Why Has Arnold Disappeared from Maya?

Arnold is the main renderer that comes free with Maya - but sometimes it goes missing.  A common question new Maya users ask is "Where has Arnold gone?"

The solution is not always obvious. You look in the Render Settings menu and - Arnold has vanished! So, what to do to bring Arnold back?

3D Render. Wikimedia Commons

Why does Arnold disappear?
Because it's a plugin. Arnold sometimes disappears after Maya crashes, or after some other unexpected shutdown.

How do you bring Arnold back?
Because Arnold in Maya is a plug-in, it can be enabled and disabled just like any other plugin.

Window/Settings/Preferences/Plug-in Manager
To bring Arnold back, go to Window/Settings/Preferences/Plug-in Manager.  Scroll down through the options until you reach mtoa.bundle. 

Now check the boxes for Loaded and also for Autoload.  Save your preferences.  Arnold should load and work as usual now. If it doesn't, try re-starting Maya.

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