Guild Wars 2

I have searched here, the internet (reddit, gw2guru, etc) and have found no definitive answer to this issue.

I have played since Beta Weekend 1.
I am on the same computer I have played the game on for 2 years now.
I have not installed anything new.

This issue began last week after the update.

My computer shuts down when I try to play the game.
I replaced my heatsink and my mother board last week (I thought it might be a heat issue)
My drivers are all up to date.
I tried the “fixes” that I could find here, (Deleting “coherent” dumps and files)

I tried to do a -repair but it gets about 3/4 done and….shuts down my computer.

Should I just uninstall and give up Guild Wars 2?
If so, I really enjoyed playing. If I know you in game, this is my goodbye.

That is a common symptom of a failing power supply.

If it shuts down as if you pulled the plug, it probably is due to a bad power supply. You may also want to confirm that your CPU isn’t overheating. Depending on the BIOS for example, you can set it to immediately shutdown at a certain temperature.

If it flashed a blue screen just before shutting down however, your computer has a faulty component and you will need to read the log for further details.

I’v also have this weird problem and it came with some of the latest updates. And it’s not a faulty Component making this. My powersupplay gives me 800w and i think thats enough.

thommay.9642:

My powersupplay gives me 800w and i think thats enough.

That says nothing .. power supplies are aging .. that means that after a while (some years) they give less and less power. Or it could simply be a bad model.

If the computer simply shuts down with no bluescreen and doesn’t reboot i would say
thats for 99.99% the PSU.

This is not the fault of my computer. This is the fault of something in Guild Wars 2. I had my system thoroughly checked last week by a technician (it is still under warranty) after the issue began, and although I did not need to, I replaced the motherboard and the heatsink. We also cleaned out any debris, then ran full diagnostics. This only occurs with Guild Wars 2.

GW2 is also CPU intensive and likely the only program you run that causes your CPU to go above 50% usage, causing a higher power draw. Run a CPU stress testing tool (such as Prime95) to really test it.

Other problems could involve an error on the disk or a network failure, but those would cause a bluescreen and reboot. You can test the disk using chkdsk (right click the drive > Properties > Tools > Error-checking).

In case you’re simply missing the bluescreen, under the Control Panel, open System, select the Advanced tab and click settings under Startup and Recovery. Uncheck automatically restart. You can also view errors under Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer.

We ran many many overclocking tests, and stress tests on the CPU. The ball is in Guild Wars 2’s court. Nothing on my computer is doing this. It is ONLY with Guild Wars 2. If I do not play Guild Wars 2, everything is fine. I cannot even get through a repair archive without it shutting down. If you Google the issue you will see it has cropped up many times for many people. I would like to point out that the common denominator here is not US but THEM.

I have checked my disk, I have run a defrag, I have replaced hardware, I have done extensive tests.

The only resolution on my side is to remove Guild Wars 2 from my system and to discontinue playing. I wish this were not so, because I genuinely love the game, but the program has some fault that is causing this, and is useless to me now since it will not even open without this fault occurring.

I do appreciate the responses. I hope Anet resolves it in future. But given that the issue has cropped up many times for many people in two years, without a definitive solution, I am not hopeful.

Nalora.7964:

We ran many many overclocking tests, and stress tests on the CPU. The ball is in Guild Wars 2’s court. Nothing on my computer is doing this. It is ONLY with Guild Wars 2. If I do not play Guild Wars 2, everything is fine. I cannot even get through a repair archive without it shutting down. If you Google the issue you will see it has cropped up many times for many people. I would like to point out that the common denominator here is not US but THEM.

I have checked my disk, I have run a defrag, I have replaced hardware, I have done extensive tests.

The only resolution on my side is to remove Guild Wars 2 from my system and to discontinue playing. I wish this were not so, because I genuinely love the game, but the program has some fault that is causing this, and is useless to me now since it will not even open without this fault occurring.

I do appreciate the responses. I hope Anet resolves it in future. But given that the issue has cropped up many times for many people in two years, without a definitive solution, I am not hopeful.

It’s 1 of 2 things (or really maybe both)

1. Failing/weakening PSU. If your PSU cannot sustain the wattage to your system, your system will fault and power off.

2. over heating CPU. You said your PC is about 2 years old, maybe there is a nice dust build up around the heatsink, or maybe your FAN to the CPU cooler has slowed down beyond acceptable RPMs (CFM) to cool your overclocked CPU.

Either way, its not the game. The Game does not have a way to directly affect your Hardware, or windows, in anyway. This is going to be a hardware issue.

1. Failing power supply.
2. Failing DIMM
3. CPU cooling issue.

The fan is new. The power supply is new. The CPU is working fine. The computer is cool and running fine. Every other piece of software runs fine.

