This game is suffering from memory leaks, and it needs to be fixed.

[Thundergulch]

Christmas has passed and I got Windows 8. One of the possibilities of the memory leak was that I was using XP Pro and the game didn't like 32-bit. That is just a theory, however. I now have Windows 8 64-bit and I am going to see if that makes a difference. I also got a new Hard Drive as well, so let's see what happens.

 

It's not an XP Pro issue, I have win7 64bit with 6gb Triple Channel RAM, and my RAM usage with the game running is 3gb when I first log into the game... it creeps up after a while (2-3 hours) and will eventually crash to desktop if it gets too high.

I usually have to restart the game when it gets to 90% usage.

Most of the time I have to end process in the task manager to stop the client fully at that point.

 

i7 950 stock speed.

GTX460SE

6GB 1333 RAM

able to easily run the game on max settings at around 50-60fps

[Exitusx]

It's not an XP Pro issue, I have win7 64bit with 6gb Triple Channel RAM, and my RAM usage with the game running is 3gb when I first log into the game... it creeps up after a while (2-3 hours) and will eventually crash to desktop if it gets too high.

I usually have to restart the game when it gets to 90% usage.

Most of the time I have to end process in the task manager to stop the client fully at that point.

 

i7 950 stock speed.

GTX460SE

6GB 1333 RAM

able to easily run the game on max settings at around 50-60fps

 

Everything I am testing is fully hypothetical. I am fully aware of the fact that getting upgrades and running tests on the game will lead to the same conclusion. I am just covering all of the bases I can before I can confirm with 100% certainty that this game is suffering from memory leaks.

 

The only thing left to test is that the game is trying to access a certain "pipe" that is causing it to crash. I have a GeForce GTX 560 Ti, and I have no idea how to figure out if the pipe the game is trying to access is broken or is just not compatible with the game. Although the possibility is miniscule, there is still a possibility that it may be the video card. I only started having these issues after they released several patches that were meant to "improve game performance" so for all I know something got botched. I ran a stress test with furmark on my gpu and nothing came up in terms of anything being faulty. But at the same time we also have to understand that this problem doesn't extend to just this version of video card. It is happening on models of different makes and manufacturers across the board, with no apparent connection or pattern. Both people using halfway decent rigs to over-the-top gaming rigs are experiencing the issue. So I feel like the problem being my video card or the pipes that are being accessed isn't actually what is happening.

 

We also have to understand that more people DON'T have this problem than those that DO. I have looked at the specs of people who are having the problem, as most people have posted their PC specs. One thing we need to look at is what setup the people who aren't getting this issue have. The very second I see someone with the same setup as I do, or video card as I do, I will know with 100% certainty that the problem is purely with the game, and needs to be fixed, or I won't have any choice but to quit the game.

 

I have made a little bit of progress, though. I did replace my hard drive as I said, along with windows 8 in 64-bit and an increase from 4gb of ram to 8gb. The game runs alot smoother, and now it actually does run significantly longer before it does inevitably crash. So basically, the problem isn't gone, but I think the increase in memory has just allowed more room for the game to leak in to. But windows 8 actually has a nifty built in memory check/cleaner, something xp didn't have (and I don't know if 7 had it). Either way, as I played through the game it did slowly use up more memory in my cpu the longer I played it, nearly doubling after 2 or so hours. After it did inevitably crash, at least this time the desktop didn't lock up on me, so it didn't force me to shut down my computer. This time I just got the standard error report as if it were standard crash, with no forced shut down.

 

So basically, the game is still broken for me. It just isn't slowly killing my pc anymore, which is better than nothing I guess. At least I can do my pvp dailies and leave for the day now without it locking my desktop, now that it takes longer before crashing.

Edited December 26, 2012 by Exitusx

[Jholiday]

I have 16B ddr3 in one machine and in about 16 hours of straight play my game will crash from running out of available memory.

