WoW running rundll32.exe at stupidly-high CPU usage whilst closed

[RobMmkay 0]

Unsure where to post this, so I guess support is as good a place as any. I installed the client via a link supplied on your Beginners Guide page that links to a Russian install (English client). This was the only link that worked for me at the time as Google Drive links are fucked and the Mega Download is a fraction over the free limit of 5GB. Anyways, I've been playing through this client for a good few weeks now and keep noticing strange spikes in my CPU usage; today decided to investigate.

Every time I've started WoW.exe, the game doesn't load first time, I have to end process and open again - always works second time. The issue is though, there's a rundll32.exe attached to the original WoW.exe process (had to install Process Explorer to view this) and even with the WoW.exe process closed, this runs at 20-30% CPU usage for ~5 minutes at a time, ~30 seconds downtime, in cycles. The only fix I've found is to manually kill the rundll32.exe process every time, but why is it using such a high amount of my CPU? This is my knowledge exhausted and I understand it's a Russian website that hosts this, but you are providing the link on your Beginners Guide page and it's the only (currently) working link for me. A few images:

 

 

Shows the rundll32.exe running under WoW.exe (with the game closed):

 

Shows the CPU usage over time:

 

Extended properties showing clear on VirusTotal:

Edited June 19, 2019 by RobMmkay
images

[ShutterBun 0]

I came here for this exact same issue.  The first time I double-click the WoW icon, it does not open, but CPU immediately jumps to 100%.  Then I have to double-click again.  Definitely something shady happening.  Not sure which client download I used, but the issue seems to have just happened recently, possibly related to the BC update?

[RobMmkay 0]

10 hours ago, ShutterBun said:

I came here for this exact same issue.  The first time I double-click the WoW icon, it does not open, but CPU immediately jumps to 100%.  Then I have to double-click again.  Definitely something shady happening.  Not sure which client download I used, but the issue seems to have just happened recently, possibly related to the BC update?

Good to know it's not just me then I guess. I doubt it's anything to do with the BC update though because I'm fairly certain this is just a generic client. Would be nice if someone that knew a thing or two swung by to shed some light!

[BluJay 0]

I packaged a download for another Vanilla WoW Project. I built it upon the famous 1.12.1 torrent (the big .rar). I also verified that the WoW.exe is correct by installing from the original game disc, then patching it up to 1.12.1 patches that I have archived. It was indeed bit-for-bit identical, along with every other file.

 

Anyway, I have had several players complain to me, in the last 48 hours, that rundll32.exe is causing problems related to high CPU usage.

 

So far, all the players I have interviewed are running Windows 7. Someone offered advice to rename "WoW.exe" to something else, such as "1.exe", but this does has no effect.

 

I researched other projects and historical data from Nostalrius. This error did not happen in the past; yet, in 2 days, I have many players complain. Could this mean that a recent version of Windows is causing trouble with a .dll file?

 

For the sake of solving this problem, I will be monitoring this thread and sharing information as I receive it.

[j0ker 0]

Hey, exact same problem here and I have no clue of what is the cause of this issue, so I can't help much.

However, I can avoid the 100% CPU usage once the client is open (after opening "WoW.exe" two times) :

>> Ctrl+Alt+Escape and stop the processus "rundll32.exe" (once the client is running). I also stop the processus "dllhost.exe".

Not ideal, but I don't know if someone can find a real fix for this issue.

Edited June 22, 2019 by j0ker

[Satyrox 2]

I'm facing this issue too, it started about 1-2 weeks ago and it also happens with Diablo 2 (1.14d) and Warcraft 3.

For me it's a Windows 7 issue, maybe related to (old) Blizzard games, but not only to the WoW 1.12.1 client.

 

edit: Seems to be related to the Microsoft GameUX engine, which has problems with legacy games. There are different fixes that can work, either disabling the GameUX engine fully, unregistering its DLLs (gameux.dll both 32 and 64bit) or modifing the DLL that holds the supported legacy games (GameUXLegacyGDFs.dll) or replacing it with an empty one.

 

edit2: SOLUTION (disable GameUX, might interfere with other games)

create a text file with the content:
 

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\GameUX\ServiceLocation]
"Games"="127.0.0.1"

save it, rename it from .txt to .reg and execute it. no reboot required, WoW will now load like it should.

 

to enable GameUX again, use this code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\GameUX\ServiceLocation]
"Games"="https://games.metaservices.microsoft.com/games/SGamesWebService.asmx"

 

Edited June 22, 2019 by Satyrox

[j0ker 0]

That is what I was looking for, so thank you so much for this, Satyrox :)

Edited June 23, 2019 by j0ker

[RobMmkay 0]

On 6/22/2019 at 4:58 PM, Satyrox said:

I'm facing this issue too, it started about 1-2 weeks ago and it also happens with Diablo 2 (1.14d) and Warcraft 3.

For me it's a Windows 7 issue, maybe related to (old) Blizzard games, but not only to the WoW 1.12.1 client.

 

edit: Seems to be related to the Microsoft GameUX engine, which has problems with legacy games. There are different fixes that can work, either disabling the GameUX engine fully, unregistering its DLLs (gameux.dll both 32 and 64bit) or modifing the DLL that holds the supported legacy games (GameUXLegacyGDFs.dll) or replacing it with an empty one.

 

edit2: SOLUTION (disable GameUX, might interfere with other games)

create a text file with the content:
 

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\GameUX\ServiceLocation]
"Games"="127.0.0.1"

save it, rename it from .txt to .reg and execute it. no reboot required, WoW will now load like it should.

 

to enable GameUX again, use this code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\GameUX\ServiceLocation]
"Games"="https://games.metaservices.microsoft.com/games/SGamesWebService.asmx"

  

 

Still not ideal for hopping between games but at least it works, thanks! I've been putting off upgrading from Windows 7 for a while now, but with the official support being scrapped at the end of the year and issues cropping up like this, I feel it'll be a good time to upgrade soon.

[Hater 14]

Similar issue, probably the same.

 

If I try to run WOW.exe Vanilla does not run, I close it and the rundll32.exe and try again, it never runs Vanilla.

Win7 runs it as Wow.exe*32

 

If I leave it running, and double click wow.exe it does run, Task Manager in process tab runs is only as wow.exe without the *32 attached, then I close rundll32.exe and wow.exe*32 and we are back to normal.

[Jarov 0]

В 30.06.2019 в 21:32, Hater сказал:

Similar issue, probably the same.

 

If I try to run WOW.exe Vanilla does not run, I close it and the rundll32.exe and try again, it never runs Vanilla.

Win7 runs it as Wow.exe*32

 

If I leave it running, and double click wow.exe it does run, Task Manager in process tab runs is only as wow.exe without the *32 attached, then I close rundll32.exe and wow.exe*32 and we are back to normal.

There is a similar situation, it seems the solution lies in the operating system of the computer itself, so only use this output or reinstall.