Simulink crashes very often during normal work

I am using Simulink to design a digital system for an FPGA. After fixed-point conversion, I intend to use HDL Coder for generating VHDL code. However, at this point, I am unable to continue with the development as Simulink crashes at least evert five minutes. The model I am currently working on has a lot of interconnects and a relatively complex structure with several nested submodules. We also use variant submodules and library modules.

The following occurs:

1. Simulink functions as expected. I am writing annotations in the model.
2. Simulink freezes. After a few seconds, the window is greyed out and the window is marked as "Not Responding"
3. The MATLAB GUI is still responsive, so I type in the 'ver' command. The Command window provides no feedback.
4. I try to close MATLAB and Simulink, but nothing happens.
5. I end the task using Windows Task Manager. (Matlab is using 2261 MB of memory)
6. I open MATLAB again with no issues.

At this point, I do not know how to proceed. Is there for example a crash report that can help me out?

Output from 'ver' command:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MATLAB Version: 9.11.0.1769968 (R2021b)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise Version 10.0 (Build 19041)

Java Version: Java 1.8.0_202-b08 with Oracle Corporation Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM mixed mode

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MATLAB Version 9.11 (R2021b)

Simulink Version 10.4 (R2021b)

Communications Toolbox Version 7.6 (R2021b)

DSP System Toolbox Version 9.13 (R2021b)

Fixed-Point Designer Version 7.3 (R2021b)

HDL Coder Version 3.19 (R2021b)

MATLAB Coder Version 5.3 (R2021b)

Signal Processing Toolbox Version 8.7 (R2021b)

[Walter Roberson]

I would suggest using third-party hardware monitoring facilities to monitor the CPU temperature: I suspect you might be overheating.

One free monitoring package is https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

[Fangjun Jiang]

Simulink freezes while you writing annotation? First, keep the model open for a while and do nothing to see if it freezes. If not, then update the model (Ctrl+D) to see what happens.

[Jacob Mazur]

Hi Eirik,

Sorry to hear you're experiencing this issue. Please reach out to our technical support team and we'd be happy to assist: https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

Based on your description, this issue may be within Simulink and not specifically HDL Coder, but we can investigate further to determine the exact cause.

If possible, please provide the following in your email:

1. The output of executing "ver -support" in the MATLAB Command Window.
2. Any logs that may have been generated during the crash, which you can find using the procedure here: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/100816-how-do-i-locate-the-crash-dump-files-generated-by-matlab
3. Any model and code files you are able to share.

Thanks, Jacob

[Eirik Nordeng]

Freezing appears to never occur by simply keeping the model open.

Updating the model does not directly cause Simulink to freeze.

The CPU load is low both before, after and during the crash.I do not think this is a temperature issue.

Yesterday, after making a copy of the model, I was able to work for a long period without crashes. However, Simulink crashed after about five minutes of work today. As before, it happened when I double-clicked the model to create an annotation. Note that crashes also occur when performing other simple actions.

[Eirik Nordeng]

I just had my colleague check if the same occurs with his computer. He sees the same issue. While clicking around in the model, Simulink sudenly freezes.

Answer 1

[Fangjun Jiang]

It seems like a Simulink issue due to software bug or system/installation. You can further check to see if the same problem happens on any other simple/example model.

One thing to try is to update to the latest update patch. For R2021b, the latest patch is "Update 7". You can do that by clicking the bell icon at the top right corner of the MATLAB window. After that, you will see output of "ver" similar as below.

MATLAB Version: 9.11.0.2207237 (R2021b) Update 6