Guild Wars 2

Hello!!

I have an issue where the game doesn’t let me take any screeshot. Every time I hit the Print Screen button I get a message on chat saying “Your screenshot folder is full”; but I checked my folder and it only has 23 screens. I read somewhere that the limit is set to 999 of them so it doesn’t make much sense.

I already moved the 23 screens to another folder so it would be empty, deleted it and creaded a new one, and even renamed it to something different. I have restarted the game and also my computer. Nothing seems to work.

I was advised to post here to look for help.

Does anyone know how to solve this?

Thanks in advance!!

The one with 23 screens, is that the original screenshot folder or the folder that the 23 screens were moved to?
Try “Start” search: Screens

Yeah, the original gw2 screenshot folder in My Documents is named “Screens” by default and it had the 23 in there. Then I moved them to another, renamed, folder.

Now this original folder was empty. Since it did not work, I deleted it. The game then created a new Screens folder and I can’t still take screenshots…. :’(

The only things I can think to try would be these:

Run As Admin

• Close your game completely.
• Right-click your GW2 game shortcut and click on “Properties”.
• On the “Compatibility” tab, check/enable the box for your game to “Run As Administrator”.
• Hit OK after making sure this setting is enabled.
• Re-launch your game with this game shortcut and see if the issue persists.

If that doesn’t fix it: Check the game for errors and repair it

• Close your game completely.
• Next, make a copy of your Gw2 game shortcut and rename it “GW2 Repair” or to something that you will recognize it for being only for running a repair on your GW2 installation.
• Now, right-click this “Gw2 Repair” shortcut and click on “Properties”.
• On the “Shortcut” tab look in the “Target:” field, you should see:
  “C:\Program Files (x86)\Guild Wars 2” or wherever you have Guild Wars 2 installed.
• After the closing quotation marks in this line put a space and then add -repair
  It will look like this but with your GW2 install location:
  “C:\Program Files (x86)\Guild Wars 2” -repair
• Hit OK after making this change.
• Run this repair shortcut. Your game will run through a repair cycle and fix any damaged files it finds.
• After it runs through, start the game using the normal GW2 game shortcut (not the repair shortcut) and see if your game can take screenshots properly.

Last resort would be to: Delete the local.dat file
Deleting this file will also cause you to lose your saved game settings (graphics, stored login data, etc.) but may fix the problem. If you rely on your stored login info to log in, make sure you can recall what your login info is as the stored login info is also cleared.

The quickest way to do this is to:

• Ensure your game is completely closed.
• Hold your Windows Key and press ‘F’ to open your Windows Search.
• Search for “Local.dat”. 2 files may be found.
• Ignore the “Local.dat” file that is in the game installation folder if one is found there.
• Delete the “Local.dat” file that resides at:
  “C:\Users\YourComputerUserName\AppData\Roaming\Guild Wars 2”
• Load up your game normally and see if the problem is gone.
• You will notice that your settings are reverted to default. You should reconfigure your game settings once again to your preference.

Thank you so much for your reply, StinVec! And I’m sorry I could reply sooner.

I just tried the first two options you sugested, and the problem persists. Tonight I will try to delete the local.dat file as you advised; because I have to run off to work for now. :P

I will update this post with the result of that.

Thanks again!

Hello!!

I just tried deleting the Local.dat file as you instructed, and, just like you said, all options were back to default.

But when I tried to take a Screenshot, the same thing happened. :’(

I really appreciate you tried though. Any other idea? I don’t know what to do.. :S

Thanks!

HI, Rob! I’m happy to help out, if I can. I have a few questions for you.

• Are you using Windows XP?
• Do you have a screenshots folder inside of your game install directory and does it happen to be full?

WinXP users normally had their screenshots saved inside a screens folder in the game directory, but an update many months ago changed it to instead store screenshots in the My Documents/Guild Wars 2/Screens folder just like other Windows versions. It may be possible that when you are taking a screenshot you are actually getting one saved in the old folder in the game install directory as well as the My Documents screenshot folder. Since the game directory folder may be full, while the My Documents folder is empty, it will give you that Full message.

