Blender never crashed on my computer in the last two years. Check if you have the last version of Blender (v.2.41) and maybe try with another video drivers. I don't know if .3ds format includes the textures too, but I try with the .obj format and it works. Maybe you should have the texture(s) file in the same directory with the object. Check the .mtl file for the paths. And don't forget to press the texture button in the export pannel. (sorry for my english) :)

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