GW2/Launcher causes Windows 10 UI to freeze or lag, GW2 FPS drops, using 3D TV as monitor

[Wendorf.8741]

So I've encountered the following problem: When GW2 is running, the game lags, FPS drops and it also causes other Windows programs and apps to lag or not even launch or work at all. At first, I thought it was a problem with my PC because the problem seemed to happen all the time. But then I did some debugging and found out GW2 is the culprit. I mostly use this PC to play GW2, which is why it took me a bit to figure it out (GW2 is always running). I have found a workaround, but would like to know if anyone knows how to permanently fix the problem.

 

The problem usually starts in these cases: 1. Once I start up the launcher, 2. after I input my password in launcher, or 3. once I launch GW2. Sometimes the game lag is not as bad at first, but gets progressively worse. I have tested by using the computer for over 30 minutes to several hours without issues, then as soon as I launch GW2 the problem starts. Very rarely, the issue does not come up at all. This bug does not happen with other games.

 

The easiest way I can tell when the bug has started is by simply clicking the ^ symbol on the bottom right of the Windows 10 task bar to view the apps currently running. When everything is fine, the little pop up window shows the app icons. But when the problem starts, the pop-up is the correct size, but remains blank. The app icons won't load. Windows Explorer and other Windows UI won't load or are extremely sluggish. Right-clicking on the home screen won't bring up the pop-up menu, or takes a few minutes to do so. Even the Windows Media Player won't work (it opens but won't play music).

 

I realized the only hardware change is I am now using a Sharp Aquos 3D TV in place of a standard monitor. I'm not using the 3D feature, but this bug never happened when I was using a standard monitor or even when using the monitor as primary and the TV as secondary display. I have not changed any other hardware.

 

What I've been able to do is open the Start menu, click the gear icon (settings), click on System > Display Options. Click on "Advanced display settings," Then turn on "3D Display mode" and click to apply settings. This resets the display adapter (the screen will turn black for a few seconds). Then once the changes have been applied, click to turn off the "3D Display mode" and apply settings again. After this, the game plays fine no matter how many times I relaunch it. The other apps work as normal. Unfortunately, I have to do this every time I play GW2 (the first time after booting up the computer), which is a hassle.

 

Recently, after the PoF launch, the display adapter was reset by itself (screen turned black, then was back to normal) after I launched the GW2 launcher, so I thought maybe the bug had been fixed. Unfortunately, this only happened that one time and I still have to keep using my workaround. This has been going on for about 9 months... :anguished: Any help is appreciated.

 

For reference, I'm running the following hardware (from dxdiag):

 

------------------

System Information

------------------

Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (10.0, Build 14393) (14393.rs1_release_sec.170327-1835)

Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

System Manufacturer: MSI

System Model: MS-7918

BIOS: BIOS Date: 08/28/15 09:48:01 Ver: V2.9B0

Processor: Intel® Core i5-4690K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.5GHz

Memory: 16384MB RAM

Available OS Memory: 16332MB RAM

Page File: 3290MB used, 21234MB available

Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS

DirectX Version: DirectX 12

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

User DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)

System DPI Setting: 144 DPI (150 percent)

DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled

Miracast: Available, with HDCP

Microsoft Graphics Hybrid: Not Supported

DxDiag Version: 10.00.14393.0000 64bit Unicode

 

---------------

Display Devices

---------------

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960

Manufacturer: NVIDIA

Chip type: GeForce GTX 960

DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC

Device Type: Full Device

Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1401&SUBSYS_29663842&REV_A1

Device Status: 0180200A [DN_DRIVER_LOADED|DN_STARTED|DN_DISABLEABLE|DN_NT_ENUMERATOR|DN_NT_DRIVER]

Device Problem Code: No Problem

Driver Problem Code: Unknown

Display Memory: 10183 MB

Dedicated Memory: 2016 MB

Shared Memory: 8166 MB

Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (24Hz)

Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor

Monitor Model: SHARP HDMI

Monitor Id: SHP105C

Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)

Output Type: HDMI

Driver Name: C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_ce1961376673184c\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_ce1961376673184c\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_ce1961376673184c\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_ce1961376673184c\nvldumdx.dll

Driver File Version: 22.21.0013.8541 (English)

Driver Version: 22.21.13.8541

DDI Version: 12

Feature Levels: 12_1,12_0,11_1,11_0,10_1,10_0,9_3,9_2,9_1

Driver Model: WDDM 2.1

Graphics Preemption: DMA

Compute Preemption: DMA

Miracast: Not Supported

Hybrid Graphics GPU: Not Supported

Power P-states: Not Supported

Driver Attributes: Final Retail

Driver Date/Size: 8/20/2017 8:00:00 PM, 893272 bytes

WHQL Logo'd: n/a

WHQL Date Stamp: n/a

Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-5741-11CF-AF7A-6B091BC2DB35}

Vendor ID: 0x10DE

Device ID: 0x1401

SubSys ID: 0x29663842

Revision ID: 0x00A1

Driver Strong Name: oem0.inf:0f066de3d2368449:Section094:22.21.13.8541:pci\ven_10de&dev_1401

Rank Of Driver: 00D12001

Video Accel:

DXVA2 Modes: DXVA2_ModeMPEG2_VLD DXVA2_ModeVC1_D2010 DXVA2_ModeVC1_VLD DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_Stereo_Progressive_NoFGT DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_Stereo_NoFGT DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_NoFGT DXVA2_ModeHEVC_VLD_Main DXVA2_ModeHEVC_VLD_Main10 DXVA2_ModeMPEG4pt2_VLD_Simple DXVA2_ModeMPEG4pt2_VLD_AdvSimple_NoGMC

Deinterlace Caps: {6CB69578-7617-4637-91E5-1C02DB810285}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive

{F9F19DA5-3B09-4B2F-9D89-C64753E3EAAB}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY

{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY

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{6CB69578-7617-4637-91E5-1C02DB810285}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive

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{6CB69578-7617-4637-91E5-1C02DB810285}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x32315659) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive

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{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x32315659) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY

{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x32315659) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch

{6CB69578-7617-4637-91E5-1C02DB810285}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive

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{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY

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{F9F19DA5-3B09-4B2F-9D89-C64753E3EAAB}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=

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D3D9 Overlay: Supported

DXVA-HD: Supported

DDraw Status: Enabled

D3D Status: Enabled

AGP Status: Enabled

MPO Caps: Not Supported

MPO Stretch: Not Supported

MPO Media Hints: Not Supported

MPO Formats: Not Supported

 

[Kasima.8143]

I have issues with Guild Wars 2 causing my entire system to lag since the launch of Path of Fire. It never used to do this. I used to be able to play Overwatch at maximum settings while Guild Wars 2 was open (and forgotten) in the background and I did not have any FPS drop in Overwatch. I tried it again today with GW2's CPU priority set to lower than normal and even then, Overwatch was a slideshow. I have the same GPU as you.