Title describes the problem - no recent hardware changes and had run fine for years. Can run minimized without issue for hours (AFK in bazaar for example) but will lock up randomly when I am actively playing (has gone 3 hours without issue, other times has locked it in less than 5 minutes of play session). Windowed/FullScreen doesn't seem to matter. No other games hard lock the computer. Have to do the old hard reboot by holding down the power key. Ran through the normal fixes (drivers, file check) and still no luck. Anyone else ever have this issue?
Although it does not address your problem specifically it does address freezing which could be related and are some good tips in here: https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq/index.php?threads/graphics-or-cpu-problem-freezing-game.216041/
I get this on one of my machines also... .if running more then one eq session one locks after the other not all at once then the whole machine is locked up and a hard boot is required. Still haven't figured out the problem. I can go days without it happening then bam multiple times in one day.
I have the very same issue from time to time not just with EQ but with League if Legends some times. And yes it's very random I've had it happen once and not happen again for a month or so and other times I get it back to back 3 or 4 times. I've been told to look for buldging capacitors on the mother board, check ram sticks check power supply, hard drive, all the fun stuff and it all comes back clean. So yah it's not a common problem with an easy fix, it can almost be anything causing it being a heat problem or a faulty equipment, can never tell.
I noticed this about a month ago. The only changes to my system was a pretty big windows update that took some significant time. Since I only do EQ related things from my gaming rig such as forums, EQ related sites, and the such I know it is not something I have installed on my system. My suspicion is windows related but I am far from an expert on these things.
Make sure the patcher did not lock out in the background somehow. I have seen it and the AwesomiumProcess.exe get stuck a few times, and start eating resources like there is no tomorrow. Both, the patcher client and the .exe from above should unload/close once eqgame.exe has been active for a min or two. They are not supposed to be running while the game is.
I've been having this happen recently as well after I forced a Windows update to complete so it wouldn't happen in the background during a gaming session. Now when i have two instances open-one will lock up while the other could be slow or fine altogether.
Are there any device updates available for your computer parts? Specifically, graphics card I've had issues with an MS update that then 'forced me' to do this. Hope it helps
Old rule of thumb = hard lockups were hardware issues. Start at the lowest hardware level and work up a layer at a time. 1. Open up the case. Clean everything with vacuum, canned air, blower, etc. Pay special attention to heat sinks and make sure they aren't clogged with dust/dirt. 2. While case is open, (touch bare metal once to ensure you have no static charge), disconnect and reconnect all power and signal cables. Be very careful not to bend any pins and make sure things plug back in correctly. Remove and then re-seat your RAM and your video card during this process. Make sure your motherboard is securely fastened to the chassis. 3. While case is still open, power the system up and make sure the cooling fans still work on the power supply, cpu, and video card. Chassis fans don't matter so much. 4. Close up case if everything checks out and proceed to boot into OS. Start with motherboard bios and verify the latest bios and/or drivers are installed for every component. Beware those web sites that offer "free" driver updates, they aren't worth the malware they'll install in addition to questionable drivers. Use manufacturer web sites if possible. 5. Ensure all Windows updates are complete.Reboot and check again until it says that Windows is completely up to date. Run a program like Speccy that allows you to see your PCs internal temperatures. Most should be well under 60C although video cards can run up to 90C. 6. Run a program like PatchMYPC and ensure all your 3rd party software is up to date. 7. Run the Tron program (google tron fights for the user) and let it perform a deep cleaning and repair. Beware this takes many hours even on a fast PC and it will uninstall many pieces of software that it determines is fluff or garbage. 8. Move eqclient.ini and eqoptions1.opt to a temporary location and let the game re-create them. You will have to recreate your settings the first time you run the game. 9. ??? Hopefully by now you have solved the problem or have gained insight what to troubleshoot next!
I also recommend a temperature monitoring app/software for your GPU and CPU. the respective manufacturer's often provide these, but there are 3rd party monitoring app's available.
That would be the last of a long series of troubleshooting options. If other software is working, it's reasonable to assume that it's not a power or seating issue, at least at first.
