3ds Max cannot load scenes from File menu without crashing

Autodesk Support

Sep 18, 2024

Products and versions covered

Issue:

3ds Max will crash when opening a File menu and attempting to load a scene. Files (may) be merged or opened by drag-and-drop into an empty workspace, re-saved, and then opened via the File History window, but browsing to a file will crash the program.  The program may then display a message saying, "This program has encountered an error and must close." This message can indicate that the scene file has become corrupted.

However, .MAX files that are double-clicked in a Windows Explorer menu or dragged and dropped into an open 3ds Max workspace may load properly.

 

Causes:

There are several reasons why a 3ds Max scene file may cause the respective program to crash upon loading the file:

  • The scene file has become corrupted during a Save process
  • Incompatible plug-ins or MAXScripts are present in the 3ds Max scene
  • Certain cloud-based backup programs can cause 3ds Max to crash when trying to open scene files from the File menu

 

Solution:

To address these issues, try the following:

Troubleshoot and fix corrupted 3ds Max scene files:

  1. If you suspect the 3ds Max scene file has become corrupted, try the troubleshooting steps in this article: Handling File Corruptions
  2. If running 3rd-party plug-ins, go to the manufacturer's website and check to see if an updated version of the plug-in is available. If so, download and install it according to the manufacturer's instructions.
  3. Certain free MAXScripts can corrupt scene files or 3ds Max installations themselves. Make sure to install the 3ds Max Security Tools for older versions of the software: Third-party MAXScript (ALC) causes scene file crashes, corrupts scene data, gives a Script Controller error, or no longer uses the Undo function in 3ds Max

Avoid losing 3ds Max scene data:

To help mitigate problems caused by corrupted scene files, do the following in 3ds Max:

  1. Go to the Customize > Preferences > Files menu, and turn on Increment on Save and Backup on Save. Increase the number of AutoBack files to at least 10.
  2. In the preceding menu, make sure Compress on Save is turned Off. (The Compress on Save setting can sometimes corrupt large files, such as those over 1 gigabyte in size.)

Create separate Autoback save locations if running multiple versions of 3ds Max:

Save each version's Autoback files in a separate location:
  1. In 3ds Max, go to the Customize > Configure Project (or User) Paths > File I/O menu.
  2. Change the AutoBackup location from the default \Users\<username>\Documents\3dsMax folder to the Autoback folder in the C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 20xx folder instead.
  3. Different versions of 3ds Max (2017-2020) will then save to their Autoback files to separate program folders instead of to the User\Documents folder. This change prevents a 3ds Max 2019 Autoback file from overwriting an earlier 3ds Max 2020 Autoback file.

Disable or uninstall Cloud-based Backup software:

Check to see if certain cloud-based backup software is present on the PC:
  1. Open the Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features menu, and see if any of the following programs are installed:
  • Microsoft OneDrive
  • Carbonite
  • Dell Backup and Recovery Solution
  • Druva
  1. If these or other cloud-based backup software programs are on the system, do the following to disable them:
  • Go to the Windows Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
  • Locate the program (if it's running as a Service), then right-click on the entry and bring up the Properties menu.
  • Click on the Stop button to stop the Service, then under the Startup type drop-down menu, and change the Type to Disabled.
  • Apply the changes then reboot the computer.
  1. To uninstall these programs entirely, do the following:
  • Return to the Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features menu.
  • Left-click on the program, then select Uninstall from the top of the menu.
  • Reboot the PC and see if the 3ds Max or Maya crashing issues persist.
  1. If the problems persist, do the steps listed here: How to reset 3ds Max user preference settings back to default
  2. If Dell Backup and Recovery is installed, see: Crash occurs on some Dell PCs when opening, saving or browsing for a file in 3ds Max.

 

Products:

3ds Max;

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