I’ll see if I can figure out what else may be causing it, but check to see if you have a screenshot folder in your game install folder. If so, delete that screenshot folder after you saved the screens you want from inside of it elsewhere.

Hi StinVec!!

Thanks for that, I double checked my game install folder in “C:\Program Files (x86)\Guild Wars 2”, and all it had were 4 files:

• Crash.dmp
• Gw2.dat
• Gw2.exe
• Gw2.tmp

I checked for maybe hidden files or folders but nothing else in there; I’m kinda concerned about that “Crash.dmp” file in there, but I didn’t want to touch it and screw something up. XD
My screens have been always being saved in the Documents\Guild Wars 2\Screens folder.
I checked and I saw that the very last screenshot taken was on January 28, and I don’t think there has been any change to my computer or its configuration.

As of now, the Screens folder is empty, I moved the 23 screens I had in there to another place.

By the way, I have Windows 8.1, 64bits; I’m not sure if that has something to do with it since I was able to take screenshots on this same computer back in January.

There’s something odd I just noticed, I looked the in-game options and I saw that with F10 you could take Stereoscopic screenshots, so I hit it, and it took the screen just fine!! O.o
I checked the folder and it was there. But I don’t have the software to open this type of file. u.u
After that, I tried with Print Screen but same thing.

I’m sorry to be a bother with this issue, but I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to help me out with it.

Not a bother at all! I like to help and to troubleshoot problems and the more obscure an issue, the better.

No need to worry about the Crash.dmp file.

I’m digging into Win8.1 issues and looking at both AMD and NVidia to see if there are any recent driver updates/releases or driver issues popping up that may be causing this.

Do you have an AMD video card or NVidia?

I’m also looking into possible issues with settings in their respective graphics utilities as well, but this seems more like it is a Windows software or keyboard hardware issue as utility issues generally still allow the taking of screenshots, though they are often of black screens when it is an issue with the utilities’ settings conflicting with a game.

For your Normal Screenshot would you try to

• “Unbind” Print Screen from being the bound key and save the unbound setting.
• Then re-bind Normal Screenshot to Print Screen again and see if it functions properly.

Then try to:

• Unbind Print Screen from “Normal Screenshot” and bind it to a different key to see if a different key being bound can take screenshots.

This could help pinpoint if it is a conflict in Windows or even with your keyboard drivers.

OK, this is gonna sound like it’s coming out of left field, or something, but were you perhaps in the beta? Perhaps your computer is putting things in the file you had it on for Beta. For some reason, my screens go to my normal Guild Wars 2 folder, but updates to the .dat go to my Beta folder. It’s weird, and makes me wonder if you have a similar issue, perhaps reversed.

Hello!

I just did as you said, StinVec, and I unbound the Print Screen key from the Screenshot settings and re-bound it. No dice

Then I also assigned another key to it, and same thing happened. DX

This computer is fairly new (acquired last December) and it is an HP Pavilion 20-b251la; it has an integrated Intel HD Graphics card or processor, not sure which to be honest. So it doesn’t have AMD or NVidia right now.

Duke, thanks for sharing your thoughts, but unfortunately, I was not in the Beta…

Any clues?

Thanks again for everyting!!

I’m still trying to find anything that may help fix the problem. :\
Not having any luck just yet.

Right now I’m also looking into a way to change the directory of where screenshots are stored for GW2 to see if it may be an issue with the Screens directory in My Documents, or if it is an issue with the game installation itself.

• You said that you’ve deleted the “Screens” folder inside “My Documents\Guild Wars 2” and it was re-created. Have you also tried to delete the entire “Guild Wars 2” folder from My Documents and have the entire folder re-created and not just the Screens sub-folder?
  I know it doesn’t make sense, as the game seems to be able to create the Screens folder just fine, so it doesn’t seem to be a write permission issue. Just thought maybe it can be some obscure issue with the GW2 folder where letting the entire thing get re-made might help fix the problem.

