Usa Forum - Mac hanging when playing WoW

pfjames2000

1/7/2012 8:24:00 AM

Firstly may I say that my broadband supply has a problem, which means
that when playing WoW I often find that I have lost contact with the
server. When after a few seconds the line is restored my character in
the game will not interact with the game and I need to log out and back
in again.

Unfortunately when this happens the game hangs and I can't log out, I
can't exit the game, and I'm forced to switch off at the mains, re -boot
and then re-load the game.

My options do seem limited. Force quit won't work whilst running WoW,
command+alt+esc won't work and neither does control+alt+delate, the old
Windows escape which I tried, just in case.
My broadband supplier is trying to get the line sorted, but until and
when I would welcome a solution.

Using a 24" iMac 3.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with OS 10.6.8

It is a complete irritant, and I'm hoping someone here will be able to
help me.
Thanks,

Peter

--
It is necessary for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph.

Attributed to Edmund Burke 1729 - 1797

18 Answers

real-address-in-sig

1/7/2012 9:09:00 AM

Peter James <pfjames2000@googlemail.com> wrote:

> Firstly may I say that my broadband supply has a problem, which means
> that when playing WoW I often find that I have lost contact with the
> server. When after a few seconds the line is restored my character in
> the game will not interact with the game and I need to log out and back
> in again.
>
> Unfortunately when this happens the game hangs and I can't log out, I
> can't exit the game, and I'm forced to switch off at the mains,

Does holding down the power button at the back of the iMac not do the
force shut down job? It does at least avoid the issues around just
shutting off the power to force a shut down, which I never like doing to
any modern PC.

> re -boot
> and then re-load the game.
>
> My options do seem limited. Force quit won't work whilst running WoW,
> command+alt+esc won't work and neither does control+alt+delate, the old
> Windows escape which I tried, just in case.
> My broadband supplier is trying to get the line sorted, but until and
> when I would welcome a solution.
>
> Using a 24" iMac 3.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with OS 10.6.8
>
> It is a complete irritant, and I'm hoping someone here will be able to
> help me.
> Thanks,

From the sound of it, it's a problem caused by WoW not coping with an
iffy net connection. Which isn't a lot of help...

Rowland.

--
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Catriona R

1/7/2012 10:51:00 AM

On Sat, 7 Jan 2012 08:23:38 +0000, pfjames2000@googlemail.com (Peter
James) wrote:

>Firstly may I say that my broadband supply has a problem, which means
>that when playing WoW I often find that I have lost contact with the
>server. When after a few seconds the line is restored my character in
>the game will not interact with the game and I need to log out and back
>in again.
>
>Unfortunately when this happens the game hangs and I can't log out, I
>can't exit the game, and I'm forced to switch off at the mains, re -boot
>and then re-load the game.
>
>My options do seem limited. Force quit won't work whilst running WoW,
>command+alt+esc won't work and neither does control+alt+delate, the old
>Windows escape which I tried, just in case.
>My broadband supplier is trying to get the line sorted, but until and
>when I would welcome a solution.
>
>Using a 24" iMac 3.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with OS 10.6.8
>
>It is a complete irritant, and I'm hoping someone here will be able to
>help me.
>Thanks,

I don't play on a Mac so this option may not even exist for you, but
do you run in windowed mode? If not, it can be worth trying; I've
found that in Windows, *most* of the time I can tab out and use task
manager to shut WoW down if it misbehaves, so perhaps it may help in a
similar way on a Mac.
--
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Sagart (85 Undead Priest) Tairbh (85 Tauren Druid)
Buinne (85 Troll Shaman) Eilnich (85 Blood Elf Warlock)
Ruire (85 Blood Elf Paladin) Balgair (81 Human Rogue)
Dubh (80 Orc Death Knight) Rosad (73 Human Warlock)

peter

1/7/2012 11:05:00 AM

Catriona R <catrionarNOSPAM@totalise.co.uk> wrote:

> On Sat, 7 Jan 2012 08:23:38 +0000, pfjames2000@googlemail.com (Peter
> James) wrote:
>
> >Firstly may I say that my broadband supply has a problem, which means
> >that when playing WoW I often find that I have lost contact with the
> >server. When after a few seconds the line is restored my character in
> >the game will not interact with the game and I need to log out and back
> >in again.
> >
> >Unfortunately when this happens the game hangs and I can't log out, I
> >can't exit the game, and I'm forced to switch off at the mains, re -boot
> >and then re-load the game.
> >
> >My options do seem limited. Force quit won't work whilst running WoW,
> >command+alt+esc won't work and neither does control+alt+delate, the old
> >Windows escape which I tried, just in case.
> >My broadband supplier is trying to get the line sorted, but until and
> >when I would welcome a solution.
> >
> >Using a 24" iMac 3.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with OS 10.6.8
> >
> >It is a complete irritant, and I'm hoping someone here will be able to
> >help me.
> >Thanks,
>
> I don't play on a Mac so this option may not even exist for you, but
> do you run in windowed mode? If not, it can be worth trying; I've
> found that in Windows, *most* of the time I can tab out and use task
> manager to shut WoW down if it misbehaves, so perhaps it may help in a
> similar way on a Mac.

I'm not sure if it can be done on a Mac. But it's worth checking on.
Thanks,

Peter
--
It is necessary for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph.

Attributed to Edmund Burke 1729 - 1797

Joe Claffey Jr.

1/7/2012 1:15:00 PM

In article <1kdhyok.bjwgni1hktegwN%peter@pfjames.co.uk>,
peter@pfjames.co.uk (Peter James) wrote:

> I'm not sure if it can be done on a Mac. But it's worth checking on.
> Thanks,

It can. Command-m.

--
Joe Claffey
indianajoe3@gmail.com

Graham J

1/7/2012 8:14:00 PM

Rowland McDonnell wrote:
> Peter James<pfjames2000@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
>> Firstly may I say that my broadband supply has a problem, which means
>> that when playing WoW I often find that I have lost contact with the
>> server. When after a few seconds the line is restored my character in
>> the game will not interact with the game and I need to log out and back
>> in again.

[snip]

> From the sound of it, it's a problem caused by WoW not coping with an
> iffy net connection. Which isn't a lot of help...

It may be impossible to improve the speed of your broadband connection,
but it should be possible to make it 100% reliable (with the exception
of failures during a thunderstorm, or total failure when a tree falls
across the wire).

Tell us the make & model of the router, the download speed, SNR margin,
and loop attenuation, and the name of your ISP. We might then be able
to advise the best course of action to improve reliability.

--
Graham J

Kevin McMurtrie

1/7/2012 10:14:00 PM

In article <1kdhqp3.wqcxfitcf2h4N%pfjames2000@googlemail.com>,
pfjames2000@googlemail.com (Peter James) wrote:

> Firstly may I say that my broadband supply has a problem, which means
> that when playing WoW I often find that I have lost contact with the
> server. When after a few seconds the line is restored my character in
> the game will not interact with the game and I need to log out and back
> in again.
>
> Unfortunately when this happens the game hangs and I can't log out, I
> can't exit the game, and I'm forced to switch off at the mains, re -boot
> and then re-load the game.
>
> My options do seem limited. Force quit won't work whilst running WoW,
> command+alt+esc won't work and neither does control+alt+delate, the old
> Windows escape which I tried, just in case.
> My broadband supplier is trying to get the line sorted, but until and
> when I would welcome a solution.
>
> Using a 24" iMac 3.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with OS 10.6.8
>
> It is a complete irritant, and I'm hoping someone here will be able to
> help me.
> Thanks,
>
> Peter

Some of the Core 2 Duo Macs (especially the original Mini Server) have
incorrect kernel settings that have never been addressed except for a
few obscure Knowledge Base articles on Apple's support site. Run this
in Terminal after you experience a hang (leaving the modem OFF may speed
recovery):

netstat -m

You'll see some statistics dumped. The values for 'requests for memory
denied' and 'requests for memory delayed' should be zero. If they're
not, it means the kernel ran out of critical communications buffers.
The trigger is typically network streams on a fast connection that
aren't closed cleanly. The result is that networking fails and
applications begin hanging; not even Force-Quit will work.

To fix it, run this in Terminal:

sudo nvram boot-args="ncl=262144"

Reboot and try again. If you still see the problem, use:

sudo nvram boot-args="ncl=524288"

and reboot. This costs you some RAM so don't make the change unless
'netstat -m' shows the problem after a hang.
--
I will not see posts from Google because I must filter them as spam

Yeechang Lee

1/7/2012 10:17:00 PM

Peter James wrote:
> Unfortunately when this happens the game hangs and I can't log out, I
> can't exit the game, and I'm forced to switch off at the mains, re -boot
> and then re-load the game.
>
> My options do seem limited. Force quit won't work whilst running
> WoW, command+alt+esc won't work

Try running the game in Windows (Fullscreen) mode. All the benefits of
a full screen, but you can still Command-Tab, switch Spaces, use the
menubar, and/or Force Quit.

