Tech Support FAQ

[darthpanda16]

Work in progress.

Table of Contents

1) What are the system requirements to run Torchlight on my version of Windows?

2) I am getting corrupted graphics and black screens while playing! What can I do?

3) How do I use my computer/PC? I'm not good with computers. (covers XP, Vista & 7)

4) How can I scan for viruses, malware, spyware, adware and such?

5) My keyboard is not recognized, or does not seem to work with Torchlight, what can I do to fix it?

6) Where can I find the tech support websites for my gear?

7) How can I keep my Windows PC maintained & running smoothly?

8) Help! I'm Stuck in-game!

9) I'm having difficulty getting the game to run on Vista or 7, what can I try?

10) I'm having issues seeing the website properly, downloading the game, or accessing the forums well, what can I do?

11) I am having trouble downloading the version of Torchlight that I ordered from Perfect World's website, can you help?

12) I need help with my Paypal purchase, can you help me?

13) I'm having problems downloading the 1.12b version, what can I try? (Perfect World & General Downloads)

14) I purchased the game from PWE, but can't get the code to activate, what can I do?

More to come...

[darthpanda16]

What are the system requirements to run Torchlight on my version of Windows?

Hi Everyone, these are my estimated real world system requirements that I have put together based on the Ogre Engine's requirements, and each version of Windows basic requirements to be more matched up for you guys. Runic please let me know if anything isn't accurate

Please note that netbooks/nettops might be able to run the game just fine, but top performance may not be achievable due to the CPU and GPU limitations often found in those configurations. Try to match the configs below for the OS you are using, and you should have less issues!

Minimum System Requirements
OS - CPU - RAM - Free Hard Disk Space - API - Video Chipset/VRAM

Windows 2000/XP - 800Mhz - 512MB - 1GB - DirectX 9.0c - nVidia: Geforce2 or later required w/64MB, Geforce 4(non-mx) w/64MB or higher recommended. ATI: Radeon 7500 or later w/64MB, Radeon 9600+ recommended.

Windows Vista - 1Ghz - 1GB - 2GB - DirectX 10 - Most ATI or nVidia chipsets made in 2006 or later with 128MB+ of RAM.

Windows 7 - 1GHz - 1GB - 2GB - DirectX 11 - Most ATI or nVidia chipsets made in 2006 or later with 128MB+ of RAM.

Intel GMA 950s video chipsets should work, and later ones should have less issues. SiS video chipsets may give you great difficulty as well, or just not work. Hardware accelerated dedicated video chipsets will work better then software accelerated ones.


Recommended System Requirements
OS - CPU - RAM - Free Hard Disk Space - API - Video Chipset/VRAM

Windows 2000/XP - 1.4Ghz - 1GB - 1GB - DirectX 9.0c - nVidia: Geforce 6200 or higher recommended w/128MB+ of RAM.
ATI: Radeon X1050 or later w/128MB+ of RAM.

Windows Vista - 1.4Ghz - 1GB - 2GB - DirectX 10 - Most ATI or nVidia chipsets made in 2007 or later w/256MB of RAM.

Windows 7 - 1.4GHz - 1GB - 2GB - DirectX 11 - Most ATI or nVidia chipsets made in 2007 or later w/256MB of RAM.

Notice: Why did I make the HDD space requirement so high for Vista and 7? Because those OSes need about 1-2GB on their own to run properly, plus what the game needs.

[darthpanda16]

I am getting corrupted graphics and black screens while playing! What can I do?

This could be the result of not having the drivers for your video card updated. Listed below are some websites where you can get the latest drivers to update your video chipset.

Please note, that if you are using a budget desktop computer, or any laptop, you most likely will need to go to the manufacturer's support website and get the graphic/video/display drivers from them specifically for your system.

Microsoft Direct X
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/Browse.aspx?displaylang=en&categoryid=2

Nvidia
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

ATI
http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html

Omega Drivers (only for people who are comfortable with using modified drivers)
http://www.omegadrivers.net/omega_drivers.php

[darthpanda16]

How do I use my computer/PC? I'm not good with computers. (covers XP, Vista & 7)

Please see these links to get you started:

How to use Windows 7
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/use/default.aspx

How to use Windows Vista
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/guides/default.aspx

How to use Windows XP
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/usingwindowsxp.mspx

PCs in general:
http://www.pc.com/

http://www.easycomputertips.com/article-howtouseyourpc-thebasics.html

[darthpanda16]

How can I scan for viruses, malware, spyware, adware and such?

