Intense lag on Win7 64-bit

Hi,

I've been getting very heavy lag while trying to play on my desktop. I have a Core I5 with 12 gigs of ram and an Nvidia Geforce 9500 GT video card. In general, the lag takes about 5 mins to appear, lasts between a minute to 90 seconds, and then is gone. It happens again about 5 mins later. This cycle repeats. I've not played much for the past 2 years due to this, but I'd like to see if anyone can help me to resolve the issue.

My system was recently rebuilt. I reinstalled Windows 7 on a new 2 TB hard drive, and moved my old 500 GB drive over to be a secondary. The issue persists on this new installation, as it did in the old one.

Here are some screenshots of the lag hitting. I always play with the netgraph and showfps turned on, so those are captured in the screenshot as well.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6...14504ea0_o.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6...80258d5a_o.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6...bca9eeff_o.jpg

I apologize for the above links. Apparently, Flickr just changed their policies so I can't link to my images the way that I used to. I'll grab Hijack This and run it and post the results as well.

Also - I've been experiencing this problem with the graphics settings on low, and actually experienced slightly lower durations of lag with the settings turned up. I don't think its necessarily COH. I think that its either network or drive-activity related.

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4
Scan saved at 12:17:09 PM, on 1/25/2012
Platform: Windows 7 SP1 (WinNT 6.00.3505)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v8.00 (8.00.7601.17514)
Boot mode: Normal
Running processes:
C:\Program Files (x86)\TeamViewer\Version7\TeamViewer.exe
C:\Program Files\TRENDnet\TEW-641PC_TEW-643PI\WlanCU.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\DivX\DivX Update\DivXUpdate.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Avira\AntiVir Desktop\avgnt.exe
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\FlashUtil11e_Ac tiveX.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Trend Micro\HiJackThis\HiJackThis.exe
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.yahoo.com/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = C:\Windows\SysWOW64\blank.htm
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
F2 - REG:system.ini: UserInit=userinit.exe
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O2 - BHO: Increase performance and video formats for your HTML5 <video> - {326E768D-4182-46FD-9C16-1449A49795F4} - C:\Program Files (x86)\DivX\DivX Plus Web Player\ie\DivXHTML5\DivXHTML5.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In SSV Helper - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [avgnt] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Avira\AntiVir Desktop\avgnt.exe" /min
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [DivXUpdate] "C:\Program Files (x86)\DivX\DivX Update\DivXUpdate.exe" /CHECKNOW
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SUPERAntiSpyware] C:\Program Files\SUPERAntiSpyware\SUPERAntiSpyware.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Xvid] C:\Program Files (x86)\Xvid\CheckUpdate.exe
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-1458980607-3878485907-910811802-1001\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'UpdatusUser')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-1458980607-3878485907-910811802-1001\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'UpdatusUser')
O4 - Global Startup: Adobe Gamma Loader.lnk = C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Calibration\Adobe Gamma Loader.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Wireless Configuration Utility.lnk = C:\Program Files\TRENDnet\TEW-641PC_TEW-643PI\WlanCU.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL
O16 - DPF: {FD0B6769-6490-4A91-AA0A-B5AE0DC75AC9} (Performance Viewer Activex Control) - https://secure.logmein.com/activex/ractrl.cab?lmi=722
O23 - Service: SAS Core Service (!SASCORE) - SUPERAntiSpyware.com - C:\Program Files\SUPERAntiSpyware\SASCORE64.EXE
O23 - Service: Adobe Acrobat Update Service (AdobeARMservice) - Adobe Systems Incorporated - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\armsvc.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Alg.exe,-112 (ALG) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Avira Scheduler (AntiVirSchedulerService) - Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG - C:\Program Files (x86)\Avira\AntiVir Desktop\sched.exe
O23 - Service: Avira Realtime Protection (AntiVirService) - Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG - C:\Program Files (x86)\Avira\AntiVir Desktop\avguard.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\efssvc.dll,-100 (EFS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\fxsresm.dll,-118 (Fax) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\fxssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @keyiso.dll,-100 (KeyIso) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @comres.dll,-2797 (MSDTC) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\msdtc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\System32\netlogon.dll,-102 (Netlogon) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (nvsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Update Service Daemon (nvUpdatusService) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\NVIDIA Updatus\daemonu.exe
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\psbase.dll,-300 (ProtectedStorage) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\Locator.exe,-2 (RpcLocator) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\locator.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\samsrv.dll,-1 (SamSs) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\snmptrap.exe,-3 (SNMPTRAP) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1 (Spooler) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\sppsvc.exe,-101 (sppsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\sppsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Stereoscopic 3D Driver Service (Stereo Service) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\3D Vision\nvSCPAPISvr.exe
O23 - Service: TeamViewer 7 (TeamViewer7) - TeamViewer GmbH - C:\Program Files (x86)\TeamViewer\Version7\TeamViewer_Service.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vaultsvc.dll,-1003 (VaultSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vds.exe,-100 (vds) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\vds.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\vssvc.exe,-102 (VSS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\vssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\wbengine.exe,-104 (wbengine) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbengine.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: WlanWpsSvc - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\TRENDnet\TEW-641PC_TEW-643PI\WlanWpsSvc.exe
O23 - Service: @%Systemroot%\system32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe,-110 (wmiApSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbem\WmiApSrv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe,-101 (WMPNetworkSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe (file missing)
--
End of file - 8139 bytes

