Autodesk Inventor® Hardware Web Site

Caution: Your System could be damaged:
1. Building a 32 or 64-bit Deployment
  1. Two images must be built:
    1. A 32-bit image must be built from a 32-bit system, stored on a 32-bit system and installed on a 32-bit target.
    2. A 64-bit image must be built from a 64-bit system, stored on a 64-bit system and installed on a 64-bit target.
  2. Failure to do this may lead to a situation where MDT or some other product is the wrong type and can not be uninstalled.
    1. To rescue the system, re-format the hard drive.
2. Running Setup32.exe or Setup64.exe manually lead to improper installation of software.Always run Setup.exe to manually start the installation.
3. SQL databases for Content center and Vault can not be installed on compressed or encrypted drives
4. When installing Autodesk Inventor Professional or simulation with a network license, please run it using the AIP or Simulation Icon first to properly register the simulation module. See #952849 below for alternate cleanup.
It is recommended that all Critical updates be installed from Microsoft before starting an installation.
For Windows 2000 SP4, it is REQUIRED that all available Critical and High Priority updates be installed before starting the installation.
Missing documents
1. If the links from the Front End User Interface do not lead to the correct documentation, Please check the docs on either DVD1 or CD1 for the correct document.
2. Check on the workstation on which Inventor is installed in <Install location>\Autodesk\Setup\Docs
Autodesk® Inventor® Suite 2008 - Registration and Activation of Network Licensing from CD media only:
1. When you install Autodesk® Inventor® Suite 2008 as a network licensed product and you try to register and activate it, note that the Network License Activation Utility will not work. You will receive a message stating that your serial number is invalid. In fact, your serial number is valid. We recommend you use the eReg online product registration and activation option available at https://register.autodesk.com for Autodesk Inventor Suite 2008.
2. Note: This problem applies to customers with Autodesk Inventor Suite 2008 CD media only and does not affect DVD media. Additionally, registration and activation options for stand-alone deployments of Autodesk Inventor Suite 2008 are not affected by this issue.

