Hello,

I use windows 10 64 bit, CPU = intel i7-8700K 3,7 GHz, graphics GeForce RTX 2070

Bug #1
CPU overheating, computer freezing up, game cannot launch.

When launching the game through steam or by using the exe directly, sometimes the Windows "Antimalware Service Executable" will start running and completely overheat my CPU. The game will take maybe 5 minutes to launch, but I usually just terminate the game process in the task manager. The Antimalware process will continue for about 5 minutes, making the computer super slow, and then everything is back to normal. If I launch the game afterwards, the whole thing is likely to happen again.

I have updated everything in windows, and all drivers. I have added the whole game directory to the exception list in Windows Defender. No change. I also found a temporary solution on the web that said to reinstall the EAC service found in the game directory. This helped on the very next launch, but the problem still persist later on.

This has happened occasionally at least since January 2020, maybe longer, so over several versions of the game. The problem happens occasionally, but has happened much more frequently after the latest game patch. At least 50 % of the time I launch the game. Earlier it happened maybe 10% of the time.

Bug #2
Loss of internet connection.

This has happened only after the latest game update.

Sometimes, about 40-50% of the time (when bug #1 does not occur and I can actually launch the game), the computer immediately loose internet connection at game launch. When I quit the game, the internet connection comes back. This also happens sometimes while playing the game. Again, to fix the problem, I simply have to quit the game and voila.

I use a wireless connection, and I have tried on two different wireless connections. All drivers at my computer and the internet modem firmware is updated. The problem is probably not with my actual connection, as this has never been a problem before, and is only a problem with this specific game, and with the latest game patch.

Overheating means that something is wrong with cooling solution for the CPU in this case, should it be that the current cooler and environment was sufficient to cool the CPU under synthetic AVX2 load (Prime95 is a great stress test) when you bought/built this PC, then the thermal paste degraded and the heatsink is filled with dust.
If it could not withstand maximum load before, then the current cooling solution is insufficient and you should replace it.

As for the Antimalware thing, this should be discussed on Microsoft Helpdesk instead, or whitelist the game, Steam and EAC directories and services from malware-check.

As for your other issue, gaming on wireless is not recommended due to it being sensitive to packet loss, lag and late/out of sync packets (unlike video streaming and passive data transfer).
However this can potentially be traced to your previous anti-malware issue as anti-malware software can break the connection like that when it is blocking an app, so might be that one solution can be found to both of your issues.

Thank you for your suggestion Arc.

@Arc said in Two game breaking bugs (cannot launch / loss connection):

Overheating means that something is wrong with cooling solution for the CPU in this case [...]

I probably didn't express myself correctly regarding overheating. What I mean is that the computer slows down and start stuttering, and the obviously demanding running process is Antimalware Services Executable which sometimes starts up when I run the game. So I don't really know about the temperature. Just the low performance.

This ONLY happens when I try to run Insurgency Sandstorm. Any other time when this process runs, my computer still works fine. And the computer always works fine with running anything, except for the problem described. So I don't really suspect any hardware failure.

@Arc said in Two game breaking bugs (cannot launch / loss connection):

As for your other issue, gaming on wireless is not recommended due to it being sensitive to packet loss, lag and late/out of sync packets (unlike video streaming and passive data transfer).
However this can potentially be traced to your previous anti-malware issue as anti-malware software can break the connection like that when it is blocking an app, so might be that one solution can be found to both of your issues.

Regarding the WLAN connection, I am aware that it might cause lag and occasional bad connection. But it still doesn't make sense that the internet connection is completely cut off when I run the game, and immediately comes back if I quit the game. I guess I can't really expect a fix for this unless someone else has had the same experience and managed to fix it. It does happen less frequently after the latest patch.

I guess it can be connected to the antimalware issue as you suggest.

Thank you again.

@strek Then that might not be overheating but your CPU is simply maxed out, the game is CPU heavy but even on quad cores it does not cause system-wide slowdown (had an i5-3570K not so long ago).

Thing is, that an Anti-cheat will be blocking and actively unloading certain apps to prevent them hooking or modifying files in any way while the game is running. So if your Anti-malware decides to check the game files for whatever reason, an issue like this may peg down the CPU.

You can try to add game files and any EAC service/executable into whitelist which should be excluded from Anti-malware check:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028485/windows-10-add-an-exclusion-to-windows-security

Do Speed Test of internet