 

I have another machine my wife plays which has 24gb ram and after 24hrs theame thing happense.

 

Its almost like the game eats 1gb per hour.

 

I have tested this many times.

 

Also I starpt getting fps issues after 6-8 hours start minor and then get worse.

[DarthKasadaRhur]

Alright, I am posting this thread here instead of customer service/bug reports because BioWare will not and has not responded to peoples' questions.

 

Here is the problem more than a few players, including myself, have been experiencing: The longer they play the game, the more problems the game has. These problems normally consist of (but are not limited to) game choppiness and/or fps drops, game crashes, and having the desktop lockup when trying to quit.

 

I have been doing extensive research by checking other peoples' experiences with this to get a general idea of what is going on. More than a few people suggested it may be a memory leak, as the game slowly but surely uses up more memory as you keep playing.

 

Some people experience it differently and have had to find "workarounds" including exiting the game every few hours. How long it normally takes before the game acts up seems to depend almost entirely on how much memory people have. I myself run my computer at around 4GB, and it normally takes 1-2 hours of gameplay before the game inevitably either crashes, or locks up my desktop when I try to quit. But if I exit the game any time before then, it exits fine. Other people who are experiencing a similar issue running at 8GB of memory seem to have to play quite a bit longer before they experience any issues (with the average being 3-5 hours). Seeing a pattern here?

 

Now a few smart people have actually tested this, and they have found that the game actually does start to use up more memory the longer they play it. Here are a few example threads:

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=470605

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=439425

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=542298

 

Those are just a few threads on the issue, but there ALOT more. Everyone's time seems to be different. Some people have to play for hours and hours straight before anything happens, whereas people with less memory (such as myself) only need to play an hour or 2 before experiencing any issues. I seriously cannot play this game a single day without it crashing or getting choppy after just 2 hours of play time. And every single time I play for an extended period of time, my PC locks upon exiting.

 

There are just as many threads, if not more, addressing the issue of people's PC locking up after trying to leave the game.

 

http://www.swtor.com/de/community/showthread.php?p=5451169

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=5402474

Then my own thread: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=5055549#post5055549

 

All I know is that more than a few players are experiencing symptoms that are VERY SIMILAR TO A MEMORY LEAK. I am NOT saying that is what it is 100%, but it definitely looks like it. But in most threads in the customer service forums, when the player posts their DXDiag as requested, no employee gets back to them after that point. Or if they do, the problem continues to persist. Has anyone at EA/BioWare ever considered that it isn't their PC with the problem?

 

What I do know for sure is that forcing my PC to shut down so many times from this game has forced me to run a Chkdsk because something got corrupted on forcing my PC to turn off every time I have this issue. NO, THE DRIVE WAS NOT ALREADY CORRUPTED, THIS IS VERY RECENT after forcing my PC off so many times. Basically, if this problem persists, I can't play the game anymore, because I WILL NOT risk damaging my PC because of a broken game. Don't get me wrong, I love BioWare and the games they make, and SWTOR is no exception. But they're busting my butt here. That is why I seriously want to resolve this issue. But if the issue isn't resolved, I can't play the game anymore because I can't risk ruining my PC.

 

If anyone has experienced similar issues, MAKE IT KNOWN. Don't continuously try to fix the problem yourself by screwing with your computer or needlessly upgrading your hardware when it is likely not even your PC that is the problem.

 

No player should have to find their own workarounds for a game they paid for. No player should have to post these issues on the forums with very little to no information as to why the problem is occuring. No player should have to be forced to check if their PC or game is running correctly after playing a game they like, because THAT ISN'T THEIR JOB. It is the DEVELOPERS' JOB. Some people still subscribe to this game, essentially paying you 15$ a month FOR A BROKEN GAME. This is NOT in any sense of the word OKAY. Listen to your players. Respond to your players. You owe them at least some kind of information and what plans, if any, you have to fix this.

