Installing Softdesk 8 for AutoCAD R14 on Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

NOTE: We have had the best success installing this product using our Converter solution on Windows 8 and Windows 10

Installing your Softdesk 8 for AutoCAD R14 on Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 32bit or 64bit can be very easily defined in these short steps.

A quick word of advice: best to follow the instructions below precisely and to the letter, including folder names and paths, that way you will reduce the risk of having any problems…

  1. First, obtain your copy of the Longbow Converter here
  2. Install your AutoCAD R14 by carefully following the steps detailed here
  3. Using Windows Explorer, copy your entire Softdesk CD to your hard drive, to a folder path c:\Autodesk\softdesk
  4. Start the Longbow Converter tool, select the 2nd tab, pick the c:\Autodesk\softdesk folder, and click Run. Read and understand all the prompts before pressing OK. Now, I know it’s unheard of these days, but at this point expect to wait at least 45 minutes for your Softdesk setup.exe program to appear. Once the setup starts, install as normal (simply accept all defaults).
  5. Next we need to initialize Softdesk on startup, so depending on what works best for you – either
    1. Start your AutoCAD R14 by running c:\acadR14\acad.exe. Once AutoCAD starts up fully, simply type preferences at the command line, select the Profiles tab, double click the Softdesk profile and make it the Current Profile. Finally, OK out of the preferences dialog.
    2. Another way to intialize Softdesk on startup is to create a Desktop shortcut to c:\acadR14\acad.exe – make sure the shortcut
      1. Target: is set to C:\acadR14\acad.exe /c c:\sdsk\programs /p “softdesk 8” 
      2. Working Directory: is set to C:\acadR14
  6. Now you can happily run your Softdesk tools inside of AutoCAD R14 on Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 32bit or 64bit

Troubleshooting

If your setup is not starting after 45 minutes, try rebooting, then restart the steps above.

  • If it is still failing, most likely it’s because of another application on your system which is preventing our setup routine from starting (perhaps anti-virus, or similar) – try installing from Windows Safe Mode
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