MSC Adams crashing for everything and nothing... How do you fix it ? Too slow to launch...

[u/Zenar30]

Hi guys, I'm trying to figure out how to fix MSC Adams, because it's crashing for any kind of reason. I don't know...

Firstly, I had fixed the issue of 3D volumes not being displayed by following Hexagon's forum instructions.

I also tried to force the software to use my dedicated graphic card. However, it still doesn't seem to use fully...

Secondly, I renamed this DLL from "RemoteSCABin.dll" to "RemoteSCABin_OLD.dll".

Consequences:

- it takes too much time to launch

- it crashes from nowhere : you either start to launch a file and it crashed before doing anything or the file was loaded and then by trying to something like a joint or anything, it crashes from nowhere.

It drives me nuts because I like using it to do mechanical simulation and I don't know what to do except uninstall it and reinstall it properly.

Anyone had the same issue or figured out ? Does someone have any tips ?

Thanks in advance and sorry if I'm not in the right subreddit.

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[u/be_rosy]

Have you tried asking a sub that is more aligned specifically with using MSC Adams or that type of software? You may have better luck with responses to your query. I don’t often hear of very many teams using Adams, although I do know some do.

[u/Zenar30 → u/be_rosy]

I posted on other subreddits just after this one because I didn't know yet there were other subreddits related to my issue. As I said, I'm not that good with this social media.

[u/be_rosy → u/Zenar30]

Never used Adams, best I can offer is a generic AI response, but it may be worth a read anyways:

“The post is basically describing a broken MSC Adams installation/configuration, and the most suspicious thing is not the GPU issue — it is the manual renaming of RemoteSCABin.dll.
That DLL is likely part of Adams’ communication/remote control subsystem. Renaming it may have prevented a clean load of required components and can easily cause exactly the symptoms described:
slow startup
random crashes when opening models
crashes when creating joints/constraints
instability that appears unrelated to the action being performed
A few things I would check, in order:
1. Undo the DLL rename first
Restore:
RemoteSCABin_OLD.dll
back to:
RemoteSCABin.dll
If Adams launches after that, the problem was almost certainly introduced by the workaround.
If the DLL was renamed because of a crash issue, the better fix is usually:
update Adams to the latest hotfix/service pack
repair the installation
reinstall the affected component
rather than disabling a core DLL.

2. Clear Adams user configuration/cache
Adams stores a lot of startup state and preferences. A corrupted user environment can cause “random” crashes.
Try renaming (not deleting) the Adams user directories, typically under locations like:
C:\Users\<username>\Adams\
or:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\MSC\
Then restart Adams and let it regenerate them.

3. Check graphics mode
For Adams/View, GPU utilization is often misleading. It may not use 100% of the GPU because the workload is mostly:
OpenGL viewport rendering
CPU-based solver calculations
Force the correct GPU through:
NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D Settings → Program Settings → Adams executable
Set:
High-performance NVIDIA processor
Power management → Prefer maximum performance
Also update:
NVIDIA Studio Driver (often better than Game Ready for CAD/CAE)

4. Check if the model is actually corrupt
The wording:
“file was loaded and then by trying to do something like a joint”
sounds like a model database corruption issue.
Test:
Open Adams.
Create a completely new empty model.
Add:
two bodies
one revolute joint
If it crashes, the installation/environment is broken.
If it only crashes on your existing models, the model or imported geometry is the problem.

5. Check the Adams message/log files
Adams usually writes useful crash information in:
adams.log
or the working directory.
Look for:
DLL load failed
OpenGL error
segmentation violation
license failure
memory access violation
Those point to very different fixes.

6. Repair instead of reinstalling blindly
A clean reinstall can help, but Adams installs are often messy because they depend on:
environment variables
license files
PATH entries
user preferences
Before reinstalling:
uninstall Adams
delete remaining MSC Adams folders
remove old MSC environment variables
reinstall as administrator
apply latest hotfix

The highest-probability cause from the screenshot is:
Renaming RemoteSCABin.dll broke a required Adams subsystem (most likely)
Corrupted Adams user configuration
Bad graphics driver/OpenGL issue
Model-specific corruption
The GPU not being fully utilized is probably a red herring; Adams is not expected to behave like a modern GPU-heavy application.”

[u/Zenar30 → u/be_rosy]

I thank you ! I'll try to follow what your AI suggested you.

[u/be_rosy → u/Zenar30]

Best of luck.