I was hoping Ashley Segovia would pop in here to help out as I have seen other threads of people with this issue who filed support tickets. I’m guessing Support helped fix the issue as nothing further was said in their threads, or maybe Support had no idea. Unless Support just had them delete their game and re-install and see if it fixed the issue…which is not a real good solution especially if it doesn’t fix the problem.

I’ll keep at it though!

Right-click your screenshot folder (choose Properties) and check if it’s set to Read Only. If so, uncheck the box and click apply.

abomally.2694:

Right-click your screenshot folder (choose Properties) and check if it’s set to Read Only. If so, uncheck the box and click apply.

As they have not always had this issue and the folder can have Stereoscopic 3D images written to it, user account permissions do not seem to be related to the issue.

Also, all “folders” display them as being ‘Read Only’ when you check their properties. Changing that setting only applies to files within the folder. One can not really set a folder to be read only or not read only, only files within folders can be marked as read only or not read only.

Rob. If you want to give this a go to see if it helps to fix the problem.

There is the possibility of it being a registry/corrupt file issue. You said the archive -repair ran properly and didn’t give an error, but a lot of people have been having issues with the -repair function being broken for a while now (crashes during repair at 25k files left to check). I think there may be some fringe file issues cropping up that get past the archive -repair command.

Without doing a full uninstall and reinstall of the game to see if that helps fix the problem, you could instead do this to keep from having to download the whole thing all over again:

• Browse to your game installation directory and move your Gw2.dat file to a different folder.
• Delete the other remaining files in the folder (“Gw2.exe”, “Gw2.tmp”, etc.)
• Download the Client Installer (21MB) from your My Account area at the top of this page and save it in your game installation directory.
• Rename this “Gw2Setup.exe” installer file to “Gw2.exe”
• Execute this Gw2.exe file. Windows may ask if you want to block it from running. Permit it to run.
• Running the exe will generate a new Gw2.dat file
• Close the installer after this new Gw2.dat file is created
• Delete this new Gw2.dat file and move your old Gw2.dat file back into the installation folder from where you moved it out to
• Run your game normally and see if you can take a screenshot properly now

StinVec.3621:

abomally.2694:

Right-click your screenshot folder (choose Properties) and check if it’s set to Read Only. If so, uncheck the box and click apply.

As they have not always had this issue and the folder can have Stereoscopic 3D images written to it, user account permissions do not seem to be related to the issue.

Also, all “folders” display them as being ‘Read Only’ when you check their properties. Changing that setting only applies to files within the folder. One can not really set a folder to be read only or not read only, only files within folders can be marked as read only or not read only.

I am aware of this. However, it’s possible that some other program has changed the folder settings within the registry. This can reset the registry settings for the folder.

Of course, if it’s registry related (I suspect that or corrupted HDD journal entries), it could be very difficult to resolve.

Edited to add: Not sure about why the 3D images work, but it could still be registry related. I bet there are other PC symptoms happening that the OP (and we) aren’t aware of.

abomally.2694:

StinVec.3621:

abomally.2694:

Right-click your screenshot folder (choose Properties) and check if it’s set to Read Only. If so, uncheck the box and click apply.

As they have not always had this issue and the folder can have Stereoscopic 3D images written to it, user account permissions do not seem to be related to the issue.

Also, all “folders” display them as being ‘Read Only’ when you check their properties. Changing that setting only applies to files within the folder. One can not really set a folder to be read only or not read only, only files within folders can be marked as read only or not read only.

I am aware of this. However, it’s possible that some other program has changed the folder settings within the registry. This can reset the registry settings for the folder.

Of course, if it’s registry related (I suspect that or corrupted HDD journal entries), it could be very difficult to resolve.

Why would normal screenshots be restricted from being written to the folder while stereoscopic 3d screenshots would not? It does not seem to be related to write-access. Also, the folder has been completely deleted and it was automatically recreated by the game. If the folder’s settings had been changed at some point in the past by another program then the deletion and recreation would have corrected this change.

Not necessarily if it’s a registry entry that doesn’t get removed when the folder is deleted.

