Dual/Quad Core CPU Fixes
 

AMD and Intel Dual and Quad Core CPUs both cause problems if you don't have the right drivers, patches and settings. Below I have all of the fixes I am aware of to resolve these issues.

The symptoms of a Dual (or Quad) Core problem are:
1. Character appears to be sliding along then ground when running
2. Character speeds up and slows down oddly while running
3. Character seems to warp around
4. Everquest crashes often shortly after entering the game or even before connecting to the server.
5. The game will run very smooth for a few seconds and then completely lag out and get choppy for a few seconds, then return to normal and smooth again over and over.

Dual Core CPU Fix:

If you are running Windows 7 or Vista, the following should completely fix any Dual Core CPU issues. It may even work on other versions of Windows, but I haven't tried it.

Windows Vista/7 has an option that lets you start an application and set the CPU affinity, which assigns the application to run on a specific CPU in a multi-core system. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Right click on your EQEmu shortcut on your desktop.
2. Click "Properties".
3. Go to the Shortcut tab if you aren't there already (should already be on this tab).
4. Delete everything in the "Target" field, but make sure to leave the "Start in" field alone!
5. Paste the following line into your "Target" field:

6. Click OK and you are ready to start Everquest :D

Note that you will see a window blink quickly before EQ starts, but that is the command prompt doing it's thing and you don't have to worry about it.


If that fix doesn't work, try any of the other possible fixes below.

If you are running an AMD processor, you can fix it by installing the AMD Optimizer and AMD CPU Driver which can both be found here:

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/...1_9706,00.html

For both Intel and AMD, you will want the latest Windows Updates to make sure you have the dual core hotfix. You can also download Windows XP SP3 which includes this update here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

And here is the actual Hotfix by itself if you don't want to update to SP3 completely:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

Windows Vista should not have this particular problem, so there are no patches or updates needed for that part of the problem.


Running in Compatibility Mode to fix Windows Vista and/or Dual/Quad Core CPU Issues:
1. Right click on the Everquest shortcut you created during the eqemu setup process. The wiki page can be found here for information to get setup:
http://www.eqemulator.net/wiki/wikka...akka=PlayGuide
2. Select "Properties".
3. Click the "Compatibility" Tab.
4. Check the box for "Run this program in compatibility mode for:"
5. First try selecting Windows XP from the drop down menu there.
6. Click OK and run Everquest again to see if the problem is resolved.
7. If Windows XP compatibility mode does not resolve the problem, repeat steps 1 through 4 and try all of the other options 1 by 1 until the problem is resolved.

This fix does not work on all systems, but it has definitely helped to resolve issues for many people running Windows Vista and/or Dual/Quad core CPUs.

Finally, if you are still having issues, you can try turning off CPU Throttling which is what changes your processor speed and voltage depending on usage. You can do this by:

Disabling CPU Throttling (AKA Cool N' Quite):
1. Right Click on your Desktop
2. Select Properties
3. Click the Screen Saver tab
4. Click "Power..." in the lower right
5. Select "Always On" from the Power Schemes Drop-Down box
6. Click OK on both windows.

Dual (or Quad) Cores cause crashes, but you may be able to try this as well:
1. Start EQEmu
2. Before logging into the login server, ATL+TAB out of the program and hit CTRL+ALT+DEL
3. Select the 'Processes' Tab
4. Find the eqgame.exe process and right click it
5. Select 'Set Affinity' and then chose CPU 0
6. Return to EQ and run like normal

That concludes all of the most well known dual core issues and should work 99% of the time. If you are still having problems that seem related to a dual core issue, you might want to verify that your motherboard supports your CPU if you build the computer yourself.

Excellent write up - made it stickified

GeorgeS

Thanks for the Sticky :D

I forgot to mention that if none of the above fixes your problem, you should be able to use one of these 2 programs to force EQ to run on 1 processor by setting the affinity from the start.

The first program is called Get And Set and it is fairly self explanatory. You can find it and info on it here:

http://www.geocities.com/edgemeal_so...nity/index.htm

Another program that sets the affinity is called RunFirst. You can find it here:

http://www.activeplus.com/us/freeware/runfirst/

RunFirst is fairly simple to setup for the eqemu, but you need to follow these steps:

Setting up RunFirst:
1. Download the RunFirst zip file in the link above
2. Unzip RunFirst into your Everquest directory
(This next part is similar to creating the EQEmu shortcut from the wiki)
3. Right click on the runfirst.exe in and click "Create Shortcut"
4. Drag the shortcut to your desktop
5. Right click the shortcut and go to Properties
6. In the Target field, you should see something like this:
7. You need to add "eqgame.exe patchme" to the end of that line WITH the quotes like this:
8. Then click OK
9. Optionally, you may want to rename the shortcut and you can change the icon as well if you like.
10. Double-Click your new shortcut and EQEmu should start up shortly after you see a command prompt load. Once you are all of the way into EQ, you should be able to close that other command prompt if you like.

