SOLIDWORKS Crashing at Splash Screen "Starting..." - Faulting Module libcef.dll

On a brand new SOLIDWORKS installation, you may encounter the issue of SOLIDWORKS not launching. SOLIDWORKS' splash screen would come up and show "Starting..." and immediately close. It can also happen suddenly to existing installations.

This is likely due to libcef.dll/Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) not working correctly. For a clearer indication, check Windows Event Viewer, Windows Logs > Application for critical/error event levels related to SOLIDWORKS with a faulting module libcef.dll.

CEF is an open-source software framework for Chrome and is used by many other applications (Adobe, Spotify, Steam, Inventor, Microsoft Power BI, etc) (More information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_Embedded_Framework)

First Solution

1. Uninstall 'CEF for SOLIDWORKS' from the Windows Control Panel.
2. Reboot your machine.
3. Navigate to %temp% (this can be directly copied and pasted/typed into the path for Windows Explorer and press enter to reach) and delete the folder “swcefcache” after making a backup.
4. Go to the full installation file set of SOLIDWORKS or the default location of where SOLIDWORKS downloads its installation files, C:\Users\<username>\Documents\SOLIDWORKS Downloads\SOLIDWORKS 20xx SPx, of the latest version of SOLIDWORKS installed.
5. Open the folder swcef.
6. Right-click on Setup.exe and choose “Run as Administrator”
7. When finished, Restart the machine.

Now SOLIDWORKS should launch without issue.

Second Solution

The support team at Hawk Ridge Systems has found success in replacing the libcef.dll file with file version 100.0.14.0 to resolve the issue. You can see which version the dll file is in by right-clicking on the file in File Explorer > Properties.

1. Download the libcef.dll file here: download link
2. Browse to C:\Program Files\Common Files\SOLIDWORKS Shared\swcef\
3. Replace the libcef.dll in the folder with the one downloaded from Step 1.

Third Solution

In this solution, we will let SOLIDWORKS reinstall the components it needs by renaming a folder that SOLIDWORKS will recreate with a repair.

1. Browse to C:\Program Files\Common Files\SOLIDWORKS Shared\
2. Rename the "swcef" folder to "swcef-old"
3. Repair SOLIDWORKS: 
   • How to Repair SOLIDWORKS – Hawk Ridge Systems
   • Administrative Image Repair Guide – Hawk Ridge Systems Support

For further technical support, please contact Hawk Ridge Systems at 877.266.4469 for the U.S. or 866.587.6803 for Canada and support@hawkridgesys.com.