Rhino 6 Freezing Without Warning-Computer Becomes Unusable

I am a college student using Rhino 6 for architecture projects. Late December/early January I purchased Rhino 6 with student pricing because my trial expired. Prior to this, I have never had issues with Rhino whatsoever. All the sudden though, I will be modeling in Rhino and it will crash. It has two different crash behaviors, and I am not sure how to reproduce these behaviors since they do not occur when any one specific task is being performed. They are listed below:

Crash behavior 1:

  1. While I can still move the mouse, whatever line or reference line connected to the thing I have selected stops moving and then deselects. Mouse clicks stop working (cannot exit, click the windows button, etc) and orbiting around whatever I am looking at still changes the mouse pointer but does not actually move anything. Esc does not work to exit out of the command being performed
  2. I quickly ctrl+s before the computer freezes completely (saves successfully everytime from what I have observed)
  3. Keyboard keys stop working (also notice that the seconds on the clock on my taskbar stop ticking around this point)
  4. Computer completely freezes; screen shows the point when Rhino crashed
  5. I have no way of using the mouse to exit, I have no way of using the keyboard to alt+F4 or ctrl+alt+del to force out of the freeze
  6. I am left with no option but to do a hard shutdown of my computer and restart

Crash behavior 2:

  1. Rhino begins to slow down all the sudden
  2. Graphics become slow/choppy
  3. Quickly ctrl+s fearing a total freeze will occur
  4. Save is successful, but Rhino continues to run super slow/choppy
  5. Unlike behavior 1, the keyboard and mouse seem to stay working a bit longer so I am able to exit Rhino properly
  6. If I reenter the file, Rhino becomes even slower and choppier, and I am forced to close the program
  7. At this point, I do a normal restart (do not need to force it) and the file will open normally after that and then one of the two crash behaviors will appear again randomly, starting the process over again
    *This behavior happens far less than behavior 1, but nonetheless still requires a restart to actually be able to use Rhino without issues persisting

I want to note that once I have restarted the computer, there is no crash report and no mention of there being a crash from Rhino. I can open the file like normal and then at some point later, after frequent saves and work that in my opinion is not demanding of the hardware nor Rhino, it decides to crash again and the process repeats. It does not matter what file size; both small and large files have this issue. It does not seem to matter what the display type looks like (shaded, rendered, ghosted, etc…). I work a lot in perspective view, but I remember it crashing even in 2D views as well. The tasks that cause it to crash seem to be simple, but usually involve drawing lines, moving objects, moving the camera and making simple 3D shapes like cubes. The tasks I would consider to be tougher on the computer such as boolean operations and merging of faces seem to be fine and have never been the cause of the crashes.

Again, I have only started having this problem since purchasing Rhino 6 with education pricing. I have the latest graphics driver installed and the latest Windows updates whenever they come out. I have also tried repairing it through the Windows control panel and it fixed nothing even though it said it repaired successfully. The only thing I have not tried that I can think of is reinstalling it, but I worry that I won’t be able to get it back if I uninstall. I also have Rhino on my laptop, but I doubt that would cause a conflict with Rhino and licensing if it is all on my same account. Also worth noting, sometimes after enough of these freeze/restart cycles, my Rhino settings such as object snaps, gumball being turned on, and other personalization settings are reset and it behaves as though I am opening Rhino for the first time, because the announcements/help tab is back open on the right side even though it is something I turn off manually. I had the same exact problem as crash behavior 1 when I was using Adobe Illustrator a few days ago, but using the repair tool seemed to fix that, while repairing Rhino seemed to do nothing, or was a temporary fix if nothing else.

I am really at a loss and the delays that this ridiculuous issue has caused are not good for my workflow and increases the time I spend working on stuff with constant crashes that come without warning. Luckily I am not losing work because I can quickly save before the computer freezes completely, but I would rather have a Rhino 6 software that works correctly 100% without this problem persisting. Are there any solutions?
Thank you.

Run the Rhino command SystemInfo and post the results here.

