Ae comp window doesn't update

Report · May 28, 2024

So I've been having this issue for a year or so now. I'll be working in Ae and after a period of time (usually a few minutes) the composition window won't update with the changes. It'll be stuck on the frame. Preview rendering doesn't help. I can see the green line rendering but the viewport doesn't update. The only solve is to restart Ae. It's getting a little old now, and happens on my work and home workstations. They're both Windows, both running the latest and greatest Ae, and both quite different spec: one has a 3080 Ti, the other a 1060. Anyone know what on earth is going on?

Report · May 29, 2024

That's not ideal. Do you get this issue in all the projects? Could you share some details on the projects with the issue? Any third-party plug-ins? Does clearing the cache help?

Let us know. Moving the thread from Bugs to Discussions for troubleshooting.

Thanks,

Nishu

Report · May 29, 2024

Hi Nishu, thanks for the reply. Yes, I get the issue in all projects. They're usually nothing too complex: mostly all HD, just solids, vectors and some light Prores and H264/5 keying and VFX work. I do currently have the Maxon One suite installed, which can be a buggy so and so. I'll remove it and see what happens but I do tend to lean on a few of the filters a lot. Clearing the cache doesn't help.

Report · Jun 11, 2024

Do you get the issue if you don't use third-party plug-ins? Can you try running After Effects in Safe Mode with the third-party plug-ins disabled and see if you are still getting the issue?

Let us know.

Thanks,

Nishu

Report · May 29, 2024

try the below solution

Update Graphics Drivers:
Ensure that the graphics drivers for both your NVIDIA GPUs (3080 Ti and 1060) are up to date. Visit the NVIDIA website and download the latest drivers for your specific GPU models.
Check After Effects Preferences:
Go to Edit > Preferences > Display and make sure that Hardware Accelerate Composition, Layer, and Footage Panels is enabled.
In Preferences > Memory & Performance, ensure that RAM Reserved for Other Applications is set to a reasonable amount, leaving enough RAM for After Effects to operate smoothly.
Purge Cache:
Purge the cache in After Effects by going to Edit > Purge > All Memory & Disk Cache. This can help if the issue is related to cached data.
Disable GPU Acceleration:
Temporarily disable GPU acceleration to see if the issue is related to your GPU. Go to File > Project Settings > Video Rendering and Effects and set Use to Mercury Software Only. Restart After Effects and see if the issue persists.
Reset Preferences:
Reset After Effects preferences by holding down Ctrl + Alt + Shift while launching After Effects. This will reset preferences to their default settings, which can resolve various issues.

Report · May 30, 2024

Thank you for the suggestions. I've worked through all of them but still have the issue.

Report · May 31, 2024

I've seen this issue, but only when i'm using Element3D, it sort of soft-crashes. Everything appears to be working, except the comp window does not update. And restarting the PC was the only solution.

One additional setting you could try, in Edit > Preferences > Import, uncheck Enable Hardware Accelerated Decoding.

This also uses your GPU and I've had issues with Windows File Explorer having conflicts that were solved by unchecking this option. My "problems" went away with that unchecked, although since then AE has been through updates and it is rechecked and I've not had the problem recur.

Report · Jul 02, 2025

Having the same issue!!!
Reseted everything and still the problem!
What's the point of paying something so expensive that every time finds the way to screw you???

Report · Jul 08, 2025

Hi Michel,

Do you mind sharing more details about the issue? Is there anything specific that triggers it? What are your system specifications (CPU, GPU, RAM, OS version) and version of After Effects you're using?

Let me know.

Thanks,
Nishu

Report · Aug 01, 2025

I have same issue

My specs are:

i5 12400f

rtx 5060

32 gb ddr5 ram

and windows 11

Report · Aug 01, 2025

Thanks for sharing the specs. Do you mind sharing some details about the crash? When does it happen? Are there any error messages or crash reports?

Let me know.

Thanks,
Nishu

Report · Aug 02, 2025

Basically after sometime working in after effects, preview stops showing and and no updates in the preview panel, if i try closing the project after effect crashes with no error message. also when i try to close after effect it shows not responding then i have to close it manually and restart

is it gpu related issue as i just upgraded my gpu to 5060

Report · Aug 05, 2025

It seems like it's related to the GPU to me, but can't say for sure. A user on a different post about similar topic reported that they were able to fix it by installing the 573.22 version of the Nvidia GPU driver. Here's the link to the post: https://adobe.ly/4okEq8G

Can you give it a try? Let me know how it goes.

Thanks,
Nishu