Miscellaneous Install Issues & Tips

It your install requires an additional DVD or CD, Please allow the media time to spin up before clicking OK, each time you change to a different DVD or CD. The DVD spin up does take a few seconds. If this is not done, the media will not be recognized. It will be necessary to restart the whole installation.
When installing Inventor, hot fixes, or service packs, one must have full ADMINISTRATIVE rights on the workstation.
1. Messages like "This installation is forbidden by systems policy. contact your site administrator." usually mean exactly what they say. Your site administrator has placed limitations on what you can do. The general debug process for this situation is:
  1. Make sure that you do have full ADMIN rights.
  2. Make sure that restrictive applications such as anti-virus software are disabled.
  3. If installing with a standalone license, disable BIOS settings that prevent writing to the boot record.
  4. Check this page, the Inventor news group and other resources for applications that conflict with Inventor.
  5. Make sure that you actually need to install the configuration you are trying to install.
    1. For example, are you trying to install IIS (which is only needed if your are going to server files from Vault or Content Center to other systems).
      1. I strongly advise against this configuration. You can make it work, if you modify your system configuration to give services priority. It is also a complex step and not worth he effort for most users.
      2. If you maintain the default configuration, your applications will have priority. On a single physical processor system, Inventor can take all the CPU cycles, locking out the file serving function. Other users will then get network timeouts.
    2. The alternative of installing ADMS is much simpler. It does not require a workstation to be a WEB server, which corporations may not allow.
  6. Work with the site administrator. The general process is to temporarily remove the corporate restrictions, then add them back one at a time, until the source of the problem is located.
  7. After installation, Inventor is intended to run as a standard (restricted) user.
    1. Currently, data files, templates, samples etc, are stored under "Program Files" A User account does not have read access to them.
      1. The system Admin can set up read/write access as needed.
      2. Copy them to another location. I suggest "C:\Users\Public" as recommended by Microsoft. Unfortunately, Inventor has hard coded references to some of these files, so copying them is not a complete solution.
2. Installation of Inventor and MDT on servers, Virtual systems etc., is not supported, or licensed.
The 2008 installation may be slow.
1. If this is an issue, disconnect from all unused memory mapped drives. The installer scans these for space. On big servers, this may take some time.
For Inventor, the default install location will never be empty. Pre-installed items required for the installer will be present. Ignore the message about the folder not being empty.
Many dialogs will have some text cut off.
Clicking in the disk cost display may be required to trigger an update.
If you are importing previous custom libraries while installing current products, please allow several Gigabytes of extra disk storage space.
Canceling the installation during the installation of ADMS or any content libraries causes complex problems. If at all possible, let it run to completion.
1. Re-run the installer to add libraries.
2. If you do cancel, the ADMS, SQL software, And libraries installed must be removed and that part of the installation re-installed.
Set your XP or Vista operating system for maximum performance:
1. Windows key + Pause key takes you to System Properties. Click on the Advance tab then the Settings button under Performance. Then click "Adjust for best performance".
2. This will change the display to look like Windows 2000. For XP Pro, this resulted in about a 15% performance improvement. In this mode, XP runs as fast as Windows 2000.
3. No performance tests have been made on Vista, but I expect that it will improve performance in this mode.
928544 Non-English installations: Installer crashes while installing non-English Autodesk Design Review (ADR) when English ADR has already been installed.
Using Custom installation
1. The installer does not remember customizations. You may want to record your customizations for use when modifying an installation.
2. Changing the installation location:
  1. From the "Review - Configure - Install" dialog, one must use "Configure" button to change the install location.
  2. In the browse for a new "Install Path" dialog, any directories created, do not stick. (They do show up in the installer as if they were created.) Please create them in Explorer.
  3. Click in the "Disk Space Requirements:" window to force an update of he requirements. This process may be very slow as mapped drives are also scanned for space.
3. The same customization path is used to directly select products for installation with a network license.
Installing to a different location?
1. For each product to be installed, customizations are accessed from the "Configure" button on the "Review - Configure - Install" dialog.
  1. The "Configure" button for Inventor and AutoCAD Mechanical Desktop customizations include the ability to do a network install directly from the media. A network install done this way, has all of the options of a standalone install.
2. The Autodesk Data Management Server custom install specifies the custom locations for:
  1. The SQL installation folder
  2. The SQL database
  3. The ADMS installation folder
Portable License Utility
1. If both Inventor and and Mechanical desktop are installed in a language other than English:
  1. When MDT is uninstalled, the Portable License Utility will revert to English
  2. A repair of Inventor fixes this condition.
Installation fails - Direct X
1. Examine Autodesk Inventor Professional (or series) 2008 setup.log to determine the component that failed.
2. If it is DirectX
  1. Go to the install media,DVD 1 or CD 1, Support\DirectX, and execute DXSETUP.EXE
  2. In the DirectX30 folder execute DXSETUP.EXE again
Pre-check: Port 80 in use
1. Click on the error message, it will point to the offending application.
2. This is NOT a conflict with Inventor or it's Content Center.
3. MS Security update 908531 (MS06-015) http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918165
  installs a new binary program, Verclsid.exe. The Verclsid.exe program validates shell extensions before they are instantiated by the Windows shell or by Windows Explorer. If you have some old programs such as hp share to web running then the result will be that explorer will block port 80 .
4. To manually locate the application using Port 80
  1. In a command window type netstat -n -o
  2. This will give you a list of local/foreign connections and their PID.
  3. Look for a foreign address ending in 80. Write the PID for this address.
  4. Open Windows task manager to the process window. (Make sure that "show processes from all users" is clicked.)
  5. Add the PID column using the View pull down.
  6. This will show the process name.
5. Possible conflicts: Skype, HP Share to windows.
6. Thanks to the Inventor news group for this information.
To install from a directory instead of the physical media
1. Copy DVD 1(Inventor) into a directory
2. Copy DVD 2 to the same directory, answer "Yes" to all over-write warnings.
3. Execute Setup.exe in the directory to start the installation.
4. This is useful in working around media read issues, as this directory can be a shared directory or on a server.
DirectX software fails to install:
1. Inventor 2008: On Inventor DVD1 go to Support > DirectX and manually run DXSETUP.exe
  1. Then go to the subdirectory DirectX30 and run DXSETUP.exe again.
2. For Inventor 1, DirectX is located in bin\acadfeui\Inventor\DirectX