The problem is now solved. I uninstalled Guild Wars 2. Computer working perfectly.

Nalora.7964:

The problem is now solved. I uninstalled Guild Wars 2. Computer working perfectly.

My computer was working perfectly, OC’d to 5.2 GHz. Then I did a stability test by running Prime95 for 8 hours. It crashed ~7 hours in.

Just because someone else did it for you doesn’t mean you’ll have the same results. The problem could for example be caused by your local area, such as your power source or room temperature.

If you want to provide more technical information: WinKey+R > dxdiag > save and post it as an attachment.

Nalora.7964:

If you Google the issue you will see it has cropped up many times for many people. I would like to point out that the common denominator here is not US but THEM.

Driver issues/outdated drivers, Windows Update required, overheating and hardware failure/conflicts. A program by itself cannot make your computer halt. It will either bluescreen or enter the shutdown process.

Nalora.7964:

The fan is new. The power supply is new. The CPU is working fine. The computer is cool and running fine. Every other piece of software runs fine.

The problem is now solved. I uninstalled Guild Wars 2. Computer working perfectly.

Just because a component is new, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t defective. The fact is you have a hardware problem.

Guild Wars 2 will not shutdown a computer that is working properly. As was said numerous times – it’s probably your power supply OR a temperature problem.

What are you gonna’ do when it happens again? Are gonna’ blame that program or game as well?

Nalora.7964:

The fan is new. The power supply is new. The CPU is working fine. The computer is cool and running fine. Every other piece of software runs fine.

The problem is now solved. I uninstalled Guild Wars 2. Computer working perfectly.

Bye hope you find some thing else….
And as others say New doesn’t men not defective….

Update, taking all the geeks here advice and replacing the power supply today.

I reinstalled Guild Wars as it is the only thing that causes the issue 100 percent of the time, so I can show the tech guy the issue. (Thank goodness for extended warranties, I showed this conversation to him and said, ok…the consensus here is I should replace the power supply…lets get on that, ok?)

Then if it is still happening, I am going to reformat (oy how I dread this.) and see if perhaps Windows is corrupted by doing a fresh install from disc.

wish me luck.

Healix.5819:

Nalora.7964:

The problem is now solved. I uninstalled Guild Wars 2. Computer working perfectly.

My computer was working perfectly, OC’d to 5.2 GHz. Then I did a stability test by running Prime95 for 8 hours. It crashed ~7 hours in.

Just because someone else did it for you doesn’t mean you’ll have the same results. The problem could for example be caused by your local area, such as your power source or room temperature.

If you want to provide more technical information: WinKey+R > dxdiag > save and post it as an attachment.

Nalora.7964:

If you Google the issue you will see it has cropped up many times for many people. I would like to point out that the common denominator here is not US but THEM.

Driver issues/outdated drivers, Windows Update required, overheating and hardware failure/conflicts. A program by itself cannot make your computer halt. It will either bluescreen or enter the shutdown process.

Dell Tech is coming out to house today to replace the power supply. Will then try to recreate the issue after that is fixed. (I can do it easily now by merely running -repair on gw2)

The heat sink and the motherboard were replaced last week. Anything else I should tell the guy when he gets here to test? He arrives with the part around noon today. It is now 10 am.

And do not say I need to replace the computer geek boys. That is in the works, I just need about 6 more months of saving up cash. wink

I will however give you my mea culpa:

When McAffee ran a full scan, it did the same thing. So—-it cannot be Guild Wars 2.
It is something with running over 50 percent CPU for more than a specific amount of time. When I run -repair on GW2.exe it shuts down at 3/4 way in.

I have played GW2 on this exact computer since Beta Weekend 1 without issues. (I do, however have to play the game on low settings, which will be corrected when I purchase the new computer in around 6 months)

Nalora.7964:

And do not say I need to replace the computer geek boys. That is in the works, I just need about 6 more months of saving up cash. wink

I will however give you my mea culpa:

When McAffee ran a full scan, it did the same thing. So—-it cannot be Guild Wars 2.
It is something with running over 50 percent CPU for more than a specific amount of time. When I run -repair on GW2.exe it shuts down at 3/4 way in.

I have played GW2 on this exact computer since Beta Weekend 1 without issues. (I do, however have to play the game on low settings, which will be corrected when I purchase the new computer in around 6 months)

We are done here, you continue to insult yet admit its not the game doing it.

Grow up.

sirsquishy.8531:

Nalora.7964:

And do not say I need to replace the computer geek boys. That is in the works, I just need about 6 more months of saving up cash. wink

I will however give you my mea culpa:

When McAffee ran a full scan, it did the same thing. So—-it cannot be Guild Wars 2.
It is something with running over 50 percent CPU for more than a specific amount of time. When I run -repair on GW2.exe it shuts down at 3/4 way in.

