Bug: Crash on Startup - DX12 Engine (UseNewRenderer) on Dual GPU System (AMD + NVIDIA)

[tavuro]

SketchUp 2026 — Resolved Crash Case

Device: Acer Nitro AN17-41 | AMD Radeon 780M (integrated) + NVIDIA RTX 4070 Laptop GPU | Windows 11
Version: SketchUp 26.2.0243 | Graphics Engine: DX12 (New Graphics Engine)
Resolution Date: July 17, 2026

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Symptoms

#	Observed Symptom
1	SketchUp would open and immediately close upon startup.
2	The Welcome Window would appear, but SketchUp would crash to the desktop upon clicking any template.
3	Toolbar configurations and positions were not saved between sessions.

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Diagnostics — Investigation Process

The logs generated by SketchUp during each crash were analyzed:

C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Local\Temp\SketchUpLog-[date].log

The False Lead: Plugins at the End of the Log

In all logs, the file ended abruptly on the last loaded plugin. This initially led to the assumption that the plugin was the culprit:

Loading extension: AI Render (1.2026.03.25)

Loaded ruby file: …su_diffusion/ruby/update_scene.rbe

← log ended here (crash)

su_diffusion was disabled, but the crash persisted — the log then ended on the next plugin in the list. Then the next one, and so on. This cascading pattern was the key to understanding that the plugins were not the actual cause.

Root Cause Identified

The crash occurred after all plugins finished loading, at the exact moment SketchUp attempted to initialize the 3D main window. The log always ended on the last plugin because the crash happened milliseconds later, before the graphics engine could write its own log entry.

The critical setting was found in:

C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Local\SketchUp\SketchUp 2026\SketchUp\PrivatePreferences.json

json

“UseNewRenderer”: true ← ROOT CAUSE

“TryNewRenderer”: false

“CountOfNewRenderersOnProbation”: 0

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Root Causes (in order of discovery)

Cause #1 — Corrupted su_diffusion Plugin (Actual secondary cause)

Trimble’s AI Render plugin (su_diffusion) was corrupted. While it didn’t cause the main crash, it did prevent SketchUp from even reaching the graphics engine initialization in some early attempts.

Affected files:

# In user's AppData (multiple copies with .bak):

AppData\Roaming\SketchUp\SketchUp 2026\SketchUp\Plugins\su_diffusion.rb

AppData\Roaming\SketchUp\SketchUp 2026\SketchUp\Plugins\su_diffusion\

# Pre-installed with SketchUp (the copy that kept reappearing):

C:\Program Files\SketchUp\SketchUp 2026\SketchUp\ShippedExtensions\su_diffusion.rb

C:\Program Files\SketchUp\SketchUp 2026\SketchUp\ShippedExtensions\su_diffusion\

Key Takeaway: SketchUp 2026 includes su_diffusion as a pre-installed extension in ShippedExtensions. Even if the user’s copies are deleted, SketchUp continues to load the one from Program Files. Both must be disabled.

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Cause #2 — UseNewRenderer: true on Dual GPU Laptop (Primary root cause)

The new DX12 rendering engine (UseNewRenderer) in SketchUp 2026 is unstable on laptops with a dual GPU setup (AMD iGPU + NVIDIA dGPU). When attempting to initialize the 3D viewport after loading plugins, the engine crashes without leaving an error message in the log.

The misleading symptom: The log always ended on the last loaded plugin, not the graphics engine, because the engine failed before it could write anything to the log.

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Applied Solution

Step 1 — Disable su_diffusion from ShippedExtensions (Requires Admin)

powershell

# Rename so SketchUp doesn’t load them

Rename-Item “C:\Program Files\SketchUp\SketchUp 2026\SketchUp\ShippedExtensions\su_diffusion.rb” “su_diffusion.rb.DISABLED”

Rename-Item “C:\Program Files\SketchUp\SketchUp 2026\SketchUp\ShippedExtensions\su_diffusion” “su_diffusion.DISABLED”

To reinstall AI Render, do a clean install from the Extension Warehouse inside SketchUp.

