Friday, June 04, 2010

Dept. of Errors - Invalid Duct or Pipe K-Factor Database

I've received both errors over the last couple years using Revit MEP. This error can occur when the supporting files it uses are corrupted somehow. The Factory recommends reinstalling (or using Repair for example) Revit to resolve the issue because this ensures uncorrupted files are installed.

On the other hand if you have access to a working installation you can try the following to resolve the Duct K-Factor error:

On a working PC COPY all the files (to a thumb drive or shared folder) in the ASHRAE folder under Program where Revit is installed. Replace (overwrite) the files that are in the "broken" computer with the "good" files. Try again. This approach using files from a working PC should work. If it doesn't then you'll need to go the repair/reinstall route.


Fwiw, for the Pipe K-Factor error if that occurs you need to replace the PipeKFactors.xml file. It is found in the Program folder (under the installation location for Revit).


The Knowledge Base at Autodesk and the blog post at Revit Clinic attribute the issue to user permissions. While this may be true in some cases it certainly wasn't for me since my computer hasn't changed its permission structure or accounts. Or at least I don't remember doing it...and since I'm the only one using it...hopefully I'd know?

1 comment:

Ben O. said...

This error just popped up in our office for the first time this morning. We attributed it to the fact that 2011 was installed on the particular machine the day before. We tried the "Admin Logon" trick with no luck. Is it just me, or is RMEP more prone to this kind of stuff because of the "behind the scenes/thinking for you" calcs it's trying to run? We had some fun with LookupTables a while back when someone inadvertedly deleted them from their machine. Thought we'd never figure out why Revit wouldn't change pipe sizes. In my opinion, there's not enough explanation from Autodesk regarding what RMEP is doing in the background and what all those files are being used for. So when we see some crazy error pop up for suddenly for no apparent reason, it's tough to diagnose. I run Revit Structure all day, every day and never have issues like the MEP guys do. When errors do pop up and Revit Structure does funny stuff, I can usually diagnose it pretty quick, but RMEP is a whole other beast. Am I alone in thinking this?