And for 2 final things to try if you still aren't working (which you should definitely be by now) are process explorers that allow you to set your affinity no matter what. This will override any admin issues if you get access denied when trying to set them manually.

The first one I want to make note of is called Process Explorer. This one is really cool for any techie person. It is basically an advanced version of Windows Task Manager and can even replace it if you want. With this, you can right click almost any process and change the affinity at any time. Also, this is by Microsoft and is free, so it is of little risk to use it.

Process Explorer
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s.../bb896653.aspx

The last one is similar, but it uses the current task manager and allows you to override access denied in most cases. It also has the ability to write to a config file so it will remember every time you start that application (eqemu) to set it to whichever processor you specify. I don't think Process Explorer can do that. This one is called Prio.

Prio:
http://software.techrepublic.com.com...x?docid=215888

If you have tried everything here, then you should definitely take a long hard look at your hardware as the root of the cause. Or, maybe you are having a completely different problem all together that just has similar symptoms to the Dual Core issues.

Very good work. I know quite a few vista users who will find this handy.

The part about where you rightclick eqgame.exe under processes when I click affinity option I get an error stating access denied.

So,

I was just required to buy a Lenovo T61p for school.
T8300 C2D
3 gigs Ram
Nvidia Quadro FX 570M

I've verified my Directx 9c is updated.
I reinstalled Quadro FX drivers from the Lenovo website and have the latest drivers.
I have tried compatibility mode for all Windows operating systems listed.
I have used the RunFirst program to automatically set the affinity for the eqgame.exe program to Core 0 only and core 1 only. I verified after loading each time that the core affinity was correctly set.

I am still stuck with the expected choppy run speed.. mostly as if I were entirely snared and moving backwards.

Also, the combat animations, and animations for all NPCs, are moving at this slow speed. Chat, raw dps, appear to be unaltered. Ie, it's purely graphical.

Does anyone have any other ideas on what I could change on the system settings to speed up graphics animations to their normal values? Searching multiple forums has only resulted in the well documented solutions posted in this thread.

Thanks,

UHC.

Edit: I confirmed Directx10 is fully updated.

Is that Intel, or AMD processor? And I assume you are running Vista?

Make sure you ran all of the windows updates and they installed. Also, if you are running a laptop, then it probably has CPU throttling enabled. Try turning it off and see if that helps:


Disabling CPU Throttling (AKA Cool N' Quite):
1. Right Click on your Desktop
2. Select Properties
3. Click the Screen Saver tab
4. Click "Power..." in the lower right
5. Select "Always On" from the Power Schemes Drop-Down box
6. Click OK on both windows.

You won't believe this
 

Thanks, Trev, I had tried that too.
However, I did find the problem, and it was sadly ridiculous.

It looks like the video card was determining the "Max Frames per Second" menu setting under the "Display Settings" in EQ was not managing the frames per second the same way all of my other systems have in the past..

If I placed FPS on 50, I was moving at about half speed. I had to jack it up to 100 to get normal movement and graphics animation. On my other systems and other laptops that I've worked on, (those that don't have Nvidia Quadro FX 570M), 50FPS setting was ample for gameplay.

My best guess: The Quadro 570M drivers were interpreting EQ's FPS setting as a # / 100, not a raw # of frames.

I couldn't find a control feature in the Nvidia control panel to correct this.

However, for the time being my problem is resolved. Thanks for your help.

-The Noob known as 'Cow.

And don't forget - people should be updating drivers before playing with the OS settings etc. When I first started playing with EQEmu my client was continually crashing and doing all the things described above. It had nothing to do with number of cores and everything to do with having forgotten to update my video card drivers!

Windows 7
 

On Windows 7, you may need to click on "Show Processes from All Users" to change the Set Affinity if you are getting an error when trying the affinity fix.

Did all of these things, and i still get kicked back to login after trying to join a server.

Windows XP

intel e8600
4gb ddr 1066,
gtx 260 video card
asus p5qpro mobo. Looks like i cant play eq 1 now lol

Would just like to add that in Vista, you do not need any of these hotfixes or driver updates. They come natively installed in Vista (32 and 64 bit) right out of the box.

You will, however, need to set the CPU Affinity to a single core if you're using the Titanium client.

