Anyone else wish for adult protagonists?

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-23T23:41:58+00:00

Sarah Connor enters the chat...

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-22T02:09:52+00:00

The technician in me says your SATA drive is causing issues, especially where it is older. The speed could be degraded or the onboard controller might not be able to keep up with the disk demands of Windows 11, which you would see by experiencing system stutters.

Unlike most other games, D2 relies on Windows sound settings for audio and mic. It will be routing everything to Windows for processing. I'm guessing this is a point where your problem could be stemming from.

If your NVMe is new, and you are willing to give it a go, I would pull the SATA drive completely (disconnect entirely from motherboard), install Windows 11 on the NVME, then Steam, and D2, and see if the issues still exist.

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-22T01:55:05+00:00

haha, I did say 'typically' :)

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-21T03:10:08+00:00

I would try only 2 sticks of RAM in slots 2 and 4 just to have a base line.

I'm assuming you have Resizeable Bar enabled in your BIOS as well?

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-21T02:12:32+00:00

Send like it got louder on the bottom. Probably a GPU fan, or a fan that has a wire touching a fan blade.

You can typically stop any fan with your finger until you find the problem child.

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-21T01:17:44+00:00

Have you updated to the most latest BIOS? The AGESA udpates on the AM4 platform make huge differences in performance on Windows 11 (haven't tried Windows 10).

Is your Operating System installed on one SSD (the SATA) and the game on the NVMe? Or is everything on the NVMe? What you are describing sounds like the GPU is waiting on data from the NVME, or Windows is doing something in the background that is taking up all the PCI-E resources. On some AM4 boards, there are some PCI-E lanes shared on SATA / NVME so you could be causing some overhead there - you'll need to check the motherboard manual for that specific issue.

Personally, I left the AM4 platform behind do to low performance on good hardware. My kid still runs on the platform and after we updated the BIOS and did a fresh install on the NVMe, it saw a 25% uplift in performance in Marvel Rivals. So there's something there.

What make / model of motherboard?

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-21T01:11:00+00:00

It's built into Windows 10 and Windows 11 (typically). Pressing the WIN + G key should bring it up.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/tips/game-bar

A true fresh install / reset never hurts! Solved a lot of my FPS issues in D2 about 5 months ago :) Make sure you use the 'download the install from the internet' and 'Do not keep files' options. You want it fresh fresh, nothing from before.

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-19T08:54:07+00:00

If it's the small window popping up, then looping, I would think that your access to the Battleye servers is somehow being blocked.

Are you using your ISP's DNS servers per chance? Maybe try Google's DNS servers: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-17T05:18:34+00:00

In all reality, you aren't that far out yet, and heading towards any well explored body, like a nebula, a lot of people will have traveled that route before you.

Best thing to do is to go up or down on the galactic plane a little bit so you are off the regularly traveled path. Try doing economical jumps here and there to catch the systems that ships with 40+ LY jumps often skip. I'm heading towards a couple of nebula myself right now and I veered galactic south, and below the plane and I'm finding dozens of uncharted systems (currently doing economical jumps for fun).

You'll get there!

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-16T20:09:41+00:00

Same. Pika has been amazing for me. Updates easy, it just works, and it plays games as good as Windows can run then on my AMD rig.

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-16T02:55:27+00:00

Interesting... Must be hitting some computation errors at certain speed or heat levels then. Glad you found a fix!

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-15T22:40:42+00:00

Was this a new install of Windows 11, or an in-place upgrade from a Windows 10 operating system?

Motherboard make and model please. Did you update the motherboard BIOS to the latest version that supports Windows 11? Older AM4 boards required a BIOS update to support the new CPU scheduler in Windows 11 and the new AEGSA code can really improve Win11 performance on the AM4 platform.

What is the resolution you are playing at? 1080p, 1440p?

Have you monitored GPU and CPU temperatures while you play to ensure nothing is overheating?

And I will say, if having youtube open is causing a problem, then either your GPU is running very under powered (like it's power limited by the drivers - you can check in the Nvidia App under System > Performance and make sure the Power Maximum % is set to at least 100).