 

EDIT:

BIOWARE HAS FINALLY GOTTEN BACK TO ME ON THE ISSUE, GO TO PAGE 10 OR CLICK HERE

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=5601580#post5601580

 

There is no memory leak to this game. There never was.

 

I have played SWTOR on 5 different computers in the year that it was launched with different hardware combos. Bottom line... the game works!

[Arkerus]

I must be the only person on the planet who doesn't have all these wacky issues.

 

I get the frame stuttering on the fleet when there are 100+ people around but that's it. The game doesn't crash. I can play for hours. There is no blue screen error. There is no gross memory leak. I don't have to restart.

 

I'm playing a dell too. Why would I be getting so lucky?

[SickTag]

Take it to the EA forums. Otherwise the people with power and real pool (EA) won't see and bioware will jsut ignore it to keep trying to bail themselves out of TOR

[Feskitt]

There is no memory leak to this game. There never was.

 

I have played SWTOR on 5 different computers in the year that it was launched with different hardware combos. Bottom line... I don't understand logic.!

 

Since your 'conclusion,' assuming it's not just a lie, proves nothing (about the game; it implies much about you, though)

 

[GillianS]

I must be the only person on the planet who doesn't have all these wacky issues.

 

I get the frame stuttering on the fleet when there are 100+ people around but that's it. The game doesn't crash. I can play for hours. There is no blue screen error. There is no gross memory leak. I don't have to restart.

 

I'm playing a dell too. Why would I be getting so lucky?

 

if youre on an x64 os it can take 2-3 days beofre the game crashes to the memleak, go use a tool to turn off large memory aware bit on the exe and you will be back here looking like the fool you are in under 2 hours

[Fantazm]

my game doesn't and has never crashed, but if I've been playing for some time and quit the game it just goes black, freezes, and I have to End Process to kill it.

 

Not sure at what point it started happening, but it never used to.

[DarthKasadaRhur]

Since your 'conclusion,' assuming it's not just a lie, proves nothing (about the game; it implies much about you, though)

 

 

You are quite correct. My conclusion implies that I know what I'm talking about, and you don't , and I can admit it.

[OwenBrooks]

My thoughts is yes on 32 bit there is an issue with the user environment settings, increasing the size will help and either eliminate the crash or extend it out to about 6 hrs instead of the 1 or 2 hrs experienced by most. This is achieved by allocating only an additional 500mb to the user environment.

 

For those running 32 bit OS on Vista or Windows 7 to likely stop the crashes that people experience after 1 - 2 hours

 

 

1.Right-click Command Prompt in the Accessories program group of the Start menu. Click Run as Administrator.

2.At the command prompt, enter "bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 2500"

3.Restart the computer.

 

Edit - If above 2500 setting doesn't work increase to 3072 if any different.

 

To delete the value if needed

1.Right-click on Command Prompt in the Accessories program group of the Start menu. Click Run as Administrator.

2.At the command prompt, enter "bcdedit /deletevalue IncreaseUserVa"

3.Restart the computer.

 

 

 

For Windows XP 32 Bit

 

 

1.Right-click My Computer. Click Properties.

2.In the System Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab.

3.On the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings.

4.In the Startup and Recovery dialog box, under System startup, click Edit. The Windows boot.ini file will be opened in Microsoft® Notepad.

5.Create a backup copy of the boot.ini file. Note: Boot.ini files may vary from computer to computer. (do not use the saved copy re-load the original boot.ini)

6.Select the following line in the boot.ini file:

 

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

 

 

7.Press Ctrl+C to copy the line and then press Ctrl+V to paste it immediately below the original line.

 

Note: Your text string may be different from the text string in this solution, so be sure to copy the text string from your boot.ini file, and not the text string included here.

 

8.Modify the copied line to include “ /3GB”, as shown in the following example:

 

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional 3GB" /3GB /fastdetect

 

Note: Do not overwrite any existing lines.

