Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

[ElectusSalutis]

Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

Hi,

I hope this is the right place to post this! I haven't seen a "technical support" board so I'm posting here. I've also searched for others with similar issues. I've found as much, but no resolution that has worked.

I tried calling Blizzard technical support, but they were very busy today it seems.

Here is the issue:

I'm trying to get my boyfriend into Diablo 2: LOD. After bugging him for a long time he's finally caved and is playing it with me, but now he's being deterred by some pretty bad, intermittent lag spikes in his game.

It's not resources or his graphics card: His card is a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 -- He is able to run Oblivion with the best graphics, no lag or anything. So I'm certain that it isn't because of a primitive graphics card or low resources (and this is Diablo II we're talking about.) I run it fine on my Vista, and Vista is the one with all of the supposed compatibility issues.

It's not his internet, or the Blizzard servers: first, because I am playing on the same modem with no issue. Second, because he still experiences the lag spikes on single player.

He has it installed and patched, completely up to date (or he wouldn't be able to get on US East,) and able to play without his CD. The lag happens regardless of full screen or windowed mode. We've read up on advice to disable Desktop composition and have done so; In turn, we also followed advice to disable Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service under the "services" tab of task manager.

We are running it in compatibility with Windows XP SP 2 compatibility mode, per Blizzard's advice.

Some of this advice has helped, but the issue is not completely gone.

Lag spikes are overall random, but most prevalent when a lot is going on. They usually last a full couple of seconds. Again, I am running the game on my Vista without a problem, on the same internet connection, with similar settings. We've tried all sorts of things. I'm hoping that someone else has had this issue and has subsequently resolved it so that you can offer us advice!

 

[ffejrxx]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

step 1, check if it is lag or low framerates

chat /fps to see your lag (ping) and your framerate

if the framerate goes lower than 25fps
check what video mode d2 is using
if its using direct3d, try 2d, or the glide wrapper

to change the video mode from d3d to ddraw 2d
run D2VidTst.exe from your d2 install folder -> run testes -> pick ddraw(2d) -> ok

if its still slow/unplayable try the glide wrapper

http://www.svenswrapper.de/english/downloads.html
download gl32ogl14d.zip and unzip to your d2 install folder
run glide-init.exe, pick english/dutch, opengl-infos, query opengl-infos
if nothing is listed under unsupported extensions its fine
pick settings
tick keep aspect ratio, desktop resolution, and vsync
then test to verify it works

if its successful (framerate stays higher than 25)
run D2VidTst.exe -> run testes -> pick glide




if it is lag, find out where it could be coming from
tracert to battle.net

start -> run -> cmd [enter]
tracert battle.net [enter]

you will get a list of 3 pings followed by the server name
* * * timeouts will begin after the attens.net servers (this is normal)

and look where the numbers start getting larger
if they are all under 150 you should be ok
repeat a few tiems just to be sure

if the spikes are still random, try pinging your router

start -> run -> cmd [enter]
tracert battle.net [enter]

the 1st ip listed will be your router
ex. 1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms [192.168.0.1]
ping that ip

ping /n 20 192.168.0.1 [enter] (/n 20 pings it 20 times)

will result
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
if the numbers are still random, and its using a wireless card, try using a cable



if ping is low (under 200) and framerate is high (50+)
close some background apps that could be running
antivirus scanning ect..

 

[phrozenX]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

One suggestion I have is to try and see if it is Aero that is causing the problem.

Right click desktop
personalize
scroll through themes until you see Windows 7 basic (its under basic and high contrast themes)
apply that theme

Run D2... see if you get lag spikes anymore.


(you can always reverse this process if it doesn't help)

 

[jimmah]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

One suggestion I have is to try and see if it is Aero that is causing the problem.

Right click desktop
personalize
scroll through themes until you see Windows 7 basic (its under basic and high contrast themes)
apply that theme

Run D2... see if you get lag spikes anymore.


(you can always reverse this process if it doesn't help)

Better to right click the shortcut, go to the compatibility tab and check "disable desktop composition".

 

[DECOYBOY]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

download vista anti-lag or wlan optimizer and that could solve your problems. i recommend the latter if you're using win7. tho this wouldn't explain why he is having lag in single player.

 

[ael]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

I was just about to post the exact same question. I'm pretty sure it isn't low fps as in sp I have no trouble. I did what you suggested:

if it is lag, find out where it could be coming from
tracert to battle.net

start -> run -> cmd [enter]
tracert battle.net [enter]

you will get a list of 3 pings followed by the server name
* * * timeouts will begin after the attens.net servers (this is normal)

and look where the numbers start getting larger
if they are all under 150 you should be ok
repeat a few tiems just to be sure

if the spikes are still random, try pinging your router

start -> run -> cmd [enter]
tracert battle.net [enter]

the 1st ip listed will be your router
ex. 1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms [192.168.0.1]
ping that ip

ping /n 20 192.168.0.1 [enter] (/n 20 pings it 20 times)

will result
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
if the numbers are still random, and its using a wireless card, try using a cable



if ping is low (under 200) and framerate is high (50+)
close some background apps that could be running
antivirus scanning ect..

