2020 V11.9 crashing

I am having the same issues with this version.

Regrettably, in my experience, once you get this message then the file is corrupt and nothing will bring it back. I recommend using the incremental save option but also maybe wind back to 11.8 – it still crashes but maybe not so frequently.

When I’m in your situation I have two options.

1. Click file > new. Once you have a new fresh file open, click file > insert 2020 file, and select the file that is corrupt. If it works, then save it.

2. When you save a 2020 design, you may have noticed that it makes two files. One is a .kit, and one is a .bak. The .bak is a backup file. Click file > open and try opening that file instead of the .kit.

Thanks Tyler, that’s what I was going to suggest.

@ Maria and Michelle – Hi guys,  if you provide us with some details we might be able to pinpoint the issues you are experiencing.  My first recommendation would be to call the 1-866-697-2020 support line and have a tech take a first-hand look at your issues.  You could also contact us at residentialsupport@2020spaces.com.  Please include things like the exact error message and what was happening when it occurred.

Thanks

Neil

In general, I receive a memory error, ( 32 GB ram on a 64-bit machine).   My Nvidia 4000 card is adjusted and set to run 2020, and those setting accommodating for Redway 3d.  I have reset the registry, deleted temp files (I do this after every session), and have lots of room on the hard drive.  When I pull items in from the cloud, it seems to impact performance. I am unable to pinpoint the reason why.  I did update the bios on my laptop and that has helped, and reset the video settings as well.  The copy and paste of a design in a new one only work when you have enough memory to save.  I believe the way 2020 uses those resources by storing and not refreshing in the background is part of the problem. A system warning to save and restart would be a great help.

Tyler – this never seems to work for us since 11.6. Once V11.8/9 says the file is corrupt, we have never been able to retrieve it this way.

Michele, memory is certainly part of the issue. 2020 Design is a 32 bit program and under normal circumstances can only use 2GB of memory no matter how much you have. I have had some success in patching Design to use 4GB and this seems to work well. You can get the patch program here: http://www.ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php

you need to patch Design.exe and LeRendu.exe which are both under Program Files(x86)\20-20 Technologies\Design\Bin\System. I recommend making copies of these to Design.org and LeRendu.org respectively so that you can go back if the patch gives you issues. This is NOT approved by 20-20 but it has helped a lot with memory based crashes for me and my users. Use at your own risk.

Thanks, Mike I will give it ago if I get the courage to do so.  The problem is this happens as the fates would have it when large projects and deadlines loom.

Hi Michele, It’s worth a go as it is easily reversible if you just make copies of the 2 files first. It’s certainly helped out memory issues.

same old software… we pay for it, we pay for support we upgrade our computers and it still crashes…. I have spent thousands “THOUSANDS” of dollars on computers, upgraded video cards, upgraded ram, and on and on and on…. this software has NEVER been correct.

Hi Kevin,

While I agree that 2020 can crash a bit too often, you must have led a very sheltered life – I support more than 30 users and I can tell you that Windows can still crash as can Microsoft Office not to mention other packages we use.

I have found that you can reduce the crashing substantially:

1) MOST important – use NVidia graphics cards. I get more crashes with AMD Radeon than NVidia (my own machine has a Radeon and I stick with an older but mainly stable driver).

2) Avoid certain antivirus packages such as Norton, AVG, McAffee. I stick with Microsoft Defender or Security Essentials and a once a week scan with Malwarbytes AntiMalware.

3) Minimise the amount of software running in the background – check your Tray and exit anything unnecessary.

4) Clear your 2020 temp files on a regular basis and maybe refresh the 2020 registry settings (I have a script that allows me to backup and restore the registry quickly).

5) Avoid Windows 10 – easier said than done but I get a lot less crashes from users running Windows 7 or 8.1. Microsoft keep releasing unstable/untested versions of Windows 10 that just throws up issues everywhere.

6) Save your drawings frequently using an incremental save.

7) Know your machine – there will be several things that will always cause a crash – it may be a particular 3D shape such as a sink or whatever. Avoid that object and report the exact circumstances of the crash to 2020 support.

8) Restart your computer frequently – I restart at least once a day.

Hope this helps. I know crashes are very frustrating.