Problem

This article goes over the SolidWorks Journal File Error and how to resolve it. The most commonly seen Journal File Error is: "A journal file could not be created. Auto recover will not work. Another session of SOLIDWORKS may already be running on this machine"

A journal file in SOLIDWORKS is essentially a log of the activities that the user and the software undergo during each respective session. Knowing how to read a journal file can assist greatly in discerning the nature of a crash, as well as simply noting certain actions during a live session of SOLIDWORKS.

The most common reason for this error is exactly what is stated in the error message: another instance of the same version of SOLIDWORKS is currently running. Another possibility is that SOLIDWORKS simply did not shut down properly and the SLDWORKS.exe process is still running in the background.

Solution 1: Close SOLIDWORKS with Task Manager

SOLIDWORKS may still be running in the background after it is closed. To check and close it, we can use the Windows Task Manager with the following steps:

1. Open the Windows Task Manager by pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE on your keyboard and clicking on “Task Manager”. Alternatively, you can right-click on the Windows Taskbar and click on “Task Manager”

2. With Task Manager open, navigate to the "Processes" tab

   

3. In the "Processes" tab, look for the process named: “SLDWORKS.exe” (sorting the processes by name may be useful during this operation)

4. Once you have found it, simply left-click on it and then click on “End Process” in the top right-hand corner of the Task Manager

   

Solution 2: Checking Journal File Folder Permissions

There are rare cases where there are no other SLDWORKS.exe Processes running in the background, and this journal file error still persists. In this case, the journal file folder should be checked to see if there are adequate permissions to read and write in the SOLIDWORKS Journal File Folder.

First, we need to open the Windows Registry Editor to check the Journal File Folder location. Be extremely careful not to modify anything except what is listed below. Do not delete anything in the Registry. If you do not feel comfortable performing the steps listed below, please contact Technical Support. This is an advanced troubleshooting step and should only be performed by IT Administrators or users with Admin Privileges comfortable using the Registry Editor. 

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor by pressing the Windows Key + R on the keyboard and typing “regedit” in the Run Window that comes up and hitting "OK"

   

2. Navigate to the key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Solidworks\SOLIDWORKS 20XX\ExtReferences
   Note: 20XX refers to the year of SOLIDWORKS that you are currently experiencing the error with

   

3. Navigate to an entry in the right-hand window titled “SolidWorks Journal Folders” as shown below:

   

4. Make note of the directory shown here. If the directory is blank, this could be why SOLIDWORKS is giving the error message. If the directory is blank, double-click on “SolidWorks Journal Folders” and manually input a directory to a folder that you have full permissions to.

Note: On some systems, the syntax "CURRENT_USER" is present instead of the actual username.

If this is the case, please try replacing the "CURRENT_USER" syntax with the username of the currently logged-in user and check to see if that resolves the issue.

5. Now that we know the folder location of the journal file, open Windows File Explorer and go to the Journal File Folder location so we can check the permissions. By default, the Journal File directory is:
   C:\Users\[USERNAME]\Appdata\Roaming\SOLIDWORKS\SOLIDWORKS 20XX
6. Right-click on the folder, select "Properties" 
7. Navigate to the Security tab, and check the security permissions for the users

8. Ensure that “Full Control” is given to all users (or at least your username). If Full Control is not granted, click on the “Edit” button in the "Security" tab (see above), click on your username and check the “Full Control” checkbox, then click “Apply”. This will give you full permissions.
9. Hit "OK" to close the windows.
10. Launch SOLIDWORKS to retest the issue.

Note: If you are not able to give yourself full permissions to the folder that SOLIDWORKS is pointing to, you can go back to the registry editor and re-point the “SolidWorks Journal Folders” directory to a folder that you do have full permissions to (i.e your Documents folder or a folder that you’ve created on your desktop). This will circumvent your permissions issues with the default folder and allow you to read/write your journal files.

Note: It is recommended to have this journal file directory pointing to a directory that is not on your local drives (i.e. a network drive or PDM vault). Having your journal files written to a non-local location can exacerbate permissions issues and may cause corruption in your journal file if your network hiccups for even a short amount of time.

For additional support, existing customers can submit a ticket or new customers can contact Hawk Ridge Systems.