Issue:

After completing an installation of 3ds Max or finishing a Windows update, the program will not start up and hangs on the splash screen at “Initializing…”.

In some instances a crash may also occur.

Causes:

Includes, but is not limited to:

• Old or unsupported graphics card driver.
• Network proxy settings.
• FlexNet Licensing Service 64 disabled in Windows services.
• Corrupted 3ds Max user preferences.
• Corrupted Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Libraries.
• Hanging Licensing Service.
• Corrupted Autodesk Single Sign-On Component.

Solution:

Below is a collection of the most up-to-date solutions. The list is not complete, and the final solution may require one, or a combination of the following:

Verify graphics card and its drivers installed:

Verify that the machine’s hardware configuration is better than or equal to the System Requirements for 3ds Max.

If the machine’s hardware meets the requirements and has a certified graphics card, try the following:

1. Upgrade the graphics card driver. This can be done by going to the manufacturer’s website and installing the most recent driver version.
   • For NVIDIA cards see here.
   • For AMD cards see here.
2. Once updated, run 3ds Max again.

Restart the Autodesk Desktop Licensing Service

1. Open the Task Manager.
2. Go to the Services Tab.
3. Search for the Service “AdskLicensingService“:

4. Right mouse click the service and choose “restart”.

Note: If the software still has issues starting, clear the login status by deleting the LoginState.xml file at these locations:

Windows: %localappdata%\Autodesk\Web Services\LoginState.xml (Tip: From the Task Manager, select the Details tab. If the AdSSO service is running, click End Task and delete the LoginState.xml file.)

Verify proxy server settings.

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click Tools > Options.
3. Access the Connections tab.
4. Click LAN Settings. They should look like this:

5. Try to run 3ds Max.

Note: If you use a proxy, see Which URLs/Protocols need to be allowed for Autodesk Subscription Licensing.

Verify the FlexNet Licensing Service 64 in Windows services

1. Right-click the Windows Taskbar > Task Manager.
2. Navigate to the Details tab.
3. Look for the process LMU.exe and end it. If it is not listed, move to the next step.
4. Navigate to the Services tab.
5. Look for FlexNet License Service 64 service and verify that it is Running.
6. If it is not running, click Open Services on the bottom of the window.
7. Look for FlexNet License Service 64 service in the list.
8. Right-click on it and click Properties.
9. Under Startup type select Automatic.
10. Under Service status click Start.
11. Click Apply and OK.
12. Try again to launch 3ds Max.

Reset the 3ds Max preferences to their defaults​.

Follow these steps to reset 3ds Max preferences to default. This can help with launching the program again in case of UI issues, Viewport anomalies, and some crashing.

Reinstall the Autodesk Single Sign-On Component.

The current version can be downloaded from here. Running the installer will allow for the option to reinstall the component. 

Uninstall/Reinstall the Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Libraries.

Follow the steps in this article to update the Visual C++ libraries: How to remove and reinstall Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables packages

Note: Open the Task Manager before beginning this process in the event Windows Explorer needs to be restarted. To restart the Explorer (if necessary after reinstall) go to Task Manager > File > Run new task > type “Explorer” > OK. 

Verify the service Wacom Consumer Service.

1. Click on Start button.
2. Type “services.msc” and hit ENTER.
3. Find the service Wacom Consumer Service.
4. Right-click > Properties.
5. In Startup type select Disabled.
6. Click the button Stop below.
7. Click Apply and OK.
8. Run 3ds Max again.

Source: https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/3ds-Max-Program-hangs-on-Initializing-Splash-Screen.html