Blog Capture Performance Logs for SOLIDWORKS
While working in SOLIDWORKS, many customers are coming across performance issues that causes the software to load very slow. Waiting for an assembly to load can be very frustrating especially when there isn’t a clear cause as to what is going on in the background that makes it perform as such.
Now there are tools that you can run on those machines to create a log and see what might be going on in the background that makes SOLIDWORKS load so slow.
The Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) includes the Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT), which is very helpful for this sort of task. Windows Performance Toolkit consists of performance monitoring tools that produce in-depth performance profiles of Windows operating systems and applications. This would apply to SOLIDWORKS 2015 and earlier.
In the SOLIDWORKS 2016 and later, it is possible to capture this data using the ‘Record Extended Logging Data’ option in SOLIDWORKS RX. That is located as a check box under the “Problem Capture” tab at Step 1.
For users who run the SOLIDWORKS 2015 software or earlier, it is necessary to download the WPT first. From the client computer, follow this link and download the Windows ADK.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn927310(v=vs.85).aspx
The following are the system requirements for running Windows Performance Toolkit:
- Windows Performance Recorder (WPR): Windows 7 or later.
- Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA): Windows 7 or later with the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 or later.
For SOLIDWORKS 2015 or earlier, run the installation program. When you come to the “Select the features you want to install” page, select only the “Windows Performance Toolkit” check box. Some systems require that you change a setting and restart the computer before you can record performance data.
When the installation is complete, go to Start > Windows Kits > Windows Performance Toolkit > Windows Performance Recorder. To begin recording performance data, click on ‘Start’.
Windows Performance Analyzer is now ready to record performance data.
Please note: If you receive a prompt to change a setting for ‘Windows Paging Executive’, accept the change and restart the computer. To troubleshoot an issue that is consistently reproducible, start capturing data just before carrying out the workflow in the SOLIDWORKS software.
If the issue is not consistent, start the capture from the time you start the SOLIDWORKS software. However, make sure that the ‘Logging Mode’ option is set to ‘Memory’, or a very large .ETL log file may result. Add a short description of the issue, the last steps taken in the SOLIDWORKS software, and then save the .ETL file.
At that point, you will be able to send this file to technical support for review and troubleshooting.
IMPORTANT:
If applicable, re-enable the ‘Windows Paging Executive’ setting that changed during the system restart. If you do not re-enable the setting, users may experience an overall decline in system performance.
To re-enable the ‘Windows Paging Executive’ setting, follow these steps:
1. Open a Windows command prompt as an administrator.
a. Click ‘Start’ and in the search box, type ‘cmd’.
b. In the search results, right-click on ‘cmd.exe’ and then click ‘Run as administrator’. If necessary, type the credentials of a local administrator user.
2. At the command prompt, type “wpr -disablepagingexecutive off” (without the quote marks) and then press ‘Enter’.
3. Restart the client computer.
George Brañes
CATI Support Engineer