Crash when launching, opening, closing files, or clicking the ribbon in older releases of AutoCAD

Issue:

When launching the program, opening or saving a file, or clicking a ribbon or menu command in AutoCAD 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, a fatal error occurs and the program crashes, showing a message similar to the following:

AutoCAD Error Aborting

FATAL ERROR: Unhandled Access Violation Reading 0x0000 Exception at d4bea3e3h.

Environment:

Windows 7
Windows 8
Windows 8.1
Windows 10

Causes:

Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7 or newer has been installed.
AutoCAD version not compatible with the Windows version.

Solution:

The ideal solution is to upgrade to a newer version of AutoCAD. Although this issue is not limited to Windows 10, it should be noted that AutoCAD 2015 and earlier are not supported on Windows 10.

To work around the majority of crashes with older AutoCAD versions, do one or more of the following:

Edit the acad.exe.config file (or acadlt.exe.config for AutoCAD LT)

Open the following file in Notepad: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 20xx\acad.exe.config

Tip:

Right-click the file and choose Open with.
Pick Notepad as the application.
Do not select Always use this app… so the .config file type will not be associated with Notepad.
Opening through Notepad will work too. Select All Types in the file type menu to select the file.
Ensure file extensions are displayed to know exactly the right file to edit (see How to turn on hidden file extensions in Windows).

Copy the following line of code and paste it between the <runtime></runtime> tags:

<AppContextSwitchOverrides value="Switch.System.Windows.Input.Stylus.DisableStylusAndTouchSupport=true"/>

Note: This is one line of text–no line break, as it may seem to have depending how wide this article is shown in a web browser.

Example:

<!--All assemblies in AutoCAD are fully trusted so there's no point generating publisher evidence-->
   <runtime>
      <generatePublisherEvidence enabled="false"/>
<AppContextSwitchOverrides value="Switch.System.Windows.Input.Stylus.DisableStylusAndTouchSupport=true"/>
   </runtime>

Save and close the file.

Notes:

Windows 10 may block saving the file (other versions of Windows could do this too). If this occurs, save the file to the desktop (or other folder). Make sure the file does not end up with a .txt extension. Then manually copy it into the AutoCAD program folder, overwriting the existing one.
If when copying in the file and there is no prompt to overwrite the existing one, the extension was changed and this fix will not take effect. To verify and edit the extension, right-click the file and choose Properties.
This solution also works for DWG TrueView. The file to edit is dwgviewr.exe.config.

Run AutoCAD in compatibility mode

Right-click the desktop icon for AutoCAD and select Properties and then the Compatibility tab.
Enable the checkbox Run this program in compatibility mode for.
Select Windows 7 and then click OK.

Install the license hotfix

Install the Autodesk Licensing Hotfix – POODLE SSL v3 vulnerability (CVE-2014-3566).

Revert to a restore point

Use Windows System Restore to revert to a point before the crashes started.
Note: Declining future Windows updates should keep AutoCAD programs running, although this is not recommended. Not updating Windows could put a system at risk by missing out on security patches and other important updates from Microsoft.

Revert to a previous .NET Framework version

On Windows 7 systems:

Uninstall .NET Framework 4.7 via Programs and Features.
Download and install .NET Framework 4.6.2.

Note: If problems persist, repair the installation of the Autodesk product via Programs and Features. See: How to repair or reinstall an AutoCAD installation.

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