Are you a constant user of Adobe Illustrator? If yes, then at some point, you may have faced some crashing issues while using it. These issues might affect your tasks, documents, and files.

Illustrator is one of Adobe’s most popular design software. Even though it is one of the best vector graphic software, sometimes users experience Illustrator crashes.

That’s why, to make things easier for you, we’ve compiled a list of the most common Adobe Illustrator crashing issues and their solutions.

What is Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based graphic design program created by Adobe inc. This Illustration software plays a key role in designing logos, icons, and several other vector-based files. Adobe Photoshop is better suited for creating banners, editing photos, and even 3D painting. Illustrator, on the other hand, is more suitable for illustrations and branding resources.

Adobe is known for its creative software, with Creative Cloud catering to professional designers and newbies. Adobe Creative Cloud is comprised of popular software like Photoshop, InDesign, and Adobe Premiere Pro. While these all have very different functions, they do a great job of helping creatives complete their tasks.

It has a subscription of $19.99 per month and a month free of Adobe Stock.

• Get 65% off Adobe software – Follow our Adobe Creative cloud discount guide.
• Get 10 Free Stock Images from Adobe Stock — Including royalty-free photos, illustrations, and videos.

Features of Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is used for the following tasks:

• Converting ideas into pictures
• Drawing and creating illustrations
• Creating logos, icons, and Infographics
• Creating images that can be enlarged without compromising the quality
• Drawing 3D images
• Exporting design assets in a variety of formats

Crashing Issue of Adobe Illustrator

When it comes to Adobe Illustrator crashing, it can be due to a wide variety of reasons. Adobe Illustrator comes along with several nuanced features, but like most software, it is no stranger to crashes.

Reasons Why Adobe Illustrator Could be Crashing:

• Corrupted fonts
• An outdated version of the application
• Network issue
• Third-party issues
• Insufficient Memory
• DLL and driver issues
• A new update

Steps to Fix Crashing Issue of Adobe Illustrator

There are some effective solutions to solve the illustrator crash.

Method 1: Update Adobe Illustrator

First, you have to check whether your software is updated. If not, you should get the latest version of the software.

How to update Adobe Illustrator

Step 1: Open the Adobe Illustrator application

Step 2: Click the icon of three dots on the upper right side of the app.

Step 3: Check App updates

Step 4: After checking the updates, look if the app shows an update button next to Illustrator CC.

Step 5: Press the button to update the software.

Step 6: Reopen the application and check if Adobe Illustrator is still facing crashing issues.

Method 2: Restart and Recover

After this, restarting Adobe Illustrator is another common way to get rid of crashes.

Step 1: Close Adobe Illustrator CC and launch it again.

Step 2: On the popup window, there is an Ok button. Click it to import unsaved illustrator files.

Step 3: Then, save all the files to your computer.

How do you recover unsaved files on Adobe Illustrator?

Crashing issues on Adobe Illustrator can also affect the saved files in the software. So, in order to keep your Illustrator files safe, Adobe Illustrator has a Data recovery feature.

You have to enable this feature to automatically backup your Illustrator files.

Data Recovery Feature

Step 1: Open the application

Step 2: Click Ctrl + K which will take you to the Preference of Adobe Illustrator.

Step 3: Move to File Handling & Clipboard.

Step 4: Select the checkbox of Automatically Save Recovery Data Every in Data Recovery.

Step 5: You can see an interval drop-down list and should select the duration.

Step 6: After this, select the Choose button. Through this, it allows you to save the backup files.

Step 7: Turn off Data Recovery for complex documents.

Step 8: Click Ok to save the changes.

What to Keep in Mind When Making use of the Data Recovery Feature

You have to select a long duration period because a short period can get in the way when working on large or complex files. Having your Illustrator constantly automatically save your files can get in the way of your workflow. It can also be a cause for crashing if it happens too often with big files. 

If data recovery is on, it will affect Adobe Illustrator while backing up large files. As a solution, you have to turn off Data Recovery for complex data. 

 

Method 3: Adobe Illustrator in Safe Mode

It is beneficial to launch Adobe Illustrator in safe mode. It allows accurate functioning of elements such as fonts, plug-ins, drivers, etc. Switching to safe mode will also help repair the software with ‘Run Diagnostics’

Here are the steps to launch the Illustrator in safe mode.

