Question from a nonpc-literate person...

I have Guild Wars on my PC, for quite a few years now.

There generally hasn't been any problem; until now. I got Disconnected three times yesterday, and it wasn't the normal losing communication with the server deal.

I got yanked back out to my desktop, and there was a thing on my screen which asked if I wanted to send a report to Arenanet.

My one question is this: Do I need to uninstall and reinstall? Or is there something else I need to do instead?

Do you happen to remember what the little box said the cause was? I mean I'd hope for just a reinstall rather then having to replace a computer part...but in order to properly answer this question a few more details would be nice.
Also maybe a few details about your computer. i.e. what processor, how much memory, what operating system might be useful...

I might not be able to help, but it will be useful to others if I can't.

We need a little bit more information...

Some system specs might be nice. Maybe what was included in the error report.

However, to me, this sounds like a problem with the game on your PC, or your PC/Hardware. Sounds like the game has crashed due to some error of sorts. What happened to you wasn't a disconnect, it was a crash of your GW client.

What I would do first of all, reply here with some system specs. Go to start, run and type in dxdiag. While I am sure your comp is fine if you have been playing for years, We'd still like to know what your specs are just incase we can offer a suggestion to upgrade the PC or a part within the PC.

There could be a number of things to cause a client crash.

Bad/Dying memory could be one, any portion of hardware going bad, a dust-clogged PC can restrict airflow and can cause overheating of the GPU (graphics) or CPU (processor).

First thing I'd do is open it up and see if it's clogged with dist, if it is, blow it all out and give it another shot.

Corrupt GW.DAT can be another error, which personally, I'd do after I cleaned out the PC of dust if it dosen't fix anything.

Corrupt GW.DAT: The GW.DAT is corrupt/can't be read right, to fix it, one would delete it and reinstall it using the -image command.

On Windows XP (I don't know Vista or 7's default program path) Navigate to "C:/Program Files/Guild Wars/" you can even type that in, in a Start>Run command. This will show you the GW folder. Then delete the GW.DAT file, the one that is usually over 3 GB in size or something like (3,000,000 KB) as Windows XP seems to show it in title icon view.



Delete it... then go back to your start>run command box and type in:



This will redownload everything, which is 3+ GB of information. On a dial-up this is a bad idea, on a broadband connection, expect to wait an entire day or just do it before going to sleep at night.

You have to allow for temporary Internet service provider problems as well as problems with the game servers or even a problem with your pc.

If its restricted to GW its not your machine

I would say if it happens a few times one day ignore it, if it continues into another day or longer it could be your data file has become corrupted.

Recently I've had issues similar to the OP's - Guild Wars would crash 11-12 times per hour. It was really painful during vanqs, because my U map would reset every time and my teammates would have to wait for me to restart GW.

All I did is open the casing to allow better airflow in my machine, and a miracle happened. It hasn't crashed since, I only got a few DC's due to my crappy Internet connection.

If running vista use the sidebar and add a tool to give you the system and processor temperatures see if they are within normal ranges.
AMDs can melt while intels just shut down and "usually" work again when its cooler.
You can also download tools to give your hard disc temp to see all is well there.

Dust is a real killer and its even worse if you have pets in the house, My brother has several dogs and the pc is low down so he is removing dog hairs often.
Sadly not possible to move pc or keep dogs out.

Watch out for failing hard drives too I have had some last over 6 years while others start to deteriorate between 2 and 3.

Its not been unknown for me to take the side off my old pc and have a room fan blowing onto it.

New pv seems ok for the moment better designed and a decent directed cooling system.

In all cases, the file path should have "\"'s instead of "/"'s - for example C:\Program Files\Guild Wars

Also, watch out for the placement of quotes. It should be:

"C:\Program Files\Guild Wars\gw.exe" -image

with the -image outside the quotes.

Thanks to all. I talked to a friend and he said it looked like the problem was on GW's side of things. Also I haven't had that particular thing happen since...

I forgot to mention that overheating of the video card can cause such an error. Check that all cooling fans in your computer are running and blow out any accumulated dust bunnies. Be brave - open it up and take a look.