Guild Wars 2

What was the BSOD code associated with that BSOD you had? Perhaps that can point us in the right direction. Are you overclocking any part?

Hmmm, so having the second monitor without running Guild Wars 2 works fine, like you can watch movies on both your laptop screen and your external screen?

I have had a similar experience with an HDMI splitter for my main monitor in my dual monitor configuration. The HDMI splitter on my main monitor made my monitors freak out like it wasn’t sure if I was trying to dual screen or single screen and kept ‘flickering’ in and out. I moved the HDMI splitter over to the other monitor and everything was great. Maybe it is a limitation with the monitor or maybe a limitation with the graphics card. I’m not really sure.

Try other full screen games with the monitor connected and see what happens. If it produces the same results as Guild Wars 2, then I think its outside ArenaNet’s control.

Well, if I were you I would wait for more cash and pony up for a new powersupply that has more than 1 PCIe connector…then that will open up some more powerful cards worth upgrading to.

Unless this problem with Nvidia is within-the-past-week-recent, then there is no actual problem and its a problem isolated to the user proclaiming such problem. I run an Nvidia card and my siblings run Nvidia cards. All of us don’t have problems running the game and run at the expected range of FPS for our CPU/GPU combo.

So that 40C and 51C is for idle and load for the CPU right? I would also check to make sure your graphics card isn’t overheating either. You can use GPU-Z to monitor this temperature if you don’t already have software that can monitor your graphics card. GPU-Z can be found here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2244/techpowerup-gpu-z-v0-7-1/mirrors

From what you have pasted in, it looks like a memory issue. Lets try running memtest on your RAM, you can do this with a flash drive (I’m with you, CD/DVD is a dead technology IMO). Make sure to run memtest while a single stick of RAM is in your computer. Then, swap out the stick of RAM for another after it memtest completes a few passes. Memtest can be found here: http://www.memtest.org/

Yeah, you’re looking at getting new either way if you decide to upgrade. I have to say though, if you’re still running on a C2D, its about time to upgrade.

I’m assuming you have an Nvidia graphics card, am I right? If so, which one and what operating system do you have (ie Windows 7 x64) so I can point you in the right direction to download some graphics drivers.

I’m not sure what else to say. Maybe try deleting the local.dat file, it can sometimes make strange things happen. Beyond that, I would just submit a support ticket and see what ArenaNet has to say on the matter.

With laptop hardware, you won’t be changing the hardware unless you’re really familiar with computers. You can upgrade a desktop easily enough, upgrading a laptop really isn’t possible very often.

http://www.geforce.com/drivers/results/62791 is the link to the latest drivers that came out last week. If that doesn’t work we’ll work on checking to make sure everything is operating at a proper temperature. What resolution are you running it at, 1080p?

Do you run 64bit or 32bit Windows 7? Also, with that card, I would try lowering settings, that is a really bad card for gaming.

Well, if I had to toss my vote in with either of those machines, it would be the portable. It’s running a much newer processor at a lower clock rate, but that clock rate difference shouldn’t matter much, the Sandy Bridge architecture is much better than whatever that C2D is on. The portable also has more RAM and the RAM is faster. The hard drive is slower, but that will only affect load times. The graphics card in your desktop is a little dated and also a DDR3 version (but I assume you meant GDDR3 since I don’t think a DDR3 version exists). The 540M is a little newer, but performs about the same as a 4850 GDDR3. The 540M uses less power though, so I consider the 540M a winner.

I would try downloading the latest drivers for your graphics card and make sure that isn’t causing you any grief. I can assist you if you let me know what graphics card you have and what operating system you run.

Doomguard.5094:

Ilithis Mithilander.3265:

Doomguard.5094:

Ilithis Mithilander.3265:

My tip is to use windowed-full screen, its the setting I use. Is there a reason you would rather play in normal windowed mode than windows-full screen?

The option I am trying to use is in fact Windowed Fullscreen, and I do not have an 800×600 anywhere under the available options, but when I choose any of the windowed options (both normal and window and fullscreen) the game automatically resizes the resolution even further than the lowest I can select manually (which is 1024×786) to what I can only guess is 800×600.

I would try deleting the local.dat file and then launch the game and change the settings you desire. Perhaps you can even edit the local.dat file to see that the settings are being forced to run at 800×600 and change it to whatever resolution you desire. I’ve never opened the local.dat file to see what is inside, but I do know it contains all the game’s settings that you set, like whether you play on high or low graphics settings, etc.

Hmm good ideas, will I have to redownload anything again when I delete this local.dat? Also is editing local.dat legal?

