Thread: lotro client can't write UserPreferences.ini

I've been running LOTRO for a long time, recently had to reinstall after building a new PC on a new domain and for some reason the game cannot create the "The Lord of the Rings Online" folder in the documents directory. I have uninstalled and reinstalled in both high and low res packs as well as using both the Pando downloader and the fileplanet zip file.
When trying to start LOTRO the game crashes after launcher login and world selection. I have worked around this by manually creating the "The Lord of the Rings Online" folder in the documents directory. When I do this the Userprefences.ini file still does not populate, again I have worked around this by copying in the UserPreferences.ini file from DDO; this lets me login and select a character however any attempt to change graphics settings results in a freeze followed by a crash to desktop.

The system is running windows 7 ultimate 64bit, UAC is turned off and permissions are correct on the folder, lotro client is set to run as administrator. The documents folder is a redirect to a server share but this has not caused trouble in my last three PC builds. DDO runs just fine and can write to the directory as intended.

Any help, thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I know this is not the answer you are looking for. It got to be a Lotro write privelege error. What is causing the error I do not know. The installer can't write to create the file. When you try to change a setting, the application is crashing because it can't update the file.

I would try putting these files on a local disk drive. See if you can isolate the write error to a general application privelege problem. Or if something associated with the redirect to a server share.

Originally Posted by methuselahwinds

I've been running LOTRO for a long time, recently had to reinstall after building a new PC on a new domain

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The system is running windows 7 ultimate 64bit, UAC is turned off and permissions are correct on the folder, lotro client is set to run as administrator. The documents folder is a redirect to a server share but this has not caused trouble in my last three PC builds. DDO runs just fine and can write to the directory as intended.

The bolded items above are the ones that caught my eye. Make sure that your new user account was given full permissions to the root "Documents" share and those permissions are applied to "all subfolders/files", you might want to try giving the "Eveyone" group full access to it as a test though.

From the sounds of it your Windows username isn't given full write/modify access to the drive that the Documents folder now resides on, since Lotro bases its permissions level on the current user account (and does elevate via UAC when it makes edits to files/folders) it really does sound like a permissions read/write issue.

As a test I'd try running LOTRO once by using right-click and run as administrator (don't use the permanent version though via compatibility mode, it can affect the games normal functions via UAC and interaction with its own program files) but you want to also make sure UAC is active for that otherwise it might not get elevated permissions correctly without it.

Thanks for the suggestions. The user account is actually a domain administrator and I have double checked permissions of the account to the share and the AD permissions; just to be sure I have given it explicit permissions to the drive and all sub folders and files but still no joy.
I am working around the problem by making all changes directly into the ini file so all good I guess, darndest thing though