Step 1: Restart your computer

Step 2: Open Adobe Illustrator and select Run Diagnostics

Step 3: Select run Illustrator in Safe Mode

Step 4: Then, there will be a list of options. You have to select all the options on that list. (It conveys the causes of an Illustrator crash)

Step 5: The next step is to fix the troubleshooting tips mentioned for each issue. You have to follow those tips on the screen and make the corrections.

Step 6: Then, choose to Enable on Re-launch.
After resolving all the issues, Illustrator will be launched again and will work smoothly.

 

Method 4: Third-Party Plug-ins

There are two methods to fix it.

Through Programs and Features

Sometimes we may have the latest version of an Illustrator with an outdated plugin. This can lead to an Illustrator crash. So removing these third-party plugins can help in resolving the crash.

So, here are the steps to resolve crashing issues by removing these plugins.

While installing new software, it will get added to the list of Programs and Features. So you have to uninstall the software from that list.

Step 1: Visit the list of Programs and Features.

Step 2: Search for Illustrator Plug-ins from the list.

Step 3: Select Illustrator and uninstall it.

Through System Restore

System Restore is a feature of Microsoft Windows which is used to recover from system malfunctions. It allows restoring the computer’s state including installed applications, system folders, etc. to a previous point in time. 

Step 1: You can uninstall plug-ins through this System Restore.

Step 2: In order to enable this feature, you have to create a restore point before installing programs.

Step 3: Close all the opened files and programs

Step 4 Then, on the Desktop, you have to right-click Computer

Step 5: Click on the Properties which will display the system window.

Step 6: Select System Protection and it will show the system properties window.

Step 7: Select the System Restore

Step 8: Click to Choose a different restore point and click Next

Step 9: Choose a time and date from the list and click Next.

Step 10: Click Finish and Yes to save the changes.

Note: The programs which are installed after the date and time will not work properly. So, you have to re-install those programs.

Method 5: Reset App Preferences

It is one of the simplest ways to get rid of the crash issue.

Step 1: Move to the Edit option of the Adobe Illustrator

Step 2: Select Reset Preferences and click Ok.

Step 3: Then, Restart the Illustrator.

Step 4: Click Alt + Ctrl + Shift

Through these methods, you can resolve the crashing issues of Adobe Illustrator. 

Have you thought of the reasons causing these crashing issues?

There are quite a few things that can be causing your software to freeze. We’ve gone ahead and listed a few things that may be worthwhile looking into.

 

Other Reasons Illustrator Might be Crashing

1. Insufficient Memory

By far the most common occurrence when it comes to illustrator freezing would be a memory issue. It’s not obvious to have insufficient RAM overloading with applications. So draining memory can be considered as a cause of Adobe Illustrator crashing.

So one straightforward solution would be to upgrade the RAM for your system. You can also consider looking for devices that are more capable of handling the software’s workload. If interested, you should check out our Top Laptops for Graphic Designers article.

If you feel like your system has sufficient memory, you should try some other ways. For example, you can close the unnecessary programs before running your software. If this still persists, look at some of the other issues that occur below.

2. DLL and Driver Issues

Another common issue is your drivers not running or being properly installed. When using any software, drivers help you utilize the several components of your system to ensure they run smoothly. If a driver ( a program that helps enable this) is not running smoothly, it can cause your program to crash or not open in the first place.

One easy fix for this would be to make sure your drivers are up to date and properly installed.

When DLL files are missing or not working, there will be an error message indicating DLL is causing the problem. With Illustrator, the most common issues are VCRUNTIMExx.dll or an MSVCP110.dll error. In this case, you can follow the steps mentioned on the page here.

3. A New Update

Surprisingly, new users often report that they face issues right after a new Illustrator software update, which may sound a bit bizarre. But in these cases, one recurring issue users face is the software constantly freezing or crashing while they’re working on a design.

Issues might depend upon the new software update or rather required configuration changes. A good way to fix this would be to restore your software to an earlier version by doing a system restore.

Frequent Asked Questions

 

Wrapping Up — How To Fix Adobe Illustrator Crashing Issue

Adobe Illustrator plays an important role in creative tasks. People from beginners to professionals commonly use this software. But one of the main issues faced by the users is the Illustrator crash. So, I hope this blog post might help you to resolve your issues with Adobe Illustrator.

If you are a frequent Adobe user, you can get access to 65% of Adobe by following the Adobe Creative Cloud discount guide.

You can also have a look at how to get an Adobe student discount.