Question for the Computer Literate

[The Emerald Hind]

All right, I'm experiencing a problem with my computer... Again... The people I usually run to for help aren't around, so I figured that there were a few folks around the game that were savvy with the inner workings of the computer who could shed some light on the issue, as my knowledge does not go far beyond basic maintenance and the internet.

Everything works fine until I try to run Diablo II, at which point the computer starts acting sluggish. One-player mode runs rather smoothly, with just a few snags here and there, but when I try to play it online it takes at least thirty seconds for the mouse to catch up. It's a problem that just came up within the past week out of the blue; before that, it ran fine unless my internet connection lagged, at which point it acted the exact way it is now. However, I've adjusted the mouse speed, checked my interent connections, messed around with my network settings, defragmented the harddrive, ran multiple virus scans, and even uninstalled and reinstalled the game, but the same problem still persists. I don't know if it's restricted just to Diablo II, or if it would happen with all my games, as I don't have any others installed.

I'm thinking that it's my graphics card, but I'm not so sure. It's new like the rest of the computer, and it doesn't exactly get heavy use. And it's not as if Diablo II is as graphic intense as say Elder Scrolls or WoW... So, why would it be the card? Then again, I know next to nothing about them, so, what do I know? I just don't what else it could be, though.

Honestly, the problem doesn't bother me because I'm not really into Diablo, but the rest of my family's pretty much addicted to it, and they're driving me crazy since they have nothing to do without the game. (My fiance gave the XBox 360 away like an idiot...)

So, before I drag this thing to the repair guys and the $60 it supposedly takes to repair it increases to $300, I wanted to know if anyone around here had any ideas or suggestions.

[Xos]

Download CC Cleaner and run it. I have Diablo 2 on a slightly older model computer and it works fine.

CC Cleaner is free and contains no spyware, its also a better version of the Disk Cleanup utility found in windows. Disl Cleanup is not disk defragmenting. Disk Cleanup is like deleting your cookies, it deletes all the temporary files you don't need and aren't using out of your system, freeing up memory, which is the prime suspect in a lagging game. Its not just cookies, but also the recycle bin, JAVA, many progarms installed in your computer, all sorts of things leave temp files on your computer. It also has an issues section which finds and fixes some issues in your computer. Granted there are some issues that it cannot find and fix, but over all I am confident in this as the solution to your problems. I use it myself and have never had a problem with it.

Another thing you might want to do is get some canned air and blow the dust and dirt out from the inside of your tower. New though it might be there's still bound to be some dust and dirt floating around in there, and if it gets into the connections it reduces the effeciency with which information is transfered between parts of the compy, which after awhile becomes a lagging game, or a missing file, or some other such error.

Also, while your on the inside, get an ESD strap and/or hold onto the side of the chassies and check your connections and cards for Chip Creep. Chip Creep is where the various connections work themselves loose naturally, due to the diffrences in the materials used to make a computer. If a card has worked itself loose just a little bit, it degrades the effeciency with which it works., which again can cause multiple problems.

Again, make sure you get ESD protection before screwing around inside your computer's hardware, because even the slightest bit of static electricty can fry your computer and kill it forever, even if you don't feel the little spark of electricty, which is known as Electro Static Discharge (ESD) and the proper strap or holding onto the Metal Chassies discharges the electricty before hand safely.

Then again, maybe your computer is haunted by a spirit that hates Diablo 2 with a purple passion.

CC Cleaner:
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

[Serilliant]

It's absolutely a heat problem and I have very little doubt about that.

What Xos said is good advise: purchase a can of compressed air and blow through whatever hole you can find (make sure the system is off, of course, and you might consider doing it outside because a lot of gunk is going to come flying out. Maybe ask a friend to do it for you if you have asthma, or something).

If you've had the system for a while and/or aren't afraid to void the warranty, cracking it open and cleaning would be your best bet. You can physically pick up and remove most the big dust bunnies (and they will be big), and then air blow everything else you see paying particular attention to the fan by the power supply (the big box on top), the fan in front of the processor, and the fan (if it has one) and the area around the graphics card.

