Champions Latest sever/network issues OR?

mrinfinitum

A few weeks ago, my EVGA GTS 250 (1gig) vid card died...
Since then I have been trying to get two older BFG 8600GT Overclocked running well and stable in Champions Online and more recently trying to do the same with Neverwinter...
I had found a few connection-attempt hogs like Nero InCD (which I never use) so uninstalled. However, after a manual driver update to 307.90 seemed to be working rather well with single 8600GT. With slightly lower settings than my previous card, of course.
-Figured, "hey, if it WAS working so stably with single card why not SLI it with the other I have just like it for that purpose?"
-Popped in the 2nd 8600GT OC (with bridge) and tried playing CO and NwO, MOST of the time it is playable, but would eventually lock-up or BSOD (usually with some reference to a device driver). MOST of the time in Trainspotting ALERT and very rarely in the Boss-Villain fight's of Bursts or Grabs in Champions,
For Neverwinter, it would eventually lock-up crash or BSOD when entering or exiting an instanced quest.
-Updated to Nvidia video driver 314.07 and the Nvidia Profile Update 3 that supposedly added performance increases for SLI and Champions.
-Did not receive BSODs at this point, but would still lock-up at Same points every once and awhile in both games...
Neverwinter of course released its open beta and tried that as well, installing newer 314.22 Nvidia video drivers, because they are supposed to add additional support for 9x SLI (even though these cards are both Direct9X and Direct10X).
-At this point I no longer get BSODs when either of the games lock they just LOCK...forcing, of course, a hard boot/power cycle.
-Checking Error Logs via Event Viewer I find no errors or warnings...

SO, after all that what I am wondering ...
Is it possible that such crashes are related to the connection/network issues Cryptic servers have been having as of late? ESPECIALLY since I haven't been finding any BSODs are errors on my computer's end?

flamingbunnyman

You said that everything was fine until you put in the second video card. That makes me think that the second card is damaged. Try removing the first card that worked by itself, and playing the game on just the second. If you still get the crashes, it's most likely that the one card is damaged.

honestresearcher

By the sound of it it sounds like one of a few things...the first one being the most important, the last one being unlikely and technical:

1. Its possible Cryptic games just arent built for dual-gfx cards, but still this shouldnt cause a hang. So first thing is first, do you get these hangs on any other games? (second card could be faulty, not bridged correctly or not recieving enough power) Try switching the cards around or trying the second one on its own.

2. Often times, using OLDER drivers instead of the latest ones, can fix a lot of problems for YOUR cards if they are of a previous generation. Have you tried old versions of your drivers?

3. Being that it could be hanging when your second card is trying to be used by a game and it hang like that...it sounds like your bridge/crossfire connector may be the culprit or that the 2 cards arent recieving enough power from your PSU and crapping out when the demand is too high. So i have to ask you some things:
A. What amount of power is your PSU capable of? (the cards may be hanging when asking for power it simply doesnt have enough capacity to give)
B. Are you using the correct Bridge cables?

4. If you are overclocking, are you checking your temps and positive you arent overheating? You probably wanna keep your cards under 75'c, especially on Champions as this game should really be using your CPU more than your GPU.

5. If you took part in the Lemurian Invasion and THAT is when your problems started happening, it can only mean one thing. You are one of the many victims, of which The Harbinger has melted many peoples hardware.

---

RARE PROBLEM: If you are using Windows 8 x64bit, make sure you have all "Hardware Temperature Monitors" like 'Open Hardware Monitor' or any apps or any Windows Temperature Widgets COMPLETELY CLOSED.

