Seriously, this error message needs to be turned off, put in a can, set ablaze and fired into space… then devoured by an evil alien bacteria and sucked into a black hole. In lieu of that, here are some ways that can often times help you get around that wonderfully obscure message.
From the inherent detail of a four-word message such as this, the error is more likely a catch all if a file can’t be written to, an operation isn’t completed or when something generally just doesn’t go right. Whatever it is, it’s about as fun as your puppy dying, because inevitably you’ve lost countless hours of work. These are the five things I’ve found to get past it… sometimes. (See more in the comments!)
- Close all non-essential documents
Shut’em down. It may just be that there’s too much memory being used and something clogging the tube. Shut down everything that is not being worked on. Try saving. If it doesn’t work, on to the next step. - Save the Drawing
At this point, I’ve narrowed it down to a part not rebuilding correctly. If you’re working in the drawing and model at the same time and getting the error on the model, try switching to the drawing shutting it down and saving. You may get a “Would you like to Rebuild?” Hit Yes and see if that does the trick. - Switch to a different Configuration
Still not working? Try this. Just switch to a different configuration, preferably one that hasn’t been loaded. Likewise, you could try, suppressing everything and then unsuppressing. - Delete and Re-Create a Configuration
If the above doesn’t work, I move on to a more drastic measure. First, I’ll switch configurations, delete the one I was on and then hit Undo (Ctrl-Z) to see if that wakes it up. Most often, this gets me the result I need. If that doesn’t do it, I’ll try deleting and recreating the configuration. - Find References, Copy Files
The final push before giving up and starting over. This is the magic tool that can save you from having to recreate a lot of models and drawings. Again, I think this works because something has not been rebuilt properly. You do this through File, Find References.This will load everything, so on large assemblies, this will give you a chance pour a good helping of coffee down your gullet. After it loads everything, select Copy Files. In SolidWorks 2007 and up, this will bring up the Pack and Go interface. Sometimes, you’ll be notified that something needs rebuilt. That may be the item causing the problem. Make a note to check it out later. After you go through this exercise, try saving again and see if it works. This one alone has save me and my co-worker A LOT of time.
If none of these work, you’ve torn your clothes, shredded the cubicle wall fabric and absolutely can’t start over, the last effort is to send that bad boy into SolidWorks for interrogation and wait. Get a hold of your VAR who sold you SolidWorks and they’ll be able to provide an impressive set of questions and the proper assistance.
If you have any methods to address this error yourself, hit the comments, let us know what has worked for you!