You shouldn’t have to download anything new when you delete the local.dat, the game will just auto-magically create a new one. As for the legality of editing the local.dat, no idea. I can’t imagine that it would cause anyone any harm what-so-ever since its just messing with the game’s settings.

Doomguard.5094:

Ilithis Mithilander.3265:

My tip is to use windowed-full screen, its the setting I use. Is there a reason you would rather play in normal windowed mode than windows-full screen?

The option I am trying to use is in fact Windowed Fullscreen, and I do not have an 800×600 anywhere under the available options, but when I choose any of the windowed options (both normal and window and fullscreen) the game automatically resizes the resolution even further than the lowest I can select manually (which is 1024×786) to what I can only guess is 800×600.

I would try deleting the local.dat file and then launch the game and change the settings you desire. Perhaps you can even edit the local.dat file to see that the settings are being forced to run at 800×600 and change it to whatever resolution you desire. I’ve never opened the local.dat file to see what is inside, but I do know it contains all the game’s settings that you set, like whether you play on high or low graphics settings, etc.

My tip is to use windowed-full screen, its the setting I use. Is there a reason you would rather play in normal windowed mode than windows-full screen?

I can likely explain the Michotl Grounds problem you are running into. My system just can’t handle the swamp fractal due to the swamp-like effects (and the name of the place makes it sound Hylek swampy), mainly reflections. Turn your reflections down a notch and your FPS should revert back to normal in that area. If the reactor near Muridian Waypoint has the same swamp-like quality then the reflections turn-down might help there as well. Sorry, I don’t play much in those areas anymore.

Sounds like the partition isn’t NTFS and its FAT32. FAT32 limits the size of files stored on the partition to 4GB which Guild Wars 2 is about 4 times the size of that limit. Maybe you’re not a hardcore gamer or only have a few games installed, but 40GB for the partition for games seems kind of small, especially when you consider that Guild Wars 2 is about 15.5GB of that 40GB.

TinkTinkPOOF.9201:

Not sure if your link is down or what, but the link just goes to the hosts main page and not a file DL page. Check that and reupload it. If your temps were in spec, the new HS will not change anything. What is your system spec? Can you list all parts and model numbers?

Does it BSOD any other time or just GW2?

Were you referring to the memtest link? If so, I have no control over that website since I have nothing to do with memtest besides being a consumer of their product. The download is about halfway down the page.

I would cancel those orders, but I imagine its far too late for that now. Haswell is just around the corner and even with the USB 3 problems, all you have to do is unplug and replug the device back in. No data loss occurs. I’m itching to upgrade too since I have a 930, but I might hold out until Ivy Bridge-EX or even Haswell-EX debuts so I can hop on the 2011 train since its a-kin to the 1366 train I’m on right now.

If you can sell that 460 to someone then I would upgrade, otherwise I would just keep it for now and run that sucker into the ground. Overclock that bad boy and get all she can give you.

Brands of motherboards I love/trust: ASUS and Gigabyte.

If you don’t want to overclock then the non-K 3770 is for you. However, overclocking now a days is so simple that there is little reason to not do a little research and give yourself a boost. When you can go from 2.66 to 4.2 Ghz as I have seen some people on the forum have with their 920’s, you can achieve similar results with the newer processors as well. I hear going from 3.4 to 4.5 isn’t a difficult task, just make sure you have an aftermarket cooler and you’re set.

That is some speedy RAM you have picked out, but I feel like the money spent there could go towards more performance noticeable items like a ‘K’ version of your processor and a nicer after market cooler to boot. Perhaps even a smaller SSD to drop your operating system on. Believe me once you experience an SSD, you’ll never want to go back. My work laptop doesn’t have one while my desktop does and its a night and day difference when either one boots up.*

My work laptop I have full administrative rights over and has no encryption so I have optimized the thing to boot as fast as the hardware allows because I’m impatient with it.

I Cut Like a Buffalo.2375:

Okay, thank you for helping.
I asked my fellow guildies (go TRU!) if they had any laptops they’d recommend. One sent me to Newegg.com and I found this laptop. Think I could get some input on this one from y’all as well?

Lenovo IdeaPad Y500
Notebook Intel Core i7 3630QM(2.40GHz) 15.6" 12GB Memory DDR3 1600 16GB SSD 1TB HDD 5400rpm Dual NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M SLI

I’ve seen this one mentioned before on the forums and I still don’t know how I feel about SLI in a laptop. A single GPU already generates enough heat and adding a second one is only fuel to the fire. With that said though, this is the 650M we’re talking about which I imagine when pushed to its extreme that it won’t generate a ton of heat like the more uppity up cards like the 680MX and 670MX. I’m speaking from what I would expect from this, not from actual experience. The only experience I have with dual card configurations is when I tried tossing a 9800GT in with a GTX 560Ti and the cards were both considerably warmer.

