Up and Ready

.NET 4.5 beta vs .NET 4.5 RC and AutoCAD

Just an quick update for customers running AutoCAD 2013 and using any flavor of .NET 4.5.   

NOTE:  They are both NOT supported but one plays better with AutoCAD 2013.  It is best to use .NET 4.0.

Microsoft® .NET Framework® 4.5 Beta
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28978

Please uninstall the Microsoft® .NET Framework® 4.5 Beta and install the .NET Framework® 4.5  Release Candidate version.

Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 Release Candidate
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29909

NOTE:   Thanks to Alison Gangler for sharing this tip with the community.

Licensing: Combining licenses and case sensitivity for the servername

I recently experienced an interesting problem and an a relatively easy fix.  We had setup the license server properly and the also generated licenses on the same issue date.  The customer had 5 x AutoCAD and an additional AutoCAD x 1 on the license server.

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/11/quick-start-setting-up-a-license-server.html

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/10/general-licensing-the-importance-of-the-issue-date.html

In this instance, the server name in one of the license files was UPPERCASE and the other license file, the server name in was lowercase.  The license file was then combined manually using Notepad.   In theory, this should have worked but the server would not start and the lmgrd.exe would not start.  

The solution was to:

1.  Remove the duplicate server lines from the license file.

SERVER YOUR-server-NAME 00xx00xx00xx00
USE_SERVER
VENDOR adskflex port=2080

2.  Change the server name so that they are exactly it has the same case.

The problematic license file is below:

Thanks to Chantal Seguin for confirming that this solution worked.

Maya 2013 Service Pack 1 is available for download

Maya 2013 Service Pack 1 is a full product installation.  You will need to unisntall your exisiting Maya application before installing this release.  

This service pack includes all of the fixes from the hotfix releases that preceded it. Therefore, you do not need to download and install all of the hotfixes in addition to this service pack.

You can download it here:

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=DL19834912

For more info on what is fixed, go here:

http://mayastation.typepad.com/maya-station/2012/06/maya-2013-service-pack-1-has-been-released.html

Thanks to Nelson Cruz on the Maya Station.

AutoCAD crashes when using Panda Anti-Virus software

I just stumbled upon this interesting solution that affects the AutoCAD 2012 family of products.  For more details, check out this solution:

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS18136742

Thanks to Chris Aquino on the Revit team.

ACAD/Medre.A Malware Alert !!

ACAD/Medre.A is an AutoLISP program disguised as an acad.fas file. When a user opens a DWG from a folder containing this file, the malware sends a copy of the DWG via an email (using SMTP protocol).

Please read this FAQ for further details.

AmMgdInterop.dll errors when starting up AutoCAD Mechanical 2013

We have received several reports regarding AmMgdInterop.dll error messages when starting AutoCAD Mechanical 2013, while starting AutoCAD Mechanical 2013 with AutoCAD profile works fine.  The development team is currently investigating the issue. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A procedure imported by ‘AmMgdInterop.dll’ could not be loaded.

At this time this issue mainly occurs on XP 32-bit and Windows 7 32-bit systems and contributing factors are having AutoCAD Mechanical 2013 installed ‘side by side’ with Mechanical Desktop 6, AutoCAD 2002 and AutoCAD R 14.  If you happen to have Mechanical Desktop 6, AutoCAD 2002 and AutoCAD R 14, you need to uninstall them to make AutoCAD Mechanical 2013 work as expected.

In some instances reinstalling all Autodesk Products as per following Technical Solution helped as well.

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS45252

AutoCAD 2012 for Mac: Using 3 displays will send an error report to Autodesk

I recently helped out one of my co-workers with a case in which AutoCAD 2012 on Mac would not start and it would send an error report to Autodesk.  The specific hardware used in this case is below:

• MacBook Pro 17" running 10.7 (Lion) - running max resolution
• Min-Display Port - connected to a LCD display running max resolution
• 3rd party USB 3.0 to HDMI/DVI Display Adapter connected to another LCD display running max resolution

Using all 3 displays will crash AutoCAD on Mac and send an error report to Autodesk.  As soon as you select the display to be in mirror mode, AutoCAD 2012 for Mac would start properly.   The suggestion is to test a couple of resolution & display settings based on your hardware setup to find out which works best.

Thanks to John Cable for confirming that this solution worked.

Autodesk Suites: 2013 System Requirements for all of our Suites

This is a page that has all all the System Requirements for all of our Suites in pdf format in multiple languages:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/item?siteID=123112&id=16490792

Thanks to Roberto Tomarchio for this awesome find on our the autodesk.com site.

 

Windows: The Basics of Using Microsoft Fix it

I have been using this Microsoft Fix it tool with some success this past week. In some instances, there is a problem in which you can't install the software after uninstalling it or there is transform error.  Normally, we would hack the registry or use a 3rd party registry cleanup tool to try to resolve the issue.

Error applying transforms.  Verify that the specified transform paths are valid.  #222

1.  Download Microsoft Fix it tool and use the Advanced Download option.

http://support.microsoft.com/mats/Program_Install_and_Uninstall

2. Download, run and extract Microsoft Fix it on the desktop of your computer.

3. Select Install or upgrade Software or Hardware category.

4. Go to Fix problems with programs that can't be installed or uninstalled.

5. Select Run Now.

Please check out a video demo of the workflow:

Video:  AutoCAD Mechanical 2013_cannot_install

Video:  Run Mircosoft Fix it on your computer to fix AutoCAD Mechanical 2013 

Reference:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/10/general-systems-program-install-and-uninstall-troubleshooter-aka-microsoft-clean-up-utility-2.html

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/07/general-installation-cannot-uninstall-andor-reinstall.html

Autodesk Suites: Building Design Suite 2013 and Navisworks Simulate 2012

For users of the Building Design Suite Premium 2013 on Subscription, you will have access to 3 versions back of the products in the Suite.

One of the new product additions to the Building Design Suite Premium 2013 is access to Navisworks Simulate 2013.

NOTE:  The Building Design Suite Premium 2012 did NOT contain Navisworks Simulate 2012, therefore, you will not be able to run Navisworks 2012 Simulate with a Building Design Suite Premium 2013 on Subscription license.

These Technical Solutions mention previous versioning support here:

Understanding Previous Version support for Autodesk Suite products
http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS16961119

Understanding Previous Version support for Autodesk Point products
http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS1085008

License Consumption

Previous Version support allows Suite licenses to only consume a single license for every application from the same release year of the Suite. If the Autodesk Suite product did not exist in the previous year then each previous version of a product that is launched will consume a separate license. Since no Autodesk Suites exist prior to the 2011 release year, launching a previous version of all 2010 and 2009 products will always consume one license each.

For example, if you have a package license for Autodesk Design Suite Premium 2012, the following scenarios can be expected:

• Running AutoCAD 2012, 3ds Max Design 2012, and Mudbox 2012, on the same workstation and at the same time, only consumes one license.
• Running Showcase 2011 and Mudbox 2011, on the same workstation and at the same time, also only consumes one license because there is a 2011 version of Autodesk Design Suite Premium.
• Running AutoCAD 2010 and 3ds Max Design 2010, on the same workstation at the same time, consumes two licenses (one for each product) because there was no version of Autodesk Design Suite Premium 2010.

Reference:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/11/general-licensing-subscription-suite-and-previous-version-licensing-support.html