x17 wont open

[loyslawns]

everytime i try to start the program a small window pops up for a fraction of a second then closes before i can even read what it says. i have trouble shooted based on your sites recomendations. clean boot, setup preffered graphics card, checked system requirements are met, re installed program.
nothing...
please help

[JKEdmo]

1 hour ago, loyslawns said:

everytime i try to start the program a small window pops up for a fraction of a second then closes before i can even read what it says. i have trouble shooted based on your sites recomendations. clean boot, setup preffered graphics card, checked system requirements are met, re installed program.
nothing...
please help

 

I recommend contacting tech support.  You've paid for the service.  They are usually very responsive.

 

Jim

 

 

[DBCooper]

Have you ever been able to run any version of Chief on this computer?  Or is this a first time installation for you?  Do you know that your system is compatible?  

 

I recommend tech support as well but you are going to have to wait until they are open on Monday though.

 

Until then, you can see if these tech articles have anything that might help:

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-01191/troubleshooting-activation-issues.html

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00214/troubleshooting-installation-problems.html

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03049/troubleshooting-chief-architect-software-closing-unexpectedly-on-windows.html

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03125/troubleshooting-error-messages-associated-with-the-program-s-data-folder.html

 

[Electromen]

I had something similar with the most recent update.  Restarting the computer didn’t help.

Shutting the computer down/off and restarting worked.

[SHCanada2]

On 9/6/2025 at 6:37 PM, loyslawns said:

everytime i try to start the program a small window pops up for a fraction of a second then closes before i can even read what it says.

did you find a resolution to this? My X17 just started doing this. X16 starts up

[SHCanada2]

The 21st century solution to solve all my problems...reboot...did not fix it, neither did the classic "repair" your installation.

 

Any other ideas?

 

I get this in the CA log file:

 

06/16/2026 10:12:40 PM    0.010450    Bootstrap
06/16/2026 10:12:40 PM    0.010611    Computer Name: "DESKTOP-1RAKJTT"
06/16/2026 10:12:40 PM    0.011984    Checking for multiple launch
06/16/2026 10:12:40 PM    0.012936    Multiple launch check did not find existing instance
06/16/2026 10:12:40 PM    0.013747    Loading Preferences
06/16/2026 10:12:40 PM    0.054477    Preferences Loaded
06/16/2026 10:12:40 PM    0.084307    Initializing error reporting system
06/16/2026 10:12:40 PM    0.085225    Check for registration
06/16/2026 10:12:41 PM    1.078354    Registration is good
06/16/2026 10:12:41 PM    1.089681    State has been set to UnsyncedManagedState
06/16/2026 10:12:41 PM    1.108598    Checking for upgrades
06/16/2026 10:12:41 PM    1.216547    Checking for updates
06/16/2026 10:12:41 PM    1.324426    Checking paths
06/16/2026 10:12:41 PM    1.357511    Initializing Spell Checker
06/16/2026 10:12:41 PM    1.433950    Initializing the Master List
06/16/2026 10:12:41 PM    1.434881    Loading paper sizes
06/16/2026 10:12:41 PM    1.713160    

ArtException.cpp(177): Error #272000009
"A serious error occurred (SEH). Please contact Chief Architect Technical Support with steps to reproduce.
"
06/16/2026 10:12:41 PM
Build: 27.3.3.12 Windows 64-bit
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.035764    Shutting down wait cursor detection
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.036177    Clearing library browser preview and models
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.036540    Terminating external help browser
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.036819    Terminating Print Device
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.037068    Shutting down the Master List
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.037589    Clearing CAD items
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.037882    Shutting down export services
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.038192    Clearing ManufacturerManager
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.038339    Shutting down the BatchTransactionProcessor
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.039305    Cleaning up the FileTransferManager
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.043578    Cleaning up the ManagedResourceMetadataPoller
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.044304    Waiting for pending analytics
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.385945    Clearing directory cache
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.402425    Clearing cursors
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.409192    detecting display resolutions:
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.411827        \\.\DISPLAY1:
        Monitor Rect:
            top = 0
            bottom = 1600
            left = 0
            right = 2560
        Work area:
            top = 0
            bottom = 1528
            left = 0
            right = 2560
        flags = 1
        bits per pixel = 32
        pixel width = 2560
        pixel height = 1600
        display flags = 0
        display frequency = 64
        cursor scale = 1.000000
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.515809    Shutting down PDF subsystem
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.516747    Clearing thread manager
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.517571    Clearing Qt Image cache
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.518524    Deleting temporary files
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.554553    Cleaning up the ResourceManager
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.629834    Stopping the Ruby Thread
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.630772    Stopping the Timing Log Thread
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.631728    Cleaning up curl
06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM    2.640194    === Ending Session (06/16/2026 10:12:42 PM) ===

 

and this in the render log:

 

[2026-06-16 22:12:41]: Astral log initialized at C:/Users/janea/AppData/Local/Chief Architect Premier X17/Rendering Log.txt
[2026-06-16 22:12:41]: ResourceSearchPaths::addSearchPath 'C:/Program Files/Chief Architect/Chief Architect Premier X17/'
[2026-06-16 22:12:41]: ResourceSearchPaths::addSearchPath 'C:/Program Files/Chief Architect/Chief Architect Premier X17/Astral'
[2026-06-16 22:12:41]: Initialized primary graphics backend for API: DirectX 12
[2026-06-16 22:12:41]: DX12GraphicsBackend::initializeDevices ...
[2026-06-16 22:12:41]: D3D12 device found: 'Microsoft Basic Render Driver'.  Attempting to create D3D12 device...
[2026-06-16 22:12:41]: Successfully created D3D12 device: 'Microsoft Basic Render Driver' with D3D_FEATURE_LEVEL=D3D_FEATURE_LEVEL_12_1
[2026-06-16 22:12:41]: NVSDK_NGX_D3D12_Init failed: NVSDK_NGX_Result_FAIL_FeatureNotSupported
 

Edited Wednesday at 04:20 AM by SHCanada2

[SHCanada2]

so interesingly..in the Nvidia app it said there was not a driver installed. In device manager under display adapter it showed th edefault MS adapter.

 

I went to Driver Results | GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU | Windows 11 | NVIDIA

 

then clicked see more versions and installed the GR driver from Jan 2026

 

Driver Version:591.74

Release Date:Mon Jan 05, 2026

 

and now everything magically works and device manager now shows:

 

 

...ghost in the machine

Edited Wednesday at 05:04 AM by SHCanada2