Silhouette Studio may encounter issues with crashing or freezing after it has been opened due to a number of potential reasons. 

This might especially happen for the following reasons:

  • The file in use is very large, or you have a large number of duplicated copies of an image in your file
  • The graphics card driver is not handling the software program well and so the program is running slowly or crashing

Please review the information in the sections below to troubleshoot and resolve concerns with software crashing or freezing during operation.

NOTE: Click here instead for issues with the software crashing during startup

Check Minimum Specification Requirements


Your computer needs to meet or exceed the following minimum requirements in order to run Silhouette Studio:

  • Operating System: PC (Windows 8.1 and higher) OR Mac (OS X 10.10 and higher). 
    NOTE: Chromebook is not currently supported
  • Internet connection: Required for a) software updates, b) access to the Silhouette Design Store c) software upgrade activation
  • RAM: 4 GB of RAM
  • Processor: 2 GHz (or faster) processor speed
  • Memory: 2 GB hard disk space 
  • USB Port: USB 2.0 Port (or higher)

To locate and verify compatibility for your computer, please do the following:

PC

  1. Press [Windows]+Pause button on the keyboard simultaneously
    NOTE: the [Windows] key is between [Ctrl] and [Alt]
  2. The system information will be listed

Mac

  1. Select the apple symbol at the top left corner
  2. Select About this Mac
  3. The system information will be listed

If your computer does not meet the minimum requirements, you will need to use a different computer to run Silhouette Studio.

Reinstall Silhouette Studio


After confirming your computer meets the minimum specification requirements, reinstall the latest software version:

  1. Go to the Silhouette Studio software download page
  2. Click on the 'Download' button
  3. Once downloaded, run the installation program and follow the on-screen prompts to install the software update

Update Graphics Card (Windows/PC only)


Some computers (even if they may be newer) may have concerns running Silhouette Studio if an older or incompatible graphics card driver is in use. 

The graphics card driver for your computer is the component that displays images on your screen. Since Silhouette Studio uses a special programming language to display images and cutting information, this may require some users to update the graphics card driver.

An older driver can cause concerns with the program crashing upon start-up, display issues, or the program running slowly.

To update the graphics card driver:

  1. Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard
  2. Type in devmgmt.msc and click OK
  3. In the Device Manager, click on 'Display Adaptors'
  4. Click on the adaptor in the list
  5. When the adaptor window is displayed, click on the Driver tab
  6. Click on Update Driver

If the graphics driver type is already known, you can alternately go directly to the associated website:

Follow the prompts listed to update. Once updated, restart the computer.

Turn Off Antialiasing


Adjust the display of the program to turn off any graphics optimization as follows:

  1. Open Silhouette Studio
  2. Go to Edit > Preferences > Display
  3. Set Antialiasing to a lower sample setting or to 'Off'
  4. Click Apply
  5. Close and re-open Silhouette Studio
  6. Repeat the above steps selecting a different setting at step 5 if needed

Confirm the File in Use


If the issue only occurs when using a specific file, then the issue is likely with the file. It may either have corruption or include a very large amount of data.


If you are able to temporarily open the file to make adjustments:


  1. Right-click and Ungroup the design
  2. Select all the parts of individual elements of the design (i.e. all of one tag with all the inner parts that are intended to be a group of the overall image)
  3. Right-click and Convert to Path 
    NOTE: This action will take the image from being a bunch of grouped parts that the program has to process individually into one object that can be processed more quickly
  4. Repeat this process for all of the elements in the document
    NOTE: This process may be slow, but the end result should be a much more usable file that is more responsive


If you are unable to open the file, you can send a copy of the file to support@silhouetteamerica.com to test. While we may not be able to correct the file, we can confirm whether or not it is able to be opened.