CAD 2002 pop-up locking-up???

We're using Autocad 2002 here in the office for restaurant layouts.

I know we're a bit outdated but has worked for what we've needed.

Everyone running 2002 has the same problem:

- When doing something that uses a pop-up within the program such as a plotting, editing text, etc... the pop-up window will lock-up and flicker within a few sconds to half a minute; need to type really fast and god forbid if the phone rings....

- Need to click back-n-forth between cancel the 'x' to close the window and start again.

I've bumped my PC to 2.5 gigs of RAM to see if this will help as we also run another memory intensive quoting program.

No help with the added memory.

One other person is running 2009LT and does not experience the same problem as the rest of us.

Thoughts???

Does Autodesk have an update? Did not see anything on their website.

Hate to spend the money to upgrade as this older version does everything we need asides from this problem.

When did this problem first occur? Had you changed anything prior to this happening?

There is a 2.43MB service pack 1 for AutoCAD 2002 (unlocked version) available. You did download and install it when it was released right?

Does AutoDesk have an update? What? To AutoCAD 2002? Other than the service pack the "update" would be the latest version (i.e. - 2010). Got $$$$?

Been occuring for a awhile now; 6-10 months. Just been stuggling through it.

Have not changed anything that we're aware of.

Are all the CAD systems using the same hardware?

Does AutoDesk have an update? What? To AutoCAD 2002?

Yeah - I thought that was a bit of a crazy question myself as I was typing... kinda like upgrading a Pinto

Everyone here is running the same basic hardware / software.

I don't think anyone has installed the service pack but need to confirm this with our IT Dept.

ReMark,

I assume this is the serice pack you are referencing:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=2524830&linkID=9240618

Yes, that is the service pack I was referring to.

Well Steve, I'm searching for a common denominator here since the problem affects all machines running 2002. So we have software (your OS, anti-virus program and AutoCAD) and hardware (possibly memory but more likely graphics card). We might also add drivers for the graphics cards to the list.

Here's a response from our IT guy regarding the hardware:

Ok, I checked on Leslie’s PC, and I think it is the same with everyone, that he is using the maximum shared video memory of 8MB. No one is using a dedicated graphics card.

One interesting thing is that Oz reported that he never had this issue until we upgraded him from a GX260 to a GX270 w/1GB of RAM. Besides that hardware change, I think he is also using XP SP3. I think it is unlikely that a windows update broke it though.

I’ll check the IP address list and make sure that everyone is using similar hardware and software. I don’t think we have any available graphics cards in order to experiment.

Is an 8mb video card generally sufficient?

Shared video, in my experience, refers to a motherboard that relies on an integrated graphics chip and not a dedicated graphics card. When the graphics chip cannot handle the demand it resorts to stealing resources from main memory. How much memory (RAM) is in each computer.

8MB of vidRAM is best described as "poor".

Does the user of 2009 have a computer with a graphics card installed?

We're all running the same basic hardware with integrated video boards.

Frustrating.

I'm going to load the service pack later. I know this program is several generations old but asides from this; it works for us and don't want to spend the money to upgrade unless needed. Especially with the current economy.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

You could always just buy 2009 or 2010 LT versions.

Even the LT version will have more power/usability than 2002

2010 has changed there layout significatly.

However once you get used to the new ribbon layout

you will love it. You say that its tough to upgrade given the current market

however since you are going from 2002 the time savings may pay for the upgrade quite quickly.

Even going from full 2002 to 2009 LT is going to be an eye-opener. Wait til you get a load of the Ribbon!

Besides the obvious what is it about 2002 that keeps your firm from upgrading?

Just the cost if it's not needed.

We'll run it up the flag pole with management and see what happens.

As one respondent mentioned perhaps going to 2010 LT might be less costly assuming the program will do everything full 2002 currently does for you.