If you are using the Secrets of Faydwer client, then you do not need to do any of this as support for multi-core CPUs work right off the bat. Just install the game, edit the eqhost file, add the patchme at the end of the shortcut and launch the game. Works very smooth and no issues with it what so ever. I use my Titanium verson as a coaster now. :D

You know, that right there is reason enough for me to buy the SoF client. Thank you very much for the information =)

Having issues with my new computer... I can't even get to the login screen; never mind on a server!

The specs of my computer are as follows:
Intel Pentium D 940, 3.2GHz Dual Core
3.5GB of DDR2 (PC5400)
BFG Nvidia GeForce 9800GT with 1GB of DDR3 RAM, overclocked from the factory
2x 250GB HDD's
Fully updated Windows XP, albeit the Media Center Edition, not Pro.


I install a fresh copy of EQ Titanium (Tried on multiple sets of disks), I change the eqhost file to have "Host=eqemulator.net:5998" and the shortcut from eqgame.exe to have the " patch me" at the end.

When booting up the game, I get an error stating the following:

"eqgame.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
If you were in the middle of something, the information you were working on might be lost"

With options to Debug or Close... Debugging does nothing, other than close the window.

The Emu server runs great on my older comp, an old eMachines T3256 with an AMD 3200+ (2.2GHz single core), 2gb of PC2700, and a Nvidia 7600GS (512mb of DDR3). XP SP3 (Pro) for the OS.

Any suggestions on getting me up and running?

My specs are pretty similar to yours. I also was experiencing the problem and was able to fix it by doing this:
1. Right click eqgame.exe
2. Select "Properties"
3. Go to the "Compatabilty" tab.
4. Check the box next to "Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution"
5. Hit "Apply" and "Close" and your done.

Start up eq again and hopefully that will fix it. You will have to change your resolution in game, but other than that everything runs fine. Good Luck, hope this helps.

Aeonite

so if we get secrets of fawdwayer (sp) eq emu will work again?

EQEmu has always worked. :confused:

I just installed the Titanium client again, and it works perfectly fine (aside from small flickers - but I blame SLi for that). SoF worked fine with no issues since I'm assuming the client version is more optimized for recent hardware. Since the Titanium client can't be patched, it has it's flaws. But you get more functionality out of playing. SoF is getting there, but there's still some work needed. I'm sure given the time, the SoF client will surpass Titanium since there a lot more information to get from it plus better client support right out of the box.


But to answer your question, I would just get Secrets of Faydwer since Titanium is very difficult to find. You can get both for under 10 dollars if you're lucky. If you don't get it now, you may never be able to since they will be releasing it via digital download from now on. SoF is the last client you will be able to buy as far as retail releases go for EverQuest. It's only 5 DOLLARS with FREE shipping via newegg.com.


Just think of it as this:

1.) Titanium has more playability, but is difficult to find a retail copy since SoF pretty much replaced it. Supports older hardware just fine, but newer hardware may have some issues.

2.) Secrets of Faydwer client is more optimized for newer hardware but lacks in functionalty as far as playing goes. Think of it as the Titanium client when it was first supported. Lots of OPCodes still need to be coded in, and some may encounter bugs with skills, spells, etc. It's minor though, and completely worth it. Some older zones have been completely replaced, so zoning may cause some issues.


So I'll post this just so everyone understands.

1.) If you're using Vista, you DO NOT need to install the Dual Core patches for AMD CPUs. Vista already has them installed.
2.) If you're using Vista and a Dual/Quad Core CPU, Titianium and SoF work right out of the box. No need to change the affinity for the CPU.


For the record, I'm running SoF and Titanium clients on Vista64 perfectly fine. No CPU patches or affinity switching. :smile:


Although I can't say if it's specifically a Vista64 thing, I still see people having issues with the game running fast, etc. Assuming that they're NOT using Vista32 or 64-bit, that might be the issue. I'm not saying to go out and switch to Vista (especially since Windows 7 is right around the corner), but if you're running Windows XP, you're going to have to work a little harder to get things to run fine.

Windows XP is at the end of it's life expectancy anyways and was supposed to be phased out by Vista, but since people are pretty vehement to upgrade their hardware, they stuck with XP. XP support will be completely gone by 2014, and Vista retail will be phased out starting in 2011 - being replaced by the much better Windows 7.

Whatever the case, it doesn't matter anyway since the world is ending in 2012. :-D

Alright I'm about at wits end trying to get my client connected without the stuttering.

I've been having the symptoms similar to the ones posted in this thread, the client running perfectly for a few seconds then freezing everything (client, mouse, other windows) for 10-30s. The char select screen runs just fine, but I assume that's because it's newer code and programmed for multicore processors (maybe?).

