All tools in ArcToolBox crash

[DonaldCatanzaro]

Hi All,

I installed ArcGIS 10.2.1 on my Windows 8.1 Pro machine and am having problems.

I can open/display maps, and do many of my 'normal mapping' stuff.

However, every single tool that I have tried in ArcToolBox 'crashes' ArcMap.  I put crash in quotes because it ArcMap just disappears.

I had noticed that some people complained that newer versions of Python installed on the machine interfere so I uninstalled by Python 3.2.  I think that I am now using the correct Python (see code below).

What else could be causing my problems ?  What seems odd is that when I open a command window and type 'python -V' it comes back as not a recognized command

I typed the following into my ArcMap python window.  I believe this means that it is running correctly. 

>>> import sys
>>> for pypath in sys.path:
...     print pypath
...     
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\python27.zip
c:\program files (x86)\arcgis\desktop10.2\arcpy
C:\Python27\ArcGIS10.2\Lib
C:\Python27\ArcGIS10.2\DLLs
C:\Python27\ArcGIS10.2\Lib\lib-tk
C:\WINDOWS\System32
C:\Program Files (x86)\ArcGIS\Desktop10.2\bin
C:\Python27\ArcGIS10.2
C:\Python27\ArcGIS10.2\lib\site-packages
C:\Program Files (x86)\ArcGIS\Desktop10.2\arcpy
C:\Program Files (x86)\ArcGIS\Desktop10.2\ArcToolbox\Scripts
>>> print 'Running against: %s' %sys.version
Running against: 2.7.5 (default, May 15 2013, 22:43:36) [MSC v.1500 32 bit (Intel)]
>>> 

Thanks in advance !

[NidhinKarthikeyan]

Take a look at this forum post:
http://forums.arcgis.com/threads/60080-ArcMAP-10.1-Crashes-opening-the-ArcToolbox-window

[DonaldCatanzaro]

Hi All,

I actually had tried all those suggestions previously and they have not worked.  Since then I have tried
1)  Repairing my ArcGIS installation (did not work)
2)  Uninstalling ArcGIS and then reinstalling ArcGIS (still did not work)

Also, *none* of the suggestions on that link mirror my issues.

As I said, ArcToolBox does appear, I can select a tool (e.g. buffer), I can add all the parameters, however, as soon as I hit 'OK' my ArcMap session disappears.

Any other suggestions ?

[DonaldCatanzaro]

That is the weirdest thing, the entire ArcMap Session just goes away.  Nothing in the results window at all.  When I bring ArcMap back up, it does not even show that the buffer started.

I still think it is somehow my path because I cannot start a Command Prompt and type in 'python.exe' but I can go into the Python27\ArcGSI10.2 directory and start it up.

For the life of me I cannot figure out what Python environments need to set for the path (in Windows 8 Pro)

[DonaldCatanzaro]

Hi All,

Something of an update.  Interesting, the ArcToolBox tools (e.g. buffer) work fine from ArcCatalog.  The crashing only occurs accessing the tool (e.g. buffer) from ArcMap  !

[MichaelVolz]

Has Background Geoprocessing been identified as something you can check?  Maybe it is disabled in ArcCatalog where the tool works and enabled in ArcMap (Default setting) where it fails?

[DonaldCatanzaro]

Hi All,

Well I talked to ESRI support and  turned out to be two different issues:

1)  Background Processing was enabled (by default).  To turn it off to go to Geoprocessing > Geoprocessing Options and unclick it.

2)  Windows 8.1 is not a supported OS (yet).  So I need to rollback to 8.0

[LucStappaerts]

Here too ArcMap just disappears after starting no matter which geoprocessing tool.

I'm using Windows 8.1 and ArcMap 10.2.2.

I could solve the problem by unchecking the following option :

  Geoprocessing --> Geoprocessing options --> Background processing --> Enable : uncheck this option

[raimeeeck]

Solved my problem!! After 8 hours of trying every darn thing there is to try short of uninstall/reinstall....

[NidhinKarthikeyan]

Hi All,

Well I talked to ESRI support and  turned out to be two different issues:

1)  Background Processing was enabled (by default).  To turn it off to go to Geoprocessing > Geoprocessing Options and unclick it.

2)  Windows 8.1 is not a supported OS (yet).  So I need to rollback to 8.0

ArcGIS for Desktop 10.2.1 is compatible with Windows 8.1
ArcGIS 10.2.x for Desktop system requirements