Rhino 6 SR21 2019-12-17 (Rhino 6, 6.21.19351.09141, Git hash:master @ 4d373f64ffb55e3a8d607d9618590728d86fb1e9)
License type: Educational, build 2019-12-17
License details: Cloud Zoo. In use by: Preston Baird ()

Windows 10.0 SR0.0 or greater (Physical RAM: 64Gb)
Machine name: DESKTOP-PRESTON

Non-hybrid graphics.
Primary display and OpenGL: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (NVidia) Memory: 8GB, Driver date: 12-24-2019 (M-D-Y). OpenGL Ver: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 441.87

OpenGL Settings
Safe mode: Off
Use accelerated hardware modes: On
Redraw scene when viewports are exposed: On

Anti-alias mode: 4x
Mip Map Filtering: Linear
Anisotropic Filtering Mode: Height

Vendor Name: NVIDIA Corporation
Render version: 4.6
Shading Language: 4.60 NVIDIA
Driver Date: 12-24-2019
Driver Version: 26.21.14.4187
Maximum Texture size: 32768 x 32768
Z-Buffer depth: 24 bits
Maximum Viewport size: 32768 x 32768
Total Video Memory: 8 GB

Rhino plugins
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\SolidTools.rhp “SolidTools”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\Commands.rhp “Commands” 6.21.19351.9141
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\rdk.rhp “Renderer Development Kit”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\AnimationTools.rhp “AnimationTools”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\RhinoRender.rhp “Rhino Render”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\rdk_etoui.rhp “RDK_EtoUI” 6.21.19351.9141
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\rdk_ui.rhp “Renderer Development Kit UI”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\NamedSnapshots.rhp “Snapshots”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\RhinoCycles.rhp “RhinoCycles” 6.21.19351.9141
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\Toolbars\Toolbars.rhp “Toolbars” 6.21.19351.9141
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\3dxrhino.rhp “3Dconnexion 3D Mouse”
C:\Program Files\Chaos Group\V-Ray\V-Ray for Rhinoceros 6\VRayForRhino.rhp “V-Ray for Rhino”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 6\Plug-ins\Displacement.rhp “Displacement”

Did you add any plug-ins such as V-Ray after purchasing the educational license?

Rhino 6 SR22 was released on Tuesday. It may or may not help. Normally updates will automatically install if automatic updating is selected but it sometimes takes a day or so.

Click on Help. If it says an update is ready to install close Help and then Rhino.The update should install. If it says “This Rhino is up-to-date” then if you have SR21 that means that it has not checked for updates recently. To manually check for updates first make sure in Update frequency that Service release is selected. Then click on the blue “Check Now…” on the right side of the panel.

Hi Preston,

Some questions:

  1. When you bought your Rhino licence, did you just apply the licence or did you reinstall the software as well?
  2. Did your problems start immediately you applied the licence or was there a period of days before they started?
  3. Between your trial working ok and the problems starting did you make any changes to your hardware (such as installing more memory)?
  4. Between your trial working ok and the problems starting did any Windows updates get installed?
  5. Are you working on the same model as you were during the trial?
  6. Have you tried creating a new model to find out if the problems are model-specific?
  7. Is your PC a stock machine from a manufacturer or a home-build?
  8. Are there error messages in the Windows logs that tie in to your problem episodes?

The symptoms you describe (particularly as Rhino is not the only program to have been affected) suggest that you could have a memory or disk issue, or you may be suffering from side effects from a Windows update (lots of reports of problems with recent ones). But that’s not for sure, so the more info you can provide the better.

Regards
Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

I did a fresh install of Rhino with the license I bought. Also, I just updated to SR22 per David’s suggestion.
It was a period of days before the issues started, and yes around that time I recall installing a Windows update, and since then I have continued to get the newest Windows update hoping the problem will go away.
I tried making a new model yesterday, nothing complex, and had the same crash behaviors.
No new hardware was ever added, changed or removed since this machine was built. I built it myself last August and from then all through the fall I used Rhino for class and never had any issues until purchasing the education version in late December. I think we can rule out hardware because of that.
I am not working on the same model as I was during the trial, and have tried that model with the paid version but I was not able to get it to crash.
As for the Windows logs, where would I locate those?

I doubt the crashes are due to the change from the evaluation license to the educational license.

When did you install V-Ray?

There have been reports of problems related to Windows updates.

This may be significant. How large is the current model? Does it have any textures or other bitmaps?

Added: Does the current model cause any problems on your laptop?

Right click the Windows icon in the task bar and select Event Viewer. Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of entries you see! Choose Windows Logs - System and filter to limit the display to Errors. Look particularly for memory or disk-related messages.