I should note that mobs aren't agroing even though they're kos, and I assume this is because the maps on the server are different than the client, but that shouldn't effect anything else than the eq client right?

The system:

Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (2 cores @ 2.2GHz)
2 x 1GB DDR2 Corsair @ 333MHz
NVidia GeForce 7600 GS
WinXP Pro SP3

Things I have tried that have not worked:
- Used Process Explorer to force affinity for 1 core.
- Updated directX (was already 9.0c, but apparently there was an update available)
- Updated video drivers
- Installed the AMD Dual Core Optimizer
- Disabled Cool'N'Quiet by setting power settings as above
- Played with the maxFPS directive in eqclient.ini (set anywhere from 10 to 5000 fps)
- Installed most of the other updates though windows update (not all, one nvidia network one caused permanent bluescreens on bootup)

Updating the CPU drivers (from 1.2.something to 1.3.2) seemed to have a small effect. Instead of getting one frame every 30s or so, I would get one every 15-20s.

Does anyone have any suggestions or a similar situation where they managed to fix it?

Have you tried changing your compatibility mode as suggested? That seems to work right off of the bat for a lot of people.

Hmm, I could have sworn I tried that before. Maybe I tried win95. Anyway, setting it to compatibility mode for win98 helped a lot, now it only lags up every 2-15 mins for 10-15s at a time. Still not perfectly smooth, though.

Okay, have an AMD dual core processor, running it on Vista. 1.6 Ghz, 1GB RAM, Geforce Go videocard, notebook, etc.

Cannot seem to fix this basic problem:

Perhaps 50-75% of the time, in short 15 second intervals, the game switches from running at normal speed to exactly half speed. Chatbar is at normal speed (get hit and get the messages at the same rate), but song bar is at half. Bard songs ALWAYS seem to "go off" with the UI bar showing half the time remaining (that's how I know it is exactly half speed). Models run at half speed, and I run at half speed, making my selos make me run at normal speed =/ Then, it will return to normal and rapidly alternate back and forth. Changing compatibility mode does not work. Set affinity does not work. Reinstalling updated drivers does not work. Fresh install does not work. Changing CPU throttling does not seem to be an option, as when I right click on desktop, there is no "Properties" in the menu (only "Personalize"). I am at my wits end and have tried a great deal.

Odd thing is that this game used to work on this notebook about a year ago, but--I did get many of my computer parts replaced at the shop, and I may have been using XP at that time.

Interestingly, I did benchmarks, and they all came back normal except the RAM test. RAM allocation in large quantities seems to be going at about half the speed of comparable note, but is normal at all other quantities. Most standard benchmarks give me a high benchmark on RAM, however. I have the notorious tendency to overanalyze, especially if I get stuck in a rut. So it probably is a non-issue.

Please help.

The next time you have Everquest running launch the task manager and watch your processor and memory load. You may have another program running that is causing your problems. In Windows XP and also sometimes in Vista the OS will start running background tasks while you are in the middle of doing something like playing a game which can cause performance issues.

It is very possible that you may just need more ram. Running Vista with 1GB of memory is not a good idea.

Well, I've done some more testing and looking into this problem for me.

As I said in my earlier post, it's still not working perfectly. Also it seems that it depends on the zone and, to an extent, the direction the camera is facing. Older zones lag up a lot more than newer ones (unrest, freeportw are unplayable, kael isn't horrible, and pofire it rarely lags up at all). Despawning all the mobs in freeportw really helped, so it seems it might be related to the character models and/or the number of npcs. In skyshrine, facing towards yelinak's door from yelinak caused unplayable amounts of lag, but turning towards the back of the room was mostly fine.

I tried turning off texture caching and texture compression just to see if it helped, no difference. Updated my sound card drivers, no help there either.

Considering I've done all the fixes suggested (I think), I'm thinking this time it's more a video issue than the processor issue, but who knows. For people who have encountered this problem, is it just EQ that locks up or the entire system?

The only other thing I can think of is updating my bios.

In case anyone has a similar issue, I think I've fixed it. Here's what I did (in addition to above):

Turned off IM programs (msn and trillian)
Turned off Progress Quest
In advanced video options in game, turned off 'new water'

I'm testing this in previously unplayable areas and it seems to be running just fine. Not sure exactly which one of those fixed it, but it's something to try.

This works on gentoo linux using SoF or Titanium client under wine 1.1.12, and will probably work fine for all other linux distros and wine versions.

create a file called start in your eq installation directory.

The contents of the file should look like this:

This will bind the process to your first CPU (CPU0)

make sure you set the file as executable by running:

then run it with

to start the game.

