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Need Help Game runs slow, before it ran fine

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Daniel_1715

Landlubber
Hi Here is my issue:

Is it normal for a rundll32.exe file to take up 40% to 60% of cpu when playing this game?
I remember when I first started the game, it would load the first time I launched it in Steam.
Recently, I have had to launch it once, then close Engine.exe and launch it again.
Even more recently I noticed the game was slow, the framerate was lower and the loading times got longer. The game also crashes when now when I use time acceleration.
This is when I noticed the rundll32.exe file. Unfortunately, the game crashes (usually) when I close the rundll32.exe.
I have been able to close it once or twice and keep playing the game, and then the game plays smooth like before.
I was searching for help and came to this site: Технические вопросы - Страница 130 - Форум and followed the instructions regarding Games Explorer. This did not work.
I would like to be able to play the game like before, when it would not crash frequently and would run very smoothly.
My system specs are :

Core i7 2600k
GTX 970
8 gb Ram

The game is installed on SSD.

Thanks for your help
 
Welcome aboard, @Daniel_1715!!! :cheers

Recently, I have had to launch it once, then close Engine.exe and launch it again.
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I've have had this problem but nothing more, once i get the game running it runs normally and it doesn't happen frequently.

Your specs clearly aren't your problem.

Maybe, uninstalling and reinstalling would do the trick, or verifying the game if a file is wrong or corrupted. :shrug
 
Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply Nameless Pirate. I guess maybe the rundll32.exe was there the whole time and I just didnt notice the sluggishness. It happens sometimes during the game, but it is playable. I hope the developers know of this excessive CPU usage so that a fix maybe found.

I did uninstall and verify game cache integrity and the problem still persisted.
Since the game still runs fine and actually doesn't crash when I use x6 time acceleration during sea battles. I guess it must have crashed by coincidence before when I was using time acceleration.

Thanks again for the support and what a nice community you guys have made here.

Daniel S
 
The Nameless Pirate said:
I haven't had this issue with TEHO the game in my case runs well on the same computer that PotC doesn't.
Click to expand...
Same here. TEHO runs great. Didn't have to do anything after installation from Steam. But needed to use RivaTuner for PotC to run finely. TEHO devs need to share what they did to that game for it to run smoothly to us so people can stop using external apps to run PotC well on other computers lol :read:checklist:p Then again, we don't really have access to the source code.
 
Have a look here for a more comprehensive overview:

https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/what-is-rundll32exe-and-why-is-it-running/

From what I understand, rundll32.exe is a runtime environment for backwards compatibility with 32-bit Windows libraries. It is essential to run 32-bit applications on newer versions of Windows. That being said, it is a common infection target for malware, so I would recommend you run a thorough virus scan on your computer if you believe the computer's performance with 32-bit programs/applications (not just this one) has dropped all of a sudden, considerably.

Such sudden and unexpected performance drops are usually related either to a recent Windows software update, to badly programmed software recently installed on the computer that is/are running in the background, or to an infection (malware infecting the system).

I would recommend three utilities for identifying/fixing the latter problem:

Microsoft's own malware remover:
Free Malware Removal Tool | Anti-Malware Scan Software

Sophos' malware removal tool:
Virus Removal Tool for Conficker and Rootkits | Free Malware Detection and Removal | Sophos

And ClamWin for a thorough computer scan (not removal) (it's slow but thorough, it uses the open source ClamAV database):
Free Antivirus for Windows - Open source GPL virus scanner

It might also be a good idea (and a quicker, although not as thorough, identification alternative) to search the computer for any and all rundll32.exe files and to upload these files to this website for a scan with all current malware scanning engines:
VirusTotal

After these scans, you'll know with much greater certainty that your computer is clean, and that the performance drop is not due to malware running on your computer.

The second step with Windows is usually uninstalling all software installed on your computer that are not essential Windows system components and that you are not actively using. Many of these software will be cluttering up your computer's extensive resources and slowing performance down considerably. In my books, this is known as the 'Windows OS paradox' -- on superior hardware, you end up having an operating system that doesn't help the user do what they need/want to do, but uses up all system resources just to keep needless software fired up and active in the background.

Note that most versions of Windows itself are badly programmed, and some Windows system components tend to clog up the system when doing certain tasks.

Note also that if rundll32.exe (and your system) is not infected, it is possible that it is not the game itself that's making rundll32.exe run at such a high drain but another 32-bit software installed on your computer that is running in the background while you run the game, perhaps activating when the game runs.
 
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As a side note, if you also have an HDD storage in your computer, you should not install any programs to the SSD, but rather to the HDD storage. Use your SSD as storage for storing your own files. The reason for this being that SSD is a technology based on flash memory, and flash memory has a life-span of only so many writes. Software installed to and running from your SSD is likely to deplete its life-span (as it continues to write to the storage while it is being installed and while it is running).

In overview:
  • SSD has a longer life-span (virtually limitless) for static content, as the storage itself has no physically movable parts that can be damaged over time, but its life is limited in terms of writing to the disk (how many writes). Data from a failed SSD drive is usually impossible or very hard to recover. SSD is faster for data access, however.
  • HDD has a longer life-span for dynamic content, for amount of writing to the disk (virtually limitless), but it is prone to physical failure over time due to having moving parts. Data from a failed HDD drive is usually easily recoverable, as the data is stored physically/magnetically. Due to its moving parts design, data on an HDD is slower to access.
 
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