There is a conflict with Microsoft KB3072630 (published July 14 2015) which can cause SOLIDWORKS to become unstable when installed or updated after KB3072630 is applied. The Microsoft update makes changes to Windows Installer which prevents SOLIDWORKS installations (new, modify/repair, update or uninstall) from being executed correctly. We are working diligently to produce a software fix as soon as possible in SOLIDWORKS 2015 and 2016, however in the interim please review the information below to prevent and correct instability caused by this conflict.
Summary
Locate Installation Files For Solidworks
Affected software
SOLIDWORKS 2011 - 2015, and SOLIDWORKS 2016 beta.
Symptoms
Instability may appear in many different functional areas of the software, so the list below may not be complete. Known symptoms are:
- Missing add-ins from the SOLIDWORKS add-ins list in the Tools menu.
- Error when launching SOLIDWORKS or opening a file: 'Could not load SOLIDWORKS DLL: GdtAnalysisSupport.dll'.
- Crashes when recording, playing or editing a SOLIDWORKS Macro.
- Error when launching SOLIDWORKS or SOLIDWORKS Explorer: 'DWG document manager library is invalid or missing'.
Solution
First, check if you have KB3072630 installed:
- From the Windows Control Panel, click Windows Update.
- Browse the list of installed updates to check if KB3072630 was installed. If present, it will have been installed on or after July 14 2015.
- If KB3072630 is installed on your system please review the recommendations in the applicable scenario below.
Important: We do not recommend uninstalling KB3072630 since it is an important security update. Please see below for next steps.
Important: Serious problems may occur if you make incorrect changes to the registry. We advise you to make a backup of your registry using the information here. We advise you to work with your IT administrators when following the procedures below.
Scenario 1
Users who have not yet installed or updated SOLIDWORKS since KB3072630 was applied.To prevent problems we recommend temporarily disabling KB3072630 before installing or updating SOLIDWORKS:
- Temporarily disable the KB3072630 security fix (we do not recommend uninstalling it) by either following steps (a)-(f) below or double-click KB3072630_Disable.reg from this zip file.
a. Click Start, click Run, type 'regedit' in the Open box, and then click OK.
b. Locate and click the following subkey in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsInstaller
Note If this subkey does not exist, create it.
c. In the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
d. For the DWORD name, type 'RemappedElevatedProxiesPolicy', and then press Enter.
e. Right-click RemappedElevatedProxiesPolicy, and then click Modify.
f. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK. - Install, update or uninstall SOLIDWORKS in the normal way.
- After SOLIDWORKS installs or updates successfully, reset the RemappedElevatedProxiesPolicy DWORD value to 0 to re-enable the security fix for KB 3072630.
Scenario 2
Users who have installed or updated SOLIDWORKS after KB3072630 was applied – where SOLIDWORKS was installed using the ‘standalone’ installation method. Your SOLIDWORKS installation is likely to be unstable and subsequent uninstallation will likely fail. We recommend the following method to repair your SOLIDWORKS installation:
- Run a Repair of your SOLIDWORKS Installation from Programs and Features in the Windows Control Panel. Find the SOLIDWORKS installation then select Change, then choose Repair from the Installation Manager options and follow on-screen prompts.
- After the SOLIDWORKS installation is repaired, reset the RemappedElevatedProxiesPolicy DWORD value to 0 to re-enable the security fix for KB 3072630.
Scenario 3
Users who have installed or updated SOLIDWORKS after KB3072630 was applied – where SOLIDWORKS was installed using an Administrative Image. Your SOLIDWORKS installation is likely to be unstable. It is necessary to uninstall SOLIDWORKS, we recommend following this procedure:
- Uninstall SOLIDWORKS from Programs and Features in the Windows Control Panel. Find the SOLIDWORKS installation then select Uninstall.
- Install SOLIDWORKS from your Administrative Image.
- After SOLIDWORKS installs successfully, reset the RemappedElevatedProxiesPolicy DWORD value to 0 to re-enable the security fix for KB 3072630.
Recently, we have found many issues inside of SOLIDWORKS due to the recent Microsoft security updates that have been released in preparation for Windows 10. We have found this patch in particular, has been causing many issues inside of SOLIDWORKS. KB3072630.
Any machine that has been installed or modified (service pack applied) with this security patch in place has a high probability of running into issues inside of SOLIDWORKS. If the patch was applied after an install or upgrade you are likely not affected.
Here are some (but not all) of the common issues we are seeing.
- After my installation or upgrade of SOLIDWORKS®, why are many SOLIDWORKS add-ins missing from my add-ins list?
- When launching SOLIDWORKS® or opening a file, why does SOLIDWORKS return 'Could not load SOLIDWORKS DLL: GdtAnalysisSupport.dll'?
- Why is 'Could not load SOLIDWORKS DLL: sldshellutils' error returned when selecting 'Pack and Go…' from SOLIDWORKS® or SOLIDWORKS® Explorer?
- Why does SOLIDWORKS crash when launching with a SWVBAServer error or when recording, playing, or editing a SOLIDWORKS® Macro?
- Why is 'DWG document manager library is invalid or missing' error seen launching SOLIDWORKS® or SOLIDWORKS® Explorer?
- What can cause the error 'Failed to create ToolboxLibrary object', followed by 'SOLIDWORKS database is missing' while accessing SOLIDWORKS® Toolbox add-in?
- Why does SOLIDWORKS® Treehouse crash when launching?
This is an issue due to a Microsoft security patch (KB3072630) that went out on July 14. I have attached 2 registry files that will allow you to disable and re-enable this patch. See links below.
Start by running the following registry
Download and run the 'Run before install' registry key
Repair your SOLIDWORKS installation
To run a repair:
Place you dvd in you drive first.
1. Go to Start
2. Go to Control Panel
3. Go to Programs and features
4. Select your SOLIDWORKS from the list.
5. Select Change
6. You will then see the installation manager come up and there is an option to run a repair.
To repair an admin Image:
Once repair is complete:
Download and run the 'Run after install' registry.
This solution should resolve most of these issue with installation. If you are still experiencing issues please contact CATI Technical Support for additional assistance.
Bryan Pawlak
Computer Aided Technology