Curse

LivingDeadGrrl · Feb 09, 2008, 10:43 PM // 22:43

Since April 2007, I haven't been able to play GW except for at the most, an hour or two, because my machine kept crashing. I won't get into everything I've done in that time to find what could be wrong, because I'm sure I wouldn't list everything and then would spend most of my time saying "I tried that also" - just trust me.. I've tried everything short of reinstalling Windows. I could play F.E.A.R on my PC just fine, so the last thing I did was download another multiplayer online game, and it also locked up. Then I knew the problem wasn't specific to GW.

My sister and I finally deduced that the issue might be the AGP slot on the motherboard, perhaps it went bad. Yes, we checked the sound card also. I'm tellin' ya... everything :-) Long story short, I just purchased a new motherboard that's compatible to my old CPU chip and was going to install it today, but wanted to give software tweaks one more try because if I put a new board in, and it locked up, I'd be mad. I cautiously went into GW, tweaked my settings, and then I noticed the "Wait for Vertical Sync" checkbox. Didn't know what was for so I went online and did some research and decided to uncheck the box.

I've been playing GW for over an hour now.

Now I'm not saying this is the solution for everyone, and maybe as soon as I press "Enter" to post this, my PC will lock up. But I disabled the V-Sync on the video card also, and I'm gonna see how it goes from there.

Worth checking into if your PC is crashing minutes after getting into GW as mine was.

Quaker · Feb 09, 2008, 10:57 PM // 22:57

If that doesn't work, and if you have a dual-core processor, you can also trying using a utility such as ForceCore to make GW run in only one core.

Tarun · Feb 10, 2008, 12:57 AM // 00:57

Try updating your graphics card drivers and also since you're on a new motherboard, you should update your drivers there also.

tijo · Feb 10, 2008, 03:33 AM // 03:33

V-sync only limits the number of fps you get so it's in sync with your monitor refresh rate. There could be a driver problem with the v-sync option and your video card.

N E D M · Feb 10, 2008, 05:35 AM // 05:35

Always have that box unchecked.

gone · Feb 10, 2008, 07:16 AM // 07:16

LoL at telling people to flash their mobo.

@ op. before you do that, research. and make sure you know what you are doing, or you'll wind up with a piece of scrap.

Lurid · Feb 10, 2008, 03:41 PM // 15:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by flubber

LoL at telling people to flash their mobo.

@ op. before you do that, research. and make sure you know what you are doing, or you'll wind up with a piece of scrap.

What the hell are you talking about? He said update the drivers, no one said anything about a BIOs flash

C2K · Feb 10, 2008, 03:45 PM // 15:45

Keeping v-sync unchecked is a good start. When I had that option checked, I would suffer massive lag spikes at the worst times. As soon as I took it off, the game ran smoothly.

gone · Feb 10, 2008, 06:57 PM // 18:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lurid

What the hell are you talking about? He said update the drivers, no one said anything about a BIOs flash

if you are going to update the drivers for your mobo, as suggested, you're going to flash it. lol.

Snograt · Feb 10, 2008, 07:01 PM // 19:01

Er, no?

How about nForce drivers, etc. - I think you're a bit confused about BIOS flashing. That's something you would only ever do if a new BIOS is introduced to either solve a known issue, or to support a new processor (etc.)

Or to put it simply - BIOS ain't drivers.

gone · Feb 10, 2008, 07:20 PM // 19:20

read the op's first post carefully. they tried EVERYTHING. with that in understanding, I'm willing to bet that(flashing) is the ONLY thing they didn't try.

right?

unless i'm jumping the gun here.

/edit
I coulda swore someone mentioned flashing. but meh. prolly just me pipe dreaming.

LivingDeadGrrl · Feb 14, 2008, 08:50 PM // 20:50

Ok, let me start by saying the Vertical sync didn't work, so I still can't play.. it's almost been a year.

Here's a list of the things we did to rule out things:

1) Moved GW to another HD
2) Re-downloaded the .dat file
3) Defragged the .dat file
4) Rolled the drivers back and forth for both sound and video, and used Driver Cleaner to remove any fragments
5) Disabled the sound card
6) Defragged the HD
7) Reinstalled Windows XP
8) Unplugged all peripherals
9) Updated the BIOS and checked the settings
10) Ran CHKDSK on the drive where GW is (0KB in bad sectors)
11) Virus scan
12) Ran Spybot Search & Destroy
13) Switched video cards (ATI to nVidia, problem was with both cards)

..we actually think we may be forgetting a step or two *lol*

I don't have the new board installed, I wanted to make sure I tried every available option before doing that, because I think I'd drown in tears spending an hour installing a new mobo just to watch GW lock up. I don't think my brain could handle that, I mean I think it would implode haha!

