Ultimaker
Cura 5.11.0 Graphics Glitching and Crashing
Cura Version
5.11.0
Operating System
Windows 10
Printer
Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro
Reproduction steps
- Download the software
- Add printer to slicer
- Add M420 code to Pre print Gcode
- Check all settings visability
- Add print to print bed
- Attempt to add post processing (Pause at height)
- Graphics start to get all glitchy and eventually crashes after I keep clicking on things.
Actual results
Graphic artifacts show on screen, text becomes criptic or blurry, options disappear from print settings. Then the software crashes
Expected results
The slicer should allow me to add the post processing script and slice the model.
Add your .zip and screenshots here ⬇️
Something has gone wrong with the file you've uploaded. It's a valid archive, but the file contained within it has a size of zero (0) - it contains absolutely nothing at all. You're going to need to try again to compress it and re-upload for further diagnostics.
I can't say that I've ever seen that - here, on Reddit, or in my own experience. So do make sure to export a full support package (via the help menu) if possible, else include a copy of the log file from %appdata%\cura\5.11. Knowing your hardware and software configuration is likely going to be important to replicating the issue, and the log should contain most of that information.
In the meantime, I would also encourage you to do a quick stress test of your graphics hardware just to ensure nothing has gone wrong there. You don't necessarily need to push it to extreme with the likes of FurMark, but I would at least get one of the Unigine benchmarks (Superposition, Valley, and/or Heaven) running for a good 10 minutes or so. The basic editions of all of these are free. It also may not hurt to do a fresh re-install of your graphics drivers, removing the old ones with DDU (another free tool) just in case it's a simple software fault.
Something has gone wrong with the file you've uploaded. It's a valid archive, but the file contained within it has a size of zero (0) - it contains absolutely nothing at all. You're going to need to try again to compress it and re-upload for further diagnostics.
I can't say that I've ever seen that - here, on Reddit, or in my own experience. So do make sure to export a full support package (via the help menu) if possible, else include a copy of the log file from %appdata%\cura\5.11. Knowing your hardware and software configuration is likely going to be important to replicating the issue, and the log should contain most of that information.
In the meantime, I would also encourage you to do a quick stress test of your graphics hardware just to ensure nothing has gone wrong there. You don't necessarily need to push it to extreme with the likes of FurMark, but I would at least get one of the Unigine benchmarks (Superposition, Valley, and/or Heaven) running for a good 10 minutes or so. The basic editions of all of these are free. It also may not hurt to do a fresh re-install of your graphics drivers, removing the old ones with DDU (another free tool) just in case it's a simple software fault.
Believe it or not it is working today. I am not sure if clearing the graphics driver was what fixed it or if I am just having a good day today. I am going to try slicing some more prints and see if I can get the problem to replicate!
After using it without issue yesterday, the problem presented itself today again. I attached another image of what is happening along with what I think is the log. I also thing that it successfully saved the project this time!
Let me know if you can think of anything else to try. This is super frustrating and confusing!
I'm not seeing anything obviously untoward. Your processor is recent (Zen 2/Ryzen 3000-series), your GPU is recent (RTX 4070 Super), your software is as up to date as it can be (Win10 22H2, NVidia drivers 591.44 - which only came out a couple days ago), so all of that looks good. Your archive has also worked properly this time and loading it locally showed no problems either, whether I used your configuration or not; though it's fair to say our setups are not identical, even if there are similarities.
I'm afraid I'm not going to be of much assistance on this. Anything I would have to offer would be very generic in nature as I'm unable to identify any specific cause, so while it wouldn't hurt anything it may not necessarily help either. Perhaps @GregValiant or @HellAholic may have some further input.
Possible Cause & Diagnostic Suggestions
The visual corruption you’re seeing (blurry/garbled text, UI elements disappearing, then a crash) looks similar to what happens when the GPU or VRAM becomes unstable. This can happen even without user overclocking — factory OCs, aging thermal pads, or heat-soak after long GPU use can all cause intermittent artifacts.