If you need to report an installation Problem

Autodesk Product Support needs your help. One useful method is to:

Delete all files from your TEMP directory.
Run the installation.
Zip up the TEMP directory and send it to Autodesk Product support.
Go ahead and surprise them with some useful information.
To locate your TEMP directory
1. The default location is c:\Documents and settings\<your login>\Local Settings\Temp
2. Or Type %TEMP% into the windows explorer address edit box if it is visible
3. Or Press the "Windows" key Plus the "Pause" key to bring up the "System Properties" dialog
  1. Click on the Advanced tab
  2. Click environment Variables
  3. Look in the "User Variables for ..." window to find it's location.

Known issues:

Installation/uninstallation/initial startup
1. 925849 Install network license > launch AIS first then use AIP - you cannot load stress add-in // loading it causes Inventor crash
  1. This is related to an installation of Inventor Professional with a network license. In this configuration, Inventor may be launched as AIS, AIP simulation, AIP Routed System, or AIP.
  2. Workaround: launch AIP first.
  3. Alternate Cleanup Process (requires Administrator access).
    1. Launch the command window (using Start=>Run) and navigate the “bin” directory (i.e. c:\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor 2008\bin)
    2. In the command window, type “RegisterStress.exe /uninstall” and Enter (launch task manager and wait until the process terminates itself. This may take up to a minute)
    3. Launch either AIP or AIP Simulation and close it directly.
    4. Run “registerstress.exe/install” (wait for the process to terminate itself)
    5. You can now launch AIP or AIP Simulation.
2. 927884 The Path to a deployment image can not contain a space. It is also limited to 33 characters on a 32-bit OS and 27 characters on a 64-bit OS.
3. 922568 "Inventor 2008 Content Center Libraries are installed" is shown when you create a deployment image", but this is not true.
4. 915339 [combined setup R12.0.12 AIP : Content Center libraries aren't selectable for installation (already installed) but it should be because they aren't installed]. Workaround:exit and re-start the installer.
5. 915339 [combined setup R12.0.12 AIP : Content Center libraries aren't selectable for installation (already installed) but it should be because they aren't installed]. Workaround:exit and re-start the installer.
6. 915339 [combined setup R12.0.12 AIP : Content Center libraries aren't selectable for installation (already installed) but it should be because they aren't installed]. Workaround:exit and re-start the installer.
7. 910965 [Making a new directory in browse dialog does not stick]
8. 907637 [Installing R10 & R2008 side-by-side - no documentation, no warning, but it will fail with IIS option]
  1. Do not install IIS for 2008 if you wish to continue to use R10.
9. 904599 [Entering %TEMP% as the location for the deployment network log results in a folder %TEMP% being created in ADMINIMAGE folder]. Workaround: do not do this.
10. 927282 [Install 32-bit Inventor on x-64 - AOEM View 2008 Can't be uninstalled]
  1. From a command window execute %windir%\system32\Msiexec.exe /x {6F411DB4-EC41-482B-AD46-384957928F69} /qb
Drawings
1. 924001 IsoViewDim: Iso view dim text using ISOCPEUR font can not be printed out
2. 923255 In a Drawing, shaded view is shifted/scaled when defer update is enabled. Workaround: don't enable defer update.
3. 922159 Published DWF will be wrong when there are the same file name in different locations
Simulation and Routed systems
1. 922098 Creating GB Pipe Threads - Class B) > Inventor crash.
After installation Tips & Tricks
1. Wrong Mass props in sheet metal part after changing material in the flat (920019). Workaround: change your sheet metal material only when the folded model is active.
2. Care should be taken when creating drawings of flat patterns. Bend and punch notes which indicate a direction do so relative to the defaulted front side view that is placed during view creation. This view is based upon the front face seen in the flat pattern state of the model. (925781). Suggestion: Use only the default (front) view when creating a view of a sheet metal flat
3. Feature color of derived parts & iParts is not maintained in Studio. Workaround : use face color when planning to use derived parts in Studio.
4. Shaft generator: keyway length cannot be modified (926385). Workaround: to change the length of a keyway, check and clear the Custom checkbox.
5. Property error when accessing unsaved file in Design Assistant from within Inventor (927152). Workaround: save all your files first before using Design Assistant in Inventor.
6. OLE attachments in idw and ipt do not update (918783). Workaround: use the “Change Source” context menu to force an update.
7. Flexible assemblies out-of-date problem: when animating or moving a flex assembly, you will get an extra update dialog after saving and reopening the assembly. (926490) Workaround: do an extra save.