I had the same problem when I first tried to join about a week ago now, and reloaded EQ 3x thinking it was definately just an install issue. The one thing that many of us returning to EQ1 from a comfortable run on say Vangaurd, is the resolution capabilities!! My main (middle) LCD is a 24" and even my desktop used to be run 1920x1200, this same issue would happen until I lower resolution on my desktop to 1280x960. Clicked on my new EQemu shortcut icon on the desktop, and presto!! After all the reloading and updates on everything you caould imagine, it was aggrevating that I overlooked the little stuff..... and I make a living as a Networking Engineer for a major ISP/Phone Company..... we strive on starting the troubleshooting at "Layer 1". Leave it to me to bypass the 'rules of the road' on my own gaming PC. :rolleyes: :oops:

Major Headache
- another nOOb returns to ye ole best original MMORPG !

PS - Great work from what I have seen so far! Excited to have been turned onto this recently. :wink:

WhOOps...
 

^^^^ Sorry this was meant to be a direct reply to Issac922's post on the 1st page of this thread... i didn't realize there was a 2nd page yet :shock:

Hey, i cannot play on my new pc, it is hardware related and i cannot fix it. I get disconnected no matter what. Do you think linux will run it if i cant on XP

Im gonna be installing a version of ubunto(sp) linux i got. I may try it out, i miss playing EQ 1 SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!

Oh just for info. I just did a fresh install of xp pro and of EQ titanium. No go. Im downloading SP 3 at the moment. I tried setting affinity it doesnt work. I tried compadibility mode, doesnt work either. I I get disconnected anytime i try to connect to a server. Do i have to disable execute disable bit in my bios or somthing. Im using Asus p5q pro, intel e8600 cpu and new ram. I dont know what else it could be, its driving me mad... lol i have no money atm to get the new expansion atm whos to say it would even work either. Oh well if anyone has a similar system and can play lemme know.

Also is it possible my ISP is blocking ports on their end? Or My IP address was globally banned from all servers?

Since you are running an Intel, the SP3 update should fix your issues completely if they are multi-core related. Depending on when and where your game is crashing, it could also just be a resolution issue. Try checking the FAQ in my sig to see if any symptoms match your issue closely.

Ok, well it doesnt crash. It just kicks me back to the log in screen when i try to connect to any server.

SP 3 didnt help anything. Checkin your FAQ now and i ordered the Secrets of Faydwer for 7 bucks on amazon.

This is my problem exactly.

I tried all 10 lol. None help. I know its not connection because my older p4 downstairs is on the same setup and it connects fine, and i switched this pc to the modem and still the same result. None of the dual core fixes helped either lol


Guess im gonna have to wait for SoF

They need to remove the 5 minute editing limit. I found this in one of my logs...

2009-08-27 15:27:26 Networking: using port [1948].
2009-08-27 15:27:26 Networking: Connection Established [1]
2009-08-27 15:27:26 WorldAuthenticate: Initiating Login.
2009-08-27 15:27:27 Networking: Connection Closed [0] with 0 pending bytes.
2009-08-27 15:27:27 *** ERROR: WorldAuthenticate. My message arrival was NULL, the net has been shutdown.
2009-08-27 15:27:27 *** WorldAuthenticate. Checkpoint 3.

Run taskmanager as admin...
 

What I did was create a shortcut to taskmgr.exe. Then you can right click on the task manager shortcut, and select to run as administrator. This should get you around the access denied error.

K come to the conclusion that Emu does not support my System config for some reason or another.

Waiting till next wednesday when SoF comes

Finally!!
 

I have found my resolution to this nightmare.

I did every single step followed. I'm running Windows XP Home/SP3 currently.

I tried Runfirst.exe
I tried Set Affinity II (Set n Get)
I tried Process Explorer.

Any of those are fine to work to get your affinity set. I currently set mine to core 0.

I changed my options to run compatibility mode for Win 98/ME (haven't tried unchanging it at this time)

I also made it run in 640x480 (also haven't tried changing it)

Believe it or not, what did it for me was actually UNINSTALLING the Dual core optimizer. Now my game is flawless!

I'm running a gateway with an AMD 64. I am running Vista. I try to run the shortcut and nothing hapens. I did the optimizer with no results and the compatability settings on the shortcut. I downloaded runfirst and still nothing. Any ideas?

Michael

I loaded up eq on a laptop that I have and it did ok. all but the mouse not working. If I can I might just try to run it off the lap top.

I have tailor made a tool that may help with cpu issues. It also doubles as a host editor and launcher (ie. no need for a patchme shortcut). Written in C# includes source.

Check my sig