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Step 2 — Disable the new DX12 rendering engine (The definitive fix)

Edit the file:

C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Local\SketchUp\SketchUp 2026\SketchUp\PrivatePreferences.json

Change:

json

“UseNewRenderer”: true

To:

json

“UseNewRenderer”: false

This forces SketchUp to use the classic OpenGL engine, which is completely stable with this device’s dual GPU configuration.

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Final Outcome

Item	Status
SketchUp opens correctly
Templates load without crashing
All plugins active (except su_diffusion)
Graphics Engine	OpenGL (stable)
su_diffusion (AI Render)	Disabled — reinstall from Extension Warehouse if needed

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Quick Fix for Future Reference

If SketchUp 2026 crashes again on this machine after an update:

1. Verify that PrivatePreferences.json has "UseNewRenderer": false
2. Verify that ShippedExtensions\su_diffusion.rb is still renamed to .DISABLED
3. Check the log in %TEMP%\SketchUpLog-[date].log — the real crash occurs after the last visible line.

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Key Files in this Case

File	Purpose
%TEMP%\SketchUpLog-*.log	Diagnostic log for each session
AppData\Local\SketchUp\...\PrivatePreferences.json	Graphics engine configuration
AppData\Roaming\SketchUp\...\Plugins\	User plugins
C:\Program Files\SketchUp\...\ShippedExtensions\	Plugins pre-installed with SketchUp
AppData\Roaming\SketchUp\...\Plugins\_DISABLED_PLUGINS\	Backup folder for disabled plugins

[DaveR]

Interesting and thorough information.

@tavuro

Version: SketchUp 26.2.0243

Why does your profile show a version that never existed?

Please correct your profile.

[tavuro]

Automated Fix / Workaround Script

For anyone who wants to apply this fix automatically without digging into AppData or Program Files manually, I’ve created a safe Windows Batch script that does both steps (disables the corrupted plugin and switches the engine to OpenGL).

How to use it:

1. Open Notepad.
2. Copy and paste the code block below.
3. Save the file on your Desktop as Fix_Crash_SketchUp.bat (make sure it doesn’t save as .txt).
4. Right-click the file and select Run as Administrator.
5. After the black window closes, open SketchUp.

bat

@echo off

color 0B

title SketchUp 2026 Dual GPU Fix

:: 1. Auto-Elevate to Administrator

net session >nul 2>&1

if %errorLevel% == 0 (

goto :run

) else (

echo Requesting admin privileges to modify ShippedExtensions…

powershell -Command “Start-Process ‘%~0’ -Verb RunAs”

exit /b

)

:run

echo ===================================================

echo Applying SketchUp 2026 Fix - Dual GPU (DX12)

echo ===================================================

:: 2. Disable su_diffusion in ShippedExtensions

echo.

echo [1/2] Disabling AI Render plugin (su_diffusion)…

set “shipped=C:\Program Files\SketchUp\SketchUp 2026\SketchUp\ShippedExtensions”

if exist “%shipped%\su_diffusion.rb” rename “%shipped%\su_diffusion.rb” “su_diffusion.rb.DISABLED”

if exist “%shipped%\su_diffusion” rename “%shipped%\su_diffusion” “su_diffusion.DISABLED”

echo [OK] Plugin disabled.

:: 3. Modify PrivatePreferences.json via PowerShell

echo.

echo [2/2] Switching UseNewRenderer to false (OpenGL)…

set “psCommand=$prefs = \”$env:LOCALAPPDATA\SketchUp\SketchUp 2026\SketchUp\PrivatePreferences.json\“; if (Test-Path $prefs) { $content = Get-Content $prefs -Raw; $newContent = $content -replace ‘\“UseNewRenderer\”:\s*true’, ‘\“UseNewRenderer\”: false’; $newContent | Set-Content $prefs -Encoding UTF8 -NoNewline; Write-Host ‘[OK] Preferences updated.’ -ForegroundColor Green } else { Write-Host ‘[WARNING] Preferences file not found. Open SketchUp at least once first.’ -ForegroundColor Yellow }”

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command “%psCommand%”

echo.

echo ===================================================

echo DONE. You can now open SketchUp 2026 safely.

echo ===================================================

echo.

pause