Hardware Acceleration Troubleshooting

This chapter provides solutions to some of the most common problems when trying to use hardware acceleration with AutoCAD.

After starting Windows Netmeeting, hardware acceleration in AutoCAD disabled or unavailable. Is it possible to re-enable hardware acceleration?

To re-enable hardware acceleration, turn off Remote Desktop Sharing or close Netmeeting. Then restart AutoCAD and hardware acceleration should be available.

After running a remote access application such as Remote Desktop, Citrix, or any windows emulating software, hardware acceleration in AutoCAD is unavailable. Is it possible to use hardware acceleration with these applications?

To use hardware acceleration, AutoCAD needs to be run locally from the computer. Hardware acceleration remains unavailable while any remote access application is running on the computer.

Why is hardware acceleration unavailable?

The most common reason why hardware acceleration is unavailable is that a graphics display driver cannot be located on the system. To use hardware acceleration, visit the video card manufacturer's website or the AutoCAD Certification website (http://www.autodesk.com/autocad-graphicscard) to download and install the latest driver available for your system.

Why does hardware acceleration seem to disable on its own at times?

There are some situations when AutoCAD drops out of hardware acceleration. The following is a list of the known conditions when an error or driver failure commonly occur:

You lock and unlock the workstation while AutoCAD is currently running.
Screen saver was activated and AutoCAD is restored.
You enable/disable the second monitor on the system.
System returns from hibernation/standby.
AutoCAD runs out of video memory.

Why is the Autodesk driver unavailable to use with hardware acceleration?

To use the Autodesk driver for hardware acceleration, DirectX 9.0c must be installed on the system. To install DirectX 9.0c, insert the product’s original installation media (DVD/CD) in your drive. Execute DXSETUP.exe from the Support\DirectX folder and follow the displayed prompts.

At times when I am using hardware acceleration, I encounter an error that prevents hardware acceleration from operating correctly and then it becomes unavailable. What should I do?

To help ensure that hardware acceleration operates correctly, verify that you are running the latest service pack of the product and video graphics card driver before attempting to re-enable hardware acceleration.

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