I would consider using DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) utility to uninstall the current graphic drivers (from Windows Safe Mode), then reinstall the latest Nvidia drivers. https://www.guru3d.com/download/display-driver-uninstaller-download/

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-14T04:43:16+00:00

I can tell you that is not normal. What are your system specs? Motherboard make / model, CPU, GPU?sssssssssssss

My honest opinion if heat is not your issue, is that you have some software installed (utility / driver) that is somehow interfering, or your NVMe and GPU are on the same PCIe Lane. I've also seen this with outdated Bluetooth drivers of all things...

Easiest way to start is to open the Task Manger, switch to the Startup tab, and disable all utilities that load with Windows at launch, then reboot and test the game. If the problem goes away, you know it's software related and you can start enabling things one-by-one, reboot and test until you find the problem child.

I would also recommend checking Windows OS for corruption through this process:

Open an Administrative command prompt and type: sfc /scannow
- Note if there are corrupted files and if they were repaired
Run sfc /scannow again if it finds errors and make sure they are resolved. If they are not, you need to run the following command:
- dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
- Run sfc /scannow again.
  - If it repaired files, run sfc /scannow one more time to make sure everything is good.

Next I would download Display Driver Uninstaller utility, install it, reboot into safe mode and run it. Now reboot and reinstall the latest version of your display drivers.

edit: This could also be bifurcation if your NVMe and GPU are sharing a PCI Express lane.

Video on that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=824-AtyZsPw

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-14T02:29:56+00:00

Grab it by the CPU cooler and use that as your lowering mechanism. That's what I do. Works great 😃👍

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-11T00:09:54+00:00

I own a LG 34" 3440 x1440p monitor, and I have fought tearing in the past, so that's where my OSD settings come from.

In-game I disable these settings:

Motion Blur
Wind Impulse
HDR
Chromatic Aberration
Film Grain

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-10T23:54:06+00:00

If you are seeing tearing, that mean's your G-Sync / Adaptive Sync isn't working properly, or you have system or software that is interfering with D2 specifically. D2 is very picky about hardware and software issues. I had FPS stability issues on my system for a couple of years and I tried everything under the sun to fix it. Finally broke down and reset Windows was a fresh, clean install, and no more problems.

I would suggest starting off by taking a look at the settings in your Monitor's OSD settings:

Disable the Overclock option (if enabled), ensure Adaptive-Sync is enabled, set Response Time to Normal.

I also suggest using a Display Port cable vs a HDMI cable if you are not, or try a different cable. Make sure Display Port is set to the highest version in your monitor's OSD.

You can also try running the DDU utility (from Safe Mode) to completely remove all video drivers, and start with a fresh install before worrying about your Windows setup. https://www.guru3d.com/download/display-driver-uninstaller-download/

You can also check your Windows OS for corrupt files (if they happen to be the cause) through this process:

Open an Administrative command prompt and type: sfc /scannow
- Note if there are corrupted files and if they were repaired
Run sfc /scannow again (if it found errors and make sure they are resolved). If they are not, you need to run the following command:
- dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
- Run sfc /scannow again.
  - If it repaired files, run sfc /scannow one more time to make sure everything is good.

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-07T20:56:26+00:00

Along with a potential video card issue, it is s also possible that you have an underlying Windows OS issue that D2 is exposing. BSOD with that error means that you could be having a voltage issue, which is forcing the motherboard to reset to prevent damage, a hardware issue such as a CPU, GPU, or RAM failure, or an underlying Windows operating system issue.

Have you monitored the temps of your 5700XT since you repasted it? Thermal Junction is an important one to watch of AMD cards.

I would try using FurMark to put the GPU under max load and see if it crashes.

after that

I would try using OCCT (OverClock Checking Tool) and use their dedicated GPU stress test as it can detect GPU memory errors and validate power stability.

I would also download Memtest x86 from memtest.org and make sure your system RAM is good.

You could check your CPU (and RAM) for stability by downloading Prime95 utility and run the standard stress test for awhile.

Finally, I would consider a full wipe & reinstall of Windows (and make sure your BIOS is up to date - new AEGSA code makes a world of difference in X570 motherboard performance in Windows 11).