I find on mine, my games hang many times whilst any temperature checking software is on.

mrinfinitum

Let me clarify...
I had these issues intermittently, very rarely, when using my GTS250. BUT since didn't happen at the same places, and at least 1/2 the time it was when others were experiencing lag and connection-losses, I assumed it was just the occasional connection/game/lag issue and oops game glitched.
Once I was forced to start using an older BFG 8600GT OC vid card, when the EVGA GTS250 died (not from the Lemurian events, literally, just over 2 weeks ago late that Wednesday night ), answered my own question: Yup the video card died or was in the process...
Power-wise my PSU is a 650Watt and, I've checked to make sure, the power requirements for a single 8600GT OC (256MB, 128 bit) card is 450 Watts, and 2x8600GT in SLI has the same power requirements.
ALSO, both of the 8600GT cards have no external/auxillary power cables; they are both powered-off the SLI-bus.Though I thought, perhaps the same thing, but WHY wouldn't the cards, if failing under duress/heavy load, now lock-up/vid freeze/sound begins to stutter-repeat at SPECIFIC places like the bridge load in Trainstopping, but I can be fighting, in an alert, with lots of mobs, LOTS of power effects, explosions and so on...but not have that problem?
Also, I stopped using these 8600GT cards on a previous computer build and bought the EVGA GTS 250 vid card at that point, because they were hard to get working stably with Neverwinter Nights 2 Storms of Zehir, Enemy Territory Quake Wars and City of Heroes at the same time with older drivers.
Comp Stats:
Lian-Li PC65 Silver Case with Plexi-side and two additional 60mm fans(one pulling air out of case right above the first video slot.
650W Modular PSU(yes all cables have been double checked)
EVGA 760i SLI FTW mobo
Intel Core2Quad Q6600+
4gigs of Corsair XMS memory (5,5,5,15, 1T timings)
2 X BFG8600GT overclocked(stock) in SLI
[currently 314.22 Nvidia video Drivers and Profile Update 3 for Neverwinter SLI and Champions Performance respectively(supposedly), which the Nvidia XML Profile Update did seem to crisp and smooth out-when servers weren't dropping, of course]
OS: Windows XP SP3
(32bit, YES I want 64bit Windows 7, and have 8 gigs of SLI-ready memory I could use when do, but money is TIGHT)
1 x Western Digital 640Gig SATA drive as Boot-drive
2 x 300Gig Maxtor SATA drives as additional storage
1 x LG DVD/CD read/write drive
1920x1200 native at 60Hz LG Flatron Wide 24' LCD monitor
60' watt (externally powered) 3 speaker audio (subwoofer and two satellities)

PC, Monitor, speakers, cable router/switch and wireless router all powered by my 1000Watt APC back-up Power Supply.

Thank you for you suggestions/ideas

honestresearcher

Hmmm intermittent problem, whilst the rest of your gameplay is fine...on multiple games. I dont think it's your graphics cards at all.

Right, that makes me think of a coupla things... If your problem happens a lot when loading or going into loading, that rings an alarm bell to me that it could be:

1: HardDriveDisk read/write faliur. (should be able to google some software which does a test)

or

2: One of your Corsair RAM sticks has a (not so often) bad-read (again there is software to test ram)
When you get any BSOD's (if you still do) does it mention something on the lines of: "Could not read from 0xA0109030 (or any other code)
This would suggest a bad ram stick causing you the crashes during moments of heightened loading..(for which CO has WAY TOO MANY LOAD SCREENS -,- thus causing this to happen to you a LOT more)

mrinfinitum

I do NOT (or rather have NOT) had a blue screen since started using the newer drivers and the SLI Profile Update. Only the lock-up/sound-stutter crash at very specific points of CO or NwO. Though, yes, NOT every time I hit those situations...(like WHY Trainspotting?)
Also, doing some more searching around (the interwebs) I came across someone who was also having issues with SLI and 2 x 8600GT OC cards where at least some of his issues (and especially any BSODs he was having) were corrected by discovery of the fact that his two cards had slightly different bios versions...
Yup, being that the 2 cards are the same make, model and manufacturer, I wondered...
Apparently one BFG8600GT-OC 256MB card (I'm assuming the slightly younger one) is using this bios version:
60.84.35.00.65

While (assuming slightly older) BFG8600GT-OC 256MB card is using this bios version:
60.84.35.00.11

So, I am guessing I HAVE to flash one of the cards to the other bios (obviously saving the two different bios for later restoration if necessary).
Please tell me there is some relatively easy (and mostly reliable) way to do this...especially since BFG no longer sells/makes video cards =/

honestresearcher

Cant help much there, only flashed a motherboard Bios once. I have strong doubt that differing (yet very close date) bios' would be the cause of the problem.

