Illustrator 29.6.1 Freezes on Launch – Stuck at Create Artboard Screen on Windows 10

[MaryWIC]

I've just Updated to V29.6.1 this morning and now my illustrator just gets stuck on the create artboard window followed by not responding. I'm running it on windows 10 pro 64 bit op system. I've tried restarting the programme and restarting my computer but without success. Not had this issue before.

FYI I sadly can't run as admin as it's a work pc and i don't have access to admin log in.

<Title renamed by MOD>

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @MaryWIC,

Thank you for reaching out, and I’m really sorry to hear you’re running into this after updating. Since Illustrator is getting stuck on the create artboard window and then stops responding, this might be caused by corrupted preferences or a system conflict.

Even though you can't run as admin, I suggest trying to reset Illustrator preferences. You can find the steps here: https://adobe.ly/3TVlkYJ, and please make sure to back up your preferences first.

If that doesn't help, please try the following. Close all Adobe apps, then go to this folder and rename the UXP folder to UXP.old. On Windows, it is at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\UXP. On macOS, it is at Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Adobe/UXP. After renaming, relaunch Illustrator and see if it starts correctly.

Also, let me know if this happens with both new and existing files, and if you have any external devices or displays connected, as these can sometimes cause startup issues.

If possible, please share a short screen recording showing exactly where it gets stuck so I can share it with the team for further checks.

Looking forward to hearing how it goes.

Abhishek

[MaryWIC]

Thanks Abhishek, that seems to have fixed the problem 🙂