Here's COH Helper information:

---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.2.0.2---
DxDiag gathered at January 25, 2012 12:20 (-05:00)
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: P55M-UD2
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Central Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.8GHz
Memory: 12288MB
.Net Memory Report: 10329MB out of 12283MB available
Page File: 21849MB (2715MB currently in use)
C Drive: (WDC WD20EARS-00MVWB0 ATA Device) 1550220MB out of 1907626MB (81%) free
E Drive: (WDC WD5000AADS-00M2B0 ATA Device) 71MB out of 99MB (71%) free
F Drive: (WDC WD5000AADS-00M2B0 ATA Device) 334990MB out of 476837MB (70%) free
D Drive: (ATAPI iHAS124 A ATA Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 11
DirectX Diag version: 6.01.7601.17514 (64-bit version)
Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.
No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.
Monitor:
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT
Manufacturer / Chip: NVIDIA / GeForce 9500 GT
Video Memory: 4069 MB
Driver Version: 8.17.12.8562
Driver Date: 10/15/2011 3:53:00 AM
Driver Language: English
Sound Device Description: Speakers (High Definition Audio Device)
Driver File: HdAudio.sys
Driver Version: 6.01.7601.17514
Driver Date: 11/20/2010 10:23:47 PM
Sound Device Description: Digital Audio (S/PDIF) (High Definition Audio Device)
Driver File: HdAudio.sys
Driver Version: 6.01.7601.17514
Driver Date: 11/20/2010 10:23:47 PM

WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: P55M-UD2
Motherboard Version: x.x
BIOS Manufacturer: Award Software International, Inc.
BIOS Name: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
BIOS Version: GBT - 42302e31
BIOS Release: 20090731000000.000000+000

Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1680x1050
3D Resolution: 1680x1050 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: Yes
Maximized: No
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes

Physics Quality: High
Maximum Particles: 50000
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No

Anti-aliasing: Off
Anisotropic Filtering: 4x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: Ultra quality
Bloom: 1.000 (turned on)
Depth of Field Enabled: Yes
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: High

World Texture Level: Very High
Character Texture Level: Very High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 1.000
Entity Detail Level: 1.000
Shadows Enabled: No
Shadow Mode: Unknown (4)
Shadow Map Shader: High quality
Environmental Reflections: High quality
Advanced Occlusion Settings: No
Ambient Occlusion: High quality
Occlusion Strength: Strong
Blur: Trilateral
Ambient Resolution: Quality

Gamma Correction: 0.900
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: No
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: Yes
Audio Mode: Performance
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 0.099
Music Sound Volume: 0.000
Show Advanced Graphics Options: No
Overall Graphics Quality: 1.000
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: Unknown bytes/second
Current Game Version: ?
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\NCsoft\City of Heroes
Mod files in the Data directory
No modifications found

Okay, the netgraph in the lower right corner shows your ping going nuts (over a second in the 3rd screenshot). I get this also and it can be measured with tools outside of CoH and has nothing to do with the game (in my case, at least). It happens whether CoH is running or not and it can get bad enough to be noticeable during web browsing. My ping will sometimes go as high as 2500.

I've tried to correct this many times over the past 2 years but have met with no success. This last time, after my recent rebuild/reinstallation of Windows 7, I installed COH via the NCSoft Launcher before updating the rest of the system or even installing antivirus software. The only updated software was the Nvidia driver. The lag was present. I've made no progress.

Due to this, I believe that the root of the problem is either with Windows, or with my network connectivity. I did try another post-apocalyptic MMO earlier this month (I know we can't name other games) when I couldn't get COH running properly, and it suffered from similar lag, as well as an online RTS/empire building game, which also did the same. Neither of these two games are installed since reinstalling Windows last week.

I notice you have Ultra Mode options turned on for your GeForce 9500 GT card. While that's not going to affect your network bandwidth, the card really isn't powerful enough to handle them, and you'll see better general performance if you turn them off. (Once you get the network issues straightened out, I'd suggest your next PC upgrade be for your video card.)



Other than that, the issues you're describing sound like a network bottleneck. How are you connecting to the internet? Are you using wireless? Do you own the router, or is it rented from your provider?

