Model Builder crashes ArcMap

[johnpolo]

I was using model builder for extraction by mask. The directory I am working from has 20 years worth of monthly temperature rasters, in .bil format, and is about 860 MB, so it's kind of big, at least to me. Now, when I open the model builder window, every time that I link the directory to the "Rasters" iterator object, ArcMap (10.2.1) crashes and I have no error message to tell me what happened. The thing is, I already ran multiple extractions successfully on 3 similar directories in the same way with no problems. Now, I've tried several times since the first crash. I've restarted my computer several times. I tried just one extraction with one of the files and it worked. I don't know what is causing model builder's uncooperative behavior all of sudden. Is there some kind of cache I need to clear out or are there any other guesses?

[johnpolo]

It looks like my file names were too long. I used R to shrink the names. Here is the R code I used: http://r.789695.n4.nabble.com/Change-file-name-td4684626.html

[johnpolo]

I am having problems again with ArcGIS for Desktop crashing when I run Model Builder. I am linking to work spaces that only have about 200 MB of files. I've shortened all the file names to as short as they can be and still be distinguishable, about 11 characters. Are there any ideas why I can't get Model Builder to work?

[ChrisDonohue__GISP]

Some ideas:

• You may have already checked this, but is there any chance the problem directory has restricted characters or spaces in its name or any folder in its path?  This often trips up GIS processes.

• Some processes will crash if the combination of both the filename and file path exceeds 255 characters.  I've even had some crash when the combination was only 240 characters, which technically should have worked.  One way to test this is to move some of the data to the C: drive into a simple folder (example C:\Model) and then set the outputs also there. 

• Are you running the model from the Edit Window or as a Tool?   I ask as there was a bug not long ago that would cause models to crash if run as a tool but they would work if run from the Edit window.

• Can you post a screenshot of your model?  This will help folks get a better sense of what you are trying to achieve and how the processes are connected.

Chris Donohue, GISP

[johnpolo]

Chris, I didn't know about the combined length being a problem. The whole directory is about 85 characters with another 15 or so for the files. There are no special characters in the directory.

I run the models from the editing window.

Here is a screenshot. Because each raster is for the lower 48, I extract to a much smaller area first. Then I reproject to UTM 15N, while also setting a cell size of 100 m x 100 m. Then extract to the actual coverage I need.

[RebaFranklin1]

Hello Chris - I am having the problem you mentioned  - models crash if run as a tool but works if run from the Edit window. Is there a fix to this bug? I am running 10.2.2, I hope there is a solution for this version.

Thanks in advance for any information!

[ChrisDonohue__GISP]

What processes are you trying to do with Modelbuilder?  I ask as there have been several bugs in the past and many are linked to specific processes.

One general fix that sometimes works is to turn off "Background Processing".  In ArcGIS, at the top, Geoprocessing, Geoprocessing Options..., then uncheck the Background Processing box.

Chris Donohue, GISP

[RebaFranklin1]

Thank you for your quick response. Above is a screen shot of the tool and a shot of the variables in the Select portion of the model. I just tried disabling background processing, but as I suspected, the tool didn't work correctly (but it didn't crash out). If this tool doesn't process in the background it doesn't iterate and write all the field values to a new feature. It works great in edit mode with or without the background processing enabled.

I'm fairly new at building tools (a year or two) - so maybe there's something I could do to get the tool to work correctly without processing in the background?

[ChrisDonohue__GISP]

Here's a previous GeoNet thread on a similar issue that was due to bugs.  In particular, look at the replies by curtvprice 

Bug in Modelbuilder iterators when run as tool 

You may also want to contact ESRI Support directly to see if they have a hotfix/patch.

Chris Donohue, GISP

[RebaFranklin1]

Thank you Chris.

It's nice to know it's a bug and I'm not overlooking something and causing my own problem, though if it were a problem with my tool design we could fix it - lol