Have you, since the problems started, been able to make any new models that did not exhibit problems? Have you tried starting from different templates?

I would run the file rescue utility in Rhino to analyse one of the files that repeatably exhibits problems (Create a new, empty model and run _Rescue3dmFile. Select your problem file and then take the Analyse option. Copy and paste the results into a text editor and search for Error.) to see if it is damaged.

I would also run the Windows command chkdsk to eliminate the possibility of disk corruption.

As a final resort, I would uninstall Rhino, download the latest release from McNeel, and do a clean install.

And try first without reinstalling the V-Ray plug-in as well if you go on the path of reinstalling. Or alternatively disable the plug-in in Tools > Options > Plug-ins and restart Rhino.

I got rid of V-Ray entirely. I have not seen Rhino crash recently but I have mainly been doing renders, not making new shapes.
I have not tried from new templates but no file has ever run on this computer without the crashes. They have all been on the normal template with Feet as the units.
As for the event logs, I am not sure how to interpret them. Nothing is labeled as memory or disk though.
chkdsk was normal and said there were no problems.
I used Illustrator again today and it was behaving the same as the Rhino crashes but I could not even ctrl+s so it essentially damaged my file to the point where I could not open it. Rhino is at least letting me ctrl+s when it crashes.

I will try to reinstall Rhino from McNeel. Maybe it is also worth noting that last night I took the file I have been working with which like all the others since the issues started, has exhibited crash behaviors, and I tried it on my laptop. Never had a single crash, but did realize the entire time my laptop was running SR20, so I updated it to SR22 at the end of the night and didn’t work anymore on that file. I am wondering if it is a Rhino issue because an older version of Rhino with the same file never crashed the entire time I used it.

Hi - please keep using Rhino without V-Ray to check if that stops it from crashing.
The fact that Illustrator also crashes your PC, though, points to other causes.
One thing could be hardware - have you monitored the temperature of your system?
The other usual suspects are the GPU drivers. You could try a “clean install” of the drivers following the recipe posted here:

Make sure to include step 4 of the uninstalling process!
-wim

Are you able to post the file here? Helpful to try it on a “known good” setup.

Jeremy

Here is the one I have been working with for several weeks. It has exhibited both types of crashes.
Problem File.3dm (15.6 MB)

Here is another file I made recently with the same crash behavior, to show that even fairly small files are experiencing the issues.
Dumpster 3D Model.3dm (592.0 KB)

Even with the driver steps I got the same exact freeze/crash behavior as before on that dumpster file. I would expect the same on the large one too. I am really at a loss, this is very frustrating.

I’ve been messing about with your dumpster file and everything has worked normally so far. How many operations can you do before you start to experience problems? What type of operations are you doing just prior to their appearance?

It seems to depend…Sometimes I can work for quite awhile before it screws up. Other times it is within 10-20 minutes of opening it and starting work. I notice the problems always occur when making 3D objects, moving objects, and especially when aligning my snaps to corners, midpoints, etc. it seems to struggle with those tasks for some reason. The guidelines that they create also like to freeze up in conjunction with all of those things. I have also noticed occasional stuttering and recently I was changing the walls on that large file to a different layer and after changing the layers they would stay selected until I clicked on them again and hit esc. Normally you can just click somewhere/hit esc. to deselect. Not sure what is up with that or if it is related to the issue…

Just as a means of ruling out: could you monitor the temperatures in your machine? Motherboard, CPU, GPU, etc. See if these climb a lot just prior to your machine freezing. If they do you may want to blow out the dust from all moving parts and heatsinks.

You may have more than one problem. Having issues with Illustrator as well as Rhino suggests a fault outside of Rhino, while the problem appearing on your laptop after updating Rhino suggests a fault within it.

As well as monitoring your PC temperature, I would suggest you ensure your motherboard bios and drivers are up to date. Also check that your specific memory is on the mobo manufacturer’s approved list. Check that the memory is properly seated. If you have overclocked CPU and/or memory try more relaxed settings. Try temporarily removing half the memory.

As far as Rhino goes, I haven’t reproduced your experience, but I’m afraid I don’t have the free time to keep at it for hours. That said, I am running a 6.23 service release candidate, not 6.22. So you could try changing your Rhino update settings to SRC and download 6.23.

Jeremy