I had issues with my wireless signal dropping out for no reason (and even my wired desktop would lose connection on occassion!) when I moved a couple months back, and in order to get it to go away, I had to reset the router to the factory default and reconfigure it from scratch. It's a boring way to spend a couple hours, but it's worth a shot.

If this happens as regularly as you say, you can also call your internet provider and ask them to monitor your connection while it's happening. They'll be able to let you know whether it's an issue on your side or something between your home and the rest of the web (though if it's the latter, don't expect them to be able to do much to fix it).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nethergoat it's NEVER too late to pad your /ignore list!

Hi Chad,

I'm connecting to the internet via wireless card. I was using a wireless N USB card from Belkin, but when I picked up the new hard drive last week, I grabbed a wireless N PCI card from TrendNet (and since it was cheap, upgraded from 4 GB of RAM to 12 GB as well). The internet has been working faster with the PCI card than it was with the USB.

My router is from Linksys. I can't remember the model offhand. Its a wireless G, which I also plan on upgrading to a wireless N. I just didn't remember to do it when I was at Microcenter. The modem is owned by Cablevision. My provider is Optimum Online. Connectivity to it is great. The PCI card shows full bars all the time (I'm upstairs and the router is downstairs). My wife's tablet and her laptop also get good signal strength when we take either one to the basement for streaming. Every few months, I unplug the router and modem, just to keep them a little fresh. The last time I did this was last month. It was actually due to a blackout caused by a rainstorm.

Is there any way I can monitor the connection for myself, before calling the provider? Should I run a constant ping to one of the COH servers? I tend to have the Task Manager and Performance Monitor running when I try to play... for the longest time I've not even really tried to play, I've been watching the lag on the Task Manager & Performance Monitor and trying to figure out what could be causing it. So far, I've found nothing conclusive on the machine itself. I Google every process that's unfamiliar to me and experimented with ending processes to try and use process of elimination to figure out if a process or service was causing the lag. That's actually what caused me to go out and buy new hardware last week. I ended the wrong process and crashed the computer. System Restore didn't quite work. System Repair didn't work at all. I ended up grabbing the new HD and performing a reinstall. I've learned to be a lot more cautious when ending tasks.

9500 GT with a i5 750? That is like stuffing a 3cyl engine into a sports car. 9500 GT was the cheap low end card from 4 years ago. I think your game settings are a tad bit too optimistic.

I also run Window 7 X64 using an Alienware with 12 gigs DDR3 RAM. Even though I have fiber optic download at T5 speed, I still need to run Clean disk and defrag at least twice before I start playing COH. It also helps to run a consistency check before you begin the log in process. This is especially important if you have just left FB. Zinge drops more temp files on your computer than any other website, my professional IT opinion. Also, if you are using a “G” wireless and an “N” receiver or the opposite connection, please realize all bandwidth will be established by slowest access point/receiver and therefore be limited to the G speed. The first thing I would do would be to change both to N. Cisco bought Linksys several years ago and they both maintain high quality routers/switches and offer great tech support. Another and cheapet solution may be to purchase a “Dumb Hub”, hook the main feed into the hub, and run a CAT5E from an available RJ45 port directly to your computer. The distance is limited to 50 feet with CAT5E. You can purchase the more expensive CAT6 cable and reach 75 - 100 feet. Granted you'll have CAT5 cable running out the window or down the hall but it wioll be the fastest available. Good luck, Doc Artz, EnChancer

Hi,

like in a similar Thread your Registry has serious issues (examples below)....

C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1 (Spooler) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\sppsvc.exe,-101 (sppsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\sppsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Stereoscopic 3D Driver Service (Stereo Service) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\3D Vision\nvSCPAPISvr.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vaultsvc.dll,-1003 (VaultSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)

There has been done serious damage, try a reg cleaner or if that wont help a clean fresh install can help (i know thats a Pita but sometimes necessary).

Greetings

For those smart-phone users out there. I've come to use a tools like Wifi Analyzer and Wifi Radar to see what channels are populated when configuring my network. I'm not sure how much it has helped, but I definitely haven't had any multiple device on same IP conflicts since!

Hi All,

I brought the machine downstairs and was finally able to test using a wired connection tonight. The game was stable and lag-free for about 16 minutes. After this, the lag returned for about 90 seconds. I didn't wait longer to see if the pattern repeats, but I'm sure that it will.

Before I tested COH, I disabled the wireless adapter and ran ping tests to Yahoo and Google, which are my usual targets. They returned exactly the same response rates as the wireless connection.

My brother-in-law also came by to work on some stuff with me earlier in the afternoon. He brought his laptop (I had to correct an issue with the DVD drive) which also runs COH. He has an older Core2Duo, running Vista, and had no lag issues running the game over my wireless connection.

So, its probably my machine, since his didn't exhibit any of the problems that mine has, over the same connection. We tested separately, and together. At no time did he lag. I lagged with each test.