I just tried to do the same project replace of a location’s name in the book and it crashed Scrivener three times in a row. I never had this happen before, so this is new.
What has recently changed on your computer? Scrivener version? Windows version? Anti-Virus version? Perhaps a flaw on the disk?
I’m always using the latest version of Scrivener. As soon as the update notification pops up, I install it. Windows is also always the latest version (I have auto update turned on). Anti-Virus is just Windows Defender, supplemented by Malwarebytes free version. No idea if there are flaws on the system drive (it’s an SSD). I haven’t seen any errors reported so maybe not.
The question is if you can remember what changed just before you started seeing this problem. Yes, sometimes not remembered or even relevant, but worth a consideration.
Edit: Just noticed you running two anti virus programs. That is said to not be a good idea. Perhaps try turning off both for a while and see if problem stops—or turnoff one at a time. You can figure out the permutations to test. But two of them could be competing with one another to your detriment and may be the root cause of what you see.
I just tried the same project find/replace and it didn’t crash this time. I guess it was just a one-time thing?
Only you can tell.
Meantime I urge you to turn off one of the anti-virus programs.
Malwarebytes free version is not a real-time antivirus. You have to manually start a scan, so it doesn’t interfere with Windows Defender.