Decompression (AGAIN!)

I....am...TIRED of these slow ass decompression sequences.

I did NOT sit Guild Wars in Idle for 500mbs of Factions preview content just so I can sit through an Hourf or slow ass decompression screens.

IT is taking me an hour for 650 files. An hour and a half if these files are "suposedly" big. My system isn't slow OR bogged down by any one program at ALL. All GW does is Saturate the processor and sits there. I'm hoping to see some kind of progress BUT NO.

I'm telling you this needs to be fixed. And if no one here can help me then I will harass Anet until they fix it. This is rediculous.


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SiSoftware Sandra

Processor
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+
Speed : 2.00GHz
Model Number : 3200 (estimated)
Performance Rating : PR3000 (estimated)
Cores per Processor : 1 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Internal Data Cache : 64kB Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way set, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 512kB ECC Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way set, 64 byte line size

Mainboard
Bus(es) : AGP PCI PCIe USB i2c/SMBus
MP Support : 1 Processor(s)
MP APIC : No
System BIOS : American Megatrends Inc. 8.12
System : 939Dual-SATA2
Mainboard : 939Dual-SATA2
Total Memory : 1GB DDR-SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : Acer Labs Incorporated (ALi) ??? (1695)
Front Side Bus Speed : 1x 200MHz (200MHz data rate)

Chipset 2
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 800MHz (1600MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 1GB DDR-SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 200MHz (400MHz data rate)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Default Monitor
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 6800 XT

Physical Storage Devices
Removable Drive : Floppy disk drive
Hard Disk : WDC WD800JD-22JN SCSI Disk Device (75GB)
CD-ROM/DVD : _NEC DVD_RW ND-3520AW (CD 48X Rd, 48X Wr) (DVD 6X Rd, 6X Wr)

Logical Storage Devices
1.44MB 3.5" (A : N/A
Main (C : 45GB (16GB, 37% Free Space) (NTFS)
CD-ROM/DVD (F : N/A

Peripherals
Serial/Parallel Port(s) : 1 COM / 1 LPT
USB Controller/Hub : ALi PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : ALi PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : ALi PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
Keyboard : Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse : HID-compliant mouse
Human Interface : USB Human Interface Device

MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : Standard Game Port
Device : Creative SB Audigy 2 (WDM)

Power Management
AC Line Status : On-Line

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Professional (Win32 x86) 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)

Network Services
Adapter : ULi PCI Fast Ethernet Controller
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That is my specs. ALL SERVICE PACKS AND ALL UPDATES. ALL DRIVERS UPDATED.

Now explain this to me...

Do you run any anti-virus, and if so which one?

i did 3400+ files and 1+ gig download AND the decompressing in less than 3 hours for all of it

and that was on an athlon 2100+ with 3/4 gig value ram

Are you on dial-up Loviatar?

I get this error from time to time myself.

1st, I was getting an update on warp to town then my DSL dropped and picked up, after that it would take forever. It went away after a time.

It decompress's normally for me know but sometime it does take forever like it use to.

Same here, decompression is SO slow, I've just got onto the new Factions PvE, made a new Ritualist, logged in, first place it's loading, Marketplace, taken a good 10 minutes to decompress it all at 54mbps.

I run Avast and I turn it OFF before playing any online game. All utilities are turned OFF when I game.

Yes, my HD is defragged.
My MFT is fine.
All CHKDSK scans are 100% ok.

My other comp, AXP 2600+ used to decompress like a beast. But I have a superior A64 3200+ and ITs slow as grass grows when decompressing.

What kind of compression did they use?! IT sure isn't zip or zlib, nor TarGZ or BZ2. FOR a 1.6GB file in WinRAR would take no more than a minute or two.

I let it go last time I complained because I thought that this issue was over when I checked again. BUT its Happening AGAIN and THIS TIME I REFUSE TO LET IT GO.

I submitted a Tech Support complaint and I am waiting to see what they have to say before I start E-mailing directly to Anet. And If that doesn't happen then I will pressure Gaile and Frog IN GAME until one of them gets the word out.

I would Just HATE to drive all the way to NC Soft's development headquarters in Dallas just to make them see the issue.

Ok. I found a Workaround until Anet decides to fix it.

Before Zoning, go in to Windowed mode and reduce the size a little. This will take some heat off of the processor from running the full game while trying to decompress the file.

I don't know WHY Anet did it like this but The game shouldn't be saturating the CPU while trying to do other functions.

Your telling me. It took about 1hr to download 1500+ files, I have a fast DSL connection its about 500kb a sec. Just after I finally loaded marketplace got some henchies then tried to leave another 1200+ files, and that was sitting there for 30min on 5%. Now after this I really was pissed at arenanet, so I deleted my factions character and emailed them directly about whats happening. Tell you one thing its not the nicest letter to them but no profanity in it. I also said that if there was a monthly fee for this I would cancel it the very next day.

nope.