The processor is what I would consider as a minimum for a laptop for Guild Wars 2.

The storage is standard for a laptop besides that 16GB SSD. This will likely house your operating system which will allow the computer to boot up really fast. This however, won’t affect Guild Wars 2’s performance at all.

The amount of RAM is solid as well as its speed.

Overall, much better like Behellagh said.

Perhaps your ISP could boost your signal and double check to make sure your connection is solid. I would basically explain to them that a tracert command to the game server’s IP address timed out prior to reaching ArenaNet’s servers. I would use that screenshot of yours that you posted to help you explain the problem to them if you haven’t already. Then, while you’re at it complain about their service and try to get them to lower your monthly charges. :p

It’s doubtful you’ll get official word on this from a thread, submit a support ticket and you’ll likely get your ArenaNet support you desire. The threads are mainly for the community (unofficial) to help you.

The temperatures thing is just a precaution more than likely the symptoms show its not a temperature problem but… I’m a freak when it comes to monitoring my computer and constantly watch my GPU and GPU temperatures and usages and network usage upstream and downstream by using rainmeter. It’s always better to know and check it off as something not being an issue than leaving it and wondering if everything is really alright.

As for upgrading to 64 bit, yes do so. The specific card having a problem with 32bit systems doesn’t ring a bell for me though. I’m not really sure what else to check, it might be time to submit a support ticket to ArenaNet.

I can’t say I don’t know where you are coming from. My brother had a 9600GT which died out and was replaced by a 9800GT. Since the 9800GT was an insanely awesome card for the price during its prime he had no reason to get anything else until he got BF3 and bought my GTX 560Ti. Anyways enough storytelling…

There is no reason the new graphics card won’t work with the amount of RAM you have. The graphics card has its own RAM it uses. The bad case fan concerns me, inadequate air flow inside your case can lead to blowing hot air on your hot GPU. My computer sounds like a server so I decided maybe to try and see how it went without some fans plugged in. Some fans I didn’t really need, the rear exhaust in my setup is probably the most important case fan and without that plugged in my temperatures rose just over a handful degrees C.

I highly recommend investigating your GPU/CPU temperatures and possibly replacing that broken case fan as well. The real reason case fans exist is for expelling warm air outside the case and sucking in cool air from the other side.

Windows 8 works, I run Windows 8 on my laptop and besides the fact that my hardware sucks on my laptop, Guild Wars 2 runs fine.

Time to check the integrity of your RAM. I would run memtest on your RAM which can be found here:
http://www.memtest.org/

They’re mainly meant for the GTX 780 since the card launched yesterday. However, I can’t say no to new drivers…mmmm drivers…

I’d file a support ticket at this point and see if ArenaNet can’t help more directly. I’m out of ideas besides suggesting bad parts D=

GrloftheCity.8315:

Thanks for the response!

I’ve attached the traceroute details. It’s been over 10 years since I’ve had any networking experience, but it seems like the connection drops before it makes its way around.

It looks like two different problems here, it timed out prior to reaching ArenaNet’s infrastructure which is something your Internet Service Provider might be able to help with. It also timed out when it got within the Austin, TX area which I believe I heard is where ArenaNet’s servers are located. This is likely a combination of both your Internet Service Provider and ArenaNet’s problem. The last IP you reached as NCSoft written all over it:
http://www.ip-adress.com/ip_tracer/64.25.32.82

Just a fun fact, it looks like ArenaNet used the same place for their Guild Wars 1 servers judging from older forum posts from the original game.

Haha, I named mine Chloe and give her a version based on the CPU that she runs on. Essentially everything has changed since the P4 days of version 1…but anyways.

I took a closer look at the log file and forgot that logs append to the file rather than prepend information, so I was looking at the crash from 12-01 last year. I checked a more recent one from 5-22, and saw that there was 4 million page faults…

I know you said that you already checked your RAM with memtest, but I can attest that memtest doesn’t necessarily find all errors. I had a bad stick last year which passed memtest and I eventually weeded it out by process of elimination of running on a few sticks at a time (running 24GB of RAM has its draw backs when things break). I would take a stick of RAM out and run 4GB for a while and see what happens (besides the degraded performance since it looks like you already use a little over 4GB with the game running).

