Issues with Firestorm after Windows Update - Freezing/Crashing

[Clarapatra]

Hello all! I posted here about a five weeks ago when I couldn't use Firestorm for days and days.  See my post called:

After lots of advice, I determined I needed to whitelist not only Firestorm browser in my Avast software, but follow the Wiki instructions on whitelisting the cache/settings folders, too.

In spite of naysayers who thought my computer couldn't handle SL or Firestorm, I've had very few issues ever since. I can even handle large crowds (not able to render the heavy hitters.) I also use advanced lighting with no issues. Was thrilled!

Untiiiilll - last night.

24 hours ago, Windows 10 had a pretty long update. Took about an hour to install and load. I went from OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit (Build 18363.1316) to OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit (Build 19042.867.)

Afterward, I froze and/or crashed repeatedly. I did a clean install with folder backup, made sure my Avast still had all the whitelisting setup - and then realized that the Windows Defender Firewall was on. I disabled this (as I believe Avast is a fairly strong shield), rebooted my computer and all went well for about 12 hours. I even managed to handle a VERY busy sim with lots of scripts.

And then, tonight. Wham. Out of no where, SL on Firestorm started freezing and crashing again. Defender was still off - but the grid was busy and I know some changes are happening with SL and the cloud. Has anyone heard of issues with this new Windows update? I saw some articles online from years ago but am curious about this version now. I thought I better go ahead and post here as I feel a dark portent in all my crashes. I'm only able to log in about 5-10 minutes, if that.

Hope  it makes sense! Thanks in advance for all answers. - Clara 🦊

 

 

 

[Clarapatra]

Weirdly, after posting this, I was able to log on for another hour without issue. Still, new info is appeciated.

[arabellajones]

You may already have heard, but a Firestorm update came out on Monday. Since a lot of people use Firestorm, the download process may be a bit sluggish. There's some new bits and pieces, but the main element is to get close to the current SL Viewer. It's at parity with the SL Default viewer that was released on February 1st. There's been one SL Default release since.

I installed it, and it's been stable. There's been a couple of viewer releases, recently, which got a fairly rapid withdrawal/replacement. There's an argument for getting the download and waiting until Friday to install it. The Firestorm people have been doing QA testing for a while, but things can get missed. There's so much variation in graphics hardware and drivers, for one thing.

One thing I noticed: I had my cache settings changed back to the default. No big deal, but I keep my cache on an SSD, and the speed difference was obvious.

[Jax Leeder]

In all honesty @Clarapatra Windows Defender is probably all you really need - many firewall/AV companies sell you snake oil and rely upon the paranoia from the days before Microsoft took internet security seriously for the home user. You may find that you are paying for something that you already have as part of the operating system and do not need all the additional bells and whistles that the AV suites need (with the system overheads too).

[MarissaOrloff]

When performance is bad check to see if there are programs in the background using cpu time. ctrl shift esc to bring up task manager > click more info > the the details tab and sort by cpu%. Your cpu is somewhat low end and if other programs or services are using your cpu then cpu time will be shared with these other programs and services thus degrading performance. You can do two things to help this. Right click a cpu hogging process and end task on it and/or set the priority to high on the Firestorm process again using a right click. 

1. Start Task Manager (Right Click on the Start Bar and select Task Manager)
2. Click on the Processes tab
3. Right Click on the required process and select "Set Priority"
4. You can then select a different priority
5. Close Task Manager

Edited March 19, 2021 by MarissaOrloff

[RitaCallisto]

I had this exact same issue with that update, and even with a computer techy's help, was unable to clear it until reverting to the previous Windows build.

We did however find that something was up with that Windows update. While my fiance's has been fine, it was causing my CPU to use power like crazy. While it would not heat up, the smallest things would cause it to shoot to 100%(and thus causing the freezing). I stood in an empty region looking out at the sky and still froze up.

I noticed this when playing Phasmophobia as well as when playing and recording, I am often around 50-60% CPU usage.. with that update, as soon as I entered a building my CPU shot up to 100%.

Upon reverting back to the previous windows build, my CPU is back to normal and i've had no issues with SL. All in all I think some of us just have PC's that don't work well with that windows build. Some research says we're not the only ones.