I don't have a dual core processor, either. At this point, I'm stumped. It's either the AGP slot itself in my current board, or the Gods hate me. And I'm waaay too cute to hate.

Horseman Of War · Feb 14, 2008, 08:56 PM // 20:56

did i miss the part where you listed your computer specs? or which video cards/sound cards/processor/etc etc

LivingDeadGrrl · Feb 14, 2008, 09:09 PM // 21:09

No you didn't - I keep forgetting to do that *lol* sorry :-)

AMD Athlon XP 1.26gHz
1GB RAM
1 60GB Maxtor HD
1 120GB Maxtor HD
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 sound card
nVidia 7600GT
Thermaltake Power Supply, 500 watts
MSI KT6V mobo

two case fans

Please also note: I've been playing GW since this PC was new with no problems, it wasn't until April that I've been experiencing crashes.

Surena · Feb 15, 2008, 09:13 AM // 09:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by LivingDeadGrrl

No you didn't - I keep forgetting to do that *lol* sorry :-)

AMD Athlon XP 1.26gHz
1GB RAM
1 60GB Maxtor HD
1 120GB Maxtor HD
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 sound card
nVidia 7600GT
Thermaltake Power Supply, 500 watts
MSI KT6V mobo

a) How are the Voltages? You can't argue with 500 watts here. It could be the PSU failing at 12V for instance, it even could be the mainboard. I recently had 3 new P35 mainboards that failed.
It could also be a too low VCore, VDIMM. Some mainboards undervolt etc...

b) Try Memtest86+. RAM errors are the most annoying.

c) Are you sure the graphics card is connected to the PSU as well?

LivingDeadGrrl · Feb 15, 2008, 08:58 PM // 20:58

Hi Surena, thanks so much for your input.

I just had the case open a few days ago, it's definitely got a connection to the power supply. The only time my PC crashes is when I try to play Guild Wars, that's why it's so perplexing. The other thing is that my ATI card (9800) didn't need connected to a power supply, and the problem started with that card, and has continued with my nVidia. At least that rules the card out, eh? haha

I'll definitely run Memtest - the reason I've been reluctant so far is because I have to take my PC into another room to access a C prompt (long story.. don't ever buy a TV with only two input displays for the PC lol), and the unhooking/hauling process is a pain in the arse. But if I get it fixed it'll be worth it. Tomorrow is tear-apart-the-PC day, dreading it.. but gotta do what has to be done.

Tallanka · Feb 15, 2008, 11:26 PM // 23:26

Actually 9800 has to connect to a Power Supply...

but hope you get your problem worked out soon...

Kusandaa · Feb 16, 2008, 01:07 AM // 01:07

Wow, I've heard about your problem in-game but didn't know it was that bad, TBH.

I had a similar problem a while back, well my whole PC would cash anytime I'd open a 3D game. HDD formats, connection checks, power supply checks, Memtests, BIOS, Windows updates, video/sound/mobo/whatever-other-thing driver updates... everything was apparently okay. Turned out to be a faulty RAM at first (DESPITE the Memtests), then I had no problems. I had the problem happening again when my video card was about to overheat, which well... caused my WHOLE PC to overheat (thus the new computer I have).

I'd do a Memtest since it COULD be an issue with the RAM, but I'd check for issues with DirectX (although if you formated our HDD, should've been fixed) since it seems only GW crashes for you.

As for VSync, I'm barely aware of it (just that when I took it off it boosted my FPS from 60 to 90, and I barely go below the 80 FPS) or how it works.... but yeah, maybe it's that.

N E D M · Feb 16, 2008, 04:48 AM // 04:48

1.26 ghz processor -is that above minimum spec for GW?
I thought GW is like 1.8ghz min recommended?

rotielover · Feb 16, 2008, 05:46 PM // 17:46

The specs are:

Minimum System Specs:

* Windows XP/2000/ME/98
* Intel Pentium III 1.0 GHz or equivalent
* 512 MB RAM
* CD-ROM Drive
* 3 GB Available HDD Space
* ATI Radeon 8500 or GeForce 3 Series Video Card with 64MB of VRAM
* 16-bit Sound Card
* Internet connection
* Keyboard and mouse
* DirectX 8

Recommended System Specs:

* Windows XP/2000
* Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or equivalent
* 1 GB RAM
* CD-ROM Drive
* 4 GB Available HDD Space
* ATI Radeon 9600 or GeForce FX 5700 Series Video Card or above
* Sound Blaster® X-FiTM series Sound Card
* Internet connection
* Keyboard and mouse
* DirectX 9