Topic: Changing characters without exiting server hangs game and machine

[webwalker]

If I switch from character to character (e.g. muling) in the usual way, by going to the character select screen then to the join screen then joining the game where my stuff is, I get a "critical stop" sound, 1/20 times I see an Unhandled Exception message, 19/20 times my machine (Win98SE) hangs hard and must be powered-off and restarted.

If I switch from character to character by exiting battle.net, re-entering battle.net (log in with password), then proceeding normally to select the new char and join the old game, so far no problem.

This is a change relative to 7.64.

This switching is between two characters that have both created games and run under 7.65.

[T1001]

that problem might have all players. i have it too and post it. but its good that you are posting this too because all have the problem but only a few post it here.

[webwalker]

Further testing: This crash/hang occurs with brand new characters.  It is not at all a function of the character that created the game, nor the one joining.

Also, many many times the game hangs the machine just before the point of changing video mode.
Changing video modes does not help this problem.

[T1001]

this also appears with old chars. my ama is from the beginning of the ladder and my druide is from 7.65. with both chars i will have the same probs. no difference.

[ChaosEmpire]

one fact..
we have less server crashes now, than before..probably a result of getting crashes on client side instead onserver side...
but i dont have any chance to say d2,whichside to crash..

but i prefer the client crashes...so any people in lab or new tristram wont get kicked out of server, when other players crashed...

but surely, i wanna now what happens...and if i find a way to fix, i will do

[webwalker]

Crash/Hang problem 1: Upon starting D2LOD/CE, just before the point where the screen goes black and resolutions change, the system hangs.  The hang is hard, the reset button is the only cure.  Frequence: 2 out of 3 times I start D2LOD/CE from a boot-up of the machine.

Test 1: De-activate mod, start D2LOD/1.11b, exit, activate mod, start D2LOD/CE.
Result: 6 times in a row, no hangs.

Crash/hang problem 2: with a game running, try to switch characters.  This results in a hang that is usually so bad the reset button is necessary, but 1/10 crashes the game minimizes and shows Unhandled Exception c0000005.
Test 1: When exiting game, also exit from battle.net, log back in, select new character, and join game.
Result: 20 tests, no hangs.

So, muling can still be done, but it's a bit slower and a bit more bothersome.

[ChaosEmpire]

thanks brian

for test one, please check your graphic settings
do you use directx direct3d or glide-emulation
try to switch to another one

for second, if crashed try alt-tab, this should show you always the crashed c0005 window, so you dont need to reboot

[webwalker]

for test one, please check your graphic settings
do you use directx direct3d or glide-emulation

I've tried all, with hang-on-start in all cases (not every time, but enough to really annoy), unless I start D2LOD/Blizzard first.

for second, if crashed try alt-tab

Tried, almost always this doesn't work. 
(System is Win98SE with Matrox Millenium G450 AGP video card, 32MB video memory.)