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SW2005 - Sudden slowdown after hard drive replacement.

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bsimons

bsimons

Mechanical
Nov 2, 2005
10
Hi list

I could use some help diagnosing a problem: I have been using SW2005 for a few months with no problems. Last week my hard drive failed, and I had to replace it with a backup. Now SW runs like molasses (zooming takes > 30 seconds, sketch snaps don't work in real-time, and parts often change to blocks while being redrawn). This happens even with files with very few features (or none!). I'm running a pentium 4 with 512Mb ram and an ATI radeon 9550 graphics card. It was more than capable of running SW before, and no other apps show signs of slowness.

I tried reinstalling, but it hasn't helped. Any suggestions on what to try next?

-Brendan
 
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The first thing I would look at would be to increase the amount of ram that you have, I believe that 512 is below the recommended if not below required for running SW 2005.

Next I would check to see if the video card is SW approved. Do a search on the forum and you should find a link to the web page that lists approved cards.

Other than that I'm sure that others will have more suggestions.



Alan M. Etzkorn [machinegun] [elk]
Reliability Engineer
Wabash National Corp.
 
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SW ran excellently before, so I don't see how the graphics card could be at issue. And looking at my task-manager, there is plenty of Ram unused.

I just did a quick search through the forum, and found advice on the "enable software opengl" option in tools->options->system options->performance. Checking that option brings things back up to a usable speed, though still slower than before.
 
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Reading everything again, this really sounds like a graphics card issue of some sort. Go to the SW site and download the latest tested drivers for your graphics card and see how that works.


Jeff Mowry
Reality is no respecter of good intentions.
 
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Ironically, the same thing happenened to me just the other day. And I believe Theophilus - to be quite correct. (It doesn't make sense, but it's definitely a driver/graphics card issue.)
 
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Got the latest driver without success. In the meantime I checked out a coworkers installation. He has the same graphics card as I do, but SW runs perfectly on his machine. Interestingly his "Software OpenGL" option is unchecked (Mine is now checked, but greyed out, so I can't uncheck it!).

Nella95: Ironically, the same thing happenened to me just the other day. And I believe Theophilus - to be quite correct. (It doesn't make sense, but it's definitely a driver/graphics card issue.)

Really? I wonder if the recent windows update (which involved ActiveX, and Microsofts core graphics layers) are to blame. Has anyone else encountered problems this week after running windows update?
 
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What are the specs on your new hard drive versus your old drive? If you went from a 7200 rpm drive to a 5400 rpm drive, that could have a huge impact. If that's not the problem, try cleaning out the SolidWorks section of your Windows registry. Scott's FAQ can guide you through that.
 
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The fact that your performance improved when you set it to using Software OpenGL, points strongly to a graphics card / driver issue. Using software OpenGL stops SolidWorks from using the 3D processor in the video card. If your coworker has the same card and OS, you could try installing the same version of the driver that he has.

Eric
 
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Are you having problems with any other software? Especially graphics intensive ones (Adobe, Corel, etc)

Have you checked for correct drivers for the new hard drive are properly installed? Does your BIOS need updating?

Regarding SolidWorks, you should be running driver version 8.121-050322a or 8.082-041130a. Which one is your coworker running?

When you reinstalled SW, did you disable your AV?

Does the ATI card have an application specific setting like the nVidia cards have?

Before changing the "Software OpenGL" settings, close all applications to ensure no files are open.

[cheers]
Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091
 
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How do I set the Software OpenGL option in SW and turn the Hardware Acceleration to "None"?
faq559-1058

[cheers]
Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091
 
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SW ran excellently before, so I don't see how the graphics card could be at issue. And looking at my task-manager, there is plenty of Ram unused.
Click to expand...

The reason why is because every install is different then the last. Hiccups happen and it can happen on installs with the OS to drivers for the machine. I cannot rule anything out until you have checked it out completely to rule it out. Just because it worked before on a different HDD, doesn't mean it will work the same with a new HDD.

I just did a quick search through the forum, and found advice on the "enable software opengl" option in tools->options->system options->performance. Checking that option brings things back up to a usable speed, though still slower than before.
Click to expand...

That means that the problem is your graphics card and/or the drivers. If you read the help it will tell you what that option does for you. It turns off the video card and makes your CPU not only do the Calculations, but now it is doing the video card graphics. Of course it will be slower now.

