I’ve been enjoying loads of Path of Exile 2 ever because the sport was launched and recently, I’ve observed that my pc has been locking up throughout intense gameplay classes. For no obvious purpose, each time I transition to a brand new space, the display screen freezes. That is indicated by the gears on the backside of the display screen now not spinning. When it occurred as soon as, I believed, “Okay, that is PC gaming; stuff like this occurs typically.” However after it stored taking place repeatedly, I placed on my IT Skilled hat and began investigating the problem.
Utilizing an overlay to observe my PC utilization whereas working Path of Exile 2, I observed that transitioning to a brand new degree brought on the CPU utilization to spike to 100%, successfully locking up the system, all with out the followers sounding as loud as a PlayStation 4 Professional, which if it did, would have pointed me into the best route initially. Scratching my head in confusion, I began digging deeper and remembered that I had not too long ago pressured the set up of the Windows 11 24H2 update. Then I got here throughout loads of chatter on-line about this very replace and the issues it’s been inflicting.
Placing two and two collectively, I noticed the replace won’t have been price putting in. Assuming it was the perpetrator, I started checking round and located that different Path of Exile 2 gamers had been reporting comparable points. Ultimately, somebody confirmed the identical suspicion: a nasty Microsoft replace was inflicting one more spherical of complications.
This replace has additionally been linked to a number of different points, comparable to inflicting issues with Ubisoft Join and breaking Microsoft Outlook, with customers experiencing startup and syncing points, amongst different points. These telltale indicators pointed me additional towards the replace being the basis of the issue.
Sadly, there isn’t a direct repair to cease Path of Exile 2 from locking up your PC if the 24H2 replace is put in. Nevertheless, there are a number of workarounds to mitigate the problem:
What Can You Do?
Attempt to Roll Again the Replace
If you happen to observed these issues inside per week of putting in the replace, you may roll it again by following these steps:
- Open Settings in Home windows.
- Go to Restoration and choose Restore Restoration Level.
- Search for the restore level dated across the time 24H2 was put in and revert to it.
Attempt to Cease Path of Exile 2 from Claiming your whole CPU
One other workaround entails limiting the CPU cores allotted to Path of Exile 2. Whereas this gained’t forestall crashes solely, it would cease your system from locking up utterly, permitting you to restart the sport with out rebooting your PC.
Right here’s do it:
- Begin Path of Exile 2 and press Alt + Tab to reduce the sport.
- Open Job Supervisor and navigate to the Particulars tab. You’ll see it on the left-hand facet of the Job Supervisor.
- Find “PathOfExile.exe” and right-click on it.
- Choose Set Affinity from the menu.
- Uncheck 4–5 CPU cores (begin from the underside) and click on OK.
You’ll have to repeat this course of every time you begin the sport. Watch out to not disable too many cores, as this would possibly decrease your sport’s efficiency.
Reinstall Home windows 11
If all else fails and the crashes persist, the one drastic answer is a full reinstallation of Home windows 11. This entails:
- Backing up all of your vital recordsdata.
- Formatting your drive and reinstalling Home windows.
- Recovering your recordsdata and purposes.
This can be a time-consuming course of and ought to be thought-about a final resort.
As of December 2024, Microsoft has admitted that this replace has been recognized to trigger points, and is engaged on a repair with no recognized ETA. For now, my recommendation is straightforward: DO NOT set up the Home windows 11 24H2 replace. It’s unhealthy to your PC, unhealthy to your gaming expertise, and a trouble to undo in the event you run into issues.
If you happen to’ve already put in it, your greatest wager is to attend for Microsoft to handle these points—although given how lengthy this replace has been out there, a repair won’t be fast to reach. Within the meantime, proceed with warning, and let’s hope for a smoother street forward.