Perhaps try using memtest to test your RAM. I had a bad stick last year when Guild Wars 2 launched and I got blue screens when the RAM was being used/stressed by the game. You can find memtest here:
http://www.memtest.org/

Then for kittens and giggles, I would run a check disk scan on the hard drive that has Guild Wars 2. Simply go to ‘My Computer’ and right click on the hard drive and go to ‘Properties’. Then, head to the ‘Tools’ tab and hit the ‘Check now…’ button in the ‘Error Checking’ section.

I have to say most people have boring PC names that are linked in these logs. Yours however is awesome. I would also edit your log to not show your external IP address (it looks like you recently removed the router from the equation since other crashes in that log show an internal IP address). Normally people hide behind routers and switches, but it looks like you’re hooked directly to the modem right now, which isn’t bad for testing.

Anyways, I would run a check disk scan on your hard drive where Guild Wars 2 resides. To do this, simply go to ‘My Computer’ and right click on the hard drive. Continue to click ‘Properties’ and navigate to the ‘Tools’ tab where you will find a button under the ‘Error Checking’ part that says ‘Check now…’ Let the scan run its course and hopefully it finds nothing wrong with your system.

Maddoghalo.5962:

lol the beginning of the link “ttps” very creative they are getting now a days.

Naw, that’s how the OP edited the link to make sure some unsuspecting user doesn’t click on it. I have gotten two of the above emails as well, but they’re automatically routed to my spam folder.

Just like how I get email that my nonexistant D3 account got hacked or my b.net account was compromised, it was only a matter of time before I got my fake gw2 emails that claim my account was hacked. You know you’ve made it to the big leagues once emails like that go out (good job ArenaNet).

Running down the list of important specifications,
The CPU is alright, it would be better with at least a 3630QM for the extra frequency from the processor since that is what Guild Wars 2 craves to work well.

The graphics card is, for a lack of a better term, gross. With the GT 630M I wouldn’t expect anything above low-medium settings to run at 720p at 30FPS.

The amount of RAM is good, the speed remains a question though. I would shoot for 1600 at least, the stuff you likely have is 1066 or 1333.

No SSD, but this is more of a luxury item and only affects load times for the most part.

1TB will do you good unless you pirate loads of media. My parents have a hard time filling a 500GB drive, so you’re most likely fine.

Overall if you’re spending this much on a laptop toss in a little more and it will make it worthwhile to get a better graphics card and processor. Shoot for a 660M and 3630QM.

You shouldn’t be scared to upgrade to a new operating system. I do however understand why you wouldn’t want to pay for an operating system. The last operating system I purchased was Windows XP, everything else I have gotten free from being a student. While XP was awesome for its day, 7 is the superior system for sure now. Do you at least run 64bit XP? D=

I would try guesting to another server on the character that you are having problems logging in with. If you can get in, make sure to travel to another map before logging off. Then you might be able to use that character on your home server.

Just wait until next week when the GTX 770 launches. My guess is its gunna be at the $500-550 mark with the already leaked specs.

I’m not really sure there is too much for you to do besides redownload the game, this time making sure you don’t nudge anything that might corrupt the game file. However, I can give you some advise when the game is done downloading, and that is to copy that .dat file somewhere else. If your game ever becomes corrupted again and wants you to re-download it, you can say ‘hell naw’ and copy your backup .dat over to the game’s directory. Thus, only having to update back to the current game’s state rather than starting from scratch.

Yup, here is the latest driver for your graphics card:
http://www.geforce.com/drivers/results/62795
You’re in luck, the GTX 780 released today meaning that there is a new set up drivers today as well.

If the new driver doesn’t help and now that I know you’re on a laptop, we’ll check your CPU and GPU temperatures. If you don’t already have software that monitors these temperatures, I recommend using HWMonitor which can be found here:
http://www.cpuid.com/downloads/hwmonitor/1.22-setup.exe

Make sure to measure temperatures when running the game after a few minutes, especially during the times when bad things happen.

SolarNova.1052:

And ofcourse now its the 23rd u can always go balls deep and get the monster that is the GTX 780, its been reviewed and benched, You thought the GXT Titan was good ..ha take a look at the Overclocked vrsions of the GTX 780 >:)

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/gigabyte_gtx780_windforce_review/1

Stock versions come in at £550, so yes its over budget but its the best GPU out by a big margin 20%+ over the 7970ghz and GTX 680.

The Oc’d one is so good, im gunna get one .. hehe ..then i can laugh at all those who watsed money on the Titan :P ..well ok maybe i wont laugh at them, im not that obnoxious ..but ill have a giggle :P

Yeah, I think I might grab a GTX 770 depending how it fares out against the GTX 780. However, this won’t be until they come down in price because 650 for a top tier card is a little ridiculous IMO. I am impressed by how close it comes to the TITAN and how they priced it. I wonder if TITAN prices will drop now? If they don’t I’m going to be surprised because the performance per {insert money type here} just isn’t there for the TITAN now (not thakitten was before but its even worse now).

