1. Introduction

This thread will discuss known technical issues with World of Warcraft as well as any known work-arounds or fixes that may assist.

If your particular issue is not listed below please first try to locate the same topic of thread that we have already assisted in to help resolve the problem. If you cannot find such a thread we have also developed support pages that list errors you may be having as well as the steps to resolve them.

Technical Support Pages: http://us.blizzard.com/support/index.xml?gameId=11

If you are still encountering the issue please create a new thread for assistance. Please note that due to the volume of threads we may not be able to answer and follow up with all of them. To counter this we have other methods of support as well:

E-mail support: Wowtech@blizzard.com
Phone Support: 1 (949) 955-1382

A forum's strength is not in individually answering every thread; it is in reading how we answer other players with similar issues. When you post on the forums be certain to completely describe the problem as well as any steps you may have taken to resolve the issue along with the results of any tests taken to identify or classify the issue.

1. Introduction
2. Unknown - Player/NPC's labeled as "Unknown"
3. Chat Channels/System Messages
5. Disconnected from the internet while playing
6. Intel GMA 965 issues with Windows XP and Vista
7. Intel GMA X3100 series and below are crashing to blue screens, or may cause Windows to display driver crash messages after a black screen
8. Support Update

2. Unknown - Player/NPC's labeled as "Unknown"

This issue is named after the names other player have when one is experiencing this problem. The WoW client on your computer is not receiving a name for the other players so it names them, by default, to be "Unknown". Other symptoms include players appearing without armor as well as your character model appearing plain white when you view your character sheet (C key).

This problem stems from the information that is coming to your computer from the realms being blocked or filtered in some way. There are 4 main causes to this problem listed below in order of likelihood.

Addons

Checksum offload setting

Duplex setting

Router firmware

As the simplest possible fix, move your WTF, Cache, and Interface folders from your World of Warcraft folder while the game is completely exited. Once that is done, log back into the game and test with no addons to see if this still occurs.

If the issue persists, please review the instructions here for the checksum offload and duplex settings:
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=19813

You may need to contact the router's manufacturer for directions on checking and updating the firmware for the router. An easy step to check if the router is causing the information to be blocked in this fashion is to remove the router entirely. If connecting the computer to the modem resolves the problem then the router is blocking or filtering the information in some way. Remember that you will have to turn the computer and modem off before removing the router.

3. Chat Channels/System Messages

If you are missing any chat channels or system message commands, such as ("/random", "/who <name>", "/played" or shift-clicking someones name) or unable to speak in the chat channels, please try the following step to resolve the issue.

Type /resetchat in-game and it will force a complete chat reset. This will restore your default settings.

4. Unable to Identify Application Version

If you receive this error when starting World of Warcraft most likely there is a Trojan or virus on your computer that is preventing the realms from identifying WoW. Please use the Launcher when starting WoW; the Launcher may detect a Trojan on the system and give a warning. The Launcher can be found in the World of Warcraft folder called ( Launcher.exe ), the Launcher may detect a Trojan it will not be able to remove it.

Please run a thorough virus/Trojan scan of your computer, below are links to security programs known to detect and remove instances in the recent past.

Kaspersky (free trial): http://usa.kaspersky.com/downloads/trial-versions.php?aw=kaspersky&;CMP=KNC-DJ2899729106&HBX_PK=kaspersky&HBX_OU=50

Fix Wareout: (Number 18): http://www.subratam.org/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=41

After catching and removing any malicious programs please change your password to your account. The malicious program is likely a Trojan keylogger designed to steal passwords. You can change your account password on the Account Management page here: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/

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Another reason you might encounter this error is if the same installation is used to connect to the European Realms and the US realms. Using the same installation in this manner is unsupported. The European realms and the US realms may not always be patched to the same version, which will cause WoW not to be recognized to one of them after it is patched.

5. Disconnected from the internet while playing

This is a collection of player reported workarounds for affected units.

DSL/Cable Modem and Routers

2Wire wireless modems/routers
Players have reported that setting this device to use 802.11b wireless mode will stabilize it. Contact your manufacturer for more details.

Older Motorola SB 4000 series
If this is a rental modem, exchanging it for an updated model was reported to clear up modem crashes and disconnects.

Linksys WRT54G series routers
Older units are known to have issues where this router may freeze or reset while playing World of Warcraft. Updating the firmware to the latest version clears it up. http://www.linksys.com/

Speedstream 4000 series
Players have reported that updated models from their ISP helped clear any disconnects.


Network Cards

NVIDIA/Marvell/Realtek Gigabit network cards
Disabling these cards' Checksum Offload settings may help:

Go to your Control Panel and go into System.

Click on your Hardware tab.

Click the Device Manager button.

Click the + sign next to Network Adapters and double-click your ethernet card.

Go to the Advanced tab, then disable Checksum Offload. It may be called Hardware Checksumming or a Checksum of some type. You'll get disconnected from the internet for a while but it should reconnect. If not, reboot your machine. Try the game afterwards. Keep in mind that these options are for WIRED GIGABIT cards only.

Netgear FA311 network cards
These network cards will have trouble under Windows XP. You may want to try these drivers to see if they make a difference - http://kbserver.netgear.com/release_notes/d102747.asp

USB network cards
USB network cards, especially wireless, may cause abnormal behavior. Try updating their drivers or use a wired connection to see if it helps.