I have played GW2 on this exact computer since Beta Weekend 1 without issues. (I do, however have to play the game on low settings, which will be corrected when I purchase the new computer in around 6 months)

We are done here, you continue to insult yet admit its not the game doing it.

Grow up.

The term “geek boys” is not an insult. It is a term of endearment to me. I only use it with boys who cut their teeth on computers. I ran a BBS in the 80’s and 90’s and the kids that were on BBS are the “men” (tho still boys to me) who I go to most for tech advice. I am 58 years old. An old woman with a cane and many grey hairs.

I told you it was a mea culpa, admitted my mistake, and asked for any further advice. This is what adults do. Admit mistakes. Who exactly needs to grow up here?

I also am very well aware, having been “into” computer as long as I have that the business model for tech advice is to continually wear the user down by pointing the finger at their computer, and not at anything else. No one in tech will ever admit to an error in their own work. It is always user error. It is always the guy on the other end of the phone’s fault and it is like pulling teeth to get anything done. I could not create the error with anything but Guild Wars, (and although you say a program will not shut down one’s computer, how could this be so, when in the next breath you say it might be malware or a virus?)

So, I waited….til something ELSE caused the issue. It was not until McAffee shut down in the same way 3/4 of the way into a full scan that I could then spend the HOURS (yes hours) of my life on the telephone with tech support demanding the power supply be replaced.

That being said, the “Geek Boy” from Dell (he is around 30 years old, I believe but could still be my son) just called and will be here around 3 pm CST. You have around 4 hours to kibbutz here if you want him to do specific things to test or remedy the issue once the power supply is replaced. Get crackin’.

Sorry, didn’t mean to come across so rude in my post.

Please let us know the results (I’m sure the new PS will fix it).

You’re on a laptop (Dell Studio 1558)? The power supply is your power cord/adapter. The battery would normally prevent power failure, though I’m guessing you’ve had it long enough that the battery is permanently dead. When you took it to the tech, did they use their own power cord, because if so, that explains that. Also ensure that you’re not using a faulty power outlet (power dips).

Laptops, especially older ones, can easily overheat, which will cause what you’re experiencing. Run a temperature monitor as you’re using it and ensure all your fans are clear and powered. If you actually ran a stress test however, this wouldn’t be the case. Keep in mind that your room temperature will affect the results.

Also, update your drivers. 2009 vs 2011 display drivers for example.

abomally.2694:

Sorry, didn’t mean to come across so rude in my post.

Please let us know the results (I’m sure the new PS will fix it).

You were not rude, merely adamant. It is when I see from many sources (having argued with tech support many times over the years) and the reasoning behind such advice, that I will sit back, look it over and test…test…retest. I had to see the error occur outside of Guild Wars 2 to finally know for certain that it was the power supply as all of you suggested.

And just so you know. The tech support people at Dell ALSO wanted to lay it on Guild Wars 2. The argument was epic, since I had the proof already that this was not so, and all your myriad expert voices to “9 out of 10 geek boys agree….” to go to so that they could NOT put it onto a program, and fix a hardware issue. I fully expect the recorded argument to show up on YouTube someday: “Irate Customer on Tech support”.

Healix.5819:

You’re on a laptop (Dell Studio 1558)? The power supply is your power cord/adapter. The battery would normally prevent power failure, though I’m guessing you’ve had it long enough that the battery is permanently dead. When you took it to the tech, did they use their own power cord, because if so, that explains that. Also ensure that you’re not using a faulty power outlet (power dips).

Laptops, especially older ones, can easily overheat, which will cause what you’re experiencing. Run a temperature monitor as you’re using it and ensure all your fans are clear and powered. If you actually ran a stress test however, this wouldn’t be the case. Keep in mind that your room temperature will affect the results.

Also, update your drivers. 2009 vs 2011 display drivers for example.

The first thing I suspected was the CPU. I had them replace the fan and the heat sink and the motherboard last week for the same issue. I checked all drivers and believe it or not the drivers are up to date even though the date is old. I looked and looked and those are the current ones for my laptop. Keep in mind I have used this to play Guild Wars 2 for two years without issue. I also suspected the power source as you all said, and had the battery and the power supply checked, but since it is less than year old, (It has been replaced once) I thought perhaps…it is something else. My computers generally last me 5 years, so I know I am right at the outside of my cut off date for buying a new computer, so have been saving and to be honest I waited longer than usual due to the Windows 8 preload when that OS was shown to be a loser.

I appreciate your advice. I am pretty sure that it IS the Power Supply now, and he will be here in the next hour or so to do that. I have also told him I CAN reproduce the error and that I will show him the error before and after the replacement (if it still does it afterwards) so that we can test it.

