World Of Warcraft: Troubleshooting Patch 1.12

1. Introduction
With the approaching release day for a patch we have built this sticky to help with issues you may see while patching WoW.

1. Introduction
2. Problems Downloading the Patch
3. Useful Tips for Preventing Patching Issues
4. Cannot Connect after Patching (Error 134)
5. Useful Norton Configuration Settings
6. Problems Installing WoW

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2. Problems Downloading the Patch

The most streamlined way to obtain a patch is to use the Blizzard Downloader, which will automatically download the patch when a new one becomes available. If you find the downloader is not connecting properly or your download speeds are extremely slow, please check our Blizzard Downloader troubleshooting page ( http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=aww0817p ). Taking the time to set up your system (network/firewall/router) to properly use the Blizzard Downloader at this point will help you obtain future game patches with little or no problems.

Please note this page also has a link to our official patch mirror page ( http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=aww01810p ) where you can obtain a stand-alone version of the patch from approved websites. These websites allow you to download the patch free of charge, but you may need to wait in a queue in order to do so. Some of the mirror sites will require you to create an account for their website in order to access their downloads. The accounts are also offered free of charge.

Keep in mind, if you set up the Blizzard Downloader correctly, you will not need to download stand-alone patches in the future. If you find you are having difficulty configuring your router or firewall for use with the Blizzard Downloader after following the steps on the troubleshooting page, it may be necessary to contact the firewall or router manufacturer for additional assistance.

3. Useful Tips for Preventing Patching Issues

When patches are released for World of Warcraft our Technical Support department receives customer calls and emails about patching issues encountered when downloading and applying them. To help alleviate some of these issues before they occur we have created a page with some helpful tips on how to avoid issues while patching.

Please visit the below link for more information.

http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=aww01915p1

4. Cannot Connect after Patching (Error 134)

Many firewall and security applications will recognize the game as a new program after it has been patched and therefore must be reconfigured. The easiest method of doing this would be by entering your security software/firewall settings and remove any previous settings you had for the game. After you have removed these settings start up WoW. When you re-launch the game, your security program should prompt you to allow the game access to the internet or not, select yes in this case.
Also keep in mind that simply disabling security software/firewalls may still cause connection problems. Make sure that you reconfigure them properly. If you need assistance with configuring your specific security program/firewall, please contact the software manufacturer directly.

5. Useful Norton Configuration Settings created by Kryssa of Argent Dawn

I have seen many threads with users having issues with NIS and would bet most have "Automatic rule creation" turned on.

I have been a NIS user since their 2000 version and will attempt to guide the "less savvy" users through setting up rules for WoW.

The problem is NIS uses a predefined library of rules and if your app attempts to communicate on a non-standard port, NIS will not prompt you (unless you have Alerts turned on) and will simply block the connection.

The easiest way around it without uninstalling NIS:

1) Open NIS
2) Choose "Personal Firewall" and click "Configure"
3) Click the "Programs" tab

** Delete any rules you see for the WoW client.

4) Click "Add"
5) Browse to the WoW.exe and select it
6) Choose "Manually configure" and click "OK"

** You could choose "Permit" from the dropdown to essentially do the same as the instructions below but this seems to be buggy at times.

7) Choose "Permit" and click "Next"
8) Choose "Connections to and from..." and click "Next"
9) Choose "Any Computer" and click "Next"
10) Choose "TCP and UDP" and "All types of communication" and click "Next"
11) Choose whatever logging options you want and click "Next"
12) Give the rule any name you want and click "Next"
13) Choose the location(s) make sure you at least choose the one that says "Active" and click "Next"
14) Review your choices and click "Finish"

You have now created an explicit rule to allow all incoming and outgoing traffic for the WoW client.

You will need to delete this rule and rebuild it every time you patch WoW because NIS creates a hash of the .EXE and the patched version will be considered a "new" application to NIS when it's first run.

In response to your (DaTH) #2:

Q u o t e:

2. Some users have reported that while adding/removing/modifying any rules, Norton will freeze and an hourglass cursor will appear. They have reported that reinstalling the software will correct the issue.

NIS 2005 will tend to exhibit this behavior if the user is attempting to create a rule for a program that is currently running.

My advice would be to do a clean reboot and then create the rule before running WoW or anything else.

Side note:

The tips though written for NIS 2005 is actually backward compatible to versions up to 2000.

Though some of the screens may look different (such as choosing the location), the basic steps of which communication to allow are the same.

Also, I mention users may have "Show Alerts" turned off, I don't recommend turning this feature on. One of it's drawbacks is it will minimize your game to display the alert if any application that doesn't have a rule tries to access the internet.

In certain situations this could lead to your character's early demise.

Another thing: NIS has a useful utility called "Log Viewer". You can enable it as an option on your system tray by:

1) Open NIS
2) Click "Options" and choose "Norton Internet Security"
3) For 2005, on the "General" tab select the Log Viewer option for the System Tray

** Right-click the NIS icon in your tray and choose "Log Viewer" to open it.

Now, in the Log Viewer under the "Firewall" or "Alerts" sections, look for anything that indicates WoW is being blocked. This is a good tool to see if you've set up the rule correctly.

6. Problems Installing WoW

As with many issues there can be a multitude of causes for a specific problem, installing the game is no different. In many cases a problem that appears to be specific can be caused by many different factors. Below is some helpful information on basic installation problems and known solutions.