Ping from battle net was around 200-400, so I pinged my router as you suggested and this is what I got:

Ping statistics for 192.168.2.1:
Packets: Sent = 20, Received = 20, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 1ms, Average = 0ms

Is that normal? what should I do?

 

[phrozenX]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

Better to right click the shortcut, go to the compatibility tab and check "disable desktop composition".

also a good way to do it lol

 

[FalconGK]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

Ping from battle net was around 200-400, so I pinged my router as you suggested and this is what I got:



Is that normal? what should I do?

Yes, this is normal. Ping to your router should be very quick, and you shouldn't be getting any lost packets. Sounds like software issue to me, and not network.

 

[ael]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

Yes, this is normal. Ping to your router should be very quick, and you shouldn't be getting any lost packets. Sounds like software issue to me, and not network.

Tried shutting down nod32 - which wasn't exactly smart in the first place I guess. Anyways, nothin', nada, didn't work.

:|

 

[Palatomi]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

hi all,
first of all im glad ive found this place
so i had the same problem as OP(lagg spikes in single player) So i figured its low fps rate.
I did that thing with the disableing something with the desktop, and it got better but there are still spikes.
I downloaded that glider program, and it says under unsupported extensions:
GL_ex_vertex_array
wgl_arb_render_texure
Also im getting a 15 fps with the test probably those things are in the way but i have no idea what those are, any help would be appreciated.

 

[ffejrxx]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

hi all,
first of all im glad ive found this place
so i had the same problem as OP(lagg spikes in single player) So i figured its low fps rate.
I did that thing with the disableing something with the desktop, and it got better but there are still spikes.
I downloaded that glider program, and it says under unsupported extensions:
GL_ex_vertex_array
wgl_arb_render_texure
Also im getting a 15 fps with the test probably those things are in the way but i have no idea what those are, any help would be appreciated.

sorry for your problems

a few specs would be helpful, mainly your video card and processor

the glide wrapper doesnt work well on intel video cards

the best you can do is run D2VidTst.exe and select ddraw(2d) if available
not all intel cards fully support 2d either, if that option is grayed out, pick d3d

you can also try running d2 in a window
add -w to the end of the target line on your d2 shortcut
which will force ddraw
ex.
"C:\Games\Diablo II\Diablo II.exe" -w

or upgrade your video card to an amd/geforce card
unless its a notebook, then your stuck with it

 

[kronikchef]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

google game booster. wonderful program that should be used on every pc

 

[kwfp]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

I have the same problem in single player, I also have windows 7 64 bit and the same card as the main poster Hd 5650

Did you find a solution for the problem?

 

[Gorny]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

You already posted a thread on this why necro this one?

 

[[cK]Extreme]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

Probably because there is no solution posted that works, and this is the third option that comes up on Google Which is how I got here.

For the people searching google like I was: I had this same problem. FPS lag in windows 7 64bit, D3D. Compatibility mode didnt work, Disable visual themes/desktop composition didn't work. X6 1055T/470 GTX.. specs obviously not the issue.

What ended up working however, is opening my browser (firefox in my case) before I open the game. I have no idea why.. but reckon is has something to do with D2 being the only thing running on the system? Minor inconvenience, but it fixed the problem for me. Hopefully this helps someone, cheers~

[edit] Also worth noting that using 'windowed' mode has the same effect. Right click the executable>properties> and add -w to the 'target' destination to make it look like this:

\Diablo II\Diablo II.exe" -w

 

[krischan]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

Wow, you needed 3 months before daring to make an objection :azn:.

I have no idea regarding the lags, but regarding the Google hits: I wondered about the high amount of links to these forums on Google as well, even on topics which are not that closely related to D2, but which I read about here shortly before.

Do you have e.g. the Google toolbar? When using Firefox, it shows up at the right top of the browser window. Maybe extensions/plugins have access to the browser cache and the Google toolbar might add the corellating URL to the Google hits. That can probably be checked by deleting the browser cache and restarting the browser. If it doesn't show up then, it is somehow related to that...

 

[[cK]Extreme]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

I just found the thread on Google yesterday, or I would have objected sooner

Yeah I use the Google Toolbar, but got here using a regular ol' google search: http://www.google.com/search?q=diablo+2+lag+windows+7&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#sclient=psy&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=diablo+2+windows+7+lag&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=diablo+2+windows+7+lag&pbx=1&fp=7828c4946c5db268

Second or Third result Just thought my solution might be beneficial and worth posting in the thread, to help other searchers. Cheers!

 

[Vespar]

Re: Diablo 2 / Windows 7 Lag Spikes

I love you folks.

I followed some of the advice through this thread and now I can enter acts or portals without an annoying 30 second lag spike.

I'm glad this thread was nerco'd before. It helped me find it and hopefully, now mine post will help someone else find it.