Got the latest driver without success. In the meantime I checked out a coworkers installation. He has the same graphics card as I do, but SW runs perfectly on his machine. Interestingly his "Software OpenGL" option is unchecked (Mine is now checked, but greyed out, so I can't uncheck it!).
Click to expand...

Maybe I missed it, but you never listed what card you are using. If you don't help s to help you then really there is nothing we can do or will your VAR be able to do. PLease list your Graphics card and video drivers. Then we can rule this out or as a still possible problem.

The reason it is grayed out is probably because you have a file open. If you read the FAQ in this forum it will tell you that you [red]That you must NOT have a file open to change that option.[/red]

You neighbor maybe getting lucky, but if you both are not using Certified cards and drivers, then your problem is most likely graphic card/driver. Please help us to help you.

Scott Baugh, CSWP [pc2]
faq731-376
 
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I uninstalled SW again and ran the registry clean .bat linked from Scott's FAQ. I reinstalled again, but I still have the same symptoms

I found that FAQ about turning off OpenGL, thanks CorBlimeyLimey. Turning off software OpenGL makes everything slow again. This is getting very frustrating. I am running the ATI Driver Packaging Version 8.203-051211a-029124C. I haven't tried to make my driver match my coworkers yet.

At this point, I've lost enough work, and will settle for software OpenGL. Please keep your suggestions coming, and I'll give them a shot when the frustration has worn off

Brendan
 
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sbaugh: That means that the problem is your graphics card and/or the drivers. If you read the help it will tell you what that option does for you. It turns off the video card and makes your CPU not only do the Calculations, but now it is doing the video card graphics. Of course it will be slower now.

Except it's faster. Which, I agree, seems to point out something with the graphics card

Maybe I missed it, but you never listed what card you are using

I mentioned in my first post that it's an ATI Radeon 9550. Solidworks doesn't have a listing for that particular card, but it does mention the 9500, which I gather is very similar. The 9500 is listed as "Passed with Limitations", and the limitations are: "Limited number of accelerated windows. Amount of video memory determines the number. If 64M - 128M of memory, 5-12 accelerated full screen windows.
2D Driver: 6.14.10.6525" . According to ATI's control centre, my "2D Driver" is now 6.14.10.6587.

The new hard drive is a clone of the original. I had not touched my SW install, or my graphics drivers between the crash and when I first noticed the slowdown (with the exception of the previously mentioned windows update). I am a little confused how my graphics card could be causing problems now.

 
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The driver you are using is not approved by SW. It may be the latest from ATI but the only "SW approved" versions are 8.121-050322a or 8.082-041130a.
See Try one of those. See faq559-1194.

There are quite a few questions in the preceding replies, the answers to which would be helpful in pinpointing the problem.

[cheers]
Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091
 
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Ooops ... that second driver should be 8.01-040421

What version is your coworker using?

The new hard drive is a clone of the original.
Click to expand...
Are you running a RAID array? Or did you do a "Ghost" of the original HDD prior to the crash?

[cheers]
Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091
 
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There are quite a few questions in the preceding replies, the answers to which would be helpful in pinpointing the problem.
I tried to answer everything I could. I don't know the speed of the new drive as it isn't available from the Windows Device Manager, and I don't want to take the PC apart again. I did disable my virus scanner during installation. The hard drive driver seems to be correct, and I'm not seeing problems with any other program.

What version is your coworker using?
My coworker doesn't have the ATI control panel installed, so I can't tell what "driver package" he has, but Windows Device Manager says the driver is version 6.14.10.6404

Or did you do a "Ghost" of the original HDD prior to the crash?
A ghost. It's part of our regular backup procedure.
 
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That driver is for the Mobility & Fire GL cards. I would definitely uninstall it & try the 8.121-050322a per FAQ559-1194.


[cheers]
Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091
 
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Try uninstalling the ATI control panel. Then obtain the driver that your coworker is using. Change your driver to a genaric driver from microsoft. Reboot the computer. Install the new driver and reboot again.
Another thing to try is copy the SolidWorks settings from your coworkers computer to yours.

You said that you have a clone of the original hard drive even though it is a clone things can still change without knowing it. Check the hard drive setings in the bios if the error checking is on turn it off.

Compare the process that are runing on your computer with the ones on your coworkers. There may be someing loading that is confilicting with SolidWorks.

Some times a program can interfer with another program and give you adverse effects. I had one such program installed on my computer that for the most part did not interfer with solidworks but once in a while it would hang solidworks untill I closed that program then all of a sudden solidworks came back to life.
 
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The following utilty builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser.


[cheers]
Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091
 
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