Adobe Illustrator Keeps Crashing?

5 min readDec 9, 2020

As vector graphic software goes, Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard. Artists and designers use it to create logos, web graphics, book illustrations, web and mobile graphics, product packaging, and billboards. This article will give you a crash course on why your illustrator keeps crashing.

Why Does My Adobe Illustrator Keep Crashing?

It is not uncommon for Adobe Illustrator to crash. You will be using it one minute smoothly for all types of work; the next thing you see is that the illustrator has crashed and your work progress along with it. Even though Adobe Illustrator is a well-renowned program, it still has some issues.

What Can Cause Adobe Illustrator Crash?

Adobe illustrator’s users are in the millions, and it is a handy tool. The comic book you so much enjoy might have been designed using Adobe Illustrator, and yet not even Adobe Illustrator itself can accurately identify the cause of the crash. Here are some possible causes behind your Illustrators crash:

Some third-party plug-ins can interfere with the software’s performance.
It could be that your fonts are corrupted hence the crash.
You may be using an outdated version of Adobe Illustrator on an updated operating system (OS).
Also, there might be a network issue when you are trying to open an already saved file or saving a new one.

How to Fix Adobe Illustrator Crashing?

As a consistent user of Adobe Illustrator, you should know a way or two to fix illustrator crashing because it is almost certain that AI will crash at one point in time. Below are some simple ways to fix the Illustrator crashing issue

Method 1: Restarting Adobe Illustrator

You might think it is a cliche why the first solution to most technical problems has to be restarting the program. It is because it works more often than not. Try forcefully quitting the Illustrator and re-launching it; see if that got the Illustrator to work normally again. Restarting usually clears most error programs to have.

Method 2: Update Adobe Illustrator

As mentioned earlier, one of the main reasons behind Illustrator’s crashing issue is operating an outdated version of the software. If indeed you are, update the software to its latest version.

Step 1: Opening the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application.

Step 2: Clicking on the three dots icon at the upper-right side of the application.

Step 3: Selecting “Check for App Updates” from the drop-down menu.

Step 4: Clicking on “Update” if it displays beside the app from the checking result.

Upon successfully download, re-open the software to see if Adobe Illustrator still crashes. If it is still crashing, then you are going to have to try a third option.

Method 3: Remove Third-Party Plug-ins

Normally, when you install a new program on your windows, it is added to the list in “Program and Features.” When you decide to uninstall a program, you go to the” Programs and Features” list and uninstall from there.

Step 1: Go to the “Programs and Features” (Click “Start, type uninstall a program and click the result).

Step 2: Locate the Illustrator Plug-ins from the list

Step 3: Click on Illustrator and then click uninstall

You could also remove the unwanted plug-ins via System Restore. It is a utility that comes with the Windows operating system that can help computer users restore to when they did not have the program interfering with the computer's operation. To use this feature, you have to create a restore point before installing a program. That way, you can use System Restore to eradicate any unwanted program, such as the Illustrator plug-ins.

Step 1: Close all programs and files currently opened

Step 2: On the desktop, right-click “Computer” and select “Properties.” System window displays.

Step 3: Click “System Protection,” and the system properties window will display

Step 4: Click “System Restore’ and the System Restore window displays

Step 5: Select “Choose a different restore point and then click “Next.”

Step 6: Select a time and date from the list and click “Next.” Programs and drivers installed after the selected time and date may not function properly. In that case, you will have to re-install them.

Step 7: Click “Finish” and then “Yes” to confirm once more.

Method 4: Launch Adobe Illustrator in Safe Mode

An incompatible plug-in or a damaged font could be the reason behind the crash. Normally, when Adobe Illustrator is in use, all necessary fonts, plug-ins, drivers, and other third-party elements need to be loaded and functioning properly.

For that reason, starting in safe mode is warranted. It will give you a chance to repair Adobe Illustrator by running diagnostics, correcting every one of the troubleshooting tips. Here is how you can start Adobe Illustrator in “Safe Mode” and “Run Diagnostics”:

Step 1: Restart your computer and open Illustrator.

Step 2: Click on “Run Diagnostics” and then choose to run Illustrator in “Safe Mode.”

Step 3: Click on every option on that list. They are suggesting a cause that can crash the Illustrator.

Step 4: Next, troubleshooting tips are displayed for each issue. Follow the displayed tips on the screen and make all the corrections.

Step 5: Click on “Enable on Re-launch”

When all the issues are fixed, Adobe illustrator will be relaunched in Normal Mode and be working properly.

How Do I Protect Illustrator Files?

You can protect Illustrator files by enabling auto-save. The program backs up your work progress at regular time intervals, which you set for yourself. Follow these steps for the illustrator auto-save location.

Step 1: Go to “Preferences” > “File Handling & Clipboard” > “Data Recovery”