Standard game screenshots are .JPG files. 3D stereoscopic files are a different image format (I don’t remember what at the moment). My thinking is that for some reason this folder won’t allow .JPG files to be saved to it (at least when taking screenshots), but will allow other file types. This really does sound like a registry problem to me.

For the OP -

You can attempt to clean the registry in case you have two conflicting Guild Wars 2 screenshot folder entries. The only registry cleaner I fully trust is Ccleaner, which can be found here:

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download

It’s a good idea to save the backup file when it asks you. Ccleaner won’t cause any problems – I’ve been using it for years on everything from XP to Windows 8.1.

You could also do it manually but I don’t recommend that unless you know what you are doing with the registry.

Hi Guys!! Thanks for your suggestions I will try them this evening when I get back home.

StinVec I have a question, you said:

StinVec.3621:

• Running the exe will generate a new Gw2.dat file
• Close the installer after this new Gw2.dat file is created

Does that mean I should close the installer as soon as I see the .dat file created, even if the installer is not finished doing whatever it is installing? Or should I close the installer and delete the .dat file once the installer is finished?

And abomally, thanks for your idea, it hasn’t occured to me it might be related to the registry; I have used CCleaner in the past and I will try that as well as soon as I get back home tonight.

Cheers!!

Hey, Rob! As soon as you see a new Gw2.dat file is created then prematurely close the installer. The installer will want you to download the entire game all over again, but you just need the installer to recreate the registry entries and settings. Since you will delete that new Gw2.dat file and move your backup of your Gw2.dat file back into the folder it will save you from having to re-download 18 gigs. This should solve a potential registry issue with the game files that I mentioned earlier as well as replace the Gw2.exe file in case there was an issue with it.

Also, as there was an update today you will likely need to download that update if you have not already download it earlier. So if you see that you need to download files then it is just today’s patch.

Same problem here. Just bought a new computer today, Windows 8. I installed GW2, wanted to take a screenshot and got the “screenshot folder is full” message.
It can’t be a lack of hard drive space since I just got the computer today, and it can’t be a lack of space in the folder since I just installed GW2 a couple of hours ago.
I have the only account on this computer, so I guess I should automatically be on administrator rights. If anyone could please explain what might be happening…

Hmmmm…the plot thickens. Now I’m rethinking my registry idea. In fact, I took a look at the registry entries for GW2 on my PC and there are no keys regarding screenshot folder location – it must be coded into GW2 itself.

Can you please try making a screenshot with UAC disabled?

Also; although you are Administrator, right-click GW2 shortcut and run it as administrator then try and take a screenshot. I’ve done some work on Windows 8.1 machines and have had to do this on occasion (never tested with GW2 though).

Hello everyone!!

Sorry for not being able to reply sooner but I’ve been busy lately.

So… yes, I have deleted the Screens folder and also the entire Guild Wars 2 folder from My Documents; then I started the game after that and tried to take a screen, both folders were created by the game again and the same error appeared.

I also updated my game to today’s release so it is now up-to-date; and the issue still persists.

Then I followed StinVec’s suggestion regarding the Gw2 installer and the .dat file. I did everything exactly as instructed but the issue is still there.. T_T

Finally a ran CCleaner just in case to try to fix anything wrong with the registry.
I ran it a couple of times to make sure it was clean and after that I started the game to take a screenshot; but no luck. :’(

I really don’t understand what is wrong with my computer… Hahaha it’s so weird that makes me laugh…

You know what’s so funny that makes me sad? I contacted Customer Support and filed a ticket before creating this topic and here is what I got from them:

" Thank you for contacting us.

I gather that your screenshot folder is not full, but the game client is telling you it is whenever you try to take a screenshot. A common fix for this is to rename the screenshot folder. Should this not work, it is best if you refer to the Tech Support forum.

If you have any other questions or comments, please let us know."

So… I just sent them an email to let them know that we are still breaking our heads with this.

Again I can’t thank you enough for all your efforts, you’re great!!

Cheers!!!

That is very…disappointing.

I think I’m out of ideas right now on how to get the game to take screenshots properly. I’ll keep thinking about it, but hopefully abomally or someone else may have an idea on how to correct it.

