Hello folks, I'm trying to return to EQ after far too many years away. I'm running Windows 11 (and not sure if that may be part of the issue) When I install EQ, I've tried both through Steam and directly from Daybreak website, I can not connect to the launchpad to even complete the initial install. Interestingly, I don't always get the same result. Most of the time I just get a black window with the Daybreak logo in the center of it, and then it just hangs there. Occasionally I will get an actual error saying I was not able to connect to Launchpad and if the issue persists to contact support. Finally, sometimes it hangs up while connecting and just crashes and has to be exited through the use of task manager. I've tried all of the "can not connect to Launchpad" mitigations I've found on the website and then some, don't run an antivirus other than what comes with Windows, and searched quite extensively online. It seems that some people have this issue while others don't but also seems like there have been times in the past when this was a known issue with the launchpad itself. I'm honestly out of ideas. If anyone's got anything that perhaps worked for them I'm all ears. Cheers!
i had a similar problem at one point, it turned out that i had blocked launchpad in the windows firewall somehow, try checking that. im not sure how to do it on windows 11 since i refuse to fill my computer with advertisements for software i dont want/use.
Player Support Help (A compilation of help provided by players to other players) Pre-Install: A1: Make sure your Firewall / Antivirus software is up to date A2: Check that your Ethernet Drivers are up to date A3: Check your Sound Drivers are up to date A4. Check what Graphics hardware you are using & uninstall the old drivers & re-install the latest WHQL drivers for it or a new copy of the current drivers if you already have the latest ones. A5. Download & install Direct X 9c (LINK 1 - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109) A6. Download & install the latest C++ runtimes (LINK - https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads) A7. Optional - Disable or Remove Xbox Gamebar and Game Mode Installation: B1. Do not use the default installation path, instead use a file location like C:\EverQuest (this avoids a range of problems) B2. If you have already installed then you can take the EverQuest folder out of wherever it was installed to, place it on the drive you want it to be (ideally a fast SSD with at least 20GB of free space) and then change your desktop shortcut to point it to the new location. Post Installation: B3.Run a file check from the EQ Launcher How to Validate Game Assets through the launchpad; Run the LaunchPad and log in, but do not press play. Click on the Advanced Tools icon (looks like a gear) in the lower left and and choose Validate Game Assets. Press the green Validate button to have the LaunchPad check your game files and download any missing or corrupt files.) Connection: C1. Power cycle your router & modem - Switch off for 60 seconds then back on. C2. Add launchpad.exe & eqgame.exe to the exceptions or white-list for your anti-virus & firewall - especially if you are using Windows Defender as this is known to often block connections to EQ. C3. Reset your Internet Options: Even if you use Firefox, Google Chrome or another web browser to surf the internet, the LaunchPad runs off of Internet Explorer settings. Follow these steps to reset your Internet Options which may improve LaunchPad performance. (Note: Microsoft is retiring Internet Explorer & moving to Edge for default browser so this step may need to be adapted) Go to Start, then your Control Panel. Click on Internet Options. Click on the Advanced Tab. Click on Reset. Check the box Delete Personal Settings, and then OK. Go back to Internet Options to the Advanced Tab, scroll down to Security and un-check "Check Server Certification Revocation" and "Do Not Save Encrypted Pages to Disk". Click OK. C4. Clearing the LaunchPad Cache & related: Navigate to the directory of the game you are trying to play and open the launchpad.libs folder. Delete the launchpad.cache folder and relaunch the LaunchPad again. Locate the file "Launchpad-user.ini" and delete it. Go to C:\Users<USERNAME>\AppData\LocalLow and delete the entire "Daybreak Game Company" and "Sony Online Entertainment" folders. (These folders are flagged as "Hidden" - you will need to enable the "View Hidden Files and Folders" option in the Folder Options menu of your Windows Explorer) C5. Flush DNS (reset internet connection) Navigate to the desktop. (From Home, tap or click the Desktop tile). Right-click the Start button (the Windows logo in the lower-left). Choose Command Prompt (Admin). When asked whether to allow Command Prompt to make changes to your computer, select Yes. Note: If you are asked for an administrative login, you will need to contact your system administrator. Type "ipconfig /flushdns" and press Enter. Type "ipconfig /registerdns" and press Enter. Type "ipconfig /release" and press Enter. Type "ipconfig /renew" and press Enter. Type "netsh winsock reset" and press Enter. Restart the computer. Video Issues: D1. Game Crashing upon entering. Right Mouse button Click the EQ Icon, select Properties then compatibility then put a check in the box for "disable full screen optimizations" hit apply then run as administrator the first time you log in D2.Game Crashing upon entering. Locate the eqclient.ini file in the Everquest directory and set WindowedMode=TRUE then save eqclient.ini. D3. Black Flashing Screen. Locate the eqclient.ini file and find [Video mode] and set FullscreenBitsPerPixel=32 then save eqclient.ini. D4. Over-bright graphics with 2.0 shaders on. NVidia Cards - Turn off antialiasing gamma correction from the NVidia Control Panel. Optimization: E1. EQ on multi core CPU, see the post below: https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq/index.php?threads/set-affinity-win-10.273549/#post-4004352
I would say this is the most common reason for the black screen when trying to install. EQ needs Direct X 9c and the newer Direct X override that. So just install the 9C - its on this link down a little where it says DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109)
