Hardware Issues and Recommendations

Suggestions for verifying that your system meets the recommended system requirements and for addressing other basic hardware-related issues.

If the problems are video-related, see Graphics Adapters and Drivers.
Task or Issue Details
Ensure that your system meets the requirements.

This includes:

  • Use supported versions of Microsoft Windows Operating System.
  • Use supported processors.
  • Include sufficient RAM.

To access current system requirements:

http://solidworks.com/System_Requirements

SOLIDWORKS is tested only with Microsoft's Windows Networking and Active Directory networks.
System is slow or unstable.

Ensure there is adequate free disk space.

The Operating System (OS) requires sufficient space to store system and temporary files. If you have enabled auto-recover (recommended), this SOLIDWORKS function also requires disk space.

At a minimum, you should have 250-500MB of free space on any local drive. If you use partitions, allocate a good proportion of the free space to the drive where your OS is installed.

If the system exceeds the physical RAM, virtual memory is accessed, making the system slow and unstable.
Low memory messages appear while running SOLIDWORKS.
  • Increase the amount of RAM on your machine, especially if you run SOLIDWORKS along with a Microsoft Office application such as Excel with Bill of Materials or Design Tables.
  • Allocate more virtual memory on your system to accommodate for current usage. See Windows help for more information.
The SOLIDWORKS Resource Monitor provides warnings in the notification area when you are low on memory or other resources.
Pointer movement is slow. If you use a 3D motion controller, and pointer movement slows down over the SOLIDWORKS window, try replacing the 3D motion controller with a three button mouse.