--
<URL:http://www.pobox.com/... PERTH ----> *

Howard S Shubs

1/7/2012 10:21:00 PM

In article <1kdhqp3.wqcxfitcf2h4N%pfjames2000@googlemail.com>,
pfjames2000@googlemail.com (Peter James) wrote:

> It is a complete irritant, and I'm hoping someone here will be able to
> help me.

Play at a friend's house.

--
May all your good dreams and fine wishes come true! - The Wizard
May joy be yours all the days of your life! - Phina
We are but a moment's sunlight, fading in the grass. - The Youngbloods

twk

1/8/2012 1:19:00 AM

In article <howard-38D481.15212007012012@news.giganews.com>,
Howard S Shubs <howard@shubs.net> wrote:

> In article <1kdhqp3.wqcxfitcf2h4N%pfjames2000@googlemail.com>,
> pfjames2000@googlemail.com (Peter James) wrote:
>
> > It is a complete irritant, and I'm hoping someone here will be able to
> > help me.
>
> Play at a friend's house.

While the above _might_ have been sarcastic, it wouldn't be a bad idea
to see if you have this problem at another location to verify it's your
ISP or their equipment. Even if the other location has the same ISP as
you, it would be interesting to verify if the problem goes away or not.

--
For all you know this message was...
Sent via an exclusive network, on a snobby portable computing device.

twk

1/8/2012 1:25:00 AM

In article <4f08c38a$0$1705$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,
Kevin McMurtrie <mcmurtrie@pixelmemory.us> wrote:

> In article <1kdhqp3.wqcxfitcf2h4N%pfjames2000@googlemail.com>,
> pfjames2000@googlemail.com (Peter James) wrote:
>
> > Firstly may I say that my broadband supply has a problem, which means
> > that when playing WoW I often find that I have lost contact with the
> > server. When after a few seconds the line is restored my character in
> > the game will not interact with the game and I need to log out and back
> > in again.
> >
> > Unfortunately when this happens the game hangs and I can't log out, I
> > can't exit the game, and I'm forced to switch off at the mains, re -boot
> > and then re-load the game.
> >
> > My options do seem limited. Force quit won't work whilst running WoW,
> > command+alt+esc won't work and neither does control+alt+delate, the old
> > Windows escape which I tried, just in case.
> > My broadband supplier is trying to get the line sorted, but until and
> > when I would welcome a solution.
> >
> > Using a 24" iMac 3.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with OS 10.6.8
> >
> > It is a complete irritant, and I'm hoping someone here will be able to
> > help me.
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Peter
>
> Some of the Core 2 Duo Macs (especially the original Mini Server) have
> incorrect kernel settings that have never been addressed except for a
> few obscure Knowledge Base articles on Apple's support site. Run this
> in Terminal after you experience a hang (leaving the modem OFF may speed
> recovery):
>
> netstat -m
>
> You'll see some statistics dumped. The values for 'requests for memory
> denied' and 'requests for memory delayed' should be zero. If they're
> not, it means the kernel ran out of critical communications buffers.
> The trigger is typically network streams on a fast connection that
> aren't closed cleanly. The result is that networking fails and
> applications begin hanging; not even Force-Quit will work.
>
> To fix it, run this in Terminal:
>
> sudo nvram boot-args="ncl=262144"
>
> Reboot and try again. If you still see the problem, use:
>
> sudo nvram boot-args="ncl=524288"
>
> and reboot. This costs you some RAM so don't make the change unless
> 'netstat -m' shows the problem after a hang.

Interesting. As a Mac user, I never knew that, and it's good to know.
Mine came back with:

929/1770 mbufs in use:
851 mbufs allocated to data
78 mbufs allocated to socket names and addresses
841 mbufs allocated to caches
1085/1988 mbuf 2KB clusters in use
0/50 mbuf 4KB clusters in use
0/35 mbuf 16KB clusters in use
4744 KB allocated to network (37.5% in use)
0 requests for memory denied
0 requests for memory delayed
0 calls to drain routines

--
For all you know this message was...
Sent via an exclusive network, on a snobby portable computing device.

alt.games.warcraft

Mac hanging when playing WoW