My AE 2017 was crashing every time I clicked on preferences. I found these workarounds on an adobe blog that are working for me.
By Rob – 2:24 AM on November 28, 2016 REPLY
On Mac cmnd+alt+shift and click AE app and it will let you delete preferences – this worked for me!!
By Richard Bolland – 12:24 AM on November 29, 2016 REPLY
After Effects kept crashing when clicking ‘Preferences’ – I fixed it by clicking my adobe login name underneath ‘preferences’ then selecting ‘Clear Settings’. Worked like a charm.