Adobe Dimension Grey Screen Fix + After Effects Crash Fix

😊 I was excited to start using Adobe Dimension. (Adobe Dimension is software for graphic designers to create 3D images.)

😟 But I was sad to find it showed nothing but a blank grey screen when I opened it. 

Dimension.jpg

This post was originally to demonstrate a workaround to get Adobe Dimension to load after getting nothing except a grey screen instead of the viewport. But things got deeper when both After Effects and Adobe Dimension started crashing on their opening splash screens and Autodesk 3ds Max just would not open.

I assumed these errors were being caused by hardware issues, (probably graphics card)

💻 How to fix the blank grey screen

1️⃣ Issue one. Adobe Dimensions grey screen when loading.

This was solved by simply unplugging my external monitor from my laptop, which is an XPS 15in, running Windows. I should also note my extra screens are plugged into a Dell D6000 Dock. (Desk Setup)

So to solve this I could unplug my second screen, open Dimension, let it load and then plug in the screen and start using it normally.

Not the ideal solution. But a solution none the less...


But then things really started hitting the fan. It turned out that this error was effecting multiple software. After Effects would get stuck on the splash screen, Dimension started to crash when opened and 3ds Max didn't even bother to do anything.

2021-03-23 11_16_21-Adobe Fix V2 - VLC media player.png
2021-03-23 11_16_31-Adobe Fix V2 - VLC media player.png
2021-03-19 17_40_45-Camtasia 9.png

I tried the old faithful unplug replug trick and it worked but it was not fun.

Everyone will tell you to update your drivers and software. But I always feel a little dubious about that being a fix. But none the less I spent ages installing the latest drivers, software and updates, to no avail.

I then disabled the Intel Driver and that worked, but again not ideal.


🔧But this was the fix

In Windows > Settings > Display > Multiple > Make the laptop the Main Display.

2021-03-23 11_16_59-Adobe Fix V2 - VLC media player.png

Now when I load Dimension, After Effect or 3ds Max they all work fine. They do all load up on the 'main screen' (the laptop) and need me to drag them onto my external monitor. But a small price to pay to have everything working. I hope this has helped and saved you some time.

If you do know a better fix I would love to hear it. 

If you want to try out Dimension or any of the other Adobe products here is a link to download the Creative Cloud.