There may be times when you cannot open your Autodesk software and discover you may be missing updates. Since you cannot open the software to determine what update you are at, you are unsure if you need updates.
To help determine your installed updates, we have to look in the registry.
1. Click on the Windows Start button and type in regedit, and click on the Registry Editor that shows up:
2. You will now want to navigate to this area in the registry:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\
3. Now expand out the keys for the products in question:
For 3dsMax, look here: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Autodesk 3ds Max 20xx
when you expand that key out, it will detail all the updates you have installed:
For AutoCAD (and verticals), this one is a little easier:
Look in Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD, and each product year release has it's own number, in this example we are looking at the 2024 release cycle (R24.3). Under each version you should have a numbered key with and without a :###, the ones to look at are all the ones without the colon:
As you can see in the example above, my Civil 3D is updated to 2024.3 Update and my base AutoCAD (or AutoCAD engine, if I had only Civil 3D installed)is at update 2024.1.2
AutoCAD LT is listed under this Key:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT\
and follows the same process for AutoCAD:
Inventor is a little more complicated, but can be found:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Inventor\
When selecting the RegistryVersion##.# key (in my case RegistryVersion28.0 - for Inventor Professional 2024) the ProductVersion key matches my build number
From the Help => About in Inventor Pro 2024
For Navisworks, this one is pretty easy:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Navisworks Manage x64\19.0\Extensions (the 19.0 designates 2024 version)
This key shows the Update Version:
For Revit, look here:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit 20xx\
This will show you the various updates:
That should cover the majority of where to look for the most common products. This will help you determine if you are missing updates, when you cannot launch your Autodesk product.
Once you know this you can now install your missing updates via two methods:
How to install updates using the Autodesk Desktop App:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/desktop-app/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/ENU/DesktopApp-Content/files/GUID-50441AA3-3F08-454E-8828-87206DB4019A-htm.html
If the Desktop App doesn't appear to be working, then manually download and install using your Autodesk account:
https://resources.imaginit.com/support-blog/where-to-find-and-download-product-updates-from-your-autodesk-account
Warning! Problems caused by improperly editing the Windows registry could render your computer/operating system unusable. Microsoft provides a wealth of critical information that you need to know about the registry in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. Use the Microsoft® Registry Editor only at your own risk and only after backing up the registry as well as the system.dat and user.dat files as outlined for your operating system in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. Additional information about the registry is also contained in the Help topics in the Microsoft Registry Editor.
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