6. Intel GMA 965 issues with Windows XP and Vista


Windows XP or any Dell Inspiron 1525s:

We're currently experiencing an issue where the ground will not display properly on these cards. Turning on something called fixedfunction will help restore the ground. You can turn it on by doing one of the following:

• you can type this command in your game's chat window to clear the issue:
  /console fixedfunction 1
  Hit enter and restart the game.



• You can save this file to your World of Warcraft\WTF folder: http://ftp.blizzard.com/pub/wow/other/RunOnce.wtf
  Once it's saved, run the game.



• Open your World of Warcraft\WTF\config.wtf file in Wordpad, then add the following line:
  SET fixedfunction "1"
  Save the file and start the game

Please keep in mind that using this command may give you a performance (fps) penalty. Our test shows that in most cases, you may lose anywhere from 1 to 3 FPS at most.
If you don't know where the game is located at, right-click the game's shortcut, go to Properties, then click on either Open File Location or Find Target button. That will be your World of Warcraft folder.



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Windows Vista:

People using the GMA 965 video card on Windows Vista may see UI corruption, missing buttons and swirls on their screen. To fix this issue, you will need to make sure that you are using a 2009 video driver. To check which driver you're using, click on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Run -> dxdiag. Click on the Display tab and check the driver dates on the right box. If you're using a 2008 or 2007 driver, please update them using this link:

32-bit Windows Vista - http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&ProductID=2576&DwnldID=17297&strOSs=164&lang=eng
64-bit Windows Vista - http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&ProductID=2576&DwnldID=17300&strOSs=150&lang=eng

To find out if you're on a 32-bit or 64-bit system, click on the Start menu, right-click on Computer and go to Properties. It'll tell you what type you have under System.

Save these drivers to your desktop and extract them. Once the extraction is complete, please follow the Intel Manual Installation Instructions located at http://downloadmirror.intel.com/17297/eng/installation_readme_winvista.txt

If you need a visual walk-thru, we have it available at http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&tag=intel965

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Q u o t e:
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* Microsoft Windows Vista*
* "HAVE-DISK"Installation Instructions
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1. Click "Start" then right click on "Computer" button and then choose Manage.

2. Permit the User Account Control to run by selecting
the "continue" button. When the Computer Management window opens select the "device manager" icon.
(NOTE: IF UPDATING DRIVER GO TO STEP 3B)

3a. Double click "Video Controller (VGA Compatible)". (Go To STEP 4)

3b. Select "Display adapters" then Double click on the graphics controller shown.

4. Click on "driver" tab and select "Update Driver".

5. Select the following option: "Browse my computer for driver software".

6. Select the following option: "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer".

7. Click on the "Have Disk..." button and then the "Browse" button.

8. Enter the directory where you unzipped the file you downloaded, and then enter the "Graphics" subdirectory. Locate and highlight the "igdlh.INF" (if 32-bit) or "igdlh64.INF" (if 64-bit). Click on the "Open" button.

9. Click on the "OK" button. A window listing all of the
available display types should open. Select the display
adapter that your system contains and then click on the
"Next" button.

10. Click on the "Next" button. The operating system will install the driver. Click on the "Finish" button when done.

11. Click on the "Close" button and then click on the "Yes" button to reboot. The driver should now be loaded.

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If you are having any trouble with this driver, go back to the Device Manager and expand the Display adapters section. Double-click on the Intel video card, then go to the Drivers tab. Click on Roll Back Driver to restore your old ones.

If updating your drivers do not work, please try the Windows XP workaround using Fixedfunction.

7. Intel GMA X3100 series and below are crashing to blue screens, or may cause Windows to display driver crash messages after a black screen

We've received reports where these video cards may crash. Commonly reported areas include, but are not limited to, Wintergrasp and Icecrown.

If you're able to start the game, log onto a character that does not crash and type this in your chat window:

/console fixedfunction 1

Hit enter and then restart the game. Logging in and out will not work.

If the crash prevents you from logging in the game, open your World of Warcraft\WTF folder and then open the config.wtf file in Wordpad. Add this line to the very bottom of the file:

SET fixedfunction "1"

Save the file and try starting the game again.

8. Support Update


As of the Cataclysm patch (4.0.1), which contains numerous updates, we will no longer be supporting PowerPC-based Macs as well as processors that do not support the SSE instruction sets. Processors without SSE includes the AMD Athlon Thunderbird and AMD Duron Spitfire processors that date back to a decade ago. Intel Pentium 4 and AMD Athlon XP processors and their future processors can all support the SSE instruction sets, and will be able to play the game.



As of the Echoes of Doom patch (3.0.2), which contains improvements and changes in preparation for the upcoming release of Wrath of the Lich King, we will no longer be supporting World of Warcraft under Windows 2000. This means that if technical issues arise while playing the game under Windows 2000, our technical support department may not be able to resolve them. We will still do our best to provide troubleshooting advice, but if these suggestions do not work, we will be unable to provide further assistance.

Reserved

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13. NVIDIA video cards and delayed alt+tab responses

We have seen an issue where some of the newer 186-190 drivers may delay the game from alt+tabbing back in. The newest driver was reported to remedy this issue. Please try updating it from http://www.nvidia.com/

13. Launcher will not start up another game while World of Warcraft is running

There's currently an issue where the Launcher will not open another instance of World of Warcraft if it is running. Running the game (Wow or Wow.exe, depending on your view settings) directly from your game folder will still work.