Thread: Windows 7 and LOTRO Compatibility

With today’s release of Windows 7 we know many of our players are considering upgrading, and are wondering about software compatibility.

Our Quality Assurance department is continuing their evaluation of the performance of The Lord of the Rings Online™ on the new Windows 7 operating system. At this time, LOTRO has proven to be compatible with Windows 7 in most cases. While our QA department is confident that any issues are minor or likely to affect a very small number of players, they have not yet reached a point where they feel Windows 7 can be officially supported.

If you are upgrading or plan to upgrade to Windows 7 our staff suggests the following:

• Use the 64 bit Version of Windows 7 if at all possible. This will help avoid issues also present in Windows Vista where processes lose more address space to the Windows driver model. The more video RAM your card has, the larger the loss to the game and the space is particularly tight with 32 bit versions of Windows (Vista and later). If you have a card with 512MB or more memory, it is highly recommended to go to 64 bit Windows to avoid memory issues.
• Windows 7 has the same issues as Windows Vista with Creative X-FI sound cards. We suggest you use software settings instead of hardware.
• With any new operating system, drivers take several revisions to catch up. Many initial issues may be the result of beta or first generation Windows 7 drivers -- particularly those involving display issues on ATI or NVIDIA video cards.

If you have upgraded to Windows 7 and are experiencing an issue, please use this thread to report it. Because we are still not in an official support state, we cannot guarantee when your problem will be addressed but having your reports will help us identify the leading issues more clearly.

We will only be taking reports from the final release version of Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate). If you’re using a beta, release candidate, or RTM version, you should first upgrade to the final commercial release before submitting a new report.

I'd like to say that I've been having problems with LOTRO working with my GeForce 8800GT under XP. When I loaded Windows 7 beta the problems disappeared and I was able to crank up the graphics all the way. When I reloaded XP back to a clean install and loaded the GeForce drivers the old problems were back. Hopefully when I load the release version it runs clean again and I can start playing LotRO again. WoW is fun but I love the LotRO too.

Good luck with upgrades folks.

My W7 should arrive today. I've been using various beta versions over the passed year without any problems. I'll post again if I encounter any problems with the retail version. But from my experience, Windows 7 is much more stable and faster than Vista was at launch and even Windows XP for that matter.

I've been running Windows 7 Beta since the summer and it's been great! No more crashing or slow downs or hardware issues. I would recommend it. Much cleaner OS than Vista.

I've also been running Lotro and Windows 7 64-bit since June. No problems, increased performance over XP. I run a e8400 3Ghz, XFX 680i MB, 8G Ram, XFX 8800GT video.

Haven't had any issues with RC1. My official copy arrives tomorrows!

I have been running over a month now since my college got it through MSDN. Using Professional x64.

Originally Posted by lorindah

EDIT: And yes, load times are much faster with Windows 7.

This is not the case. At least, not as a result of the operating system. You may have experienced decreased load times for some other reason, but via either dual-booting or virtualization, I can confirm that load times are just as long on Win7 as Vista or XP Pro, at least in some instance.

Oh, also: If you're not taking reports from the RTM, you really need to reconsider that. Most people get their operating systems bundled with computers, which means most people are going to be getting the RTM of Win7 right up until the first service pack is released. Supporting the RTM should be first priority, not second.

Ive used it with no issues W7 32 bit.


One thing to take note of the 32 bit only see's about 3.5gb of memory no matter what is installed....but with that said, ive run LOTRO just the same as when I was running 6 gigs.

It seems to run smoother then it did on vista, zero crashes so far.

Win 7 Ultimate x64 Retail
GeForce GTS 250 1GB
6GB DDR3-1800
Intel i7 920
EVGA X58 mobo w/onboard sound

Been running on the retail build for about 2 weeks.

Load times are significantly faster in Win 7 over Vista/XP. ~3 seconds difference into areas like Bree.

FPS are stable in Bree at 140FPS with Ultra-High + DX10.

Experienced no lock-ups or crashes.

Originally Posted by DarkCntry

Win 7 x64 Retail
GeForce GTS 250 1GB
6GB DDR3-1800
Intel i7 920
EVGA X58 mobo w/onboard sound

Been running on the retail build for about 2 weeks.

Load times are significantly faster in Win 7 over Vista/XP. ~3 seconds difference into areas like Bree.

FPS are stable in Bree at 140FPS with Ultra-High + DX10.

Experienced no lock-ups or crashes.

/jealous

Also isn't Windows 7 Professional from MSDNAA the same as the final version?

Win7/64/Ultimate GM build for about 3 weeks (MSDN). I7-950, Nvidia GTX275-1792Mb, 6 Gb, EVGA X58, on-board sound.

