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Camtasia Editor Crashing

Updated

There can be many causes for Camtasia Editor crashing, the steps below have been tailored to a wider range of potential causes. In the event that the various troubleshooting steps and articles listed below do not address your problems in Camtasia Editor, please contact our support team via the 'Support' bubble in the lower corner of this page.

Prior to moving on to the guides below, please be sure to make note of the following:

  • Some computer manufacturers, such as Dell, Lenovo, HP, and others, will maintain their own drivers so you may need to check your computer manufacturer's support site first.
  • Administrative rights may be required to update your audio and video drivers, please reach out to your IT team before trying to update your drivers.

Camtasia Editor System Requirements

  1. Camtasia Editor's performance will rely heavily on a number of factors, one of which being the actual resources available to it. As content creation can be demanding on the computers running the tools, you'll want to make sure your Windows PC meets or exceeds our minimum system requirements. 

    If you're unfamiliar with your system's hardware specifications, then you can do the following to see your computer specs:

    1. Open Windows Explorer (the folder icon on your Windows Taskbar)
    2. Right-click on "This PC" in the left-hand pane of the window that appears.
    3. Go to "Properties" and this will open the system information page that will have some basic, yet critical details in it:

      Camtasia Crashing Guide - Launching DirectX Diag Tool.png
       
    4. You'll want to make note of the Processor, RAM, and the version of Windows that is installed as seen in this screenshot.

Content that is larger than 1920x1080 (1080p)

When working with media that is greater than 1080p, like 2560x1440 (1440p, QHD/WQHD) or 3840x2160 (4k, UHD), then there is the additional requirement of a discrete GPU or video card. The most common manufacturers of dedicated video cards are nVidia and AMD.

If you only see these options (list a stepped process to check if you do / don’t have and what to look for)

Discrete video card examples:

Integrated video card examples:

 To determine the make and model of the video card that is in your computer, please take the following steps:

  1. Right-click on your desktop and go to Display Settings
  2. Scroll down to and click on the "Advanced Display" option to locate your Display information

    Windows - Checking System Specs 03.png
     
  3. There is an additional method to determining your video card manufacturer that will be covered in the "Reading the DirectX Diagnostic report" section.

Proxy Video

Proxying a video is a function that allows you greater flexibility over large video files in Camtasia Editor. If you record footage with a DSLR camera, smartphone camera, high resolution recordings, or recordings of significant length, it can result in huge video files. These video files can be tough for Camtasia Editor and your computer to manage, leading to poor performance, even crashing. Playback can be choppy and slow which in turn can lead to increased editing time and effort. Applying proxy video lowers the quality of the video file while you’re editing it in Camtasia Editor, but it doesn’t affect the final video; this creates a much smoother and more user-friendly editing experience without reducing the quality of the end product.

To create a Proxy Video, right-click on the media in the Media Bin and choose Create > Proxy Video

TSC-create_proxy_crashing.gif

Note - Camtasia Editor will automatically proxy media that is greater than 1080p or is stored in a cloud storage location such as OneDrive.

Updating Drivers

Updating your drivers can help your system run more efficiently, especially with regard to screen recorders and video editors. Keeping your drivers up to date can also help prevent Camtasia Editor from crashing and the below steps/guide may help you with that.

Identifying your hardware

While all applications are closed and your work saved, please perform the following steps:

Launching and using the DirectX Diagnostic Tool

  1. Open the Windows Start Menu or the Windows Run Command (press the Windows key + R) and type dxdiag then press enter or "Run..."
  2. If you are prompted to verify if drivers are signed, please press Yes/Ok then continue.
  3. Once the DirectX Diagnostic reporting tool opens there may be a small status bar in the right corner of the window (see here)- once that small status disappears, please click on the "Save all information" button and save it as a .txt file to your desktop then close the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window.

Camtasia Crashing Guide - Launching DirectX Diag Tool.png

Reading the DirectX Diagnostic report

To view the text (.txt) file that you just saved, please open it in a text editor like Notepad, Sublime Text, or Notepad++. We will be specifically looking at the following sections:

"System Information" Section

  1. Operating System
  2. Processor
  3. Memory

    Windows - Checking System Specs 06.png

Note - You will want to check the "DxDiag Notes" section- if it says anything other than "No problems found" next to each of the listed tabs, then please contact our Technical Support team via the "Support" button in the lower corner of this article.


"Display Devices" Section

  1. Card Name
  2. Manufacturer
  3. Driver Date/Size

    Windows - Checking System Specs 07.png

Once you've made note of your Card Name, Manufacturer, and the Driver Date/Size sections, you will want to navigate to the video card manufacturer's support website to check for the latest drivers. Fortunately there are only a handful of primary GPU manufacturers, so you may be able to grab the latest drivers from the following links:

Discrete video cards:

Integrated video cards:

Once the drivers have been downloaded, please take the following steps:

  1. Save your work
  2. Exit all applications
  3. Install each downloaded driver update (administrator rights may be required)
  4. Restart the computer (required)

Note - some computer configurations may show multiple video cards, this is normal and quite common in laptops (though still prevalent on desktops). If your computer has multiple video cards, such as both an Intel-based graphics card (like an Intel Xe integrated video card and a nVidia-powered discrete video card), then you will want to download and install the latest drivers for both graphics adapters.

Identifying sound devices

With most computers you will have two sections for Sound Devices in a dxdiag report; the first which we've labeled "A" in the below screenshot, is the basic "Sound Devices" section. This is where you will find your computer speakers, headphones, earbuds, or other audio playback devices. The second section, which we've labeled "B" in the succeeding screenshot, is called the "Sound Capture Devices" section. Here you will find any microphones or audio inputs connected and/or active in the computer.

"Sound Devices" Section

  1. Description
  2. Date and Size

    Windows - Checking System Specs 09.png

Please make note of the Description and Driver Version from both the Sound Devices section and the Sound Capture Devices section and navigate to the corresponding manufacturer's website to look for the latest drivers.

Note: After updating sound and display drivers, it may be required to restart your computer.

Antivirus and security software

It is important to ensure that your antivirus and security programs are not causing conflicts with Camtasia. Certain antivirus, anti-malware, and firewall programs may block or interfere with the applications on your computer. If you are experiencing crashing or performance issues, try temporarily disabling your antivirus and security software and see if the problem persists.

Refer to the documentation or support resources for your specific antivirus or security software for instructions on how to disable it. Be sure to enable it again after testing to ensure your system remains protected.

Repairing Camtasia Editor installation

  1. Open the Windows Start Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Navigate to Apps & Features.
  3. Locate Camtasia Editor in the list of installed applications.
  4. Click on Camtasia Editor and select Modify.
  5. Follow the prompts to repair the installation.

If repairing the installation does not resolve the issue, you can try uninstalling and then reinstalling Camtasia Editor to ensure a clean installation.

Additional troubleshooting steps

If the above steps do not resolve the issue, you can try the following additional troubleshooting steps:

  • Ensure that Windows and all hardware drivers are fully updated.
  • Try running Camtasia Editor as an administrator (right-click on the Camtasia Editor icon and select "Run as administrator").
  • Check your computer for any other software that may be conflicting with Camtasia Editor and disable or uninstall any unnecessary programs.
  • Ensure that your system has adequate cooling and that it is not overheating during use.
  • Run a system diagnostics check to ensure there are no hardware issues.

For further assistance, please visit the TechSmith Support Center or contact our support team through the "Support" button in the lower corner of this page.

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