@blank... : can you give an exact list of repro steps begining with starting max as fresh start?
1. start max
2. switch renderer to Corona
3. create a plane, about yea big
4. create a teapot
5. orbit aimlessly around teapot to confirm that it is in fact, a teapot
6. create Corona sun (not daylight system)
7. click to add corona sky under Coronas sun properties
8. hit F10 an switch secondary to Path tracing
9. assign Corona material to everything
10. start IR
11. orbit aimlessly around teapot and marvel at your creation and how nice the shadows are
12. grunt a little about the fact that Corona has issues with low poly objects
13. grab any bitmap from your computer and drag it in slate material editor
14. plug it in displacement slot
15. watch it crash and burn.
16. start max again
17. repeat steps 2-9
18. don't start IR
19. try it with normal rendering, about hmmm... let's say 30% of the time, it will also crash.
20. nothing for 20, it just looked silly to end a list with 19 :)