Eng-Tips is the largest engineering community on the Internet

Intelligent Work Forums for Engineering Professionals

  • Congratulations waross on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!

ERRORS WHILE EDITING MODELS 1

Status
Not open for further replies.

werks

Mechanical
May 2, 2001
40
0
0
US
Here's my dilemma:
After completing a model it had to be revised. After the revisions I saved it under a new name. I opened the new file this morning to edit it. When I entered the 'edit sketch' mode I got the error message "An unknown error occurred while accessing an unnamed file". This happens to other models that were revised around the same time. I open the original models and edit with no error messages. After pulling my hair I tried to repair then re-install SW but the system won't let me. I asked tech support at SW but so far they tell me it's possible that it could be a template problem. The system is as follows: SW 2004 Pentium 4 w/ NT 4.0 SPO.O Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!
 
Replies continue below

Recommended for you

Not sure I can help too much as I've never had this problem, but I know that many programs running on NT4 are usually much "happier" if the version is at least SP4. Can you upgrade?

As for the "unamed file" aspect, are your files getting the correct extension when they are being copied?

[cheers]
CorBlimeyLimey, Barrie, Ontario.
[bigsmile] Sign on a Barrie restaurant reads, "We serve Molsons, but we only smoke Ribs" [bigsmile]
faq559-863
 
Have you tried cleaning out your TEMP files? Not sure if that will fix it but worth a try.

If you try and do a repair and you have your Anti-virus running. That can cause WI repair utility to not run correctly and not to work. So disable your AV and try running it.

Sounds like it might be a corrupted file. Did your IT dept run any programs in the background during this time? Maybe something they were doing at the server side caused the issue.

The best thing to do is to try to reproduce what was happening at the point you last saved that file and see if you can pin point the problem.

Good Luck,

Scott Baugh, CSWP [borg2]
CSWP.jpg

faq731-376
 
First of all, I want to thank you guys for your valuable input.

CorBlimeyLimey,
My environment is at SP6. What do you mean by "...are your files getting the correct extension when they are being copied?" I saved the problem files with an updated name from the original files. Thanks again.

Scott,
The TEMP files were removed but no luck. I removed the AV as suggested but no luck. The environment is NT Workstation 4.0 so no one else messed with it. As I mentioned before Windows won't even let me remove the program to re-install. Thanks for yout tips and help.
 
1) In your original post you wrote NT 4.0 SPO.O, that's why I mentioned SP4.

2) As for the extension, I was just wondering if the file was losing it when it was being copied.
ie: from "Widget.sldprt" to just "Widget"

3) Do you have Administration or Power User rights to allow you to install/uninstall programs?

[cheers]
CorBlimeyLimey, Barrie, Ontario.
[bigsmile] Sign on a Barrie restaurant reads, "We serve Molsons, but we only smoke Ribs" [bigsmile]
faq559-863
 
Thanks for your feedback. I didn't copy the files but actually used 'save as' by using a different name. I am the administrator on my machine. I can remove/install any other program except SW. I also tried this recently:
I exported the model as a parasolid, re-imported and the problem went away. Only the problem now is that I can't revise/edit the model without the native feature tree elements. I also created another part and have no problems with it. I'm puzzled why I can't remove/install SW. Thanks again.
 
I forgot to mention this:
When I try to repair or remove/install SW I get this message - "Distribution Characteristic 101". I'm at a loss. Thanks again for all the tips and help.
 
Scott,

I sent the VAR the link to this site so they can see what I've been talking about. The following is the response I got from the VAR: "It sounds like the two problems are not related, but it is a possibility.
If it is only a few parts that have editing problems, it might be possible to find the corruption and fix the parts. Send a couple over to us and we will see if it acts the same way on our computers, if it does we will send it up to SolidWorks to see if the corruption can be found and removed.
As far as the un-installation problem, no one here understands what SBaugh is saying.
A couple more questions to see if we can solve the installation problem.
What service pack of Windows are you on? (Not positive if it is here on Windows NT 4.0) Right click My Computer/Properties/General tab
When you first installed SolidWorks; Did you upgrade from 2003 to 2004, or was it a separate installation (you have 2003 and 2004 loaded)?"


I've answered the last two questions and awaiting a response. We've tried the 'corrupt' files on other machines but the problems don't arise. I feel that I just need to uninstall & re-install but, as you can see, the SW uninstall program won't let me. Thanks again for your help.


 
This sounds like a network problem to me. Are the files you are trying to access on your own PC or on a network share? If they are on a share, copy all the files to a directory on your own PC.


-colin pitts
 
Since I have not heard form you ofline I post what I found yeaterday about this. I re-read your post and I for some reason thought it read install and not uninstall/remove.

There is a known problem and fix for the "Distibution Characteristic 101" only on the installing. Not after you have already installed and tried to remove it, etc...

1) The only way around your problem that I have found is to go into the Registry and remove the SW folders under HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE - You can find these paths under my faq559-488

2) Then go to Windows Explorer and remove all SolidWorks directories from under Program Files and Common Files

3) Reboot the computer and try to restinstall SW.

If you get the "Distibution Characteristic 101" again then let us and your VAR know. If you get any error for that matter let us and your VAR know.

Sorry for the confusion earlier!

Best Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP [borg2]
CSWP.jpg

faq731-376
 
Hey Colin. Thanks for your input. I don't run this machine on a network but thanks again.

Scott,

I responded to your website and I'll try these tips you suggest. Thanks again.
 
Hey Scott. Here's what I've done so far:

1. Just for the heck of it I upgraded the service pack to SP2.1 and the problem disappeared. The problem (error message "an unknown error occurred while accessing an unnamed file") in edit mode still exists in SP0.
2. I uninstalled SP2.1 successfully but the base data for SP0 still exists. I now cannot remove/uninstall SP0 since it doesn't give that option.
3. I want to proceed with your FAQ559-488. In the instructions it gives 3 settings to remove SW. I found a 4th registry that contains SW. The registry is HKEY-Users\S-1-5-21-1584812669-455493846-881727679-500\Software. Is it safe to delete this also? I did find all SW directories as instructed.
I'm ready to venture on so please advise. Thanks very much
 
If your going to remove all existing keys of SW then I would click on the top folder HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and then click on "Edit" and then onto "Find". Type in the word "Solidworks", check only "Keys" then run the search. When it finds a key that is named "Solidworks" I would delete it. But be careful... because once you delete it there is no going back. After you delete the key Push F3 and the search will continue.

As for the path your talking about - that path is for all Software not just SW. If you expand it, I'm sure you will see Solidworks as a folder in there. Only that folder, is the folder you would even think about deleting "Solidworks". If you removed that Software folder. You can bet you would probably fry your version of windows or all the software installed on your computer. So "DON'T DELETE THAT FOLDER" Run a search like I listed above or just follow my FAQ559-488 - the FAQ lists the path and the folders you need to delete. If you have any questions about it let me know or contact your VAR and ask them. They should be aware of how to do a clean install.

Good Luck,

Scott Baugh, CSWP [borg2]
CSWP.jpg

faq731-376
 
Hey Scott. Just to let you know all went great. I followed your tips to the 'T' and it went smoothly. I also installed service pack 2.1 and is now running smoothly. Couldn't have done it without you. I've learned that on the next release I will check your website for any tips/tricks to make a smooth transition. The engineering world sure needs more resources like you. Thanks a bunch and continued success!!
 
Hey Scott. Just to also let you know that I'm sending a link to our VAR so they can see how my problems were resolved. For some reason they didn't seem up to the challenge like all the 'wizards' that respond to this website. Thanks again and keep up the great work.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top