MY DOWNLOAD WAS A STEADY 320KBYTES/SEC on a 3meg connection.

i had to decompress and look around everywhere i decompressed to so it took a bit o time.

why do you ask about dial up?

Good news my fan kit for my video card came in (and it runs 3x better then before aka time to overclock - not have done so yet)

Bad News Decompression now locks up my machine.

Here's what I'm doing, delete the gw.dat file and let it re-download.
Suspect one of the update's corrupted it... just like the Faction PvP event did last time.

I thought you took a long time to download...that's all.

I tried that.

After a while, the lock ups will happen again.

I did contact Anet Support on this issue and they are looking into it.(supposedly)

Until then, the workaround I posted works great when doing a first time zone into an area.

It works for me, thanks for posting that work around.
It locks my machine everytime (after a re-load) so far (to the point have to hard reset)
Just in full screen mode. Work around works Thank you.

10000+ files....
Wow I end up reinstalling guild wars and this is what happens...

Omeaga X

What is your page file set to?

I found that if I leave GW running and go afk, when I come back my processor is running at max and the computer takes a long while to respond (with GW using most of the processor's resources). I think this is because GW decompresses while the computer is idle. So I suggest leaving GW running overnight or something so it can do this.

Edit: you need to leave GW running at the login screen for this to work.

I can totally understand the OP's frustration. I am having the exact same problem, any time I enter a new area, my computer sits on the decompressing screen for what seems like an age. Minimising the screen helps sometimes, but not all of the time unfortunately, though maybe my mistake was minimising after entering the area and not before...

I will definately be submitting a report about this at some point today.

Well if you run it all night like that...make sure you minimize it. This way your vid card will not go crazy cooling it's self off.

Hrm, when GW was decompressing files, it only took me no more than 2-3 minutes per decompress session. Not sure exactly why alot of you folks are having it take forever. :/

Well it will be slower for others. I have noticed even with my 6mbs connection I can take up to 5 minutes to decompress the files. Other times....matter of seconds.

Definately pretty darn slow for Dial-Up users. I have watch people just logging into a Mission/Area/whatever and we have to wait for over 5 minutes to see their character finally *pop* in to the group. I would think that the majority of regular players will find this problem going away after we all have downloaded most of the new game.

This game can't stay upto date graphic wise if they don't make it better. I believe they are slowly converting this game into a higher demanding program. So the minimum requirements will have to go up. I do not think a P3 800Mhz is the minimum anymore. I have one of those and when Guild Wars first came out it played it fairly well...with 512Mb Ram (Max) and a Ti4200 128 Mb vid card. My Daughter and I had no real problems playing together online...me on my system and she on the P3 800Mhz. Now my P3 is chunky slow...choppy. Not worth the effort.

err..atleast u guys can log in...........

ok sounds like I'm not alone with this Computer has been runnning for overnight and de compressed 1600 files now for the last 3.5 hours it has been decompressing 752 files with 259 to go!!

At this rate I'll never get on for the preview!!

Logging on and off dosen't help at all, and even withsecurity off completle still slo go. Have had problem from saturday morning. Hope it gets fixed soon.

Try Omega X temp solution, don't have GW in full screen mode but running off in a window.

Note I have 3mb DSL it appears that Anet send you a compressed file (to save space / bandwidth) but the decompression happens on your computer.

LOL I thought exactly the same thing...


It just gets slower and slower, am decompressing the guild hall right now, taking....a long time. Used to take about 20 seconds...now 20 minutes and counting.


I blame the way GWs is stored on the HD, one huge file probably messed up to shit inside.


update:

had to shut down guildwars, constant lock-ups, cheers to anet for making 2006 a right GW pain the arse.


Second Update:

Tried again but shut down this 'cachemanager' program i had loaded to try and ease GW load-lag...much faster! (still not as fast as it used to be)

I've been talking to support and they are having me do something.

It's appears that this is *may* (still testing) be working which means (to me, I could be wrong).. something has changed in guildwars where a background program (suspect my antivirus) that did not have issues the decompression process now does.

I want to do more testing before I can confirm or deny this. The 1st step they had me do is remove my video card drivers, then use a program to remove all traces from them from my system, then install the most current one. This did not solve my problem.

I got a response from Anet and its the typical BS:

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"Response (Connon K.) 03/25/2006 06:13 PM
Hi,

Please adjust your paging file. You can do this is by going to START - Control Panel - System - Advanced tab - Performance - SETTINGS - Advanced tab - Virtual memory CHANGE - Custom size -. First set the size to 0 (zero) and confirm the change by clicking OK until you are back to the desktop.