Vista Information

A special discussion group for Vista issues has been formed. Please see: FAQ Inventor
2008 system requirements (PDF).

Click here for the Vista specific readme.

If the Network License Manager is installed on Vista, UAC must be disabled while editing the license file.

Graphics Highlights

For the 2008 Inventor products, OpenGL is available only on Windows 2000 Pro SP4 and XP Pro/Home SP2.
DirectX 9 is the default graphics mode and is available on Windows 2000 Pro SP4, XP Pro/Home SP2, XP X64, Vista 32, and Vista64
The first cards/drivers tested will be the newer cards that support Direct X 9.
For DirectX 9, the Microsoft WHQL certification (February 2007 or newer) will be considered as equivalent to the autodesk certification.

I expect this issue to be fixed on Vista drivers. It is not fixed for current XP and Windows 2000 drivers. (April 2007)
If you are using nView just to spread the display over multiple monitors, it works fine.
To use effects, Inventor must be excluded from the applications to which the effects are applied.
1. This is done by adding Inventor as an application using a custom nView Desktop Manager settings.
2. Then make the custom effect setting "Disabled".
3. If nView effects are enabled for Inventor, either Inventor will freeze or the nView effects will be disabled for all applications when Inventor starts.
Nvidia is working on this issue. As of driver 6.14.10.9136, it is not yet fixed.

The default graphics protocol in Inventor 2008 is now DirectX 9. OpenGL is available only on Windows 2000 SP4 and XP SPp2. Go to Tools > Application Options > hardware to switch modes. The addition of DirectX enables operation on a very large range of graphics cards. Microsoft expects that most "modern" cards will work. Some tested cards will automatically switch from one mode to the other. This means that we have found problems in the mode that the card is not allowed to use.
3Dlabs is out of the workstation graphics card business. Their cards do not support Direct3D. There will not be any new drivers
Direct X 10 will be out next year. When purchasing a new graphics card, you should look for a card that is "DirectX 10 Ready".
The deployment image may now contain both Inventor and Mechanical. Please read about 32/64-bit installation of MDT. The deployment image can not deploy the content center. However, additional files may be added.

Installation Highlights

One can easily select a standard install configuration.
See Customize for information about other configurations and direct network installation.
After the installation is completed, one can re-run the installer to add additional programs to the installation. For example, if Inventor was initially installed, and one wished to add a local Content Center:
1. Re-run the installer. Select installation of Inventor plus the Content Center.
2. The installer will see that Inventor is already installed and just install the content center with it's data.
  1. The first time the Content Center is used you will be prompted to log on. Select the Vault database from the drop down and logon. Leave the password blank.
By default Inventor installs in trial mode. A Serial number is not required for installation.
Network licensing has changed. See this document for simple explanation of a single license server and Cascading licenses.
Mechanical Desktop (AutoCAD) installed from any Inventor 2008 media:products will run on:
1. A network license for Autodesk Mechanical 2008 or any Inventor 2008 product
  1. If Inventor is running, it will share the active license.
  2. If Inventor is not running,2008 licenses are searched in this order: Mechanical, Inventor Series, Routed Systems, Simulation, Professional.
  3. If MDT is running, Inventor will share the MDT license if possible, If not it will take the license dictated by the startup icon.
2. A standalone license for the Inventor product on the same media.

