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ESO Launcher Crashes on Update 9/04/2018

  • Elsonso
    Elsonso
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    9/10/2018

    Maui Hawaii (Pre-Hurricane)

    Once again, the updates stall the ESO launcher.

    Once again running Betternet Free VPN saves the day!

    May your luck extend to the hurricane.
    PC NA/EU: @Elsonso
    XBox EU/NA: @ElsonsoJannus
    X/Twitter: ElsonsoJannus
  • Avonna
    Avonna
    ✭✭✭
    downloaded entire game over night,
    woke up thinking this is my new weekly thing , re installing the darn game every patch.

    instead got.
    error 210 patch manifest error-download fail

    unable to download patch manifest. this could be from a recent update ( no %#^$)
  • Talcyndl
    Talcyndl
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ZOS?

    Anyone?
    Tal'gro Bol
    PvP Vice Officer [Retired] and Huscarl of Vokundein
    http://www.legend-gaming.net/vokundein/
  • Dyngrin
    Dyngrin
    ✭✭✭
    The Launcher has been crashing for me as well with an apparent endless loop of writing the following to the host_developer.log:

    09/11/2018 12:09:49 WebGet Error: (http://151.205.0.95:80/data/06c97e64f7005d75/live.patcher.elderscrollsonline.com/products/eso/874DCDCF-C40C-4956-92FE-E39B8DC4764E/game_player/game_player_294to295/game_player_294to295.z01) (151.205.0.95:80) (3:956)
    09/11/2018 12:09:49 Hostname not found in whitelist (151.205.0.95)

    Once the log got over 430K MBs, the Launcher would crash. Since I was able to manually download game_player_294to295.z01 with the above URL, I assumed it was a false error and the crash was from the endless loop of writing to the log (an exception in the exception handler). So by doing the following, the Launcher patched successfully (though slowly):

    Set Deny Write permission to Everyone for host_developer.log in the Launcher folder.

    The Launcher runs very slowly so you can only see its progress using Windows 10 Task View. Once you see Play, you can kill the Launcher, set the permissions back for the log file, then run the Launcher again and it should load normally.

    --Dyn
    Grand Overlord Dyngrin, Templar, Daggerfall Covenant (PC/NA)
  • Sureshawt
    Sureshawt
    ✭✭✭✭
    Dyngrin wrote: »
    The Launcher has been crashing for me as well with an apparent endless loop of writing the following to the host_developer.log:

    09/11/2018 12:09:49 WebGet Error: (http://151.205.0.95:80/data/06c97e64f7005d75/live.patcher.elderscrollsonline.com/products/eso/874DCDCF-C40C-4956-92FE-E39B8DC4764E/game_player/game_player_294to295/game_player_294to295.z01) (151.205.0.95:80) (3:956)
    09/11/2018 12:09:49 Hostname not found in whitelist (151.205.0.95)

    Once the log got over 430K MBs, the Launcher would crash. Since I was able to manually download game_player_294to295.z01 with the above URL, I assumed it was a false error and the crash was from the endless loop of writing to the log (an exception in the exception handler). So by doing the following, the Launcher patched successfully (though slowly):

    Set Deny Write permission to Everyone for host_developer.log in the Launcher folder.

    The Launcher runs very slowly so you can only see its progress using Windows 10 Task View. Once you see Play, you can kill the Launcher, set the permissions back for the log file, then run the Launcher again and it should load normally.

    --Dyn

    This looks promising. Going to give it a try. Stupid that we have to resort to this but thanks a ton to you for posting it.
  • Crimsonorion
    Crimsonorion
    ✭✭✭
    Make sure we keep this thread alive, and if anyone knows zos members tag them in this, we could use an update (and not a copy/pasted canned response please
  • BelladonnaMagique
    Can someone post the links to download the depot & game_player files this time around? I was able to download the depot file from the host log url but when I try it for the game_player file it just gives me a page with a bunch of code...no download.

    When I clicked on Dyngrin's link for the game_player file it took me to the same page of code but I found that if I right-clicked his link & did a 'save link as' it let me download the file. So if anyone encounters a page of code just do what I did. Now after applying the files my patch is good & I can play

  • MrThirtyOddSix
    MrThirtyOddSix
    Soul Shriven
    Wow, Zenimax has some real dishonesty going on! Just in time when I renewed my subscription. Some bad luck, eh? (Pun intended)

    I just tried official way of wiping off previous install of a game and installing a fresh one. Guess what? I'm stuck at 0% download. And this is "community solution" ?

