2012 Won't Even Start - "Unhandled Exception"

[muzicman82]

Hello all,

I am running Windows 7 x64 SP1. I previously had AutoCAD 2011 x64 installed, but uninstalled it to upgrade to 2012. Installation completed successfully, but on the very first launch, I see the status on the splash screen read "Initializing...", then "Loading plugins... acmgd.dll". After that I see an AutoCAD Error Report. The Detail page says "Unhandled Exception" and nothing else.

Digging around everything seems to point to .NET Framework. I have since uninstalled all .NET versions and installed v4. I also ran the Cleanup Utility from Microsoft in between. After that was done, I uninstalled and installed AutoCAD again, but I still get the same thing.

I tried manually adding REPORTERROR = 0 to the registry, but then I get no error dialog and the program just disappears when it crashes. This is before I see ANY of the problem itself.

I also exported nearly all Autodesk registry branches from a working workstation to this and same thing. I tried coping several folders as well.

I imagine this very well could be a .NET issue, but how the heck do I make it happy? I can't tell if this is a case of too new of a version or what.

After all of the above troubleshooting, I did a CLEAN INSTALL of Windows 7 x64. After I got all of my drivers and such back up, I installed AutoCAD 2012. On first run, it worked. Thank God. Then, I went back and installed all of my other programs that I need on this machine, including Microsoft Office 2010 and Adobe Creative Suite CS5. There's also a bunch of other software as well.

Now, I'm back to where I started, with it not working.

For now I'm just going to have to go back to 2011 to get work done. Hopefully that much works. If not, maybe I'll try to find my r11 for DOS disks. =/
EDIT: Now I can't get AutoCAD 2011 to work. Same problem, although I don't get any errors. It just closes before it even launches.

I'm hoping someone has some ideas, otherwise I'm going to have to go and clean install again and test launch it before/after every program I install... which sucks because there are a lot.

[CADTutor]

When AutoCAD is uninstalled, not everything is removed from the system. Registry settings, for example, remain in place. This useful article describes all the things you should do to completely remove Autodesk products from your system.

Bit late now, I know, but it's worth pointing out that you can run different versions of AutoCAD side-by-side on the same PC. I always install a new version alongside the old one in order to make a graceful transition; that way I can always drop back to the previous one if necessary. Only when I'm happy with the new version do I uninstall the old.

[muzicman82]

So, the question becomes... should I install AutoCAD first and hope it doesn't break as I install other things, or install everything else first and then install AutoCAD last?

[CADTutor]

I would do a clean uninstall of Autodesk products as per the article above, then install all your other software, finally do a clean install of AutoCAD. If the problem persists, you have a logical sequence that you can relay to Autodesk and/or your reseller.

[muzicman82]

Ok, I followed the article and cleanly uninstalled all Autodesk products. Then I tried installing 2012, and I'm getting the same thing.

I'm going to restore an image I made right before I installed 2012 the first time and go from there.

Besides the crash dump, does AutoCAD record an error log anywhere? I don't see this crash anywhere in the Event Viewer and I'm trying to get some more data about the crash.

[Marklsr]

Do you have different profiles that you use to log on with? I had the same problem. I have AutoCAD Mechanical 2009 and I found if I logged in under Autocad "Vanilla" I could simply change the profile back to Mechanical.

[muzicman82]

Nope.

I think I am good to go. I went back to the backup I made right before I installed 2012. This time I launched AutoCAD before/after every program I installed. I also made backups along the way JIC.

All seems good now.

It bothers me that the problem was not easily repairable without a clean install.

[ReMark]

Once the Registry gets hosed its tough to recover without a clean uninstall/install.

[f700es]

OK my Acad is doing the exact same thing. Get this, when I uninstall the video card Acad works. When I reinstall the drivers AutoCAD does not work. About to set up a complete OS reinstall.

[ReMark]

Maybe you need to roll back the drivers not replace them.