My next step in my own mind. (the one I am avoiding) is…wipe the machine. Do a fresh install of windows. Perhaps windows is corrupted.

Also we cleaned the machine of debris last week thoroughly when we put the heatsink and the motherboard in.

Please guys do not think that I was insulting you in any way. My local geekboys love to be called that. They know I respect their expertise immensely, I have watched them grow and learn more than I will ever know.

I thought this was a desktop – doh.

Anyway, it would be a good idea to monitor your temperatures while testing the new supply. I use a program called Hardware Monitor (free), which you can get here:

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

Grab the 1.25 setup version on the right, if ya’ want.

See I didnt even know this was a laptop issue. I thought it was a desktop :-)

Dell issues refurbed PCB when they replace the motherboard and daughter cards, but they issue new Ribbons for the interconnect (Touchpad, Keyboard, USB Daughter board…ect). Its very possible that the motherboard you got replaced with has a bad cap or incomplete circuit that gets tripped and powers off the system.

Just a note to the wise, when dealing with PC issues and software NEVER point the issue to one software title, as the finger will always point back to that title. Just have to remember the basics here; Software cannot make a system power off like that, only faulty hardware and cooling.

And while I love Dell, I hate their support. Being an enterprise client of theirs I go through a higher tier of support, but its still like pulling teeth to get power issues taken care of.

Also, you are using the OEM Dell AC Adapter correct? Not a 3rd party replacement? Also, you are using the Correct Adapter with your laptop? Higher end laptops need more wattage then the default 90w AC Adapters can supply. Like my M6500, requires a 210w AC Adapter :-)

Ok he is in the other room fixing the issue. Or we think he is. The power supply is being replaced. Also a new motherboard. We ran temp tests and the video card readings at the time of the crash were the only slightly abnormal temp readings. It took me longer to make it crash than before. I took you guy’s advice and made sure we are using my power cord this time as well on the tests. To answer someone, yes it is a Dell as well, the system is under warranty and I have in home tech service so they send a geeky with Dell stuff in hand to fix my machine.

I just asked him squishy and he says you are correct, the other was a refurbished. Which is why he is putting in yet another one.

In other weirdness, I had to recover my guild wars 2 account to log in which kind of freaked me out. No clue why. My characters were all ok, did not check my bank. I have a 3 stage log in, and did not get any odd emails. The email I use is a guild wars 2 only account as well.

Ok, so we replaced:

Power Supply
Motherboard
Heatsink/Fan assembly
AC Adapter

Ran numerous tests after. Ran GW2 and McAffee at the same time throughout. All is well, tho it was slow as hades. Will see if game runs as it has for the last 2 years without issues, and save up more money for new machine.

Now…geekboys….wink if I could just invite you to dinner and get your Secret Templar Tech Knowledge on what should be on the new machine…

I owe you all a steak dinner. Thank you so very much for your patience, and your brains. Btw, I have also played RPG since 1978. Pen and paper.

ok gotta know, what laptop do you have from dell :-)
It has to be a newer model since its still under warranty, Maybe there is a hidden upgrade there you can request/work through since you had to jump through so many hoops with dell already.

sirsquishy.8531:

ok gotta know, what laptop do you have from dell :-)
It has to be a newer model since its still under warranty, Maybe there is a hidden upgrade there you can request/work through since you had to jump through so many hoops with dell already.

I put the dxdiag up there someplace but it is an old machine, a studio 1558. I just got the extended warranty because I could, and because I became housebound (illness) and did not wish to mess with all that techy stuff you guys are so good at, the lap top was also because I am ill, and needed something that would still play guild wars. One of my local geekboys built it, we switched out some things when I ordered it, just before guild wars went into Beta, actually maybe a bit before, when the specs for being able to play were posted.

The thing with the tech support is that you always jump through hoops. Its annoying. I had actually already figured it was an overheating issue the week before and had jumped through the hoops once, (3 days and more hours than I really wanted to give up to them) then had the tech out to do some work, but when it continued, and only while playing guild wars was when I came to post on the forums. Tech support always makes you call back unless you absolutely are adamant and can back up your claims with other techs who seem more competent than they are. Which was why when they gave me the run around when the problem persisted, I was on remote view with them, brought them here and showed them the thread and said…listen this is not my first time at the rodeo bub. Then they wanted to STILL blame Guild Wars, but I knew at that point exactly what the issue was, and had my back up calvary to prove it. (you guys) The real annoying thing is when they do not go back and read the ticket and know this is an ongoing issue. Oy my head.

I know I am rough ( I come off badly in text, I really am a sweet old woman who reads, gardens and bakes cookies, tho you would never think it by forums such as these)

I played for a couple hours. The system is running perfectly and seems very cool to the touch, as it was before. Again…truly my thanks. Sometimes a girl needs a guy with a huge vorpal sword.