PB Crash After Config Load - Win 7 64

[Drarkan]

Wait a sec. You are still using wow from the folder after a crash? Ok this will take a while, but one thing, save your addons folder, save your wtf folder (for macros, addon load status for toons, and well the wtf folder in general just incast) then delete your wow install.

Reinstall wow. You probably have errors in it that is causing all sorts of conflicts due to the hard shutdown of your system.

Have you tried running wow from the launcher, just one instance of world of warcraft?

If you have errors there too, then its definitely the install. If not, then its still not something to rule out. Just for kicks, rename the wow folder (if you don't want to delete it entirely yet) and install another wow install. Do everything from scratch, install updates fresh, patches fresh, etc...

You may want to either do a disk check, if you haven't already yourself from when your guests were dumb enough to pull the plug like that.

[RavingNoah]

Tim,

I just finished running a couple of different options checks/unchecks. The behavior you just describe was indicative of the error behavior prior to downloading the second installation and running the two concurrently through PB as you suggested. I could wait ten minutes even, and then hover over and then click the windows and the crash would commence.

Interestingly, I can now start the games without a crash with some of the previous settings checked in the individual game startup config menu (i.e., Apply Graphics Quality, CPU Affinity, etc). However, when the clients load, there doesn't seem to be any actual effect applied (e.g., checking "low graphics quality" doesn't really limit the settings in-game as they did prior to the 4.1 patch). But this is not something I'm concerned with now...I can wait for PB3 (yay, go Kevin!).

Starting the clients through PB with "Pwnboxer Panel" checked under the Extras menu, however...it crashes as before with the message described above, and does so immmediately.

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Drark,

I can totally see where you're coming from. I would be suspicious of this potential source of errors, too...and would normally do a fresh install out of habit just to make sure. But, to clear up any confusion I'm responsible for, I do not have crashing behavior outside of PB. Loading the clients through Blizzard's launcher yields no issues for either the older install or the new one I installed after Tim suggested it.

In fact, I bought and used PB way after I finally was done repairing/testing my poor, abused PC and had started playing Cata on my main account. For me, multi-boxing is super new (just a couple months for me). I didn't even have crashing behavior prior to the 4.1 Patch drop and ensuing black screen weirdness that started me on this "checkbox/configuration/clicking/unclicking/fumbling/bumbling" misadventure...

I will, however, keep monitoring the behavior and will definitely can that install as my first move the next time around, though. As long as I don't try loading the Pwnboxer panel, now...I pretty much enjoy a smoothly running PB experience. :: fingers crossed ::

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I appreciate both you guys helpin' me out with this.

~ M

[Drarkan]

Ok. Yeah usually the wipe and restart method is my usual fix. I thankfully haven't had to do that in a while.

[RavingNoah]

Just a quick consolidation of the current situation (I was tired this morning and tend to blather on...).

Currently, PB will crash reliably only if I am trying to run it using the Pwnboxer Panel option in the Extras menu. As long as I do not have the Panel check, it loads and runs sans issue.

I'm trying to record a quick video, but Fraps and Windows Live have decided they're not friends right now...I'll deal with that later.

[RavingNoah]

Well, I'll be damned.

Okay, don't ask me how I did it because I won't be able to tell you. But, all this trouble with the crashing was somehow tied to my config file. I couldn't load the Pwnboxer panel, or it would crash. I couldn't enjoy the clickmapping capability. Somehow, during that week where Blizzard dropped patch 4.1, my config file got fubar'd, in some mysterious manner I cannot begin to reverse engineer.

BUT! I can say with one hundred percent satisfaction that IF you are having a problem that sounds, walks, and quacks like the duck I've been describing...I would SAVE YOUR CONFIG file in some other directory (just in case), get rid of any that you might have in the folder...and then START FRESH. It's kind of a hassle to have to set your mouse and key broadcasting all over again...but I CAN NOW ENJOY Pwnboxer the way I did before that damn patch dropped!

Better yet, before beginning to use Pwnboxer in earnest...I would suggest settting your key and mouse broadcast settings, input your game directory information...and then make a copy of that early, unperturbed Pwnboxer config file and zipping it up for a rainy day.

Joy of joys!

[Tim]

Ya know, I should have mentioned that! The Pwnboxer configuration rarely ever gets corrupt. In fact, its so rare, I've only heard of it I think 3 times since PB came out. One time was related to when skype crashed, causing WoW to crash, causing Pwnboxer to crash. The other time was due to using a new version of Pwnboxer and loading up a really old Pwnboxer config. The 3rd time was some odd HD writecache issue, unrelated to PB, but affected it.

Glad you got it worked out, definitely something to keep in mind