Heat is absolutely the #1 enemy to electronics efficiency. Dust conducts heat and insulates your components really, really well. Your feverish system will feel like it's had the blankets taken off and will thank you in the form of smoother Diablo games.

[Reiko]

Do you have Vista? that's one thing that might be a problem since Diablo 2 is an older game and Vista doesn't like older games that much. I know my vista computer runs Spiderweb games with a little sluggishness and a freaken dinosaur can run those like a dream. My bet that it's a software conflict along the way that's causing it.

I really doubt it's heat since games like Oblivion and WoW would turn the PC into a torch, or at least freeze up and run like molasses in the arctic. I'd check out the Diablo 2 tech support forums or even post a thread like this there since there's probably some special problem, maybe something like a minor program, I know a single codec wreaked havok with Oblivion for me.

[Serilliant]

He doesn't have any other games installed, though.

However, I did just notice that you said it's a new system. Depending on how new is "new", dust may still be an issue, but if you have Vista, that's also a likely culprit. If Vista has a compatibility mode, try running Diablo II under that. I believe Windows XP may even need to run Diablo II in compatibility mode.

Another thing you might try is installing and playing another game (like Oblivion) and see how it runs. It could be that some drivers on the system are wrong and thus are wasting most of your PC's power. If Oblivion also runs slowly, this could be it. If it runs fine, Diablo II's incompatibility with a new OS could be it.

[Xos]

Vista from what I've read contains a completly new Kernal built from scratch, unlike the previous iterations of windows which was just the same kernal only upgraded and improved. Thus its natural that there will be some such problems for awhile, and despite all our various advices that could be the entire problem, The new programming that is Vista, and if its something that complex, then the only and best thing to do is wait until the folks at Microsoft come up with fixes and improvements for it via windows update.

That's another option you might wish to try, going out to the windows update sight and insuring you have all updates, even the optional ones, which is done via custom, instead of express install. I once had a problem surfing the web and a quick visit to Windows update cleared it up. Its a long shot but its certainly worth a try, and since the updates are free, there is nothing to buy. Its worth a try before blowing money on all our other suggustions.

[The Emerald Hind]

Yes, I have Vista, unfortunately. And I'm well versed with the issues it proposes since I had to download multiple patches and what not just to get my printer to work, among several other things. However, I've been playing Diablo II on this system for about two months now, and this problem just now occurred, so whether that's the problem or not, I'm not so sure. I may just ask them, though. I've pestered their tech support more times than I can count concerning problems with drivers and the like, so one more thing won't hurt.

As for the dusting suggestion, it didn't take. I opened up the tower and blew away what dust there was, but since I'm already in the habit of keeping my electronics dust free, it wasn't all that bad in there. I also tried Xos's suggestion on ensuring the video card was in all the way, and it was.

Then, finally, for other games, I just installed my step-daughter's Sims2 game since I figured it was pretty graphic intense (not to mention it's more accessable than Oblivion at the moment) and it runs fine. I even uped the settings for the graphic, and it gave me no problems. I was a bit surprised by that.

However, now that you mentioned something about it, Reiko, it might be something to do with another program. My fiance installed some program about a week ago that was supposed to free up hard drive space (why he bothers with that, I don't know, since I have 72% free on a 120GB drive, and it's not like we don't know how to clear out cookies and other such things), and that's when the problem started. I don't know if it's the program itself, or if he deleted something vital while running it, or if it's something completely different and that's just coincidence. It could be some other program for all I know, because he's in the habit of downloading freeware programs to improve the computer's performance, even though it tests extremely well on Vista's rating system. The last time he downloaded a virus scanner I wasn't familiar with he managed to completely trash my laptop... Then he downloaded something that came with it's own nifty virus that crashed my last desktop. Hence why I disappeared for three or four months.

But, just to get out of everyone's hair, I'm going to see what Vista's tech support says, and if they don't know, I'll try Diablo's team again.

By the way, thanks for helping me out, guys. I really appreciate it. ^_^ I'm just sorry that me and my computer are being difficult.