8 replies to this topic

[Carlito]

I bought the GW2 retail version last week though I haven't been able to play a single minute of it. Here's the problem:

I made my GW2 account, installed the game, got to the server selection screen. I go to the race selection screen and that's when my computer starts flipping out. The screen gets disoriented, colours get twisted and the sound freezes up. In a matter of seconds my entire computer freezes up and the only thing left to do is a reboot. So now, whenever I boot up the game, I see the race selection screen for a few seconds and everything goes berserk.

I have about 25 games on my pc. (half of them very recent ones) and GW2 is the first and only game I've had problems with. I already tried tons of stuff to fix this issue, so far no luck.

I'm running a Windows 7 home premium 64bit with SP1 system with:

- intel i7 Cpu 2,80 Ghz
- 4 gigs of RAM
- Nvidia Geforce 250GTS (512MB)
(full specs in attached txt file)
Things I've tried so far:

- updating Graphics Card drivers to latest versions (even tried beta ones)
- installing windows 7 SP1
- re-installing the game from scratch (retail version)
- re-installing the game from scratch (with downloadable client from GW2 website)
- disabling AVG and Windows Firewall
- replacing the installed retail GW2 launcher with the downloadable one
- replacing my GW2 folder with the one from a friend (I know, I'm getting desperate)
- setting the "Antialiasing mode" to "application controlled" in my video card's control panel
- setting "multi GPU acceleration" to "single screen only" in my video card's control panel

I even contacted GW2 support and they said something about one of my CPU's being underclocked. But I have zero knowledge in that area and they are not legally allowed to suggest BIOS settings.

I'm getting desperate. I paid full price for this game and I can not return it. Any help whatsoever would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Attached Files

•  MIQUEL-PC.txt   71.52K   11 downloads

[Faer]

Carlito, on 24 January 2013 - 01:10 PM, said:

I even contacted GW2 support and they said something about one of my CPU's being underclocked. But I have zero knowledge in that area and they are not legally allowed to suggest BIOS settings.

They say that to a lot of people, because their tech support agents tend to be dumb and don't know how to read dxdiags properly.

Anyway, when you load up the client, are you able to open the options screen and knock the game to lowest video settings before the problem starts? If so, do that and see if it changes anything.

[kaldemeo]

Maybe the GPU is getting too hot? try to have the chasse/case open.
If it is not helping, try updating the motherboard driver and bios. If you do not know the name of the motherboard, you can use a free app called Sis Sandra to find out.

If you give up, I am sure you have a fine chance to get a refund, if you talk to the AreaNet support

[typographie]

Carlito, on 24 January 2013 - 01:10 PM, said:

The screen gets disoriented, colours get twisted and the sound freezes up. In a matter of seconds my entire computer freezes up and the only thing left to do is a reboot. So now, whenever I boot up the game, I see the race selection screen for a few seconds and everything goes berserk.

This sounds like something is physically wrong with the video card rather than anything software-related. Have you made sure it isn't caked with dust? Have you checked GPU temperatures at idle/load? Make sure its properly seated in its PCI-e slot. If all else fails, the card may be dying or basically dead.

If you have any other 3D games, running those may give us an idea if this crash is specific to GW2 or not (I suspect not). If you don't have any other games, grab MSI Afterburner which simultaneously provides you a temperature utility and comes packaged with Kombustor, a video card benchmarking utility that will likely crash as well if its really a hardware issue.

Edited by typographie, 24 January 2013 - 07:57 PM.

[Omega X]

I see Search & Destroy Tea Timer installed, Is that running when you start GW2?

[Quaker]

Carlito, on 24 January 2013 - 01:10 PM, said:

- updating Graphics Card drivers to latest versions (even tried beta ones)

Have you checked if the rest of your drivers - audio, chipset, etc - are also the latest versions?

And, open up the machine, make sure all fans are running properly and clean out the dust.

[Carlito]

Okay, first of all, thanks for the suggestions!

I've tried them all out but none of them seem to have any effect. I opened up the case, cleaned it out, took out the GPU and cleaned it. None of it made any difference. All the fans are working properly too.

I've updated almost every hardware driver of my system. GPU, chipset, audio, etc,... No differences.

Spybot S&D destroy is indeed on my system, but i tried switching it off before booting up the game. To no avail.

And as Typographie suggested, I downloaded and used MSI Afterburner and used the Combuster. It shows my GPU temperature climbs up to about 70°C, but then stays there. I let it run for like an hour. It never crashed.

Like I said before in my starting post, I have tons of games on my PC. Most of them (relatively) recent. I can run The Witcher 2 on high settings, have a buttery smooth framerate and play for hours without seeing a single framedrop. Others I have and that run perfectly are:
- Skyrim
- Far Cry 3
- Mass Effect trilogy
- Alan Wake
- Rayman Origins
- The Walking Dead
- TF: Fall of Cybertron
-...

I guess I'm running out of options. I'll try installing a friend's GPU and see what happens. Any more suggestions are welcome, but thanks anyway, people!

[Rocky Balmoa]

I have been having the same problem from release. I have a Nvidia GTX470 that works well with graphical beasts such as Crysis, The Witcher 2, WoW . Just reduce the core clock 100 Mhz more or less with MSI Afterburner, you'll get worse performance but it's the inevitable trade-off. This worked for me, and I hope for you too.

[Carlito]

YOU sir, are AWESOME!!

reducing the core clock worked like a charm, which got me into the game and allowed me to put the graphic settings to the lowest levels.

After that I was even able to put the core clock back to standard settings and mess around with in-game settings untill I got a decent quality-performance balance that doesn't crash my system!

Thank you so much!! Problem solved