However, if you would rather just get screenshot functionality back, this can be done without relying on the game to take the screenshot as there are many programs for screen capturing.

One problem I see with most screen capture programs is that they actually need to be running to take the screenshot. If you don’t mind having the screenshot program running then I can dig up some links for some good ones. There are alternatives though that do not need to be running in the background.

Also:
If you would also like to look into boosting the quality of your graphics in-game without a hit to performance, then you can have both the boost and the screenshot ability in a program that does not need to be running in the background to offer these functions.

I use FXAA PPI for enhanced anti-aliasing, color richness, bloom effect, sharpness, and other enhancements. It also has a really nice and quick screenshot function also bound to Print Screen.

It is quick and easy to set up and run. You can also use it to enhance pretty much any game that runs on DirectX 9. Each game can have a profile and the profiles are switchable, copyable, removable within the program.

https://www.assembla.com/spaces/fxaa-pp-inject/wiki
Grab the latest FxaaToolSVN117 from the ‘Files’ tab.
Hitting the download button from the main page is the FxaaToolSVN112 as it hasn’t been updated with the latest version available.

Can view some of my screenshots here that show the boost to graphics: http://stinvec.imgur.com if you would like.
I also have side-by-side comparisons with ‘vanilla’ GW2 settings there.

See if you’d like to give it a try based on my screens.

SweetFX is another, but I haven’t used it for quite a while as I have no real desire to switch from FXAA PPI due to my being very happy with its options and results. Also, having absolutely no game crash issues that I see others having with Sweet FX is nice. I find FXAA PPI to be very easy to adjust with clearly defined effects so it is easy to know what to tweak to get the results I desire. It really has a lot of options. I also have absolutely no performance loss with it unless I go real overboard on the bloom passes.

Here was a discussion from about 10 months ago with some others on the application. Some more info there as well:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/8-months-and-zero-optimization/1910878

It has some settings screenshots/file links there also for what settings I was using at the time. I switch up and tweak them frequently. If I am on my warrior I tend to adjust settings so I roam areas with almost a medieval tone to where things seem less saturated/cartoony and have a bit of a darker atmosphere or a less rich color to the environment. Sometimes I tweak it so it has that dirty western feel for one of my rangers. Sepia tone, scan line and noise adjustments are really great for this, especially to add a bit of a film grain quality as if in a western movie.

Yeah…a bit disappointing…I’m at a loss as to why this is happening, but I don’t currently have a Win 8.1 machine to test GW2 with.

I do know that Windows 8.1 made some changes regarding taking screenshots, but I wouldn’t think that would affect GW2. Maybe some others with that OS can chime in here and let us know if game screenshots work for them or not.

Hey guys!!

I have to say, you are great people and I highly appreciate all you’ve done to try to solve this!!

It’s funny because I was kind of thinking on the same thing as StinVec. XD

Before I saw your post I was thinking on asking you for a third-party program that might help to take screens. :P
Something funny is that I had already seen your screenshots, from the link in your signature, and I thought on asking how you made them so neat! I really liked the Waterfalls album.

I will go ahead and use that program you’re using!!

Again, thanks to all of you who tried to help with this. I will stick to that program to take my screenshots from now on and not worry any further about the vanilla functionality.

Have a great one, and see you in-game!

:) Happy to have tried to help out.
If you need a hand with that program or any tips to get certain looks or anything I’d be glad to help out. The effect chain setting for multiple passes of settings is really nice.

Here are a couple anyway
Screenshots taken from that program get saved to the installation directory of the game it was taken in. So GW2 screenshots will be saved in the GW2 installation folder. If you put it onto another game then screenshots for that game will be saved to that game’s installation folder. Helps to keep game screenshots organized to each game they were taken in.

Due to Print Screen being the screenshot key for the program, you may still see the ‘screenshot folder is full’ message from the game due to also using the game’s screenshot key. If you bind a different key to your in-game screenshot key then that will leave Print Screen only bound to the program’s screenshot function so you will not get that message anymore when you take a screenshot.

Happy gaming!