Fatal Error? Autocad

I'm afraid it means Autocad is conforming to type, get used to it if you use Acad a lot.

I used to get this message regularly (amongst many others) when we used Acad Mech 6 (2000) and had Microsoft Word running at the same time. I was told at the time by the IT people that the number was a memory address, but this doesn't help, so hit the 'OK' button, re-start and off you go again.

In fairness to Autodesk, the latest Acad doesn't do this with anything like the frequency it used to, and it gets on well with Word.

I too, would be interested if someone has a technical explanation.

Drew

Thanks for you help Drew.

Dear RAssos,

I use Autocad (MDT6) a lot and I also used to get this message. I would suggest you to load the latest service packs. I think it should fix the problem. Also if u r using XP then see whether u have Autocad 2007 or 2006 SP6. I think ur frequency of fatal errors shall reduce. If u r working on complex assemblies plese use purge command to purge unused symbols and groups. I think it should be fine..... But the best thing switch to Inventor.

I have been using AutoCad now for over 12 yrs, and have seen my share of these Fatal errors. Mostly with work companions. The majority of the time these occur when one has performed an illegal move, i.e not finishing one command and trying to start another. If in Mech. Desk. the majority of errors comes from importing files from other software packages into AutoCad. In MD all parts must be completely constrained before a save, and it is best to make sure your layouts are all up to date also. There is a AutoCad support group at http://discussion.autodesk.com that can help you specifically. I view this site often as it is very informative if you are an avid user.

I suspect that these are errors in the way Acad handles it's memory - it's likely written something into memory that it doesn't own hence shouldn't be writing to. The OS detects it and issues the "Fatal Error". It could be sloppy coding in Acad or it could be poor code in the OS which causes it to not play well with the Acad. Hopefully these problems get fixed in subsequent releases of the OS and or Acad, but the developers need the feedback - send in bug reports with as much information as you can, to MS and Autodesk. In the meantime, back up frequently and do the best you can!

The processor has detected that Autocad is trying to over write a system location and has produced a conflict. Fatal error referes to the processor having to stop because it can not carry out the next instruction. Another thing is to have plenty of system memory available it is less likely to happen than if you are constantly running up to the wire. Yes keep everything tidy and only have open what you need to do the task inhand. Invest in a multi processor machine with several Gb of ram.

I had the same problems, turns out that ACAD does not like to work with AMD chips. As soon as I swapped over to another computer with an Intel chip no more probs.

Steve