Updating copper pours randomly takes forever - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 02:46:01 pm
content: In DipTrace's PCB layout, when I update all copper pours it usually only takes a few seconds. But sometimes, with no discernible cause that I can see, it will take what feels like forever - 30-40 seconds or more! Worse still, it seems to lock up the application UI such that the window doesn't update and Windows thinks it's unresponsive. The only indication it's alive and busy is that Task Manager will show it maxing a single CPU core. It always makes me worry that it's going to crash and taking my recent hard work with it (because inevitably I won't have recently saved my file). It hasn't yet though, I just have to sit tight and wait it out.Does this happen to anyone else, or is it just me?

author: BloodyCactus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 05:05:36 pm
content: Ive never had that issue happen. Is it a large pcb? lots of nets? anything in particular?

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 05:18:56 pm
content: No, nothing special. Under 10x10cm board, around 60 components, 70 nets, 300 pins.It doesn't seem related to complexity of the board layout. It's just so random. I mean, I can run copper pour update one moment and it's very quick as usual, then do something trivial like move one via (for example) and then update again and it bugs out and takes forever.Very frustrating!I'm still on version 2.4; maybe I will try the 2.9 beta and see if that improves things.

author: steve_w
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2016, 02:21:20 am
content: I use DT for similar sized boards and don't have that issue, if you want send me a copy of your file and I'll try it here?maybe the southern hemisphere will prove the difference :-)regardsSteve W

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2016, 04:02:28 pm
content: It's not doing it at the moment with recent changes in my design, so I doubt it would make any difference trying on another system.I've since thought it might be related to how long DipTrace has been running, or perhaps how many times update copper pours had been run. On the days that this was really ****ing me off, I had been running DipTrace for several hours. Although, having said that, I seem to remember quitting DipTrace and then restarting it, only to have it happen again straight away. So maybe I'm talking crap.Maybe there was some otherwise-insignificant detail in my layout that caused the algorithm for copper pour recalculation to work itself into a knot.

author: steve_w
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2016, 06:36:37 am
content: Let us know how you get on, am interested in this aspect of DTregardsSteve W

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2016, 11:58:58 pm
content: Today I wanted to get some feedback from a friend, so I installed DipTrace on their PC so we could play with the design as we talked. Their PC is old and crappy; P4 sub-2GHz, 1GB RAM, WinXP, etc.I made some tweaks and unwittingly updated copper pours. DipTrace bugged out again. How long did it take?Twenty. Freaking. Minutes.

author: steve_w
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2016, 11:31:32 am
content: I run DT on a crappy dell laptop running at 1.6 GHz 2 G ram and it does a copper pour on a moderate sized board (296 pins 114 parts) in less than 2 seconds.regardsSteve W

author: OilsFan
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2016, 09:42:25 pm
content: Mine runs the copper pour updates almost instantly. Side question: Is there a way to make the copper pour update automatically so I don't have to do it manually every time I tweak a trace a half a bee's dick.

author: steve_w
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 07:44:58 am
content: A dedicated key would be good p pours current side u unpours the current side or similar?apparently single keys are in the next release. I hope you can map your own keys

author: DerekG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2016, 06:37:59 pm
content: Quote from: HwAoRrDk on February 05, 2016, 02:46:01 pmI have not had the problem with copper pours, however "check design rules" on large complicated boards can take some time & can appear to "lock-up" .......... but give it time it comes good. Also auto-routing large boards can also give an appearance of locking up - but comes good given time.I have found the culprit appears to be many Windows "Hibernates". A full Windows shutdown & restart cures these two problems. I'm using Windows 7 (64 bit) Professional.