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M
msd90038341
Participating Frequently
November 7, 2023
Question

Need help troubleshooting Illustrator - it's incredibly slow

  • November 7, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 381 views

Hi,

Illustrator has started to operate very slowly. So much so I decided it was time for a PC upgrade.

I've got a new machine in place, Windows 11 Pro, i5 12400, 32GB RAM, Nvidia Geforce RTX 3050 (8GB GDDR6).

When running Illustrator the CPU and Memory never seem very taxed. However, when trying to print it is very slow - 30 mins or more just to process and another 30 mins to print. I'll get the app 'Not responding' indicator at times and just need to leave it sitting there. The memory is usually around 53% capacity. 

I tried downgrading to Illustrator 27.9 instead of 28 because I noticed Geforce Experience wasn't detecting Illustrator. It is now. But still doesn't seem to make a difference.
Even saving files to the local drive just seems to eventually hang, but the PC overall is fine.
Resetting the preferences has helped but only temporarily, even without manually changing any settings.

I'm not sure where to look for the issue. 

Any recommendations?

This topic has been closed for replies.

3 replies

M
msd90038341Author
Participating Frequently
November 7, 2023

Okay, I had Adobe support online and they eventually connected. It looks like a bit of a perfect storm of multiple issues. The main one being a seemingly corrupt file. We tried just opening the file (fine) and then saving it with a new name - it got to 99% and then just sat there for a long time before failing with a non-specific error.

In addition, I ran a firmware update on the printer just in case. 
Installed Adobe Reader and was able to print out a small file okay. (I don't know if this had any other effect).
I was able to open a much larger file and print okay.
The files are received from an outside source, and the big ones contain multiple artboards with embedded/linked images in them, which apparently make them unwieldy. 
I also found that despite quitting OneDrive something was still running a sync process of some sort, because the Sync icon appeared on newly saved files. I'm going to remove certain locations from OneDrive's sync.

I'm going to visit back with the designer tomorrow and try to get a new copy of the file in question, and run a couple more tests. For now, I've had two successful prints. Hopefully it'll be okay from here out.

    B
    Community Expert
    Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 7, 2023

    The HP Z6 DesignJet is a large format printer. Does the printer include any large format RIP software? It seems unusual to print directly from Illustrator with such a printer. Usually a RIP application is a go-between.

    M
    msd90038341Author
    Participating Frequently
    November 7, 2023

    I don't see anything and honestly that's out of my area of expertise. I'm general IT admin trying to help with this issue.
    In general, it was working okay.

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 7, 2023

    How large are the files you are printing?

    Printing might also hang because of network issues or because of the printer. Can the printer handle such large files? 

    Are there images linked in your files?

    Is the printer correctly set up in the system? A printer not being correctly installed might also affect Illustrator saving time.

    M
    msd90038341Author
    Participating Frequently
    November 7, 2023

    File size varies from about 8mb to 70mb. 
    The printer is an HP Z6 DesignJet. It was working fine previously. I should mention that nothing about the work I'm doing has changed much from when everything was fine before. Similar files, similar sizes, same printer. 
    It's a new PC so maybe the printer installation is an issue, but as far as I can tell it's fine. Is there a specific printer setup procedure to follow for Illustrator?
    I have managed to get prints out okay occasionally, but most of the time I can't. Saving and printing is just slow and unsuccessful with no obvious errors reported.

     

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 7, 2023

    Is the printer driver compatible with the system?

    Installed correctly?

    Did you set up the printer as the default printer? Is the printer available to Illustrator when you save the file (it tries to reach out to the last used printer when saving the file)? Is there a printer queue (Illustrator doesn't like printer queues that much)

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