How To Re-Set Your Preferences in Maya

Sometimes Maya behaves badly and the solution isn't always obvious. You've tried closing and opening the software, you've tried a reboot, you've tried a shutdown and re-start.

It may be that the solution to persistent technical problems is reset your preferences, and start Maya from scratch with a clean version of the software.

So how do you reset your preferences in Maya?

Maya Won't Save "Due to Unknown Nodes"

One of the most common questions asked by students first using Autodesk Maya is "why can't I save my scene?" Instead of being able to save your work, Maya gives you an error message, saying you can't save due to "Unknown Nodes". 

This can be frustrating, and the solution is not obvious. What is an unknown node anyway? And what should you do when this happens?