Adobe is a major name when it comes to the world of creative applications. The company’s creative cloud suite of applications is used by millions of amateurs and professional individuals around the world on a daily basis. After Effects, one of the most popular apps from the creative suite, is a stellar tool used by designers and animators for creating breath-taking motion graphics, animations & visual effects.
No application is entirely perfect, and the case with Adobe After Effects is no different. Although the powerful tool works exceptionally well most of the time, there are instances when it malfunctions and crashes abruptly. Dealing with the crashing issue can be a major obstacle for production professionals. Irrespective of whether they are in the midst of crucial Effects projects or just beginning, users’ workflow can get significantly disrupted and hinder their productivity.
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There are multiple issues which cause After Effects to stop working abruptly and crashing. Fortunately, there are easy fixes following which the issue can be conveniently resolved. In this article, we will shed light on some of the most common reasons behind the program crashes along with potential solutions. Let us begin:
5 Fixes to Try When Adobe After Effects Keeps Crashing
There are multiple reasons which cause After Effects errors like crashing, such as full or corrupted hard drive, incompatible third party plugins, etc. Here is an in-depth look at the some of the culprits behind the After Effects crashing problem along with possible solutions:
Issue 1: Hard Drive is Full or Corrupt
After Effects, like most advanced applications, requires a specific amount of free storage space in order to function properly. If there is not enough space in the disk drive where the application is installed, the system will not launch After Effects normally and it will crash.
Similarly, if there are internal issues within the hard drive, i.e., if it is corrupted, it can inflict damage upon saved files, projects and other important components, thereby causing the application to crash and shut down.
Solution 1: Vacate the Hard Drive or Replace It
One of the best ways to prevent the After Effects error is to vacate storage space in the disk drive where the application is installed. Once enough storage space has been vacated, the application will have enough room to function properly, and the problem will be solved.
In the case of a corrupted hard drive, the best course forward would be to try repairing the hard drive internally using repair tools or software. If the issue still persists, it would be best to replace the corrupted hard drive with a properly-functioning one.
Issue 2: Plugin Incompatibilities
After Effects plugins are powerful components which enhance the functionality of the core app. They provide users with additional tools, features, effects, transitions, etc. using which they can make better motion graphics and animations. In some cases, instead of adding to the app’s usefulness, plugins can become the reason for the application crashing.
This mostly happens when the 3rd party plugins become incompatible due to reasons such as software version mismatch, system architecture differences, etc. Incompatible plugins can be a massive obstacle and thus, they need to be dealt with immediately.
Solution 2: Disable Suspicious Plugins
The best way to deal with incompatible plugins is to find and disable them. Any After Effects user whose application is crashing should try disabling all plugins one by one to identify the problematic plugin causing the issue. Once the the problematic plugin is found, they should disable it by navigating to the “Edit” menu, clicking on “Preferences,” choosing Plugins and unchecking it. Other potential solutions include updating all the plugins, or replacing the problematic one with an alternative.
Issue 3: Outdated Graphics Drivers
After Effects is a resource intensive application, i.e., it consumes a lot of GPU resources and processing power. Hence, users must have a good dedicated graphics card or a top-tier integrated graphics card installed on their systems to ensure the application performs smoothly. If there are insufficient resources available, the app will not be able to perform to the best of its capabilities.
However, there are times when users, despite having top-of-the-line dedicated graphics cards, experience After Effects crashes on computers. The problem in such cases lies with the GPU’s drivers. When the drivers of graphics cards are not up to date, i.e., if they are not updated to the latest available versions, crashing issues exhibit themselves.
Solution 3: Update Graphics Drivers
All major graphics card manufacturers including NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, etc., keep rolling out frequent software updates for their respective GPUs to ensure that users get the most out of their graphics card units. A potential solution to avoid the After Effects crashing issue is to ensure that all the previous version video card drivers are up to date.
Depending on their preferences, users can do update previous version graphics drives manually by navigating to their GPU’s application and downloading graphics driver files or automate the process by turning on the “Automatic Updates” feature. Once all drivers are up to date, the user will be able to launch After Effects normally and use it without worrying about the crashing problem.
Issue 4: Outdated Software Version
Using previous versions of applications not only limits users from experiencing new additions such as enhanced tools and features, but also causes them to experience stability issues. A very common reason behind After Effects crashing is because they are overdue for a software update.
Solution 4: Download & Install the Latest Updates
If you are using an outdated or previous version of After Effects and are experiencing frequent application crashes, you should immediately download and install the latest updates to ensure smooth operations. Similar to video card drivers, you can either manually update After Effects or enable the option of automatic application update. Remember – if you choose to manually update the drivers, double check the driver version and make sure that you are not downloading the wrong driver.
Issue 5: System Overheating
As mentioned earlier, After Effects consumes a lot of computational resources. In the case of low-end systems, running the application for extended periods of time causes the system to overheat. As a result, After Effects experiences frequent crashes.
Solution 5: Adjust Preferences or Make Other Adjustments
There are multiple solutions to solve the After Effects crashing issue caused due to overheating. For starters, adjust parameters such as RAM allocation or multiprocessing to optimize the usage of CPU resources to prevent overheating. To make the said changes, navigate to the “Memory & Multiprocessing” section present in the Effects Preferences menu.
Other potential solutions include clearing disk cache and using external cooling solutions to lower the system temperature. Moreover, you can also improve ventilation. If nothing works, it might be best to upgrade the hardware.
Conclusion
Dealing with the After Effects program crashes on computers is a tad tricky, but with the help of the aforementioned tricks, any user can resolve the problem without hassle. However, those who wish to avoid the hassle of fixing the problem or facing any related issue entirely can switch to Postudio, an all-in-one pro-level creative studio perfect for all sorts of post-production process and requirements. Without worrying about software or hardware issues, you can work seamlessly with media content. Wait no further and jump on the bandwagon now!
