Fix for Mem_Bad_Pointer Error AutoCAD R14 in Vista

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After installing autocad R14 in Vista when you try to click on autocad shortcut you may see the following error

“Mem Bad Pointer” then

“Smartheap error handler recursively re-entered”

Solution 1

find SH31W32.dll file in r14 folder then rename it or take backup

replace SH31W32.dll files that works with vista from here

Solution 2

Another user used this dynamic library file, setup the permissions on the .cfg and .reg files in the mechanical folder to allow writing, adjusted some registries to allow writing,

After the .dll replacement, R14 would open but may be getting two error messages. On opening, I would get one message about being unable to modify the registry and a suggestion to open REGEDIT.

On closing R14, I would get an error about not being able to write or save configuration.

Detailed explanation

I looked for what could be considered a registry file. “acadaut.reg” was what I found that looked like a good option in the “c:\program files\mechanical” folder, which is where all of the R14 support files tend to be on my machine. So I right-clicked on the file, selected ‘properties’, went to the ’security’ tab, and edited the permissions so that ‘write’ access was allowed. I actually, granted ‘full access’ because I didn’t notice ‘write’ as it’s own selection, but that was probably more than is needed. I then looked for what would be a configuration file and found “acad14.cfg”. I went through the same permissions update with it. During all this, I’d make a change and then try out R14, make another change, try out R14 again. After/During this, I felt the need to go and run REGEDIT, right click on each major folder, and update the permissions to allow writing there too. Now I have a working R14 on Vista 64-bit.

My version of R14 does include mechanical desktop, however I mainly use the AutoCAD program. Also, AutoCAD seems to prefer being installed in the Program Files area, not the Program Files (x86) directory.