Database Error During FireCAD Startup on New Machines Pre-Installed with Windows 11

Symptoms

On new machines pre-installed with Windows 11, you receive one of the following at FireCAD startup:

There is an issue with your installation. Please contact support. Error occurred during LocalDB instance startup: SQL Server process failed to start.

Failed to validate working database after 3 attempts. ... SQL Server process failed to start.

This can look like a simple installation problem, but it is almost always the disk: many new PCs ship with NVMe drives that report a 4 KB physical sector size, and SQL Server LocalDB, which FireCAD uses for its working database, cannot start on such a drive without a registry setting.

This is not the same as "SQL Server LocalDB is not installed". LocalDB is installed here; it just cannot start. Reinstalling LocalDB or FireCAD does not help.

Resolution

One-click fix (recommended)

Download and run our signed utility:

https://www.cadgen.com/downloads/support/NVMeSectorSizeFix.exe

1. Close FireCAD.
2. Right-click NVMeSectorSizeFix.exe and choose Run as administrator. It writes the registry value Microsoft documents for this case.
3. Restart the PC. The change takes effect only after a reboot.
4. Launch FireCAD.

The download is signed by Cadgen Software LLC. If Windows SmartScreen warns about a newly downloaded file, see FireCAD Support Tools for how to run it.

Manual alternative

Microsoft has acknowledged this issue and published the workaround that enables 4 KB sector size emulation through a registry setting:

Troubleshoot OS 4KB disk sector size

For advanced users, the Microsoft article details the registry entry (ForcedPhysicalSectorSizeInBytes under the stornvme service parameters). After setting it, restart the machine.

If you are not comfortable making the change or the error persists after a reboot, contact FireCAD support and we will schedule a remote session to verify the cause.

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