One minor bug, probably trivial, which I logged. Happens during launch on the splash screens. Totally avoidable, i.e. has workaround

No crashes, hangs, dx10 frame frame in 21st hall at a busy time: 40-45 fps.

Moors runs were fast and lag-free with 30-40 players in the area.

Tip: Don't use x64 sound drivers. Or companion x64 apps, like Ventrilo. Yet. Stay x86 on those guys for a bit.

Originally Posted by Arandil

/jealous

Also isn't Windows 7 Professional from MSDNAA the same as the final version?

Build revision, yes...however it does come packaged with the more recent updates out-of-box. For MSDN's, this shouldn't be a big issue

I'm going to go back up and edit my post to add in the fact that it is Ultimate though

I've been running Win 7 for months without problems. Started with the release candidate, and then received the official through the Microsoft Partner Program two months ago. Have Ultimate 64-bit on my desktop and Professional 64-bit on my laptop. The performance is definitely better than Vista and the reliability is fantastic.

One thing you may run into if you're upgrading from XP, is that under Vista and Win7, sometimes when you log in, right after the screen goes black, the Windows task bar shows up again and you can see the LotRO item. If you don't give focus back to LotRO right away it'll crash silently. I've run into this on my laptop, my home desktop, and my wife's desktop. This should be nothing new if you're on Vista. All three computers run DX10 and nVidia 8xxx series graphics cards, which could be the culprit. I've never quite nailed it down. This also happens with DDO under DX10, but not any other game, so I think it's a Turbine engine DX10 thing. It's definitely not a show stopper, but it's something to be aware of.

Upgraded a couple months back to 64 bit Windows 7 RC. That stopped the once a week hang that I used to have since first starting the game (Nvidia 8600GTS, SB Live). Added another 2GB of memory which had a good effect on performance, and I boosted the cache a bit. Recently added an Nvidia 9800GT, fastest I could get without getting a new power supply or getting a double-width card, and the game runs great now, and I can even turn on DX10 without losing all my frame rate.

The only glitch is when running in windowed mode. If there's the small icons on the task bar, and the LotRO window touches the round start button or its animation, the frame rate drops in half. So when using windowed mode I use the large icons for an fat task bar, but often do a lot of full screen instead (inconvenient as it's hard to tab out for a browser window).

I've been running W7 64-bit RC1 Ultimate (build 7100) ever since I got it, meaning the day after it was released

And I must say... I got less issues than I used to have with XP, my whole 8GB of RAM are now supported (yeah, only had 32-bit XP, but needed the 8GB when running data analysis on Unix) thus way more fluid, smooth and stable operation of LoTRo.

Only detail is that LoTRo seems not to be compabible with W7's Aero.. I get sent back to the Basic Window manager whenever LoTRo's running.

Will test it on MSDN-AA's W7 Pro as soon as I can find time to install it (I haven't even been plaaying LoTRo lately, and that is a sure sign that I've been too busy )!

I have been running the 64-bit version of Windows 7 with LotRO since Win7 was in beta. There are usually no issues at all. Just make sure all of your drivers are up to date.

The only issues I have had since installing Win 7 x64 are the load times of LOTRO, it takes minutes from clicking the icon to actually being in game (I will run some tests to quantify with real values), my brother has noticed this since upgrading from Vista (fresh install).

The other issue is when entering banks etc, it can take up to a minute for the me to get back into game (this is random though because sometimes it takes seconds).

My spec is:
I7 920
6gb Ram
nVidia GTX 280 (1024 mb Ram)

I have been running Win7 Pro x64 RTM since mid september (yay MSDNAA!!)

Asus N50
-Intel Core2 Duo t5800
-4gb ram
-Nvidia 9650m /w 1gb vram

Running with just about maxed out settings everything has been silky smooth so far. The only trouble I have had is the same as Lohi, where the game crashes on launch. I think that when DX10 is turned on DX9 gets turned off Windows is stealing the focus from the game to notify that Aero features requiring DX9 have been turned off. Dont know why that is causing the game to crash.

Id imagine turning off all the Aero stuff would fix the issue, but I like my pretty "glass" windows.

And I concur with others saying load times are faster. I feel like Win7 is lighter on system resources in general, so that probably has alot to do with it.

I've been running LOTRO under Windows 7 Enterprise (full release version for Gold Partners) for a few months now and the only issue I've had was with DirectX10 Shadowing (ATI4890). When it was enabled, it caused random crashes of LOTRO to the desktop. However, since I disabled this setting I've had no other issues at all.

Originally Posted by Seedly

Id imagine turning off all the Aero stuff would fix the issue, but I like my pretty "glass" windows.

Turning off Aero doesn't fix the problem. Lohi is right, it has to do with the focus being taken by the Aero is being disabled message that comes up. I think the real trick would be finding a way to disable the warning message though I haven't had the time/bother to figure it out myself.

