Thinking about switching to Cricut.

What Silhouette machine do you have? If it’s the Cameo 1, and your new laptop is a PC, I am not surprised you are having problems. I ended up buying a new Cameo 3 because my Cameo1 and new laptop did not play nicely together, thanks to a Microsoft update.

I do like my Cricut Explore Air 2. It’s a great cutter. I just hate that the software is so limited. The machine deserves better software. Their subscription is also very different from Silhouette’s. You pay about $10/month, which gives you access to a lot of designs, but licensed designs such as Disney are not included. If you stop subscribing, you no longer have access to Cricut designs you used while subscribing. You can buy their designs for $1 or more, but with my Silhouette sub I get $150 worth of designs of my choice for less than $12 each month, and they are mine to keep and use forever.

However, the Explore does cut better detail than my Cameo. In spite of that, I use my Cameo far more, just because the Cricut Design Space is far less capable.

gramma , I haven't had the same error you have (so I'm not sure if it's related to sending the cut file to your Cameo), but if the software is crashing, wouldn't you still have the issues if you're designing in Silhouette and cutting with the Cricut?

One possible workaround would be to design in Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator and either a) save the files as svgs and import into Silhouette once you're finished designing or b) buy the Silhouette Connect plug in that lets you cut directly from those programs. (Quick warning: I was recently looking into buying the plug in, but apparently it doesn't work with Illustrator 2021 yet.) Of course, that requires you to have one of those programs, so it might not work if you don't.

So I asked my live-in tech support, and he suggests trying a couple of things before you buy a brand new machine: try updating the software for both the cutting machine and your laptop and if that doesn't help, try uninstalling the software and reinstalling it. You may have already tried all that but it could be worth a shot if you haven't. I love my Brother Scan & Cut but I don't have a silhouette so I can't compare. I had to have him do a bunch of updates before I could get it to work with my new Mac.

I asked which Silhouette machine gramma has for a reason.

When I got my new laptop a little over a year ago, there was a Microsoft update that caused problems for the Cameo 1. I thought I had the Cameo 2, so I figured I was fine. Then I started having software issues. There was definitely a conflict with my new computer. It still worked with the old laptop, but I had gotten a new laptop because my old one seemed to be threatening to die. I finally found out that I had the original Cameo, and having a new laptop with that Microsoft update was my problem.

Since I also had the Explore Air 2, and the business edition of the Silhouette software which lets me save and export svg, I seriously considered just using my Explore instead of buying a new cutter. However, the extra steps of having to export and import files, plus the fact that I really don’t like the Cricut software, resulted in my deciding to just buy a Cameo 3. I have been very happy with it.

Since gramma has been a Silhouette user for years, her situation sounds a bit similar to the one that I was in a little over a year ago, so I am wondering if she has the Cameo 1, or if there is a problem with a newer Cameo.

I am shocked that it is a Cameo 4.

I would be really frustrated, as I’m sure you are. I take it that the online Chat service and their suggestions are the ones you tried that have failed.

I used to stay on top of info about the electronic cutters. However, I haven’t paid as much attention for the last year, so I really don’t know much about the Cameo 4. After hearing about your problems, I’m glad now that I didn’t buy it. I am sorry that you are going through all this, though.

The Cameo 4 was trying to compete with the Cricut Maker. If you go with Cricut, that would be the most comparable machine. I hope you are happy with whatever you decide to get.

gramma, I know you said you've tried all the fixes, but on the off chance this helps, I just remembered that a few months ago I was having a recurring issue where I'd be cutting files on my Silhouette and doing stuff on my browser and mid-cut, my Silhouette would stop and my computer would go to a blue screen and give me this error: "Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. Stop code APC_INDEX_MISMATCH." It had to completely restart, so it doesn't sound the exact problem you're having, but after doing some extensive googling on how to fix the error, there was a problem with an unrelated (printer) driver. I'll include a link below to the article I referenced, but maybe open up your drivers panel and see if any of them have a yellow triangle icon next to them. This indicates it has a problem.

Link 1 (I used Solution 3 and did NOT download their PC Restore Tool, sounded like crudware to me.)

I also wonder if you could download an older version of Silhouette Studio and see if that works? Go back a few major updates. Obviously this doesn't fix the problem long term (because ideally you want the updated software), but if you're in the throes of Christmas crafting, it might help you get through the holiday!

My Silhouette (no idea which one it is I bought it in 2013 or 14) and my PC don't like each other anymore. I'd go to print and it wouldn't do anything... some kind of software issue with Windows.

DH (the nerd in the house) had to hook it up to his computer. It works on there, but it's DH work computer so I can only use it on evenings and weekends.
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Sometimes technology stinks!

Yes, it is supposed to reinstall that file. You do that process because the assumption is that file became corrupted and needs to be replaced with a non-corrupt version. It is a pain, though, to do that process.  I went through that several times with my Cameo 1, but eventually nothing worked.

I think it’s a shame that they don’t offer the Cameo 3 anymore. I understand that they want to sell their “latest and greatest,” but I certainly didn’t want to pay an extra $100 for features that I probably would never use.

If you haven’t used Chat Support for this issue, I recommend at least giving it a try, but let them know if they make a suggestion that you have already tried multiple times. They always end up helping me eventually, but there were a few times when I honestly wondered if they had bothered to read what I had written when I described my problem.

Were you able to get help from Support?

Lol, nothing like putting the fear of God into your Silhouette machine by threatening to replace it!    I'm glad it's been working for you!