The installer produces an error requiring an Administrator or Admin account

In order to install and play the game properly you must be logged into the machine on an Admin (Administrator) account. The owner of the machine and the original account created should be of an Administrator user type and can be used to install, patch, and play the game. While we do not support the game being played from any account other than an Administrator account it should still be possible to play from a restricted user account once the game is installed and patched.

Installation is stopping or producing a "CRC" error

The cause of CRC (cyclic redundancy check) errors can be varied, however they always indicate a file corruption of some type has occurred. The first step to take when encountering such an error is to defragment the hard drive the game is being installed to. This can help compact information on the drive and avoid possibly damaged areas of the hard drive. If defragmenting the drive works then it would be advised to run a scandisk or checkdisk utility on the hard drive in attempts to repair the damaged areas and avoid future problems.

More information on defragmentation and scandisk can be found here: http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=mgi0559p

If defragmenting the hard drive does not resolve the issue it may be helpful to copy the information from the CD's/DVD to the hard drive and install the game from there instead. The game can require a large amount of space so ensure you have enough room to both copy and install the game to your hard drive (12GB of free space is advised). This can also prove if the problem is with the CD's/DVD or your CD/DVD drive if an error is encountered when simply copying the data to the hard drive before running the installer.

1. First, make a new folder on your desktop and name it something such as WoW Installer.
2. Open up the disk itself:
* Windows users should go into My Computer, right-click the CD, and choose Open.
* Mac users can simply double-click the CD on their desktop.
3. Go to the Edit menu and choose Select all, so all the files are highlighted.
4. Go to the Edit menu and choose Copy.
5. Open the new folder you created on your desktop
6. Go to the Edit menu and choose Paste.
7. The files should copy from the CD to that folder.
8. Once this is complete, please put in the next install disk.
9. Open up the disk (using the process in step 2 above).
10. Select the file called Installer Tome with the number at the end.
11. Go to the Edit menu and choose Copy.
12. Open the new folder you created on your desktop
13. Go to the Edit menu and choose Paste.
14. The "Tome" file will copy over.

Repeat steps 8-14 to get the "Installer Tome" files off of the remaining installation disks. Once all of the data is copied (and if no errors occurred) you may run the installer from the folder you created on your hard drive to attempt to install the game from there.

If any error is displayed while copying the data from the installation CD's/DVD to your hard drive, this indicates a problem with the CD's/DVD or your CD/DVD drive. You may want to test other CD's/DVD's in the drive to ensure that the drive is working properly and without error. You should also ensure your drive settings are correct and that you have them set to "DMA if available". More information can be found here: http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=mdt0404p

If you find that your World of Warcraft discs are damaged please attempt to exchange them at the place of purchase. We also offer replacement disks if an exchange is not possible. Information on replacements can be found at the following link: http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=aww01667p

Safe mode

Many users have found that starting their machine in safe mode will allow the installer to run successfully. Safe mode will load only the bare essentials needed to run the machine and can help avoid problems caused by other programs or unstable hardware. Information on how to start your machine in safe mode can be found from the link below.

http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=aww01666p

Closing background applications

Some background applications can cause problems when attempting to install the game. To bypass this it is recommended that you attempt a "selective startup" which will keep any programs from running that are set to when the computer starts. Instruction can be found at the following page: http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=aww0558p

After un-checking the box, reboot and try the installation again. This setting can easily be reversed by simply checking the box that is instructed to be unchecked.

Viruses, Spyware, and Adware oh my!

Viruses, spyware, and adware can all impede a systems performance as well as pose direct security risks to those using the machine. Their presence on a machine can also affect other programs, create errors, and degrade system stability. The following link has further information as well as some links to helpful programs: http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=asi0462p

Other causes of file corruption

While the hard drive and game media can be causes of file corruption we find that quite often faulty, failing, or improperly configured computer hardware can cause installation issues. These problems normally occur on systems that have been hand built and not purchased pre-made from a store or vendor. In many cases the cause is improperly configured or installed RAM in the affected machines. As data is passed on from the hard drive to the CPU to process the requested actions the data travels through the RAM. If the RAM is not configured properly or considered stable, errors can occur and these usually manifest themselves as CRC or other specific "unable to process" file errors. It is recommended that you contact your motherboard and RAM manufacturer for assistance and information to help ensure your RAM is installed and configured properly to ensure that it is stable. Common causes in this area are improperly set timings and insufficient voltage. These settings should only be changed by experienced technicians or those comfortable when navigating and configuring the motherboard BIOS.

Many users inquire how their settings could be incorrect if all other programs run without error. Well in fact in many of these cases we find error logs referring to other programs on the machine that "hang", crash, and produce their own errors. These are usually thought of to be program errors are sometimes not linked together and thought of as a possible hardware issue. In other cases the instability may be extremely slight and the process used by the installer to decompress the extremely large files on the CD may be enough to bring about this instability where other normal daily use would not.

Other support methods

While we attempt to provide as much support as possible in this forum there is always the possibility that we will not be able to reply to your thread. If you find that your issue is not resolved by the above information and you have created a thread that is going unanswered, please contact us by e-mail or phone.

wowtech@blizzard.com
By Phone: 1-949-955-1382 to speak to a live representative 9AM to 6PM Pacific Time*, Mon-Fri.
This form of support is offered at no cost to you from Blizzard Entertainment, though long-distance charges from your phone company may still apply.