At this point please defragment your hard drive. It is very important to do this between changing the size of the paging file to ensure that it occupies one contiguous section on the hard drive. Do this by opening My Computer. Right-click C:\ and choose Properties. Go to the tools tab and click Defragment Now. Click the button that says Defragment and follow the prompts. Be advised that this step may take a long time depending on how long it has been since the last time you defragmented the drive. You should not perform any other operations on the computer while the defragmenter is running.

After defrag is complete, go back to the virtual memory settings above and set Initial size to 2048 and the Maximum size to 4096 - SET - OK. Please let us know if this helps.

Regards,
Guild Wars Technical Support"

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Let's see what they post next... >.>

The problem was not present when I did what they mentioned.

Seems to work with my AV (Nod32) but on when I uninstall my 3rd party firewall (Sysgate Personal Firewall) the problem has not come back.

Another lame ass response:
-------------------------------------
Response (Donovan) 03/27/2006 11:35 AM
Hi,

I would like you to test your memory with this utility. It's a program called Prime 95, and it's essentially a research project run by a couple of people to find the highest prime number. However, also included in the program is a stress test for your computer. Go here

http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

Click p95v2414.exe(1.1MB HTTP) to download the program, then install it. Once you open it, click on Options -> Torture Test. Click Blend and hit OK. It will run a bunch of different tests. Please let it run for at least 8 hours; I recommend starting it before you go to sleep. Once you stop it, you can send us a screenshot of the results or copy and paste them.


Regards,
Guild Wars Technical Support
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This is getting rediculous.

BUT I will play their game until they run out of suggestions and is FORCED to look into the problem. One way or another they will stop BRUSHING ME OFF.

I will keep this thread alive until its resolved.

Have you completely deleted and redownloaded the client? That may do something for ya...

If not, I'm thinking...

Mine turned out to be my Firewall (not the blocking but it "running") causing the problem.

Tech support has to trouble shoot the possible problems. Too small of a page file can cause it, faulty RAM that error checks itself (slowing down) can cause it and prime will show any memory issue up.

My Friend had the same problem, taking forever 'Decompressing'...

So in the end, he re-installed Windows, (Formatted, did a clean install, fresh GuildWars install too) and it fixed the problem... now, im not saying you should do that, but its just a heads up that there may be something else, somewhere in the background thats causing this o_0

Yes, I've done that about 2-3 times already. No effect

@EternalTempest

Does not work for me. ITs slow regardless.

@Ghozer

This is practically a new install. (Did it in early Feb)
I am not gonna reformat and reinstall AGAIN.

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There is a problem with this game running at full blast during these sequences and ANET won't acknowledge that fact. But one way or the other they will fix this. IT completely breaks the game for some. And completely freezes computers for others.

ok, a few things to try... (all these are only temp, Just to see if it makes a diff) (sorry if i repeat any suggested above, but try them in this order, leaving each one in the state as you move onto the next)

1) Disable Firewall
2) Disable anti Virus software (it could be attempting a background scan of the downloaded/compressed files)
3) Load up in Safe Mode, with networking, load up GW, and see if it still happens.
4) Defrag your HDD
5) re-name the Gw.dat file in your GW folder, yes, it will mean re-downloading EVERYTHING, but give it a chance, it could be your file is corrupted.
6) Use Task Manager, Kill off any un-needed/un-wanted tasks, free up some CPU time.


Give thoes a try, im going off to think of some more

1) Tried it.
2) Always do that.
3) Windows won't load the NvIDIA driver in safe mode so that is useless. If you mean Diagnostics mode then I will try it.
4) Did that, read the posts above.
5) Tried that. Didn't make a difference.
6) Useless.

Did you try this?

That is the EXACT "Word-For-WORD" suggestion I recieved today from the weak customer service rep.

I am going to jump through the hoop and reply promptly. Sooner or later they are going to run out of cut and paste replys.

Reason I mention this is the problem went away running on only the MS services, with zero third party stuff running. When I started to slowly re-enable certain things, found out if the firewall was running (not a config issue w/ allowing GW access to the internet) the problem returned. Un-installed the firewall and the problemn went away. Now looking at using a different firewall.

And that quote is from Anet's tech support.

I know...Customer Service/Tech Support...same thing different drive.

Also, I tried it and the only thing it did was speed up downloading a bit. Decompression is still sluggish.

I completly understand your fustration.

I do work in computer tech support. One of the steps they had me do I know it wouldn't work but followed it (no I have messed up mointer driver / dectection issue and non MS WHQL drivers from nvidia ><)

I was guessing it was my anti-virus (scanning the files as the decompress) but was surprised it was my firewall (just it running). It use to work and since my firewall did not change, I know it was a change with GW. Since support for my firewall was dropped (Norton bought out Sysgate and I know what they will say, by Norton Firewall).

If this didn't work, I was about to re-install windows from scratch just to test (I have my pc "imaged" so I can restore it to the exact same state if I wanted to).