Selecting "file" button freezes system. Wierd problem

faq559-507

That worked! Thanks so much for the assistance.

ACTUALLY...that did not work. Revising the registry as recommended fixes the problem for a bit but then the freezing started again.

Anyone have any ideas out there? The only thing that freezes my system is selecting the "file" button in SolidWorks. Also when the regeneration window appeared when I selected "okay (to rebuild" the system froze.

It seems that anything having to do with connecting SolidWorks to Windows (like the file button's connection with the Windows file system) freezes the system for 20-30 seconds.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

-James

Make sure that there aren't any short cuts in "My network Places" or mapped drives on the computer that have become invalid because of changes to other networked computers. If there are any, "Windows" will spend an age looking for them when any file open or save dialog box is opened even if they're not relevant to the task involved!

We recently replaced one of our workshop computers and it was given a different name and this caused a similar problem. It would even take 30 seconds to open a local text file in notepad, presumably because of so many cashed references to the old name by the dreaded indexing system (now disabled).

Hope this helps.

Trevor Clarke. (R & D) Scientific Instruments.Somerset. UK

SW2007x64 SP3.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 4Gb Ram ATI FireGL V7100 Driver: 8.323.0.0
SW2007x32 SP4.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 2Gb Ram NVIDIA Quadro FX 500 Driver: 6.14.10.7756

Thanks Trevor,

I am using a stand-alone computer (Dell Workstation) with no networked connections. I will check out my drives though and see if there are any issues with that.

The weird part is that S.Works was working fine until I downloaded some files off my clients FTP site. When I went into the windows file explorer window with my cursor my system froze for 30 seconds each time I entered the window! (This is strictly windows XP). Then from then on my Solid Works started freezing when I went to the file button. I erased those files but the problem persists!!! So weird!

Thanks for any advice.

James

I wonder if you're using Windows Desktop Search (WDS) and the index data it keeps has got corrupted, so explorer goes walkabout every time you browze the curzor. It can be forced to re-index using the WDS options control

I don't use WDS anymore as I find it hogs resources despite being only supposed to work in the background and occasionly I find its been turned on again (usually after an auto-update).

Trevor Clarke. (R & D) Scientific Instruments.Somerset. UK

SW2007x64 SP3.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 4Gb Ram ATI FireGL V7100 Driver: 8.323.0.0
SW2007x32 SP4.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 2Gb Ram NVIDIA Quadro FX 500 Driver: 6.14.10.7756

Trevor,

That sounds like it might work. Do you know how I get into the Windows Desktop Search options? I looked under Control Panel and could not find anything.

Thanks so much.

James

I think that WDS is not enabled on your computer if you don't see anything in Control Panel, that's where you would find the options dialog and the rebuild index button. You should right click on the drives in "My Compter" and look at the properties sheet for each drive, where you will see a checkbox to allow indexing for fast searching. WDS has improved a lot since it first appeared and many people now swear by it rather than at it, so it may be worth a try.

BTW, seeing as the problem started with the FTP downloads, do you have up to date Anti-Virus software and did it check out these files and have you run a complete scan since?

Trevor Clarke. (R & D) Scientific Instruments.Somerset. UK

SW2007x64 SP3.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 4Gb Ram ATI FireGL V7100 Driver: 8.323.0.0
SW2007x32 SP4.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 2Gb Ram NVIDIA Quadro FX 500 Driver: 6.14.10.7756

You'll have to disable the service. Go to "Services" under "Adiministrative Tools" in the Control panel. Find "Windows Search" in the list. Right-click on it and choose Properties. Set Startup type to "Disabled".

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)

I just re-read your OP and it seems like you've covered the AV side of things. However, thinking of the downloads, if they were someone else's SolidWorks files they will almost certainly contain references that make no sense on your computer, which then bogs down looking for non-existant paths etc.

Also it's worth checking that you're not running low on free disk space and that it doesn't badly need a defrag.

