AutoCAD is one of the best design tools on the planet, however, sometimes, its installation fails to run on a Windows computer. There are multiple instances of this error, you may encounter this issue after updating from Windows 10 to Windows 11 or when installing a fresh copy of the same. In this post, we will see what you can do if AutoCAD is not installing on Windows 11.
Fix AutoCAD not installing in Windows 11
If AutoCAD is not installing on Windows 11, follow the solutions mentioned below to resolve the issue.
- Check if your computer meets the system requirement
- Disable Beta: Use Unicode UTF -8 for worldwide language support feature
- Reinstall Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service
- Check your date, time, and timezone
- Disable your antivirus and then retry
- Reinstall .NET Framework
- Install AutoCAD in Clean Boot State
Let us discuss them in detail.
1] Check if your computer meets the system requirement
If you are unable to install AutoCAD on your computer, you should first check if your system meets the requirements issued by the developer. We have listed the system requirements for Windows below.
- OS: Windows 11/10 (64-bit)
- Processor: 3+ GHz
- Memory: 16 GB
- Display: 1920 x 1080 (or better)
- Display Card: 4 GB GPU with 106 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX 12 compliant
- Available Space: 10 GB
- Features: .NET Framework version 4.8 or later
To know what your system’s specifications are, open Run, type ‘dxdiag’, and click Ok. Finally, you can see if your computer is compatible with AutoCAD, if it is not, you need to increase your system’s resources and then try installing AutoCAD. Hopefully, after allocating a few more resources, you will be able to install the application.
2] Disable Beta: Use Unicode UTF -8 for worldwide language support feature
The Beta: Use Unicode UTF -8 for worldwide language support feature allows your computer to improve compatibility with apps that use Unicode UTF-8 encoding for non-Unicode programs. However, the feature has been known to cause issues with AutoCAD, especially during installation, saving, exporting, and using e_Transmit. In order to resolve the issue, we are going to disable it. To do so, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open Control Panel.
- Go to Clocks and Region and then click on Region.
- Now, go to the Administrative tab and then click on Change system locale.
- You then have to untick Beta: Use Unicode UTF -8 for worldwide language support and click Ok.
Finally, reboot your computer, and run the installation process. Hopefully, it will do the trick for you.
3] Reinstall Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service
As the name suggests, Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service manages licenses of Autodesk software. There is a chance that the service is corrupted, and in order to resolve it, we are going to reinstall it. Follow the steps given below.
- Open File Explorer and then go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\AdskLicensing.
- Right-click on uninstall.exe and select Run as administrator.
- Download and install the latest Autodesk Licensing Service from autodesk.com.
- Run the AutoCAD setup.exe to install the software.
Finally, check if the issue is resolved.
4] Check your date, time, and timezone
You need to make sure that your timezone is that of your region, and that other aspects such as date and time are correct. Otherwise, AutoCAD will get confused and will refuse to install. In order to resolve this issue, we are going to check everything and make sure that they are in place. To do so, follow the solutions mentioned below.
- Open Settings by Win + I.
- Go to Time & Language > Date & time.
- Ideally, the Set time zone automatically should be checked, but even if you encounter this issue, go ahead and disable it.
- Then, set the Time Zone to the correct timezone.
- Make sure that the date and time are correct on the same interface.
Finally, run the installation media and then see if the issue is resolved. This should do the trick for you.
5] Disable your antivirus and then retry
You may also encounter this issue if there is an antivirus or firewall that’s blocking the installation. If you are using a third-party antivirus or Windows Defender firewall, you can disable it for a while, complete the installation process, and then enable it again. Hopefully, disabling antivirus will do the trick for you.
6] Reinstall .NET Framework
As mentioned in the system requirements section, AutoCAD needs a .NET Framework. If you want to install AutoCAD on your system, you need to create an environment for that. To do so, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open Control Panel.
- Go to Programs > Programs and Features.
- Now, click on Turn Windows features on or off.
- Then, untick .NET Framework 3.5 (including .NET 2.0 and 3.0) and .NET Framework 4.8 Advanced Series, and click on Ok.
- This will uninstall the .NET Framework, reboot your computer, and then install the features back by ticking the two options that were unticked earlier.
Hopefully, this will do the job for you.
7] Install AutoCAD in Clean Boot State
If there is a third-party application that’s interfering with the installation of AutoCAD, we recommend you perform Clean Boot. This will allow you to disable all the third-party services, giving you a clean slate to install AutoCAD. Once done, check if the issue is resolved.
Hopefully, you can resolve the issue using the solutions mentioned in this post.
Read: Edit DWG files using these free DWG Editor software for Windows
Why is my AutoCAD not installing?
There could be various reasons why AutoCAD might fail to install on your computer. Your computer may not be able to meet the system requirements, the absence or corruption of the .NET Framework, Unicode UTF -8, or corrupted Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service. To resolve the issue, go through the solutions mentioned earlier.
Read: How to clear NVIDIA, AMD, or AutoCAD Graphics Cache
Why is AutoCAD not working on Windows 11?
Your system most probably doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements issued by the developer to run AutoCAD. However, some underlying issues, such as software incompatibility or the absence of an environment, can also cause issues. We recommend you disable Unicode UTF -8 and reinstall the .NET Framework by following the steps mentioned earlier.
Also Read: AutoCad not working in Windows 11.
