Installing AutoCAD R14 on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10

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As an existing AutoCAD R14 user, you most likely cannot do without your beloved AutoCAD R14. With the latest hardware and required move to new Windows versions, trying to install your AutoCAD R14 gives an error like this one… 

Windows 16bit setup error - This app can't run on your PC

Windows 16bit setup error – This app can’t run on your PC, check software publisher

or

 “FATAL ERROR: HEAP ERROR”

or

MEM_BAD_POINTER

You can solve these problems easily using our Longbow Converter App – fix and manage your AutoCAD R14 on new versions of Windows 7, 8 and 10 64bit

How to install AutoCAD R14

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. Obtain your copy of the Longbow Converter here
  2. NOTE: We recommend turning off Windows UAC before installing AutoCAD R14
  3. Start the Longbow Converter application…
    1. Place your AutoCAD R14 CD in the CDRom Drive
    2. Select the 2nd tab named “Old AutoCAD Installer Reviver“
    3. Using the “. . .” button, select your AutoCAD R14 installation CD
    4. Next, click the “Run Old Installer” button and follow the onscreen instructions
      1. Now, I know it’s unheard of these days, but at this point expect to wait up to 45 minutes for your AutoCAD R14 setup.exe program to appear, be patient…
    5. Once the setup starts, stop and read the next steps all the way to the end! By the way, if your AutoCAD R14 setup does not start after 45 minutes, read the Troubleshooting section below.
  4. In the AutoCAD R14 setup program…
    1. navigate through each setup dialog as normal, with these exceptions…
      1. Make sure you do a Typical Install (not a Full Install)
      2. When you get to the installation folder input dialog **it’s vitally important to make sure you install to c:\acadR14 (not .\AutoCAD R14 as usually prompted)**
  5. Now carry on with the install
    1. Do not reboot once the install is complete
    2. Ignore any errors related to not being able to create the shortcut e.g. “Cannot Create folder ‘AutoCAD R14’“, you will have to create a shortcut on your computer Desktop to your c:\acadR14\acad.exe by hand.
    3. Again, do not reboot if prompted to do so
  6. Once your AutoCAD R14 setup has completed the installation…
    1. Make sure you fully close the setup program.
    2. Once the setup is closed the Converter will automatically fix the c:\acadr14 program files. You should see “Success!” displayed in the 3rd tab named “Old AutoCAD Program Reviver“
    3. Reboot your PC
  7. Now you can happily run your AutoCAD R14 on Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 32bit or 64bit…
    1. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to c:\acadR14 and double click acad.exe

Troubleshooting

  1. If your AutoCAD R14 setup is not starting after 45 minutes…
    1. First try turning off UAC, rebooting, then restart the steps above.
    2. 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 R14 from Windows Safe Mode
  2. If you are getting either a Bad Mem Pointer error and or a Smartheap handler recursively re-entered error when you start your AutoCAD R14 then you need to re-run all the steps above, taking care to do each step precisely as it says, most likely you are missing from step 5 or you have not installed to c:\acadR14 as stated in step (7) above.
  3. When starting AutoCAD, if you receive an ‘acad.exe – System Error’ message: The program can’t start because ac1st15.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem. If you carried out step (7) above, then try rebooting your PC
  4. If you are getting a WinHelp() error when pressing F1 to try and access the Help system then simply install the WinHelp (WinHlp32.exe) module from Microsoft
  5. Issues with Calcomp Digitizer – Calcomp Digitizer not working
  6. If the setup displays an error message

    InstallError (IUO)               
    (X)  not enough space(IUO)

    try unplugging any External USB drives

  7. Plotting issues? If you get an error splwow64.exe “The application was unable to start correctly” with error “0xc0000005”
    1. Make sure your Anti-virus and/or Windows Firewall is not blocking splwow64.exe
    2. If the problem persists
      1. First, note that you need the latest version of the Converter App
      2. Start the Converter App
      3. Select the 3d tab “Old AutoCAD Program Reviver” 
      4. Click the Tools Menu->Reduced Power Mode
      5. Using the “…” button, pick your acad.exe folder e.g. c:\acadr14
      6. Click “Fix Old Program” and follow prompts
  8. If you have crashing problems using the File->Open or File->Save dialogs inside of AutoCAD please read this blog entry on the File->Open or File->Save Crash in AutoCAD
Copyright 2019 (c) Longbow Software

 

9 thoughts on “Installing AutoCAD R14 on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10”

  1. Purchased and downloaded the Converter software to use for AutoCAD R14 and it works without a hitch on new Dell laptop running Windows 8.1. Also it is much faster and more responsive.

  2. Howdy, Longbow folks.

    Using your Converter, I was able to install AcadR14 on my Windows 7 (32-bit) PC, apparently without problems, following the instructions from you: http://www/longbowsoftware.com/Help.php and https://blog.longbowsoftware.com/installing-autocad-r14-on-windows-7-and-windows-8/ .
    From the remarks in your blog site, I should have expected to wait up to 45 minutes before the Setup.exe should appear; however on my end, I didn’t have to wait at all. Setup.exe appeared after a few minutes, I ran it and AutoCAD was installed on my Windows 7 PC and seemingly works. The only glitz I experience now is when trying to running Render (a .ARX extension file), I get an error, “_render Unknown command “RENDER” Press F1 for help”. After installing the WinHlp32.exe for Windows 7 from MS so I open the AcadR14 Help menu, I found that “Help” doesn’t offer useful insight. The same installation of AcadR14 on my laptop (running XP Pro) works perfectly and Render runs.
    I am guessing that when I installed the Converter, I might have skipped a step, which might explain why the installation was so quick. Should I re-install the Converter carefully or is there a problem with .ARX files?

    Thanks, Charles.

    • Yes, make sure you have the latest Converter App, then uninstall and reinstall – it should work just fine for Render. Help is discontinued by Microsoft on Windows 10. Only Windows 7 and Windows 8 (and 8.1) support the old WinHlp32 framework.

  4. Hi, Loading onto Windows 10, once the installer runs (Step 6) it prompts x2 blank error messages, OK these to carry on, the third error message is causing a process abort.
    At 82% complete it displays
    Error: -6 File:C:\Autodesk\R14CD\Autocad.R14\DATA\rtextur.z
    after OK to this error message the installer aborts the process, removes what was written to C:\acadR14 so the Old Program Reviver has nothing to work with.
    Any suggestions?

    Thanks
    Rick

  5. Had a problem trying to load R14 onto windows 10 but following an email to Longbow support I was able to fix the issue. Thanks to Lex from Longbow Software support. Really great product and would highly recommend this software for anyone trying to run older products on Windows 10. Thanks again guys.

  6. Hi, could there be problems if I installed AutoCAD R14 in Windows 10 professional 64bit with video card and monitor configuration in 4K? Thanks.

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