Yes, the English is terrible, nothing this unprofessional would come to you from any company. The evidence is present in the first “sentence”.

I’m still taken aback about how people can’t spot these things right away.

Try guesting to a different server on your guardian, if you can get on your character, move it to a new map and then you can log off and back on without guesting and hopefully it will work.

Are you overclocking your system? Might want to back it down/retune if you are. I would also make sure your graphics driver is up to date and make sure that your CPU and GPU are not overheating. If you don’t already have software the monitors these temperatures then I would recommend HWMonitor which can be found here:
http://www.cpuid.com/downloads/hwmonitor/1.22-setup.exe

If you haven’t posted this in the bugs sub-forum yet, I would do so since I have a feeling this is more of a bug than something technical support can help you with. The best thing I can think of is reinstall any drivers associated with those peripherals and try a new USB port if possible.

First things first, lets make sure your graphics drivers are up to date. What graphics card do you have and what operating system do you run on? With that information I can guide you to your proper driver.

6GB of RAM is fine, assuming you have 4 sticks where 2 are 2GB each and the other 2 are 1GB each. Otherwise its a slightly strange setup you have.

I haven’t been on to experience the new content yet so I’m a little unaware of what you are referencing content wise, but 30second lag probably has something to do with your network rather than your actual hardware. I would try traceroute to the server’s IP address and see what results are brought back.

You can get the server’s IP by typing /ip like an emote in game. Then open a command prompt in Windows (assuming you’re using Windows) and type “tracert 1.1.1.1” just without the quotes and replacing the fake IP address with the server’s IP address.

theckylistener.5317:

Ilithis Mithilander.3265:

So it looks like you’re using the embedded graphics on your processor which is the bare minimum to play the game. Your processor is pretty nice though.

Native settings with full shaders…are you trying to say you want to play at max settings? What resolution do you play games at/what is the resolution of your monitor(s)? What FPS do you want to achieve while playing the game at your desired resolution and graphics settings? Do you have a budget?

You might also want to pick up another stick of DDR3 RAM since you only have 4GB of RAM and I wouldn’t recommend a machine of that caliber with less than 8GB. What is the current speed of your RAM? You’ll want to match the speed of the RAM along with its timings (ie: 9-9-9-24) so that you won’t have too many hiccups when adding the RAM to your system.

I’m hoping to play with 40+ fps and native res of 1920×1080 with shaders and high textures, ill have to find out what the speed of my RAM is, but I do see that in my speccy report it is 9-9-9-24, my budget is pretty much anything under £400 but could wait longer and save more.

You can do that with mid-high range graphics cards, the one SolarNova linked is what I consider to be a bare minimum to have an enjoyable experience in the game, but my tastes are likely different than everyone else’s tastes. I got my siblings a GTX 650Ti and it works great with their very antiquated C2D E6320. Another sibling runs Guild Wars 2 with a GTX 560Ti which I ran for a while and is a nice mid range card. He got better FPS than I do with my 448 version in some places but he is also running a 3770K while I roll with my older 930. The main reason I wanted the 448 version was for the extra RAM while not necessarily wanting to spend the extra money to spring for a 570.

If you have that much of a budget, I would grab a GTX 660Ti mainly because I’m an Nvidia fan, however, the better card for performance/{insert unit of money here} is AMD’s 7870XT.

The only people I really see who post here with Official ArenaNet tags are Bill and Ashley. Ashley being the more Tech Supportish, I would assume, of the two since Bill seems to have helped make the changes to the recent eyefinity problem people were having. I’m sure Ashley is quite busy if she does more than just troll the forums, like attend to support tickets, or assist those at ArenaNet itself with their own computer related issues. As much as we’d like her to answer all of our questions, that simply isn’t going to happen for one person who probably has other duties besides post on the forums. I’m also sure a lot of the answers we’re seeking are not allowed outside ArenaNet walls or she simply doesn’t have an answer besides something along the lines of “I’m not sure.” which why should someone take the time to go through all the forum posts and post that. It just seems like a waste of valuable time.

Alas, my first white knight post! But seriously, I’m sure they’re busy. It’d be too sadistic to troll the forums and watch people with their problems suffer and just disregard their posts.

I love the reference to the first Guild Wars, I miss that class a lot!

Well you should monitor your CPU/GPU usage to see if they’re indeed working harder when full screen versus windowed mode. You can use afterburner to monitor your GPU usage (among a lot of other important things like temperature and fan speed). Afterburner can be found here:
http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm