Computer Crashed on Illustrator - Overheating, Stuck on Error Screen

Question

Good day, all! I had a quick question if anyone knows the answer to it.

I have a school assignment due tomorrow using the Adobe Illustrator program on my Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (both software and computer are fully updated to the best of my knowledge). It required using the very heavy tools such as 3D + Materials and Option > Mockup > Create Mockup using decently large SVG files. The final SVG design ended up being 25+ MB despite doing my best to slim it down - I'm on a time crunch and had to prioritize.

Below is the first mock-up I created successfully using the SVG and the jar picture. It took about an hour to load and was on the verge of crashing the whole time.

Unfortunately, the project requires a second mock-up be made using two grouped copies of the SVG lined up together to display the back of the label design. That's where I'm stuck. After loading steadily for about an hour my computer suddenly went black, displayed this error message, and refuses to turn off or otherwise be diverted. The cursor isn't available. My computer is rapidly overheating by the minute and shows no sign of letting me close the application or closing it itself. It's not plugged in or running any other programs to the best of my knowledge, and I have more than enough storage space on both my C:Drive and the Creative Cloud.

I'm worried for both the health if my computer and my health should I fail this class by failing to turn in this very highly weighted assignment. Send help, please?

WJKAEARTS · Accepted Answer

Thank you for your time, Mr./Ms./Mx. Anubhav!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to restart my computer as the power button kept getting cancelled out (I'm not sure of the technical term) by the error message that wouldn't leave or allow interaction with. Essentially it was stuck "on" and unhappy with me about it. I had to wait for my computer to run out of battery entirely while holding it next to an open freezer, essentially. Not sure if the freezer actually helped but it was already running low on battery, thank goodness. I'm not sure if your suggestion would have helped but thank you for trying!

As well, thank you for the reminder about CPU constraints, I'm not the best at remembering them and usually do multitask between multiple programs even if that wasn't the case today. I haven't used my SSD to help with overload in a while and I think it might be a good idea to dig it out for this project.

Best wishes! - WJKAE

Anubhav M · Answer

Hello @WJKAEARTS,I'm sorry to hear about your experience. If you have a backup copy of the file, you can try restarting your computer and then relaunching Illustrator to continue working on the file. Do note that due to the CPU/GPU/Memory constraints on a portable device like yours, it is best not to use multiple programs at once, especially when using features such as 3D.You can also refer to this help article on suggestions to improve performance in Illustrator (https://adobe.ly/3GrxHZx).Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.Anubhav

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