KiCad crashes every time when opening pcb file

Software
1

Hi all, I’m new to KiCad and when I tried to open a kicad_pcb file the whole app crashed.
After starting it again I tried to run Pcbnew, same result crashed instantly.
I tried the stable version as well as the nightly build, same result.
Running on a WIN7 64bit PC.
I searched the web and the forum but can’t find anything helpful.
Has anyone got an idea what could cause the app to crash?
Is there a log where I could get some more info?

Cheers
Dietmar

2

KiCad version?
Do schematic files open OK?

3

This is the version info from the one running at the moment but as mentioned I have tried the daily builds as well.
Schematics is fine, the PCB footprint editor crashes the app as well.
Application: kicad
Version: 4.0.0-rc1-stable release build
wxWidgets: Version 3.0.2 (debug,wchar_t,compiler with C++ ABI 1009,GCC 5.2.0,wx containers,compatible with 2.8)
Platform: Windows 7 (build 7601, Service Pack 1), 64-bit edition, 64 bit, Little endian, wxMSW
Boost version: 1.57.0
USE_WX_GRAPHICS_CONTEXT=OFF
USE_WX_OVERLAY=OFF
KICAD_SCRIPTING=ON
KICAD_SCRIPTING_MODULES=ON
KICAD_SCRIPTING_WXPYTHON=ON
USE_FP_LIB_TABLE=HARD_CODED_ON
BUILD_GITHUB_PLUGIN=ON

4

This content does not belong on the forum. Please report a bug and follow the guide lines on https://kicad.org/help/report-a-bug/

5

So, it’s been about a year from the original post and the problem is still there. I just installed the newest stable release and it crashes when I try to open the pcb (pcbnew crashes). Schematic opens fine. I am also using Windows 7, 64 bit as with the original person.

I like Kicad. I use Altium Designer at my day job and find Kicad to be almost as good. I would like to keep using it but it needs to work on a Windows 64 bit PC.

I know this bug has been reported but it doesn’t seem to be important. Should I move on or is a fix coming soon?

thanks… also, this forum is the place to discus these types of things/bugs.

6

Very few people seem to be affected by this. My first thoughts are that you may have a PATH problem, maybe a parallel Python 3 installation or your antivirus doing something wrong

7

Hi,
I use kicad in some windows 8 64b pcs, no problem at all…
have you tried to put UAC off?
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/turn-user-account-control-on-off#1TC=windows-7
and/or see if some of kicad exe would need a firewall allow policy?
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/communicate-through-windows-firewall#1TC=windows-7
Control Panel\System and Security\Windows Firewall\Allowed applications
Maurice

9

Hi there.
pcbnew crashes with any pcb file and even with no pcb file, if I just open pcbnew.exe.

I’ll try the UAC and the firewall thing but, respectfully, I’m skeptical that it is the problem. I hope it works.

I found somebody else with the same symptoms and he indicated the problem was with Boost libraries.
(https://github.com/Alexpux/MINGW-packages/issues/836) Doesn’t mean much to me at this point.

I’ll report back after trying the other suggestions.

10

I have tried all of those suggestions. No difference.
Works fine on my PC at home, just not at work

11

Try to delete all the kicad stuff in %APPDATA%.

12

OK, I’ve tried UAC and the firewall. Neither worked. I’ll now try the %appdata% next.

13

Deleting the stuff in %APPDATA% makes no difference either

14

I just tried deleting appdata stuff as well with no difference. After pcbnew crashes it creates a new pcbnew text file in appdata directory. That file only has in it:
file1 =
file2 =
file3 =
etc…
Other files are created for kicad but I can’t see anything glaringly wrong with them.

Any other things we/I can try?

15

There was mention of a possible Python path problem so I uninstalled my Python 2.7, then uninstalled KiCad and then reinstalled KiCad.

This made no difference.
Ver 4.0.1 works on my Windows 10 64bit tablet but not on my Win 7 64 bit PC.

16

Check your Java version, the KiCad registry entry notices this.
Another possibility is your OpenGL as the pcb component uses it

17

OK, So these are the latest things I tried:

  • updated Java
  • updated video drivers
  • updated OpenGL

Hmm, still wont work on Win7 64bit. pcbnew and the footprint editor both just crash when I try to open them.

18

What happens if you open up a command line with cmd, cd to \Program Files\Kicad\bin and enter pcbnew.exe?
On my machine the prompt re-appears quickly, but pcbnew is running

19

Just in case… running KiCAD on Win7 64Bit here… running fine on 4 machines. Standalone not part of a domain.

I use the nightlies with this ending:
kicad-product-rxxxx.xxxxxxx**-x86_64.exe**

Can you post your systems environment varaible?

  1. Start>ConstrolPanel>System>…
    [new window]
    2)Change Settings for Computer name, domain and workgroup>Advanced Tab>Environment Variables…
    [new window]
  1. in the upper window must be a ‘Path’ entry… copy it’s contents and post it
  2. in the lower window must be some KiCAD/KiSYS varaibles… post them as well

(remove your name/buisness/etc where ever needed before posting please)

Mine:
[Path]

C:\Python27;C:\Python27\Scripts;E:\Data_Code\Python;C:\Program Files\smartmontools\bin;C:\Program Files\Intel\WiFi\bin;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intel\WirelessCommon\

[KICAD_PTEMPLATES]

C:\Program Files\KiCad\share\kicad\template

[KISYS3DMOD]

C:\Program Files\KiCad\share\kicad\modules\packages3d

[KISYSMOD]

C:\Program Files\KiCad\share\kicad\modules

There is another Path variable in the lower window… might need to look at that too… contains a lot of stuff for my system.

20

There is a free OpenGL extensions viewer called GLView. This will tell you the OpenGL mode and extensions supported.
I ran it on one of my machines and found 1920x1024x32 and full support for version 4.4, partial for 4.5

21

I can see it opens pcbnew for a flash and then it crashes.