I have been running Win7 on 2 PCs since January. Originally Beta win7 and more recently the RC.

P4, 3GHz overclocked to 3.38GHz, 3G RAM, 32 bit, DX9, Radeon 800XL

E8500 Core2Duo, 3.16GHz, 8G RAM, 64 bit, DX10, Radeon 4800

So far I have found LOTRO much more stable on both than I did on Vista.

Originally Posted by caelyndir2

Turning off Aero doesn't fix the problem. Lohi is right, it has to do with the focus being taken by the Aero is being disabled message that comes up. I think the real trick would be finding a way to disable the warning message though I haven't had the time/bother to figure it out myself.

I turned mine off somehow so it can be done. Dont ask me how though. But if you have xfire or steam on, anytime someone logs in/out that little popup does the same thing anyway.

Count me among those having problems.

Did a clean install of Win7 Home Premium 64 bit and installed LotRO from the original SoA disks. The launcher launched and downloaded a massive update, relaunched itself, and then complained that it needed a Visual C++ 2005 redistributable package. So I installed that. Then the launcher said it needed the service pack for the VC++ package, so I installed that. Then it said I needed the .NET 1.1 framework, so I downloaded that and installed it even though Windows said there were known compatibility issues.

Fired up the launcher again after all this, and it said I needed to install a Visual C++ 2005 redistributable package...

Been running the Win7 64-bit RC for a few months myself, and it fixed the problem that Turbine has with large video cards mentioned in the OP (>512MB memory + 32 OS). That problem leads to lots of random crashes when in the loading screen. Completely vanished with my 64-bit install. Granted, would have likely happened with 64-bit Vista as well, but I like Win7.

Good tip about the start circle, I will try making my task bar larger and see if that improves my frame rates. My only complaint was lower frame rates overall, but that could very well be the culprit.

Originally Posted by Majesto

One thing you may run into if you're upgrading from XP, is that under Vista and Win7, sometimes when you log in, right after the screen goes black, the Windows task bar shows up again and you can see the LotRO item. If you don't give focus back to LotRO right away it'll crash silently.

I've seen similar behavior several times. If I alt-tab out of the game right after launching it, it silently crashes. (Build 7600 x64 -- will be installing retail x64 this weekend, Phenom X3, 4GB RAM, Nvidia GTX 275, Realtek onboard sound)

The only thing I've had to get used to is the DX10 water.

I was one of the early recipients of the Windows 7 Ultimate final release build -- installed the 64 bit edition August 24th --and before that was running the RC build 7100 . . .

All of my crashes and problems with both XP and Vista using NVidia drivers and or my sound card drivers are gone. In fact the game has never run better. One minor difference between the Win7 RC x64 and today's final release x64 is that load times in the game are faster in the release version.

Two things to help those people with issues regarding load times and the Aero Glass theme warning popup stealing the focus:

1) Make sure you allow inbound AND outbound exceptions for "lotroclient.exe" in the Windows 7 Firewall for all ports, and all Internet IP's and for both UDP and TCP protocols ( you should have two rules in each In/Out set when done, one for each protocol. )

2) If you want to disable all balloon warnings from the task bar, create a TXT file with notepad, add the following to that file, and save it as a .REG file. Import it by doubleclicking and answering yes, then restart. Here's the entry you need:

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"TaskbarNoNotification"=dword:00000001

Hope that helps!

Originally Posted by DarkCntry

Build revision, yes...however it does come packaged with the more recent updates out-of-box. For MSDN's, this shouldn't be a big issue

I'm going to go back up and edit my post to add in the fact that it is Ultimate though

Well I'm sure Microsoft has all the updates out for us by now...

Originally Posted by Sapience

We will only be taking reports from the final release version of Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate). If you’re using a beta, release candidate, or RTM version, you should first upgrade to the final commercial release before submitting a new report.

I'm confused about that last sentence Sapience. In the fields I work in, RTM (Release To Manufacturing) is almost always the same as the final commercial release. I generally use the terms interchangeably.

Of course, "final" release is a moving target anyway, what with the first set of critical patches for Windows 7 released literally two days before the OS itself went "public." {evil grin}

I'm hard-locking within 3-4 minutes of getting in-game. Only once i'm in-game. I have been gaming with this system for the past month with other games without a hitch, new and old. Tried every setting under the sun with DX9 and DX10.

Windows 7 Pro, 64 bit
12gb Ram
i7 920
eVGA X58
eVGA 295 GTX co-op FTW edition
Using driver 191.07

oh, and this is the retail copy via Volume Licensing.

