Anybody else using Windows 7 64-bit OS with WoW and Zygor -- successfully?

[kreelor]

EDITED: This post ended up in the wrong forum area. I intended to create it in the Alliance Leveling Guide section. Please, move it for me.
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I built a new computer running Win7 64-bit OS, and here lately my game keeps crashing, and/or hanging (with the Windows Task Manager saying "The program wow.exe has stopped responding..."). And, that happens at various times, and not even in battle.

My system is fully up-to-date with all software and drivers.

Are any of you using a setup like mine without these issues? If so, I'm hoping you can tell me what may be causing my issues with WoW. For instance, should I use Windows' "Compatibilty Mode" to run the game, etc. If so, what settings should I use?

Comments appreciated.

[cabby]

Moved this into the General Discussion area since it wasn't really Alliance specific.

I use Win7 64 bit and have no problems with WoW. I do not use any compatibility mode, but if your normal account is not an administrator account you might need to set it to run WoW as an admin. The only other thing I can think of is some type of hardware conflict with your system. Maybe the graphics card is having some type of issue since WoW really uses the graphics compared to a normal desktop or Word.

[kreelor]

Thanks, Cabby. This has been drivin' me nuts. It seems to happen mostly when I move my mouse 'physically,' on my mousepad. It's as though it has difficulty reading/writing the sudden change in angle. I'm just guessing at this, but I used to notice the same thing on my older computer -- with the same MS wireless mouse. But, there are the other couple of issue that happen infrequently, such as the error I mentioned ".... WoW has stopped responding."

My installation for WoW -is- as administrator. You may be right about the graphics, since I'm still using the Intel internal graphics. No physical external card yet, since I haven't won the superlotto yet. heh heh. If you hear of somebody else who may know something about these things, please let me know. Thanks again, for your reply. BTW... the forum did not show any replies to this topic. I found your reply only after I looked at my own to read it again.

[cabby]

Maybe me moving the post confused the forum. Not sure on that one.

If it seems to happen most when you move the mouse, are you using the default mouse drivers that come with Win7 or are you using drivers for the mouse from a disk/download? If you're only using the default ones in Win7 you might want to try going online and searching for specific drivers for the mouse.

[Cartman]

According to THIS test WoW does not run very well with the Intel HD 3000 graphics.
48,2 frames in a low populated area in 1024*768 is not very much.

Did you try with lowest possible settings (it may hurt but can give a clue if it really is the Intel graphics)?

[kreelor]

Windows 7 installed the drivers for my MS mouse when I installed the OS. When going online, to look for possible, latest, mouse-model specific drivers, the results always point back to using the same Microsoft drivers which are already installed. So, I guess the drivers are as up-to-date as I can get them.

As a test, I decided to eliminate the mousepad that I had been using. Since this is an optical mouse, my thought was that the physical surface of the mousepad might have irregularities just enough to cause 'skipping,' or whatever. That same mousepad is also totally black, which in itself might be an issue. So, I'm now experimenting using the mouse on my smooth Formica table surface. I haven't yet tested it fully in WoW.

[kreelor]

Cartman, that was an interesting article and reavealed a lot about the Intel HD 3000 graphics capabilities. I have been playing WoW at the following settings: 1920 X 1080 and "Good" settings in WoW, except I lowered the Shadows and Distant View things. It played okay, and the FR averaged 20fps.

Then, I switched to the "Fair" settings, and the fps average (rather continuously) 30fps. Very playable, and the graphics still look good. I have yet to try lowering rez down to 1280 X 800 (which I what I used to use). Any lower rez than that gobbles up my screen display space! lol. Thanks for your input. I'm serious going to look at getting a physical GPU card, even if it's a rather low-end range, like the one used in the article you linked to. However, the graphics may not be the actual cause to the fatal crashes, hanging, etc. I still keep wondering if it's related to my 64-bit OS and WoW's 32-bit game?

[cabby]

It can't be related to Win7-64 vs. WoW 32-bit client. There would be tons of people having problems. I have that setup and I can play WoW for as long as I can keep my eyes open without it crashing.

Have you done any temperature monitoring while playing WoW? Maybe with the CPU doing all the normal stuff plus the added workload of being the GPU too it's causing over-heating spikes. Another thing, since you have a K processor, are you trying to over-clock it? If so that might be causing a slight instability when WoW is running.

[Cartman]

The game crashing is not related to the 64 bit Windows, I also use it without problems.

Maybe you have an older graphics card that you can use to test if WoW runs better. Some Geforce 8600 or 8800, these things should at least run WoW without crashing.

[kreelor]

Cabby, My temperatures are all okay, even low. The case I chose and the CPU cooler both really help to keep temperatures low. I haven't attempted OC'ing; I'm intimidated by the numerous and confusing parameters that can be set, so I've left it alone. It's fast enough anyway. I "may" have found the cause of the problem, but I won't be positively sure until I've tested longer. I removed the mousepad, and since doing that, I haven't had it "fault" even once. Time will tell.

[kreelor]

Cartman, it's reassuring to hear that it's not related to using the 64-bit OS. There are soooo many 32-bit programs that do not do well with it. I wrote here (in the forum) because there was the possibility that others may have encountered an issue similar to mine. I'm glad to hear nobody has. As soon as finances get a little better for me, I will buy some sort of external GPU.

See my reply to Cabby that I made today. It contains a 'possible fix' that I'm still experimenting with.

[kreelor]

We can mark this as "Resolved".

Thank you all for your considerate responses. I 'think' I can put this issue to rest. I've played the game and used my computer for many hours without one snag, after eliminating the mousepad. So, I guess it's done. All-in-all, I guess I should consider a newer, better mouse (and, of course, an external video card). That will all come later.

I appreciate your replies, even though this topic wasn't quite in the realm of Zygor's addons. But, unless I can play the game, I can't use my Zygor leveling guides! ha ha. Your comments were all worthwhile, and kept me thinking. Thanks!

[wdavis199]

I have a new dell with windows 7 I have tried to run it as admen. but my mouse frezze up how did you get it to work? at all.

[Cartman]

kreelor, good to see you got it working before MoP
And this is the off topic section so anything can be discussed here.
If you plan te get one hell of a graphics card check out Chaos' thread here

wdavis199, does the mouse pointer stop working or does the game completely freeze? Does the mouse still work in Windows?
I think Dell delivers bluetooth mice so if the mouse stops working it may be related to the bluetooth connection. If you have a cable mouse at hand try that one.

[kreelor]

If you plan te get one hell of a graphics card check out Chaos' thread here

You forgot to link to the thread. Heh heh.