Slow Performance Solidworks

Why is Solidworks slow? Reducing the performance of Solidworks is a very unpleasant situation. And to find the cause is not easy. 

Possible reasons:

• Errors drivers or video cards;
• Errors of settings or add-ins;
• Wrong  shortcut to launch;
• The errors on the disk;
• Fragmentation of the disk;
• Data errors in the registry;
• Power Options;
• External links.

A great help in this is provided by Solidworks Rx.

Launch the Solidworks Rx

At the bottom of the diagnostic page, there are two safe modes. The choice of the first ignores the video card driver and runs SolidWorks in OpenGL mode for the next SolidWorks session. This can help to eliminate the problem with the video card. If this safe mode resolves the problem, it becomes clear that your problem is related to your card and you need to get a new driver or replace the old video card. Command line of this mode:

"C:\Program Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp\SOLIDWORKS\sldworks.exe" /ForceSoftwareOGL /SWDisableExitApp

Another safe mode is "Ignore Tools / Options" for the next session. It uses the ready-made SolidWorks settings and disables all add-ins. If this security mode fixes the problem, you may need to fix the SolidWorks configuration or add-ons. The command line for this mode is as follows:

"C:\Program Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp\SOLIDWORKS\sldworks.exe" /SWSafeMode /SWDisableExitApp

Use safe modes to narrow the range of possible causes:

• Driver or video card errors;
• Errors of settings or additions;
• Wrong shortcut to start.

Driver or video card errors

If the problem disappears in OpenGL mode, then you need to update the driver. Not the fact that the new driver will solve the problem, in practice very often the older version is a solution to problems. Another option is to replace the video card with a more powerful gaming or professional. List of certified video cards you can see on the site Solidworks. 

Errors of settings or additions

If the second safe mode solves the problem (which disables all add-ons and works with the default settings), you must disable all Solidworks add-ins and test it.

 If the performance is normal, then we include add-ons one at a time and after each test. So if the reason is in the supplement, then including one by one we will find it. If, after disabling all extensions, Solidworks does not restore the performance, then reset to the default settings.

In this way, we set the mode in which Solidworks Rx checks the system.
In this way, we set the mode in which Solidworks Rx checks the system. There is another way to reset all user settings. To do this, start the Registry Editor, browse to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SolidWorks\SOLIDWORKS 2016" and rename SolidWorks 2016 to anything you like.The path is specified for Solidworks 2016, find for your version and rename, for example, "Solidworks 2016_old". This will force SW to create a new default SolidWorks key the next time it's launched, which will also mean you'll lose any custom settings.



There are cases when, despite disabling add-ons and resetting parameters, Solidworks slows down, but if you run it through Solidworks Rx in the second safe mode - it works fine.
The reason for this is a wrong shortcut to start.

Wrong shortcut to start

Sometimes when installing Soliworks, the installer incorrectly determines the installed system and prescribes compatibility with another operating system in the properties of the shortcut. For example, when you install Solidworks 2012 on Windows 7 x64, the shortcut properties have compatibility with Windows Vista. As a result, Solidworks is slow on fairly simple assemblies.

True shortcut Solidworks 2012 on Windows 7x64

Wrong shortcut Solidworks 2012 on Windows 7x64

Because of the compatibility with Vista, Solidworks is slowing down. After creating the correct label, the solidworks works normally.

The following reasons for the slow work of Solidworks can be reflected in the tab: "Diagnostics"

You can see whether the system parameters are recommended. After these problems are resolved, click the Update Results button to restart the diagnostics.

 "Troubleshoot"

Using the tools in this tab implies the presence of a valid Solidworks serial number and a valid contract for subscription services.

"System Maintenance"

This tab contains the necessary tools for removing temporary files that Solidworks uses. Especially I wanted to pay attention to clearing temporary files in Solidworks data folders. During an improper completion of a solid, temporary files beginning with "~" remain in the folder, in some cases this is the cause of the failure of Solidworks. It is desirable to delete such files, you can manually, but you can assign this procedure to Solidworks Rx. Running disk checking and defragmentation can be done by Windows utility tools without resorting to Solidworks Rx. System maintenance is possible and even desirable to plan:

Problem Capture

On this tab, you can record an error for technical support, attach additional files and send. I have no relation to independent resolution, so I will not go into more depth.

Add-in

On this tab, you can run a performance test and compare them with the data of other users, and add another application to the tab. You can see the results of other users by the link.

It should be noted, even if you seemed to have found a problem with the driver or add-on, to maintain the service after all, there can be several errors.

Error data in the registry

There is one more reason that can not be detected using the Solidworks Rx utility. Those. after all sorts of manipulations, the solid still slows down. The error can be in the registry - there is a possibility that the necessary data in the registry has been deleted or changed. And this obviously happens, because the SOLIDWORKS installation directory contains the "graphicshardware.reg" registry file, which restores the default settings for the video card. The path to it is the following "C:\Program Files\SolidWorks Corp\SolidWorks\lang". 

Power Saving Mode

Another reason for poor performance may be the power settings. If you have a laptop, then this must be checked. So Start - Control Panel - Power - Set up a power plan - Change additional power settings, set "High Performance".

High Perfomance

 Referenced Documents

 This option refers to the settings of Solidworks, so it is better to check it before resetting. The speed of opening Solidworks documents can be affected by the Search for Linked Documents option. For diagnostics, you must remove all paths from the "File Location" menu from the "Referenced Documents" item.

I hope this article has helped you.