Applications that Conflict with Installation of Inventor

Spy ware, Anti-Virus, and Internet security programs, especially during installation.
1. Access to the internet should be granted when the installer requests it.
2. Installation can be completed without internet access.
"Error 1406. Could not write value to key \software\Classes\CLSID\..... (Flash from Adobe). This is no longer an issue for the 2008 products
The file Riched20.dll cannot go through the "BlackIce" firewall onto a system. The result:
1. An AutoCAD/MDT deployment image cannot be built on a server running BlackIce.
2. An AutoCAD/MDT deployment image cannot be installed on a workstation running BlackIce.
3. Workaround: Either disable BlackIce for these operations or configure it to let this file pass.
4. Support at BlackIce has confirmed that this is intentional.
The Inventor installers in the Autodesk Inventor® Series and Autodesk Inventor® Professional packages are not Microsoft Logo Compliment. Inventor can not be installed by Advertisement. This is a side effect of the technology that lets multiple versions of Inventor run on the same workstation.
An out-of-date version of Internet Explorer will have problems running our IE6 based Help system.
Some older versions of PDF Complete breaks Inventor. This is a PDF MS Office addin. When it is loaded into Office, Excel starts normally when run by hand. However, Excel will not open when requested by Inventor. This has been reported to Adobe. Workaround: Remove the addin from Excel or uninstall PDF Complete.

Special Installation Situations

To Avoid Reboots during a Deployment Install: Within the Inventor and the Professional modules install process, both install third party software before they install the Autodesk products. Sometimes, the third party software may request to be rebooted before it is used. On some clean systems, the fact that we do not reboot during the Inventor install process may cause an installation error. The simple solution is to reboot and restart the installation.

Service Pack Issues:
1. Hot Fixes:
  1. Hot fixes come out to address specific problems. The descriptions with each hot fix describe exactly how to use it.
  2. Please note that hot fixes must not be blindly installed. They have had less testing than a Service Pack and may not be compatible with other hot fixes.
  3. When installing a service pack is not advisable to pre-install all of the Hot Fixes. All hot fixes, except those that may conflict with each other or have a better solution in the service pack are normally wrapped up into the service pack.
    1. Any that are left out are left out for a reason.
2. Inventor:
  1. Starting with AIS/AIP 11, Autodesk Inventor service packs are distributed as ".msp" files. They can be used directly by the Network Installation wizard. They can also be uninstalled.
  2. Service Pack un-installation methods.
    1. Windows XP and forward: Use "Add or Remove Programs". Be sure to check the checkbox at the top of the window "Show Updates".
    2. Windows 2000: Information for manual un-installation is patch specific and can not be released until a service pack actually exists.
  3. The AIP Modules are now included with Inventor when a deployment image is created with the Network Installation Wizard.
    1. The content Center libraries can not be distributed with a deployment image
  4. Inventor service packs are historical. They must be applied in sequence.
    1. For example, SP2 must be applied on top of the released product + SP1.
3. MDT and AutoCAD:
  1. The service packs for these products continue to be distributed as ".exe" files. To convert them to .msp files:
    1. Copy the service pack to x:\Temp. Where "x" is the drive you have selected to use.
    2. Do not type the quotes in the following.
    3. From the start menu, select Run and type "cmd"
    4. Type "x:"
    5. Type "cd \"
    6. Type "cd \temp"
    7. Type: "<Product_name>.exe /e <Product_name>.msp". This will place the msp version of the patch in your x:\temp folder.
    8. Rule: File names with spaces must be enclosed with double quotes.
  2. Each AutoCAD based Service pack is complete by itself. They are cumulative and may be applied directly to the original release, or the original release plus updates, such as a previous service pack.
  3. For example, SP2 may be applied to either the released product or the released product + SP1
4. Deployment images
  1. Deployment images are patched in the same manner as the released products. See the description above.

System Requirements Before Installation

As a practical matter, all critical updates from Microsoft (including office products) should be installed before contacting Autodesk for support.

Updating workstations to current Microsoft levels will usually avoid installation problems and increase security.

