How to restore MicroStation to its factory defaults

Background

In some rare occasions, such as after a workstation power failure or an application crash, MicroStation can refuse to start up correctly, either crashing or showing an error on file open (e.g. "unable to load/create dialog item of type 'iconcmd', id = xx"). In these cases resetting MicroStation to its factory defaults can resolve the issue.

Steps to Accomplish

Option 1: From Windows' Run or Search command

1. From Windows "Start" Button, select "Run" - in Windows XP - or type "Run" and hit Enter in Windows 7 or Vista search
2. Browse to ustation.exe (Default location for x32 bit OS: C:\Program Files\Bentley\MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries)\MicroStationand\ustation.exe and for x64 bit OS: C:\Program Files (x86)\Bentley\MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries)\MicroStation\ustation.exe)
3. Place a space after the ...\ustation.exe" and type -restoredefaults
   
   NOTE: the ustation.exe full path is in quotes. Place a space AFTER the quotes, then type -restoredefaults. A MicroStation command window will open displaying the details of the operation.
4. Press any key to Exit.

Option 2: As a command line switch within the application shortcut

1. Right-click on the MicroStation shortcut icon and choose Properties
2. Go to the Shortcut tab
3. Place -restoredefaults after the current line in the Target field (...\ustation.exe" -restoredefaults) (note the space between the end quotes and -restoredefaults).
   
   
4. Press Apply and Ok
5. Run MicroStation from this shortcut
6. A MicroStation command window will open displaying the details of the operation.
7. Press any key to Exit.
8. Go back in to MicroStation shortcut properties, and remove the space and -restoredefaults from the end of the file path.

 
Option 3: From the MS-DOS Prompt Command Line

1. From Explorer, browse to MicroStation folder (Default location: C:\Program Files\Bentley\MicroStation)
2. Right-Click the folder "MicroStation" then Select the option "Open MS-DOS Prompt"
3. The Command Window will open
4. Type in: ustation -restoredefaults
   A MicroStation command window will open displaying the details of the operation.
5. Press any key to Exit.
6. Type "exit" to exit the command prompt.
   
   Note: To run the Restore command silently with no User intervention, replace " -restoredefaults"
   with " -restoredefaultsquiet" (Minus the quotes).

See also:

https://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/w/microstation__wiki/8978/how-to-reset-user-preferences-and-delete-microstation-s-temporary-files

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