Illustrator 2020 keeps crashing on macOS Catalina

[Grupet_69]

So, I just got my new 16" Macbook, i9 processor with 64gb Ram.

Only problem is that Ilustrator now keeps crashing. I don't have any issues with my old 2015 Macbook, or my iMac 5K, only with my new 16" Macbook. Only Illustrator crashes, and it happens at least 4-5 times during a day. No pattern. Latest version of Illustrator and lates version of MacOS.

I finally found a solution. It was another user who wrote me a message with a solution that at least worked for me.

I haven't had a crash in 2 days now.

Preference > Performance > uncheck "GPU Performance"

[Monika Gause]

Please tell us version numbers (system and Illustrator)

Is the dictation service in the system turned off?

[Grupet_69]

Hi Monika,

I'm using macOS Catalina (10.15.2) and Illustrator 24.0.1

Not sure what you mean about dictation service? Is that under System Preferences > Keyboard > Dictation?

If yes, then it's off.

[Monika Gause]

Yes, that one.

Can you tell us when Illustrator crashes? Is that when saving or printing?

Where do you save your files? Server, harddisk, synchronized folder?

Do you have a printer set up? Illustrator needs one.

[Grupet_69]

There are no pattern when it crashes, thats the odd thing. 

I save my files on an external SSD drive (USB-C).

Yes, I have two printers set up. I'm not on a network, so i'm printing over WIFI.

I had the exact setup on my old iMac and also my old Macbook, and never had an issue with Illustrator crashing.

[Monika Gause]

Which printer is the default one? Illustrator needs access to a printer every time it saves or opens a file as it writes printer information into the file.

Does the network printer have a printer queue? Illustrator doesn't like that.

[Grupet_69]

I can't remember the name of the printer, and yes it has a printer queue. But again, this is the setup I have used in years without any issues before now.

[Monika Gause]

You can insist that it won't help or you can just give it a try and set up a different printer.

[Grupet_69]

Sure, I'll give it a try.

Also, I do use an external monitor (LG 34WK95U-W 34" 5K) with my new Macbook pro. It's connected through Thunderbolt 3.

[Srishti Bali]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear that Illustrator is crashing unexpectidely. I would like to know if the steps suggested by Monika worked for you, or the issue still persists. If not, please share the crash report by following the steps shared on this help article (https://helpx.adobe.com/in/illustrator/kb/crash-next-steps.html).

While submitting crash report use the same email address, with which you are signed in on this community. This will help us find the crash report and help accordingly. 

Kindly update the discussion if you need further assistance with it.

Thanks,
Srishti

[Grupet_69]

No, none of the above have helped.

Everytime it crashes, I sent the crash report to you guys with the same email address with which I signed in to this community.

[Monika Gause]

Sending the crash report does help them analyze issues, but probably won't help you get your personal issue solved.

In order to solve your individual issues the best method is to contact Customer Care: http://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html 

You can also try if disconnecting the 3rd monitor helps. Or saving to the internal disk instead of a removable one.

[Grupet_69]

I did try not using the external monitor, but that didn't help.

I could try to use the internal disk, the problem is that it's small (i bought it like that since I'm using an external harrdrive and internal space is very expensive) and don't have a lot of space, so it's not really a long term solution. But I will try it and see if that helps.

[Grupet_69]

I tried to save my work on the internal harddrive but that didnt make any difference. Illustrator keeps crashing at least 4-6 times a day.

I really don't understand it. I had no problem with my old 2014 Macbook pro or my iMac 5K. Now I bought the top of the line Macbook pro and now I have to deal with this every day!

[silk-m]

Hi,

Illustrator may use internal storage in two places.
One is a Scratch Disk.

The other is a Data Recovery.

Have you changed these to external disks?
What is the free space on the current internal drive?

[Grupet_69]

Hi Susumu,

Thanks for your reply.

So my Scratch Disks are set to Primary: Startup and Secondary: to the external disk.

Automatically Save Recovery Data Every: is set to 2 minutes and the disk is set to the internal disk.

I have about 470gb internal free disk space and about 1tb free external space.

[silk-m]

Hi,

If you have 470GB of free space on your internal storage, you don't think there is a problem with Scratch and Recovery.

[Grupet_69]

I don't know? I'm not very technical.

But on my old Macbook, I had less storage space and never had a problem.

It has crashed 4 times today so far, and I just about had it!

I also use Photoshop a lot and never have a problem with Photoshop crashing.

Only Illustrator.

[Grupet_69]

I notice that a lot of the times it crashes is when I move an object. It can be a small object or a big object, no pattern. (text, vector object or an image)

Also sometimes when I save

[Srishti Bali]

Thanks for sharing the crash report. Please try turning the Rulers (View> Rulers > Hide Rulers) in the document and check if that helps.

[Grupet_69]

I've now been testing with hiding rulers and unfortunatley it doesnt make any change. Still keeps crashing 4-6 times a day. Again, it happens a lot when I move an object, but also when I save a document or using the Marquee tool.

It's really getting frustrating, because I spent a lot of money on new hardware to get a faster workflow, and instead it done the opposite!

[jessem23622717]

Grupet_69 - 

I am having the same issues. Illustrator randomly crashes multiple times a day. I recently bought a new 16 inch Macbook Pro - all sorts of hardware upgrades - in hopes for a faster workflow - but it has also done the exact oppisite. 

I tried contracting customer care, and after bout 45 mintues with a guy - he uninstalled and reinstalled illustrator (which I have done a dozen times- and told me it was fixed. It worked for a few hours but now its crashing again.  

There must be a bug in the Illustrator software that hasnt been adressed. This is dirving me nuts. Maybe we should try installing and older mac OS? See here: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/illustrator-and-macos-catalina.html

What a pain! Ill let you know if I figure anything out.

[jessem23622717]

All the same illustrator files run fine on my 2015 Macbook Pro running mac os Mojava

[Grupet_69]

Hmmm... I'm sorry that you have that issue as well, but I'm kind of glad that I'm not the only one, because that just state that there is a problem.

I'm running Catalina on my old 2014 Macbook pro and I don't have that problem at all. Same with my iMac 5K it also runs Catalina and don't have that issue.

Yes, please let me know if you hear or figure anything out.

[Monika Gause]

Please contact Customer Care: http://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html

THis needs to be figured out on your machine.