Antivirus programs and the like (firewalls and other security programs), are great for keeping your computer safe from many bad things that are floating around on the Internet.

However, antivirus programs can also cause some frustration or mild discomfort (like some remedies & medicines can to people) when trying to play computer games.

The information we provide here is to help you try to make the process of getting your games running on your computer with as little hassle as possible.

Some antivirus programs will flag (or block) games when you try to download them, install them, update them (also called patching), or play them. This happens sometimes because the antivirus software maker doesn't have the game files in their own exceptions list.

When game files get changed, like with what often happens during patching a game, antivirus programs can flag it and prevent it from functioning, and/or from connecting to the Internet.

These tips and links are to help you troubleshoot your issues

Some things that you can try are:

- Add exceptions (adds file(s) to an exclusion list) for the game's file(s) into your antivirus software.

- Temporarily disabling (please note that you do this AT YOUR OWN RISK) your antivirus software long enough to get the game installed and playing, then re-enabling your antivirus software.

Note: By disabling your antivirus, you do so at your own risk, and PWE & Runic are not responsible for any damages that could occur to your system hardware or software, or any loss of data that could occur.

If you are still having problems getting your antivirus software to cooperate with your intentions on playing your games, here are some links to some known antivirus software publisher's support websites.

Windows Firewall - Windows XP - Free
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/Internet/sp2_wfintro.mspx

Windows Firewall - Windows Vista - Free
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/firewall.aspx

Windows Firewall - Windows 7 - Free
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/windows-firewall

Windows Defender - Windows XP & Vista - Free
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx

Windows Defender - Windows 7 - Free
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/windows-defender

Microsoft Security Essentials - Free
http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/support.aspx?mkt=en-us#mainNav

Symantec Norton Antivirus
http://www.symantec.com/norton/support/index.jsp

Trend Micro
http://esupport.trendmicro.com/consumer/default.aspx

McAfee
http://service.mcafee.com/default.aspx

Kaspersky
http://usa.kaspersky.com/support/
http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208279232

ESET (Nod32)
http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=home

Computer Associates (CA) Security
http://cainternetsecurity.net/Support/Default.aspx?lang=en-US

Panda Security
http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/support/

Bitdefender
http://www.bitdefender.com/site/KnowledgeBase/consumer/

PC Tools
http://www.pctools.com/contact/support/

Zone Alarm (Checkpoint)
http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/support/technical-support.htm

Sunbelt Software
http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/support/

Sophos Security
http://www.sophos.com/support/

Bullguard
http://www.bullguard.com/support.aspx

AVG - Free
http://www.avg.com/us-en/support-home

Avast! Antivirus - Free
http://www.avast.com/eng/technical_support.html

Avira Antivir - Free
http://www.avira.com/en/support/index.html

[darthpanda16]

My keyboard is not recognized, or does not seem to work with Torchlight, what can I do to fix it?

Check your security software and anti virus software settings to see if they are blocking the game in some way.

Check your keyboard connections. Are they plugged in to the proper port firmly? (like USB or PS/2)

Do you have multiple language keyboards setup on your computer and accidentally toggled to the other keyboard setup?

[darthpanda16]

Where can I find the tech support websites for my gear?

If you have hardware or a computer made by a company not listed here, use a search engine to find the support pages for that company.

Have your make, model number, brand, and any other identifying info nearby so that you can search and find what you are looking for.

Here is a list of some main ones.

Microsoft Support
http://support.microsoft.com/

Intel Support
http://www.intel.com/support/index.htm

AMD Support
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182,00.html

ATI Support
http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.HTML

nVidia Support
http://www.nvidia.com/page/support.html

Dell Support
http://support.dell.com/

HP Support
http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html

Acer Support
http://acerpanam.com/synapse/forms/portal20.cfm?website=AcerPanAm.com&siteid=7117&areaid=2&formid=3390&LINKTEXT=Support%20Solutions

Gateway Support
http://support.gateway.com/support/default.aspx

Toshiba Support
http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/support/jsp/home.jsp

Sony Support
http://esupport.sony.com/EN/VAIO#

Asus Support
http://support.asus.com/

eMachines Support
http://www.emachines.com/support/

Samsung Support
http://www.samsungpc.com/gb/support/rxdos/main.html

Lenovo Support
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/homeLenovo.do

IBM Support
http://www.ibm.com/products/finder/us/en/finders?pg=ddfinder

Alienware Support
http://support.alienware.com/Support_Pages/Support_Area.aspx

Cyberpower Support
http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/support/overview.html

[darthpanda16]

How can I keep my Windows PC maintained & running smoothly?

Excellent question, glad you asked!

Think of this as a guide that you should seriously consider printing out and putting up on the wall next to your PC. If you don't know how to do some of the things suggested, feel free to look them up online and get help from a PC Tech/Repair Professional.

Please use caution downloading and installing third party software because there are companies/groups out there that will make software that seems like it does everything you need, but installs malware/spyware/adware on your PC, which is not acceptable and can damage your data or system.

I recommend that you turn off and reboot your hardware periodically because electromagnetic interference can come from anywhere and cause "bits to flip" in electronics, among other anomalies. Turning them off and depriving them of power for a little while can help things go back to a more normal state.

The following advice applies to ALL types of PCs like: notebooks, laptops, netbooks, desktops, workstations, tablets, nettops, etc.

1) Run frequent antivirus, spyware, and malware security scans on your PC.
Some programs update themselves and run scans on their own, but you should make your own schedule to do so, at least weekly.

2) Completely shut down your PC for an hour at least once a week, if you don't do it daily. Not only does this give your system a chance to cool down, but also gives you a chance to listen and see if any of the fans, or your hard drive sounds weird as it slows down.

3) Unplug from electricity/turn off your networking gear for a few minutes at least once a week. This reboot of sorts helps the hardware to go back to working similar to a fresh unit out of the box.

4) Don't use hibernate or sleep modes all the time on your PC. Vista and 7 handle these features much better then XP on maintaining your data properly with minimal errors, but they can still cause issues with some programs. See number 2, as it is relative to this step.

5) Periodically check to see if there are updates for: your web browser and its plugins, your version of
Windows, BIOS, motherboard, DirectX, video drivers, sound drivers, network drivers, & security software. Checking ever 2-4 weeks should help.

6) Clean up your system by deleting Temp files, and by cleaning out your web browsing history, cache and cookies. Cleaning these off your system at least once a week can free up drive space and help your system run smoother.

7) Try to reduce the amount of SPAM/Junk email that you receive, or delete it if you you use a email client to download POP based emails on your PC instead of web based (like Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail).

8) Back up your data at every 1-2 weeks. RAID is overrated. Your media (music, movies, games, documents, pictures, projects, schoolwork, game saves, etc) should be copied to an external drive (hard drive or solid state), and kept in a secure location AWAY from where your PC is located. That way, if there is a fire, flood, theft, drive crash, or anything happens to your PC, you'll have a back up of your data, and hopefully only be a week or two behind on your work instead of losing it all.

9) Keep your wallpaper simple. Don't use the programs to change them all the time with pretty pictures or animations. This uses system resources that can be better utilized for something else.

10) Don't try to max out your desktop resolution just because you can. If you can set it a little bit lower and it still looks appealing to you, then do it. The less pixels your system has to push, the faster it is.

11) Don't use super pretty animated screensavers. Especially ones with elaborate animations or videos playing. These can eat up system resources and cause your system to have errors or crash especially if you are running a 3d program like a game.

12) Carefully go through your Add/Remove/Uninstall Programs area of your PC and remove programs that you no longer use, or that have "shown up", and you don't know how they got on your system. Make sure you aren't uninstalling a program that your system needs, or that you need.

13) (Optional) Unless you need the special features that some IM (Instant Messaging) programs provide, get a program that handles multiple IM types (like AIM/AOL, Yahoo, Live/MSN, ICQ) like Diggsby, Trillian, or others, and uninstall all of the other IM programs that you have.

14) Keep the number of programs that start up automatically when Windows boots up to a minimum. Having 1-4 programs that start up with Windows should be ok. Having none is really good. Having 5-15 or more starting up with Windows is PC suicide, as all of those programs are fighting for system resources which slows down your PC.

15) (Optional) Change the settings on your PC to limit animating Windows, and turn off graphic effects like transparencies, shadows and more. This will help speed up going between different Windows when multitasking.

16) Minimize Desktop Shortcuts. Try to keep them to 20-30 or lower. Launching programs through the Quick Launcher or Start Menu is quicker, and your PC can startup quicker. Disabling Desktop Shortcuts being displayed is an option as well.

17) Don't keep open mouth liquids near your PC to help minimize accidents. Have a table or flat space near your desk, or have a drink "area" lower then where your PC is.

18) Give your PC and display room the breathe. Make sure that there is at least 5.1-10.2cm (2-4 inches) on all sides of your display or PC, and anything near them. The air vents and fans need plenty of space to breathe on desktop PCs, or your system can overheat. For laptops and small form factor systems, you have to be careful and not use them on your bed covers, a carpet, jacket, or even your lap directly. Keep a flat hard book or other laptop friendly surface with your system so you can be sure that the laptop's vents and fans can circulate air properly. Having the back two corners or your laptop raised up at a slight angle can help airflow well.

19) A can of air with a straw nozzle attachment is your friend. Unplug your PC from the power supply. Blowing off the fans and vents on your laptop every few weeks is good. For desktops, opening up your case and blowing off everything is really good and should be done at least every 2 months. Blowing off your keyboard can help prevent crumbs from causing typos and stinking

20) If multiple people use your PC, carefully take some PC cleaner (or hand sanitizer) and apply it to a rag or paper towel first, smear it in some, and then clean your keyboard and mouse thoroughly. Depending on the frequency of the PC being used, this should be done every week or two. Keeps your gear from getting grimey, and helps cut down on passing germs and viruses. Keyboards and mice are some of the dirtiest objects in everyday life.

21) Use a surge protector power strip or uninterpretable power supply (UPS) with your PC, and have your networking and power cables hooked up to it. This can help protect your investment, and also help reduce noise and interference in the cables.

22) Don't use or install various search and "helpful" toolbars onto your system or web browser. These use system resources, and can be sniffing data on your PC which can also mess with your network traffic. Many of these are actually installing spyware or adware onto your system. Using Favorites or Bookmarks in your web browser instead will help your system run better. Plus, you won't be sharing your browsing history with a third party!

23) Keep at least 4-10GBs of hard drive space free for your programs and Windows to run properly. You may need to have even more free hard drive space depending on the programs that you install and their requirements.

More info:

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/50-expert-tips-to-make-your-pc-faster-622700

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/maintenance/speed.aspx

[darthpanda16]

Help! I'm Stuck in-game!

(Copied from Runic post)

If you are stuck! There is a solution-

If you have a town portal, try opening it and going through if you can -
However, if that doesn't work, I have a handy console command we can enable for you.

You can 'ascend' a floor ( which will NOT mark you as a cheater ), and that should get you out.

From start->run

%appdata%

and press enter

Then browse to runic games\torchlight
there should be a settings.txt file in there

change
Console:0

to

Console :1

Now, when you load your character, hold SHIFT and press the ~ key
a console should come up -
type ASCEND and press return
that should pop you up a level and hopefully you should be un-stuck.

[darthpanda16]

I'm having difficulty getting the game to run on Vista or 7, what can I try?

64bit Info

If running Vista/7 64bit, try installing the game in the Program Files (x86) directory to run it in 32-bit mode. This may, or may NOT work.

Vista64/7 has a 32bit compatibility layer so you can run both 64bit and 32bit apps/games. Try not installing games
to the default (x86)Programs Files folder, as that is a protected folder and some games can't write their save games there.

Good suggestion is to install to another directory of your own choosing, like: C:\Games\Runic Games\Torchlight.

32bit/64bit Vista/7 Info

Try running the game as Administrator and/or changing Compatibility Mode. To run an application as an Administrator, you can right click on the game's shortcut and click Properties. If Run as an Administrator pops up in the first menu after you right click, use that.

To change the Compatibility mode, go to the Properties of your game, than go to the Compatibility tab and select Windows XP Service Pack 2 or 3 from the list.

If you want to be exact with the whole Run as an Administrator process, run the game on the account of your computer that has the account set as Administrator.

Try turning off UAC. In Vista or 7, go to Control Panel and in the Search bar type UAC. Choose to turn it off while you are installing the game. You will need to reboot to turn it off, and if you turn it back on. On Win 7, there are 5 levels of UAC, so choose wisely

[darthpanda16]

I'm having issues seeing the website properly, downloading the game, or accessing the forums well, what can I do?

If you are having trouble viewing certain parts of the website, make sure you have the latest version of Flash installed and Javascript enabled.

You may need to uninstall the current version of Flash that you have installed to prevent any errors from occurring. The un-installer is here: http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=tn_14157

You can get the latest version of Flash at:
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

Once you download it, run it and make sure all of your internet browser windows are closed.
After Flash is installed, start up your browser and see how the http://www.torchlightgame.com website
shows up for you then. If it still doesn't show up well for you, try re-booting your PC then starting your browser.

Any web browser that supports the latest version of Flash and uses it properly should display it correctly. Info below for Firefox and IE.

Web Browsers Links:

Firefox
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Internet Explorer
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

Another thing is to make sure that you have cookies enabled if you are having issues with viewing the forums. With the Firefox Browser it is under Tools > Options > Privacy. For Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > Privacy. A setting of Medium should be sufficient.

[darthpanda16]

I am having trouble downloading the version of Torchlight that I ordered from Perfect World's website, can you help?

Please note that you MUST download Torchlight from Perfect World's website, if you bought it from there. That way your activation key will work. Don't cross-mix Torchlight clients by downloading from one place, and buying a key from another provider.

After you have purchased the game, make sure that you are logged in to your Perfect World account and go to
http://torchlight.perfectworld.com/download

Download and Save the game.

Install the game, and type in the activation key on your account for Torchlight under Zen Charge > Zen History.
[b]

[darthpanda16]

I need help with my Paypal purchase, can you help me?

Here are some helpful links for you

Payment Review Overview FAQ
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/websc ... AQ-outside

Paypal Help Center
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/helpweb?cmd=_help

[darthpanda16]

I'm having problems downloading the 1.12b version, what can I try?

Updated Nov 12, 2009 7:07PM California Time

Try emptying your web browser cache, then try re-downloading it.

Save it to your PC, don't try running from your web browser. Every web browser is different, and may not handle that well.

Double check that the version of Torchlight that you are downloading came from the same company that you bought it from.

IE 8, Firefox 3+ and Opera 10 can download well. Chrome, Safari and others might not be so cooperative.

Make sure that you close the tab or window that was used for the download when you have the file. Restart your browser if you think it might help.

-------------------------
Perfect World Torchlight traceroute info
-------------------------

You may not be getting the download completed, hence the crashes because the entire game may not have been downloaded fully when you try to install or run it.

Try running traceroutes to the following:

74.217.218.39
74.217.218.42
74.217.218.73

Let us know:

Who your ISP is:

What region of the world you are in:

What web browser and version you are using:

How are you connected to the internet:
(wi-fi, cable, DSL, university, military, etc)

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

How to do a traceroute:

1) In XP, click on Start > click on Run > type in "cmd"
2) On this screen type in the IPs above.
Please note there is a space between "tracert" and "74.217.218.39"
3) Wait for the traceroute to complete.
4) Right Click on the window
5) Select the "Select all" option
6) Hit "Enter"
7) You will now be able to paste the text into your reply.
--

1) In Vista/7, click on the Windows icon/Start > click on Search > type in "cmd"
2) On this screen type in the IPs above.
Please note there is a space between "tracert" and "74.217.218.39"
3) Wait for the traceroute to complete.
4) Right Click on the window
5) Select the "Select all" option
6) Hit "Enter"
7) You will now be able to paste the text into your reply.

You will be able to see where the hops take too long or time out.

----

--------To compare whether what you downloaded is correct...[/b]

The MD5 for the PWE Torchlight12b.exe is:

7F6CC28A47A184C48D88FAD528E67A8C
Please note this number has changed as of Nov 12, 2009 (it isn't the Torchlight 12a.exe MD5 checksum)

To get an Md5, download the program from here: http://download.cnet.com/MD5-Checker/30 ... 10639.html

Copy and paste in the above code.

Browse to, and choose the torchlight12b.exe.

Verify the MD5 codes.

See if they match. If they don't try redownloading.

[darthpanda16]

I purchased the game from PWE, but can't get the code to activate, what can I do?

One thing that you can do, is add an exception in your antivirus software for the game when it is installing.

At your own risk, you can also temporarily disable your antivirus software long enough to install and activate the game. Once completed and in-game, then turn it back on.

When you have purchased the game from Perfect World Entertainment, and downloaded it from us, double check that you did not mix up the Activation Code with the Transaction ID. You want to use the Activation Code when the game asks for it.

Update for May, 2010: When you purchase the game from PWE, please make sure that you receive your email, as that is the only way you can obtain your activation code. PWE no longer allows players to be able to see their activation code within the branches of their My Account pages for security reasons, for our players.

So if you lose the initial email, or never get it and need the code to reinstall the game, you will have to send in a ticket to PWE's Customer Support.