Trevor Clarke. (R & D) Scientific Instruments.Somerset. UK

SW2007x64 SP3.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 4Gb Ram ATI FireGL V7100 Driver: 8.323.0.0
SW2007x32 SP4.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 2Gb Ram NVIDIA Quadro FX 500 Driver: 6.14.10.7756

Trevor and Handleman,

Thanks for the help. I ran a virus scan...no issues. There is a ton of disk space and the workstation is new and unfragmented. I stopped the indexed fast searching and that all did not fix the problem. I understand references in Sworks but that is not the issue since the issue occured in my windows file explorer window before any of the files were opened. Within Sworks the assembly (or part) is fully up and running with no regen errors and still the "file" button freezes the system. I am using good CAD files that I made before my system started having trouble and the file button still occurs. Thanks so much for you recommendations.

-James

I think the problem you're having is caused by the way XP collects and stores information to build the open/save Dialog boxes, so it can populate the boxe's drop down list box and window every time they're called, 30 seconds is a typical "can't find" timeout.

I'm getting more convinced that the FTP connection you had is behind the problem.

Did the program you used for the download present you with standard windows file selection dialog boxes? If so, this remote location was probably written to the registry and now XP is trying to find it again every time you try to open or save.

To actually track down what's choking it is beyond me! There are downloadable tools (HijackThis and Process Walker), but I don't have any experience on their use. Maybe the simplest option is to rollback XP to a restore point before the FTP session. This may break other things which then need re-installing but it would get you back to how it was when the boxes worked fine.



Trevor Clarke. (R & D) Scientific Instruments.Somerset. UK

SW2007x64 SP3.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 4Gb Ram ATI FireGL V7100 Driver: 8.323.0.0
SW2007x32 SP4.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 2Gb Ram NVIDIA Quadro FX 500 Driver: 6.14.10.7756

Trevor,

I was thinking the same thing...about rolling back XP. The weird part is that the issue does not occur in any other explorer windows other than the folder that I saved those FTP files to (since then the folder had been deleted). SWorks is the only affected application which makes it even more weird. I can open Word, Photoshop, and any other program and the "File" button does not freeze the system. Only Solid Works has the problem and they were SolidWorks files that I downloaded off that FTP site. I used a Filezilla FTP transfer software to download the files.

Thanks again for all your recommendations!

-James

Try this for a workaround. When your system freezes up just hit the X button in the top right to force SW to close. Then restart SW, does it lock up when you try to to a File Open again.

I see this on my new workstation. But it only happens the first time I start SW after a reboot. Once I lock it up, force SW closed, then re-start SW again I am good for the rest of the day.

Weird,



Anna Wood
SW2008 SP5.0, Windows Vista SP1
IBM ThinkPad T61p, T7800, FX570M, 4 gigs of RAM

Anna,

I got so excited to see someone was experiencing this weird issue. I tried your fix but it didnt work. If I force "X" out the same problem occurs the next session I start.


Thanks for the help!!

-James

Great. We just went to SW 2009 SP1 x64 and now it is happening to us. As soon as our cursor hits "file".. locks up for 30 seconds.

Also if we do browse recent documents or browse open documents.. that locks it up solid. Same with pressing cntrl- tab or just pressing R.

I did what was said in this thread besides the registry thing. If we find a solution I will post.

I emailed my var about it.

Matt,

Try the registry fix. It did NOT work for me but takes only a minute to try out. It worked for a few minutes for me (I got really excited) and then the issue started again.... the file button freezes the whole system.

Please see what you can find from you VAR and pleasse get back to me.


Thanks,
James

I just disabled desktop search from the adminstrative services in control panel. Then I did add/remove programs and got rid of desktop search.

I then rebooted.

Bingo, problem gone. I can now do the 3-4 things that would lock the system up. Sweet.

The remove programs removed it from the registry also.

Matt,

I cannot find the first step you indicated: cannot find desktop search in administrative services.

Was that is the main directory?

Thanks for the help.

James