Okay.

Just so you know, the essential problem is that the .3ds format is much older than Max, so it doesn't support all the features of Max objects. The Max's export filter tries to translate those features into a standard .3ds file, but not all apps like Max's solutions. And .3ds files come from the DOS era, so your files have to be DOS compliant.

So, if you know you're going export using 3ds files, you should make your models .3ds compliant before exporting. That is, made of only polygons, eight character names, no procedural anything, etc.

Sometimes you can break the rules and get away with it, but it's usually easier just to do it the right way.

steve (kongorilla)