mrinfinitum

Well, thanks everyone so far for suggestions and ideas. :biggrin:
CURRENTLY: running freshly installed 314.07 nNvidia vid drivers
and Nvidia SLI Profile Update 3

I haven't had a lock-up or crash after hours of blood moon antics on Bear Lake last night, and hours of same again today and some bursts and other alerts...SO
I'll eventually get the gall to try Trainspotting again and see if it causes an issue...but good so far
I'll just hold-off on touching NwO until other supposed updates have been made to its code to allow me to touch it. CO is more important to me.

mrinfinitum

UPDATE:
Everything has been running smoothly, gaming in CO for hours on end as my fiancee' is away this weekend until this evening. Finally, got the gall, the "stones" or what have you, to try Trainspotting again...
Just rebooted from a lock-up/freeze video/sound stutter crash...made it a few seconds into the loading onto the bridge, waited 2 seconds, used the mouse pointer to close the info on the alert, moved around a little without looking over the bridge edge yet and by 8 to 10 seconds in...video froze with the sound beginning to stutter/repeat about 4 seconds after that.

Upon hard-rebooting/power cycling, sadly expecting the off-chance this crash was about to happen...
No ("System recovered from serious error" send report to Microsoft) message and the only error I found in Microsoft OS Event Viewer was this:

Event Viewer -> System -> (red X)Error -> Service Control Manager
Type: Error Event ID: 7006
"The ScRegSetValueExW call failed for FailureActions with the following error: Access is denied."

Help and Support Listing is as follows:
Product: Windows Operating System
ID: 7006
Source: Service Control Manager
Version: 5.0
Component: System Event Log
Symbolic Name: EVENT_CALL_TO_FUNCTION_FAILED_II
Message: The %1 call failed for %2 with the following error:
%3
Explanation
The service controller could not set a registry entry's value for a function that it requires for operation.
User Action
Contact your technical support group.

I have never seen this particular error until this particular crash and seeking answers via Google of the event ID and so on of the error has returned largely issues with AVG antivirus software. Specifically, suggesting unchecking the box for a particular setting called, "AVG Self-Protection". I have now unchecked said box and am going to go play the game (AVOIDING Trainspotting alerts again for the time being and see how it goes).

honestresearcher

Sounds like a permission confliction. Maybe an aspect of AVG is denying your HDD permission to write in areas like important registry.

Its all wierd to me...but if it is a software issue, you could...and i hate doing this as a solution..format the HDD, wipe the difficult problem out with a quick format.

Might save you a looot of time looking for a problem that hides itself in software.

mrinfinitum

YEa, see I am REALLY trying to hold-off redoing the whole format re-install and update..."stuff" on this machine. For a full reinstall that way, clean, and updated takes me about 11.5 hours...from all the copy/read/write/install/reboot cycles required.

I am currently trying to put aside some extra money towards a copy of Windows 7 64bit OS so that I can go from using 4 gigs of memory (that my 32bit Windows XP can only see 3.6 gigs on the average day...) to 8 gigs of SLI-Ready memory at 1066 mhz.
That Windows only sees 3.6 gigs of the 4 in there now, I think possibly leading to memory hole type effects In My Opinion, because an SLI system puts aside a certain amount of memory for the SLI bridge and card(s).
However, I have no idea WHERE in memory it decides to take such allotment (hopefully at lowest registers), and/or how the available memory for Windows and other programs get shunted around because of what SLI uses...
SEEMS to me that it might every once and a while glitch by trying to read and write from memory in the upper range that Windows doesn't recognize. I just don't get why even though I have played Burst Alerts,
with the ridiculous amount of glowies, explosions, other players and ambient effects, and all sorts of Blood Moon events with lots of people and power effects and so on,
that this same lock-up/freeze crash occurs???

Also, this again, is the first time I have seen this particular error and it just happens to be the only error that I could find within the last minute or two; as I immediately hard-booted after I was sure it was a crash.