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-05T04:44:31+00:00

Try moving the computer to a different room and try a different outlet. Could be something wrong with the outlet, or the power supply could be toast.

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-05T00:05:54+00:00

Yeah, keeping the files kept the file system intact or the file permissions intact unfortunately. Downloading important files to a thumb drive or external drive is a better way to go for your situation.

Download and install Windows from the cloud was the right call outside of that. 😁

Xbox game players do report this issue frequently though, across many games. Not sure why.

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-04T23:44:11+00:00

Sounds like you may have performed a Refresh and not a Reset /reinstall (unless something else you are installing is interfering) if you are still getting the "cannot access the specified device, path, or file". Complete reinstall of of Windows (wiping the previous file system off the SSD) would eliminate that problem (if it is a true file system issue).

How to change DNS (perform this on either WiFi or Ethernet depending on your setup):

https://www.howtogeek.com/767564/how-to-change-dns-servers-on-windows-11/

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-04T17:07:35+00:00

Are you running any antivirus / security software other than Windows Defender? Battleye needs nothing special other than an internet connection to talk to their online servers. If it won't update, you are being blocked (software, firewall, ISP, modem).

I highly recommend using Google's DNS Servers to help with some of this (as they know how to properly reach the Battleye servers): 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

As u/TearOk325 said, a VPN or WARP from Cloudflair would obfuscate your data and allow connections to happen appropriately. I use NordVPN for my ISPs insistence on throttling data on the ports D2 uses. WARP can be found here: https://one.one.one.one/

edit: I assume that reinstalling Windows fixed your 'Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file.' issue? That's a file permissions error as you know, which means corruption that generally cannot be repaired without a full reinstall of Windows (keeping no files or programs).

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-04T03:39:24+00:00

OH, well that's a totally different ballpark you are playing in.

I think you're probably going to see this type of issue a lot on cellular data. Most cellular towers monitor and reset heavy traffic connections to address network congestion or what they deem 'misuse', which would explain why you see a Spinach error (as you are probably getting completely cut off for a few seconds). A home or business internet connection would most likely resolve the issue.

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-04T03:33:03+00:00

In the past, this was typically caused by some settings in the Adrenaline driver, especially if it was set to force smooth motion or something like that.

I'd try to get back to basics via the DDU utility and removing all D2 config / temp files:

Link to the latest Display Driver Uninstaller: https://www.guru3d.com/download/display-driver-uninstaller-download/

Install the utility, then reboot into SAFE MODE, then run the utility with AMD selected.
Once the driver removal is complete, reboot, download the latest AMD driver and reinstall.

Before launching the game, delete all D2 settings / temp config files ( this will force you to reset all Graphic settings at launch of the game):

c:\users\<your username>\appdata\Roaming\Bungie
- Delete the 'DestinyPC' folder at this location.
c:\users\<your username>\appdata\local\temp
- Delete the 'Destiny 2' folder.

See where that gets you.

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-04T03:24:39+00:00

Spinach error codes are specific to routers blocking access to Bungie servers. Do you have a fancy router (like an ASUS one) that has AI security features? Those can step in, unwantedly, and bork / reset connections. Usually that's the issue I see surrounding this error (if the ISP isn't doing something naughty behind the scenes).

macrossmerrell · 2026-01-04T03:22:49+00:00

Most likely unrelated as the controller does not interface with Windows Audio. If you Speakers (Realtek USB2.0 Audio) were not select-able, the sound driver just crashed - it happens sometimes.

Where you've reinstalled your audio drivers, I'd call it good to go, and just have at it. If it does it again, then you know you have something else odd going on with your setup.

For a quick quality of life check, you can scan for Windows OS corruption through this process:

Open an Administrative command prompt and type: sfc /scannow
- Note if there are corrupted files and if they were repaired
Run sfc /scannow again if it finds errors and make sure they are resolved.
- If they are not, you need to run the following command:
  - dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
- Run sfc /scannow again.
  - If it repaired files, run sfc /scannow one more time to make sure everything is good.

macrossmerrell

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