Skip to main content
thatsnils
thatsnils
Participating Frequently
February 28, 2026
Answered

Illustrator keeps on crushing

  • February 28, 2026
  • 5 replies
  • 203 views

Illustrator opens normally but shortly after I start working it becomes unresponsive and shows “Not Responding.” This issue began after the latest update. For the past two days I haven’t been able to continue my projects.

I have to force close the program through Task Manager and after doing so, the Start menu button also stops working. I have to restart my computer again and again…

I reset my preferences nothing changed. Then I uninstalled and installed again, nothing changed.

I would appreciate your assistance with resolving this issue.

 

The program is up to date. I use the latest version. My subscription is up to date.

 

Thank you.

      Correct answer mimisports

      Okay — if Illustrator freezes immediately after clicking the artboard in a brand-new document, then this is not a file corruption issue.

      GPU Acceleration Problem (Most Common on Windows)

      This exact symptom:

      Opens fine → click artboard → freezes

      Is classic GPU driver conflict.

      ✅ Do This FIRST:

      Disable GPU in Illustrator

      1. Open Illustrator

      2. Edit → Preferences → Performance

      3. Uncheck "GPU Performance"

      4. Restart Illustrator

      If it stops freezing → it’s 100% GPU driver issue.

       

      Regards

      MimiSports

      5 replies

      jackngan
      jackngan
      Participant
      March 5, 2026

      I had the same issue. Did the above, nothing helped. Then my IT guy helped to install the latest GPU driver (GeForce RTX 4070) and freed up a lot of my C drive space. It worked.

        thatsnils
        thatsnilsAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        March 5, 2026

        I did the same steps and it worked for now...

        mimisports
        mimisports
        Participant
        March 2, 2026

        Hi buddy

        check response below.

        Disable the "Home Screen" & Cloud Background Tasks

        The latest Illustrator updates rely heavily on "Creative Cloud Desktop" services that run in the background. If these hang, they freeze Illustrator and Windows Explorer (which controls your Start Menu).

        • Go to: Edit > Preferences > General.

        • Uncheck: "Show the Home Screen when no documents are open."

        • Uncheck: "Auto-show Adobe Stock and Marketplace."

        • Go to: Preferences > File Handling.

        • Change: Set "Save in Background" to Off.

        • Disable: "Automatically Save Recovery Data" (Temporarily, to see if the disk-writing process is causing the freeze).

        Clear the Font Cache

        A single "bad" or corrupt font can cause Illustrator to hang shortly after launch as it tries to index your library.

        1. Close Illustrator and the Creative Cloud app.

        2. Navigate to: C:\Users\[User]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [Version] Settings\en_US\x64.

        3. Delete the folder named "Adobe Illustrator Cloud Prefs."

        4. Also, go to C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [Version] and clear the FontCache folder.

         

        i faced same issue while making Mockups of Custom baseball Uniforms for my Customers. 

        So i used this options and it works. 

        I hope you can solve your problem. 

         

        Regards, 

        MimiSports USA

         

        Jamshed Afzal - MimiSports USA
        thatsnils
        thatsnilsAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        March 2, 2026

        These steps didn't solve my problem. Soon after opening a new document, when I click on the artboard the page becomes non responsive.

          mimisports
          mimisportsCorrect answer
          Participant
          March 3, 2026

          Okay — if Illustrator freezes immediately after clicking the artboard in a brand-new document, then this is not a file corruption issue.

          GPU Acceleration Problem (Most Common on Windows)

          This exact symptom:

          Opens fine → click artboard → freezes

          Is classic GPU driver conflict.

          ✅ Do This FIRST:

          Disable GPU in Illustrator

          1. Open Illustrator

          2. Edit → Preferences → Performance

          3. Uncheck "GPU Performance"

          4. Restart Illustrator

          If it stops freezing → it’s 100% GPU driver issue.

           

          Regards

          MimiSports

          Jamshed Afzal - MimiSports USA
            Maria1910
            Maria1910
            Participant
            March 1, 2026

            I have had a similar issue except it also doesn't seem to save. I spent a few hours on adding to my document, saved, then later on tried to open the file and the updates were gone. Tried again and the same thing. It's not the first time this happens and I'm worried constant illustrator crashes are going to cost me my degree as it almost has in the past, causing me to do consistent all nighters in order to recover the lost work to submit. It's really a joke. I've lost hours and days as well as nights because of adobe illustrator. I also bought a new computer with 32gb ram as i thought the last computer was inadequate for the software but turns out it is just the software. It's really extremely frustrating and adobe really should be doing better. It's incredibly stressful when tutors expect work which I can't present, not because of poor time management or because it hasn't been done, but because of Illustrator constantly and consistently crashing... or not saving

            thatsnils
            thatsnilsAuthor
            Participating Frequently
            March 1, 2026

            Did the issue continue with the new computer? I was thinking it depends on my PC also but I think it is not relevant.

            Maria1910
            Maria1910
            Participant
            March 2, 2026

            Yep. I had 16gb ram for my old computer and my new one has 32gb but same issues. Graphics card is also upgraded with the new computer. 

              Matheus Simonetti
              Matheus Simonetti
              Participant
              February 28, 2026

              Same shit here.

              Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8565U
              RAM 20 GB
              NVIDIA GeForce MX110
              Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620

                Monika Gause
                Community Expert
                Monika GauseCommunity Expert
                Community Expert
                February 28, 2026

                Can you tell us a few details about your system and hardware?

                Did you already try and reset the preferences?

                What kind of graphic card and driver is it?

                thatsnils
                thatsnilsAuthor
                Participating Frequently
                February 28, 2026

                Installed RAM 16 GB

                Processor Intel(R) Core (TM) i7-7500U CPU @2.70Ghz

                Graphics Card 2 GB

                Storage 477 GB

                NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M

                Intel(R) HD Graphics 620

                 

                I reset the preferences, it is the same.

                thatsnils
                thatsnilsAuthor
                Participating Frequently
                March 1, 2026

                I also updated and reinstalled GPU Drivers. The problem still continues.

                  Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
                  Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices