Adobe After Effects is one of the most popular post-production applications for video editors, VFX artists, and motion graphics designers, but if After Effects keeps crashing or you find After Effects not responding, it can be incredibly frustrating.

After Effects is a powerful tool for creatives to craft one-of-a-kind visual effects, but is also a graphics-intensive application that is notorious for crashing.

Whether you are an After Effects beginner or a professional, frequent application crashes can make it difficult to complete AE projects. If you're wondering "Why does my After Effects keep crashing?" or searching for solutions to how to stop After Effects from crashing, these 7 tricks from professional video editors can help you troubleshoot and fix After Effects crashing issues.

Tip #1: Check for Software Updates

First on our list of After Effects tips for how to fix After Effects crashing: check for software updates. The reason for frequent After Effects crashes could be that the program is overdue for a software update. Check for both application updates and computer software updates.

Updating After Effects to the most current version by uninstalling and reinstalling the program may completely solve problems with frequent crashes. Reinstalling After Effects will also automatically delete corrupted codecs that could be causing the application to crash.

Tip #2: Media Cache and RAM Settings

One of the best pro tips for getting After Effects to quit crashing is to clear the media cache. The media cache can be found in the After Effects preferences menu.

When After Effects keeps crashing or becomes unresponsive, it might be due to corrupted scratch files. In such cases, purging these files from the media cache can be an effective way to prevent Adobe After Effects from crashing. Emptying the media cache is risk-free, so there is no need to worry about deleting something important from this menu.

From the Preferences > Media Cache menu, click Empty Media Cache. From the same menu, you can also purge the RAM by clicking Edit > Purge > Memory & Disk Cache.

Using an external hard drive to store the media cache files can also improve After Effects performance.

Tip #3: Export With Media Encoder

One of the tricks for After Effects that professionals use to avoid After Effects crashing when rendering is to export the project with Media Encoder. If After Effects crashes during export, switching to Media Encoder can often solve the issue. When it comes time to render and export, click on Queue to send it to Adobe Media Encoder.

Tip #4: Utilize Cloud Computing with Vagon

If Adobe After Effects keeps crashing, especially during complex renders, it’s time for a Vagon boost. Transfer your projects to our high-performance cloud PCs in just a few clicks and enjoy a seamless, crash-free After Effects experience. Learn more about using After Effects on a cloud computer for optimized performance.

Tip #5: Remove Third-Party Plug-ins

Next on our list of After Effects tricks to stop crashes is to remove third-party plugins, especially if After Effects keeps crashing when opening a project. This may frustrate creators using a third-party plug-in in their current project, but a compatibility issue could be causing the crashes.

For Mac: Applications > Adobe After Effects
For PC: Program Files > Adobe After Effects > Support Files

Locate and delete the third-party plug-in files from these folders. After deleting the plugin files, close and reopen After Effects to reset the program.

Tip #6: Video Card and GPU Problems

Another common reason After Effects keeps crashing is that the computer’s video card does not work smoothly with GPU Acceleration. This issue can cause After Effects to crash immediately after starting a project. To troubleshoot this problem, try turning off GPU Acceleration temporarily to see if this improves the performance of After Effects.

From the After Effects Preferences menu, click on Display and then deselect Hardware Accelerate Composition Layer. After that, go to Preferences > Previews > GPU Information to switch from GPU to CPU.

You can also go to File > Project Settings > Video Rendering and Effects to switch to a non-GPU acceleration.

If there is a problem with the video card that is not resolved by updating the computer software, it may require further troubleshooting.

PC users can go to Task Manager > Performance > GPU to see what kind of graphics card they are using. Go to the graphics card manufacturer’s website to check for and download graphics card driver updates.

Tip #7: Prevent Overheating

Tip #7: Prevent Overheating

One of our tips for how to stop After Effects from crashing that does not involve software is simply to keep the computer from overheating, which can cause After Effects to keep freezing or crashing while rendering. Make sure that the computer’s vents are always uncovered. You may also consider investing in a cooling pad for laptops to make sure the computer does not get too hot to function.

Close all applications that are not in use to make sure that the computer’s CPU is not being overworked.

You can also check out our GPU Guide for tips to use GPU, along with speed up and acceleration tips for Adobe After Effects.

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FAQs:

1. Why does After Effects keep crashing?

   • After Effects may keep crashing due to outdated software, corrupted media cache, incompatible third-party plug-ins, or issues with GPU Acceleration. Checking for software updates and clearing the media cache are common fixes.

2. How can I stop After Effects from crashing?

   • To stop After Effects from crashing, ensure your software is up to date, clear the media cache, disable GPU Acceleration if necessary, and remove any incompatible third-party plug-ins.

3. Why does After Effects crash when rendering?

   • After Effects may crash during rendering due to insufficient system resources, corrupted files, or GPU-related issues. Using Adobe Media Encoder for rendering can often resolve these crashes.

4. How do I fix After Effects crashing when opening a project?

   • If After Effects crashes when opening a project, try clearing the media cache, disabling third-party plug-ins, or checking for corrupted project files. Reopening After Effects in a new project can help troubleshoot the issue.

5. What should I do if After Effects keeps freezing?

   • If After Effects keeps freezing, ensure that your computer is not overheating and that you have enough RAM and CPU resources available. Closing unnecessary applications can also help free up resources.

6. Is there a way to prevent After Effects from crashing on Mac?

   • To prevent After Effects from crashing on a Mac, update your macOS and After Effects to the latest versions, clear the media cache, and monitor GPU Acceleration settings. Ensuring your Mac is properly ventilated can also help.