 

9.Save and close the boot.ini file.

10.Click OK to close each dialog box.

11.Restart your computer.

12.During startup, select the 3GB option. If you do not select the 3GB option, the system will default to the 2GB total memory setting.

 

 

 

64 bit crashing is different, for me on win 7 64 bit 16Gb Ram I never crash and have played over 12 hours, how much ram you have is virtually pointless as the user environment is set to 2Gb (default) unless extended to 4Gb on 64bit, If your system ever utilized all available physical ram it goes to swapfile

 

To understand the differences in memory management and limitations between 32 bit and 64 bit OS for all variants

have a read of this http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778(VS.85).aspx

 

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc786709(WS.10).aspx

 

Another good read for 32bit OS http://www.geoffchappell.com/notes/windows/license/memory.htm

Edited March 14, 2013 by OwenBrooks

[Jagrevi]

BIOWARE FINALLY GOT BACK TO ME ON THIS ISSUE (my ticket)

 

After several weeks of waiting, customer support finally got back to me. He said he reviewed the info I sent them and they said there found multiple instances of my Kernel32.dll crashing. They explained it has to do with graphics or memory. I was confused by this at first because normally if the issue is caused by kernel32.dll, it would display an error message. Then again, the desktop doesn't usually load upon crashing, so it is possible that I'm just not seeing them.

 

The things they recommended I do in order were:

 

1: Run the game in Admin Mode

 

2: Change or create the pc (not game) profile I play it on, as it may be directly related to a corrupt user account.

 

3: May be an issue with my own memory (lol), so I should run memory tests.

 

4: The video card may have a faulty or broken pipe that this game may be trying to access that other games might not, causing crashes. The best way to test it is to run a graphics test utility (if I have one)

 

He also stressed that there were several linked issues to this involving corrupt user accounts on the Microsoft Discussion forums.

 

So here is what I am going to do:

1: The game has always been on admin mode, so that got scratched out immediately.

 

2: I'll try making a new PC profile just in case he is right about the corrupt user profile, although I doubt it will help. I'm still going to try it to at least say I did.

 

3. He recommended I run this application called memtest86+, so I'll give that a try. I'm dubious as to whether or not this will work, as if it were my memory specifically this game wouldn't be the only one crashing.

 

4. I already have furmark on my pc, so I doubt that there is anything wrong with my video card or I may have caught it already, but I don't know how to test specific pipes. I'll figure that out myself.

 

5: This is something I am going to do myself. On the microsoft support website it mentioned that the kernel32.dll may just be faulty in a single program if there is only one system crashing. Since this is the case, it recommends just reinstalling the program. I have already done this and it didn't work, but I also have 2 hard drives, C and D. Most of my games and applications are on Drive C, while SWTOR is the only one on D (besides league of legends). League of Legends matches normally don't last much longer than an hour, most matches being 30 minutes before it puts me back in the client and back to windows. If it did have a similar issue, I wouldn't notice it because the sessions are usually short. I'm going to try reinstalling again, but this time on my C drive to see if that has any results.

 

Questions for people: Has anyone had an issue like this but had it solved? And does anyone know specifically how to explain the kernel32.dll in lay-man's terms for those that aren't computer experts? And how do I go about testing a specific pipe in my gpu? Thanks.

 

Going to favorite this - thanks

[Darth-Malice]

It's working as intended. Trust me this enhances your gaming experience

[killmaimburn]

I think the memory leak has something to do with the game engine. And with how faulty the game engine is and the fact that it's not proprietary software. I do not believe Bioware has the capability to fix the memory leak. Mass Effect (PC) has a huge memory leak also. Bioware has not fixed this and probably will not fix this.

 

The work around is to simply get 24 gig of ram memory. I believe this would effectively give you 12 hours before your game crashes. I mean who can really play for 12 hours straight. Gotta take the garbage out or walk down the street some time.