Hotfix for AutoCAD Architecture and MEP 2009

Yep, the product is only a couple weeks old (since the FCS date) and there is a Hotfix available on Autodesk's web site.  The Hotfix addresses publishing to the DWF or DWFx file format, while including “Publish Property Set Data” or the “Publish All Automatic Properties” AEC DWF Publishing Options, you may encounter the loss of Native Values for the published objects.

Note: Native Values enable other Autodesk products such as Autodesk Quantity Takeoff to accurately use local unit measurements on extracted data from the objects imported from DWF or DWFx files.

 

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=10884826&linkID=9240658

AutoCAD Architecture 2009 System Requirements

Here are the system requirements for AutoCAD Architecture as specified on the Autodesk web site...

System Requirements

Hardware and Software Requirements for Workstations
Hardware/Software	32-Bit Requirements	64-Bit Requirements
Operating Systems Find more information on Windows Vista versions	Windows® XP Professional SP 2 (recommended) Windows XP Home SP 2 Windows Vista® Ultimate Windows Vista Enterprise Windows Vista Business Windows Vista Home Premium Windows Vista Home Basic	Windows XP Professional x64, SP 2 Windows Vista Ultimate Windows Vista Enterprise Windows Vista Business Windows Vista Home Premium
Web Browser	Microsoft© Internet Explorer 6.0, SP 1 (or later)	Microsoft© Internet Explorer 6.0, SP 1 (or later)
Processor (Multiple processors supported)	Intel® Pentium® 4 3.0 GHz or greater  (recommended)	AMD Athlon 64
AMD Athlon , 3.0 GHz or greater  (recommended)	AMD Opteron
Dual core supported	Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support
	Intel Pentium 4 with Intel EM64T support
Memory (RAM)	2 GB (minimum) 3 GB (recommended)	2 GB (minimum) 4 GB (recommended)
Display Resolution	1,024x768 true color (minimum) 1,280x1024 true color (recommended)	1,024x768 true color (minimum) 1,280x1,024 true color (recommended)
Display Card	128 MB video card (minimum) 256 MB or greater, direct 3D-compatible 3D video card (recommended)	128 MB video card (minimum) 256 MB or greater, direct 3D-compatible 3D video card (recommended)
Hard Disk	Default installation 2 GB Full installation 2.5 GB, depending upon installation options	Default installation 3 GB Full installation 3.5 GB, depending upon installation options
Pointing Device	Microsoft Mouse-compliant	Microsoft Mouse-compliant
DVD	Any speed (for installation only)	Any speed (for installation only)
Optional Hardware	OpenGL®-compatible 3D video card Currently supported video cards Printer or plotter Digitizer Internet access Network interface card	Printer or plotter Internet access Network interface card

Modifying the 2008 Product Installation to install on 64bit OS

I just got a new laptop which of course is Vista 64-bit OS.  When I went to install AutoCAD Architecture 2008, it said it could not be installed.  So I searched the Autodesk Discussion Groups and found a discussion on this very topic.  Below is an excerpt from that discussion that has what you need to do to get AutoCAD Architecture 2008 installed on 64-bit OS.   It's amazing that I have not run into this until I actually tried to install it...I guess it just shows how many people are not using 64-bit OS's.

Note: These instructions use AutoCAD Architecture as the example, but can be used for AutoCAD MEP as well..

1. Download and install Orca from Microsoft.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255905

1. Copy the contents of the DVD to your hard drive or a network folder.
2. Backup the files of the product .msi (ex: ACA.msi) and Setup.ini
3. Edit the product .msi (ex: ACA.msi) with Orca and delete the action found in the table
   "InstallExecuteSequence" that is called "CheckFor64BitOS" Delete the same
   line under table "CustomAction"
4. Save and close the product .msi (ex: ACA.msi)
5. Edit the Setup.ini with Notepad. Delete the line under
   "#==================== Platform Requirement" that is labeled
   "PLATFORM=NO_WOW_64_PROCESS"
6. Double-click the Setup.exe and you should be able to install without any
   problems.
7. If you leave the default paths for the installation of the content, this may or may not apply.
   1. Some support paths under the "Files" tab of the configuration dialog box
      have incorrect paths. The installer adds and extra "\AppData\AppData" to
      some support paths located in the user profile. For example the Main
      Customization File's path is listed as
      "C:\Users\%username%\AppData\AppData\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\ACD-A
      2008\enu\Support\ADT" when it should be
      "C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\ACD-A 2008\enu\Support\ADT"
8. Fix the incorrect paths (if necessary), hit apply, and you are good to go.