on for all files and can click on and delete any Revit file without any problems, even old ones.

[ron.sanpedro]

This issue in Windows 7 has since been fixed. I can't remember if it was a Revit update or a Windows update, but I currently have thumbnails turned on for all files and can click on and delete any Revit file without any problems, even old ones.

It was fixed in Revit 2011. And a very welcome fix indeed! ;)

Gordon