If the Content Center (ADMS) is to be installed on your local system, file and printer sharing MUST be enabled. Search on "file and printer sharing" in windows help for information on how to do this.
Autodesk Inventor software is shipped in DVD format. If you would like CD format, fill out the business reply card and send it back to us for fulfillment
Please refer to http://www.autodesk.com/inventor-graphic-cards (this site) for the latest information about graphic cards and drivers. It is strongly advised to update the graphics database each time the driver is updated.
An Internet connection is required for internet downloads and Subscription Aware access.
Microsoft Excel XP or later is required for iParts, iFeatures, thread customization, and spread sheet driven designs.
NetMeeting is no longer supported.
Installs on New systems:
1. These may have an installation error, because a reboot has been suppressed in our installation script. Workarounds:
  1. Reboot and try again.
Microsoft recommends that the size of the virtual memory swap file should be set to twice the size of the physical memory in the system.
If your are using the 3GB option on Windows XP, SP2+ Pro, the size of the swap file should be set to 4GB. After installation, a workspace of 1GB minimum is required for the Undo file and other Autodesk Inventor® temporary files.
1. The default location is defined by your TEMP environment variable.
2. You can change this location by running Autodesk Inventor® and changing the location of the Undo file.
Inventor constantly puts files in your temp directory. Please delete them from time to time.
Actions, such as repair, related to the SQL data base for the Content Center may require a TEMP space up to 3 times the size of the database files (3 x 1.2GB).
When removing Autodesk Inventor® or Mechanical Desktop (AKA AutoCad or Mechanical), if you have just recently run the application, you may get a message that the remove function cannot be performed because cdilla10.exe (or cdilla64.exe) is still running.
Logout then Login and uninstall the product.
Performance:
1. Disk drive technology and the amount of physical memory has a significant impact on performance.
2. Disk fragmentation has a major impact
3. Physical memory has a major impact.
4. Memory that is not used by Inventor can be used by windows for disk drive I/O caching.
  1. A minimum of 512MB of memory is required in all cases
  2. 1 GB is really required for reasonable use. More is even better.

Graphics Requirements Before Installation

Graphics card and driver information can be found at: http://www.autodesk.com/us/inventor/graphic_cards/ Please check your driver.
1. If it is rated RED in both OpenGL and DirectX, please find a different driver.
  1. If a different driver is not available, select Direct3D and Software Emulation
2. If it is rated Yellow in one mode and Green in the other use the Green mode.
3. If it is a workstation card and not rated Green in any mode, we are working with the vendor to improve the rating.
4. Pease read the comments about the whole card family and the individual driver.
Laptops with ATI graphics: If "Enable POWERPLAY(tm)" is checked, graphics hardware acceleration is lost and the display is degraded to 16-bit color when running on battery power. Inventor then reverts to software emulation to run the graphics. The laptop must be connected to power and re-booted to resume normal operation.
Modern workstation graphics cards require 32-bit color (true color) to enable hardware acceleration. The performance of Autodesk Inventor® depends on the graphics card hardware acceleration. For additional information about hardware issues and tips, explore this site.

Installation Issues?

Hijackers: Some search tools like NTsearch.com and coolwebsearch are in reality Hijackers that take over parts of your system. NTsearch prevents any MSI installer, like the ones from Autodesk, from running.
If you don't have enough space on the OS drive:
1. For any product to be installed, the customization process starts by selecting the product and clicking "Configure".

How can I put the content of my Media on a server for use by others?

Peripherals

IOmega: Do not eject the zip drive while Autodesk Inventor is running.
If your Logitech mouse is slow when Autodesk Inventor® has the focus, check your mouse setup in the control panel. If you have a check box labeled: "Disable acceleration in games," clear the check mark. The driver is treating all OpenGL applications as games.

General information for using Inventor

As part of our Continuous Improvement process, Inventor contains a Customer Error Reporting (CER) system. When Inventor has an abnormal termination, you will be prompted to send a mini dump to Autodesk. To do this, you must have an internet connection. Please include an email address to enable the Rapid Response Team at Autodesk to contact you if they need more information.
Autodesk Inventor® 11 (Series and Professional) stores the prior versions of a document as separate files in a folder called "OldVersions" located in the same directory as the current document.
The resolution of images inserted into sketches depends on the display resolution. If the display is set to 16 bits, a full color image can degrade significantly. For best results, use 32-bit resolution.
Temporary files may remain on your system after a process is terminated. Monitor your default windows working directory (%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp AKA %temp%) and clean it out as needed.