Since the issue appears some days but not others, it may be worth checking whether this is related to GPU/driver stability rather than Cura’s UI code. Here are tests that can help narrow it down:
What to Check
-
GPU/VRAM Temperature: Monitor temps during slicing or right when artifacts start. VRAM instability often causes visual glitches.
-
GPU Clocks / Overclocking: If the GPU (or just VRAM) is factory-OC’d or manually OC’d, try reducing clocks slightly to see if the artifacts disappear.
-
Driver Version: Try confirming whether the issue started after a specific driver update.
-
Cold Start vs. Warm System: See if the issue happens:
-
right after a reboot on a cool system
-
vs. after gaming, 3D modeling, or other heavy GPU load
-
Other Applications: Check whether any other GPU-accelerated programs show similar corruption.
-
Same Model / Same Steps: If a specific model always triggers the glitch, that might point to a software code path. If it’s random, hardware/driver becomes more likely.
If the issue is caused by GPU/VRAM instability or driver state, it should change depending on temperature, clock speed, or system load. If it’s a Cura bug, it should behave consistently regardless of hardware conditions.
If you can reproduce the crash scenario, getting the windows log also could indicate where the source of that crash is:
- Induce the Cura Crash
- Open Event Viewer (windows search bar)
- Go to Windows logs > Applications > look for the crash report (
) of Cura
- Double click on it to see what faulty module is reported.
This is not my forte. I do have a couple of thoughts regarding what I see in the images.
- The coloration (polka dots and such) is consistent with what Cura will do when a model has errors. This brings to mind "Mesh Tools" plugin. Looking in the log file - I don't see Mesh Tools being loaded. Looking at the model, I don't find any model errors.
- We see a number of bug reports here that point to Cura's interaction with the computer video system as the problem (card manufacturer and model, drivers, over-clocking, etc.). They are almost always a "local problem" specific to the users hardware system.
- "Intermittent" problems are by nature, really hard to chase down and in regards to that, support from here is "remote" (we don't have access to your hardware). Because it is intermittent: HellaHolic's suggestions come to the forefront. Is it worse when the computer is cold? or when it's warmed up and working hard?
- Have you tried setting Cura up in "Compatibility Mode"? It's in the Preferences on the General tab as "Force Layer View Compatibility Mode". When in "Compatibility Mode" Cura doesn't require a cutting edge video system as it drops back to OpenGL 2.0 (rather than 4.0). When in Compatibility Mode the scene rendering in "Preview" is like "flat tape" as opposed to the OpenGL 4.0 view which is "like sausages". It takes less work to render the view.
- There have been problems with multi-monitor setups. Keeping the hardware setup as simple as possible (single monitor and no peripherals except the keyboard and mouse), and adding things one-at-a-time can sometimes point out the problem.
- The bug I refer to as the "Peter Maxx" bug also comes to mind. That one is intermittent and so far it has not been found. It also does not actually affect Cura or the generated Gcode, it just looks bizarre on-screen.
- I have a Peter Maxx collection. This one is my favorite.
In closing I'll say that there is some slight chance that this is a Cura bug, but it's an extremely slight chance. The over-whelming possibility is that it's a local problem with the way Cura wants to render the scene, and the way your video system is interpreting that, or the video system is getting hot and confused, or it's just plain old "stuck-on-stupid" and needs a push. The question then is "what/where do I push". You'll have to try different things.
I followed HellaHolic's instruction regarding the Windows Event Viewer and came up with a few of these "Cura Events". This one seems to point to a Windows DLL file that didn't like something it saw. (I notice the offending file has "crt" in it's name. I'm in over my head here and I have no idea if that is relevant or not. I haven't had any video system problems on this old Win10 Laptop.) In addition, I open a lot of files that come in with these bug reports and so I have to take everything slow and careful when trying to interpret what I see.