Originally Posted by caelyndir2

Turning off Aero doesn't fix the problem. Lohi is right, it has to do with the focus being taken by the Aero is being disabled message that comes up. I think the real trick would be finding a way to disable the warning message though I haven't had the time/bother to figure it out myself.

Disabling the warning message doesn't fix the problem, unfortunately. The only workaround I've found is to wait for the screen to go dark and click on it to grab focus back.

Other than that, performance has been fine.

The last person just left my Windows 7 launch party -- Microsoft gave me an Ultimate edition of Windows 7 around the beginning of the month and I've logged on a bit since then. When LotRO first ran, the firewall exemption question came up and I told it to always allow LotRO -- I don't want LotRO to suddenly be unavailable just because I'm using a public connection.

The first week (the second and third were just too busy to really play), LotRO ran great under Windows 7. The load times seemed a few seconds longer, but the play seemed slightly less laggy and that's a change that I'm happy to make. I never tried the Windows 7 beta or RC, so I don't know how it's changed. I just know that betas are usually expected to have some bugs and the non-beta Ultimate version of Windows 7 that I have works fine for me.

I'll be sticking with Windows 7.

Oh, by the way, I went to "adjust the appearance and performance of Windows" and unchecked everything but the very last one, use visual styles on windows and buttons. But then I always try to turn off extraneous stuff when I game.

Originally Posted by Majesto

One thing you may run into if you're upgrading from XP, is that under Vista and Win7, sometimes when you log in, right after the screen goes black, the Windows task bar shows up again and you can see the LotRO item. If you don't give focus back to LotRO right away it'll crash silently. I've run into this on my laptop, my home desktop, and my wife's desktop. This should be nothing new if you're on Vista. All three computers run DX10 and nVidia 8xxx series graphics cards, which could be the culprit. I've never quite nailed it down. This also happens with DDO under DX10, but not any other game, so I think it's a Turbine engine DX10 thing. It's definitely not a show stopper, but it's something to be aware of.

Also happens with Radeon HD4850's in and out of crossfire, so you can take Nvidia out of the equation. Been running the RC x64 for months - will get a real copy when I get paid.

Been using W7 Ultimate 64bit since RC was available and it works great on my Inspiron 720 laptop and home built quad core desktop. LOTRO has run great thus far.

I've been running LOTRO under windows 7 since early February and have had no problems at all. It runs as smooth as it did on vista and XP, plus it has DX10 Support.

Originally Posted by GodfreyW

The only issues I have had since installing Win 7 x64 are the load times of LOTRO, it takes minutes from clicking the icon to actually being in game (I will run some tests to quantify with real values), my brother has noticed this since upgrading from Vista (fresh install). The other issue is when entering banks etc, it can take up to a minute for the me to get back into game (this is random though because sometimes it takes seconds).

I would like to second this. I have two machines, both 64-bit hp Pavilion desktops, albeit one with an AMD Phenom chipset and the other is an Intel Quad Core. Both have ATI boards (4670 and 4850). And BOTH have exhibited unusually long start up times for LOTRO that were NOT there with Vista 64-bit.

Turbine, can you help us isolate what might be going on at startup? I did the usual stuff (disable anti-virus, kill background tasks, and deep-defragged the hard drives), but regardless of how 'perfect' my machine might be, the time it takes to get into the world from a fresh boot is HORRIBLE compared to Vista. Please help us isolate this. I will do whatever testing you'd like or if there are boot log files or something that would help, let me know.

Randy

I personally have been running the various versions of the W7 beta for over a year, and Lotro has run better on it than any other system. I personally won't be getting the official release soon, (lack of cash), but I will post if I find anything.

I think I need to restate. comments from RC and Beta installs really don't do much to help us trouble shoot (though we're thrilled the majority of you experienced no issues!). Please keep the comments on track to FINAL RELEASE versions of the OS only.

And if you are having an issue on a FINAL RELEASE version of the OS, please state as much and let us know which version (Home premium, Professional, or Ultimate).

Originally Posted by Sapience

I think I need to restate. comments from RC and Beta installs really don't do much to help us trouble shoot (though we're thrilled the majority of you experienced no issues!). Please keep the comments on track to FINAL RELEASE versions of the OS only.

And if you are having an issue on a FINAL RELEASE version of the OS, please state as much and let us know which version (Home premium, Professional, or Ultimate).

Okay, just to clarify the terribly slow initial startup (as in, the world load progress bar doesn't start filling up for almost a minute), happens in the RTM FINAL RELEASE OF WINDOWS 7.

I've tried everything I can think of to 'optimize' my computer. Something else is going on here which was NOT happening in Vista, and on multiple machines. Once you're in, it's fine, but SOMETHING is affecting load times.

Edit: And oh yeah, one machine is running Home Premium and the other Ultimate.

Randy