SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [209]
You can copy certain items from the DVD to your hard drive. Follow these steps:
1. Insert the DVD into your computer's DVD drive.
2. The DVD interface will appear. The interface provides a simple point-and-click way to explore the contents of the DVD. Click one of the buttons to continue.
If the DVD interface does not appear, follow these steps to access the DVD:
1. Click the Start button on the left end of the task bar.
2. Choose Run from the menu that pops up. (In Windows Vista and Windows 7, skip this step.)
3. In the dialog box that appears, type d:\setup.exe. (If your DVD drive is not drive d, use the appropriate letter in place of d.) This opens up the DVD interface described in the preceding set of steps. (In Windows Vista or Windows 7, type d:\start.exe in the Start⇒Search Programs and Files text box.)
Windows versions
Some older systems that run Windows XP Professional may not be compatible with Vista. Any hardware that runs Vista and most hardware that runs Windows XP should be able to work with Windows 7. For the latest information on system compatibility with Microsoft operating systems, visit www.microsoft.com. At this time, SolidWorks does not run on any non-Windows operating systems such as Mac OS X, Linux, or Google Chrome OS.
Realistically, you will never be satisfied with minimum requirements. If you are using PhotoWorks, PhotoView 360, or any simulation (Finite Element Analysis, or FEA) software, multiple processors or multiple cores are advantageous. Multi-body modeling makes use of multiple cores but also takes advantage of higher processor clock speeds. Maximum clock speeds are usually higher for a lower number of cores, so higher speeds take precedence over number of cores for general solid modeling. You may get better performance per dollar with dual-core processors than with quad-core processors for functionality other than rendering and FEA.
You can only take advantage of more RAM up to the limit needed by your data sets. You can check your Windows Task Manager to see how much memory your largest or most complex models consume. For example, if your largest models use 3GB of RAM, you should have at least 4GB of RAM but will probably not see a benefit from 16GB. You should use a 64-bit operating system if you intend to use more than 3GB of RAM.
All hardware produced in the last several years is 64-bit compatible, but in order to take advantage of it, you have to have a 64-bit operating system installed. XP, Vista, and Windows 7 all have 64-bit versions, but you need to have installed the 64-bit version to benefit from the huge memory advantages of a 64-bit operating system. A 32-bit operating system can handle a little over 3GB of RAM. To handle more than that, you need a 64-bit operating system.
Some software applications have 32- and 64-bit versions, and some do not. SolidWorks has both versions, and you need to make sure you have disks or downloaded data for the correct installation type. Data files are interchangeable between 32- and 64-bit versions, so the files on the DVD will work with either one.
SolidWorks versions
Files created in SolidWorks 2011 are not compatible with older versions of SolidWorks. So, if you have a version of SolidWorks older than 2011, you will have difficulty reading most of the files on the accompanying DVD. You may find some files that came from older versions on the DVD, but this only happens where the files have not been updated for new versions.
As a matter of policy, SolidWorks software does not open up future version files. So if you have SolidWorks 2009 installed, you cannot read files saved in SolidWorks 2011. If you have a question about this policy of the Dassault Corporation, you should contact your SolidWorks reseller. The author of this book does not have the ability to save 2011 files to previous versions.
This book was written using the SolidWorks 2011 version software, and while some of it may be applicable to previous versions, some of it may not due to annual changes that happen in the