Guild Wars 2

Lately, I’ve been experiencing more and more rapidly recurring crashes. At first, the screen will go black for a couple of seconds while sound effects continue to play in the background, and then it’ll come back as if nothing had happened. This has been going on for some time, and the longer I played for any one individual session, the greater my risk for a complete crash. Fortunately, I rarely spent time in large enough chunks for that to happen. As time has gone on however, the amount of delay after the initial black-screen event until complete failure has shrunk considerably (the first ‘mini-crash’ is now happening within the first minute of being logged in, and the fatal crash seconds afterwards).

If that weren’t bad enough, it seems as though something ‘snaps loose’ inside of my computer after each major crash. New programs refuse to open. Existing programs either freeze up, or get stuck on a loop (the one notable exception being Microsoft Zune, whose controls still work, but no graphical information is displayed), and the only way to restart my computer is manually (despite the mouse, keys, and Zune still being responsive to input).

I’ve tried the repair feature. I’ve tried completely uninstalling. I’ve tried overclocking and underclocking both my CPU and my GPU. I’ve manually updated every driver I can think of (bios, CPU, GPU, sound card, internet adapter, directx, even my harddrive), I’ve turned the new FOV on and off, I’ve turned the graphics as low as they could possibly go, I’ve turned them as high as possible… and nothing changes it.

I’ve included a copy of the most recent crash report at the bottom of this post. If there’s anything else that might help, please let me know. I’m at the end of my current understanding of computers, of my wits, and very shortly… my rope.

it sounds like a graphic-card driver crash to me
your GPU might be overheating
what are your other system specs?
are you playing on a desktop PC or on a laptop?

did this also happen while your GPU’s voltage/clock speeds were at the stock-settings?
if you changed anything about the clock speed or voltage, it might be bad inputs

anyways, get the tool “GPU-Z”, it monitors your GPU and can save a log file of it’s temps/usage/fan speed/etc
just start the tool, go to the the “sensor” tab and check the box “log to file”
then start GW2 while GPU-Z running in the background and if it crashes again, you can close GPU-Z and upload the logfile

also, if you running alot other stuff in the background, like your internet browser when running a flash object or media players or other stuff which drains usage from your GPU, it might result in a driver crash if you are running graphic intense games
but that depends on your overall system, most PC’s should’n have problems with that

wauwi.9162:

it sounds like a graphic-card driver crash to me
your GPU might be overheating

did this also happen while your GPU’s voltage/clock speeds were at the stock-settings?
if you changed anything about the clock speed or voltage, it might be bad inputs

anyways, get the tool “GPU-Z”, it monitors your GPU and can save a log file of it’s temps/usage/fan speed/etc
just start the tool, go to the the “sensor” tab and check the box “log to file”
then start GW2 while GPU-Z running in the background and if it crashes again, you can close GPU-Z and upload the logfile

This happens at all speeds and settings that I’ve tried. That includes stock. I’ll grab the tool and see what it tells me.

Same thing happened to me with a GTX 670. Swapped it out for an old GTS 450 from an old computer, crashes went away. Card was bad, so RMA. If you have access to another graphics card, test it out.

wookalar.8952:

Same thing happened to me with a GTX 670. Swapped it out for an old GTS 450 from an old computer, crashes went away. Card was bad, so RMA. If you have access to another graphics card, test it out.

I’ve thought of that, but there aren’t conflicts with any other application. I’ve also had this card for quite a while, so I’m not sure if it’s even eligible. I don’t have another GPU to test out, either.

As per Wauwi’s suggestion, I now have a log (included in this post) of my GPU’s activity up until the crash. I managed to stay in game for a surprisingly long period of time, and during WvW of all things. It actually didn’t crash until I went back to the world and started on my daily achievement.

I’m also including a screenshot I managed to snag before things got too crazy to navigate windows explorer. See below.

check for dust inside your computer and remove it if possible (especially at your GPU’s fan)
but make sure you don’t harm any components…i recommend compressed air out of a can sold by any well sorted computer store

until then:

if you have rendersampling at “supersample” in-game, turn it to “native”

manually set your GPU’s fan speed curve
you OC’ed your GPU previously so you porbably know how to do it
i’d suggest ~80% speed at 75°C+

monitor your GPU and test again (just play as usual)

i really hope it’s not a broken GPU
my first GPU’s, a 8800GT, life came to an end but i managed to keep it alive for about 1 week after caressing it
true story
and don’t hate on me, PC component professionals who read this, i’m just trying to be optimistic

Unwoollymammoth.1598:

wookalar.8952:

Same thing happened to me with a GTX 670. Swapped it out for an old GTS 450 from an old computer, crashes went away. Card was bad, so RMA. If you have access to another graphics card, test it out.

I’ve thought of that, but there aren’t conflicts with any other application. I’ve also had this card for quite a while, so I’m not sure if it’s even eligible. I don’t have another GPU to test out, either.

As per Wauwi’s suggestion, I now have a log (included in this post) of my GPU’s activity up until the crash. I managed to stay in game for a surprisingly long period of time, and during WvW of all things. It actually didn’t crash until I went back to the world and started on my daily achievement.

Yea, I was seemingly having problems only with GW2 as well. I’d run other games (Crysis 2, BL2, BF3, etc) with seemingly little difficulty. I think GW2 tweaked it in just the right way. However, finally I was able to get it to start on BF3. But it was just way more common on GW2. Virtually unplayable. I’d mess with the gfx settings, and it’d occasionally prolong game time. Swapped out for the old GTS 450, max setting, not 1 crash in a week playing 5hrs+ a day for about 4days a week.

I spent so much time messing around with drivers, setting, etc, etc. Literally hours. In the end, my hardware was at fault. Whats funny, though, is I still couldn’t get it to crash on Crysis 2 with HD pack and Tessallation pack on Max settings. I think the greater optimization of some games was helping my card stay stable as opposed to GW2.

Anyways, I hope that’s not your issue. If you have and EVGA card, they are eligible for RMA up to 3yrs as long as you have the serial on it still and no physical damage. They will also send it to you first, if you’re willing to put a hold on your credit card for the cost of card, until you ship back the defective one. I would figure other manufacturers would do similar things as well to be competitive in the market.