    This is the best you can do giving these circumstances?

    Please, official Zenimax "drones". We are real people who have jobs too (and some of us experts in same fields as you, technical or managerial). We understand that what you give us for an answer is corporate approved text to appear in good standing. You lie and mislead (yes, according to the contract, right?)

    Now that we cleared this. Consider that you are building a reputation for giving FAKE solutions and FAKE appearance.
  • Mykelorcrist
    Mykelorcrist
    Soul Shriven
    Dyngrin wrote: »
    The Launcher has been crashing for me as well with an apparent endless loop of writing the following to the host_developer.log:

    09/11/2018 12:09:49 WebGet Error: (http://151.205.0.95:80/data/06c97e64f7005d75/live.patcher.elderscrollsonline.com/products/eso/874DCDCF-C40C-4956-92FE-E39B8DC4764E/game_player/game_player_294to295/game_player_294to295.z01) (151.205.0.95:80) (3:956)
    09/11/2018 12:09:49 Hostname not found in whitelist (151.205.0.95)

    Once the log got over 430K MBs, the Launcher would crash. Since I was able to manually download game_player_294to295.z01 with the above URL, I assumed it was a false error and the crash was from the endless loop of writing to the log (an exception in the exception handler). So by doing the following, the Launcher patched successfully (though slowly):

    Set Deny Write permission to Everyone for host_developer.log in the Launcher folder.

    The Launcher runs very slowly so you can only see its progress using Windows 10 Task View. Once you see Play, you can kill the Launcher, set the permissions back for the log file, then run the Launcher again and it should load normally.

    --Dyn

    Sure would be nice if we could redirect the launcher log output to /dev/null, let it put all those error messages into the bit bucket.
  • Sureshawt
    Sureshawt
    ✭✭✭✭
    Dyngrin wrote: »
    The Launcher has been crashing for me as well with an apparent endless loop of writing the following to the host_developer.log:

    09/11/2018 12:09:49 WebGet Error: (http://151.205.0.95:80/data/06c97e64f7005d75/live.patcher.elderscrollsonline.com/products/eso/874DCDCF-C40C-4956-92FE-E39B8DC4764E/game_player/game_player_294to295/game_player_294to295.z01) (151.205.0.95:80) (3:956)
    09/11/2018 12:09:49 Hostname not found in whitelist (151.205.0.95)

    Once the log got over 430K MBs, the Launcher would crash. Since I was able to manually download game_player_294to295.z01 with the above URL, I assumed it was a false error and the crash was from the endless loop of writing to the log (an exception in the exception handler). So by doing the following, the Launcher patched successfully (though slowly):

    Set Deny Write permission to Everyone for host_developer.log in the Launcher folder.

    The Launcher runs very slowly so you can only see its progress using Windows 10 Task View. Once you see Play, you can kill the Launcher, set the permissions back for the log file, then run the Launcher again and it should load normally.

    --Dyn

    Gives this man(woman) a medal!

    Verified that this worked for me.

    It's a sad day when members of the community give more support than the company itself does.

    Edit: One minor correction though. The name of the file is host.developer.log At least on my platform which is Win7/PC.

    Edited by Sureshawt on September 12, 2018 1:41AM
  • corvair62
    corvair62
    ✭✭✭
    So some started another thread on this and ZOS shut it down and references back to the earlier post of "It's your ISP" crap. Well, I had Mediacom out at my place again(3rd time now). Guess What? Still not a problem to be found on my end. Thats ok though ZOS already has my money......
  • ahsen74
    ahsen74
    Soul Shriven
    Problem is back for me again as well.
  • ahsen74
    ahsen74
    Soul Shriven
    And same solution that worked last time worked for me again. Download on VPN.

    I have never used a VPN before. I downloaded it last week and it worked for me and its working again. Here are the instructions on how to get a VPN to work, if you don't know how to use one.

    1. Make sure ESO launcher, steam etc are closed.
    2. Open a web browser, and get a free VPN software. I did this by searching for free VPN on a trusted site (Tom's Hardware, https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-free-vpn-services,review-5516.html). After reading this article, I chose to get Windscribe (https://windscribe.com/?affid=yafk4u62&cpid=tomsguide1&afftag=tomsguide1)
    3. After installing Windscribe, their UI is very simple. Press the big ON button to turn on VPN.
    4. Launch Steam (if you use it) and then ESO launcher. Let the game update.
    5. Close the ESO launcher, and Steam.
    6. Turn off VPN
    7. Relaunch Steam and ESO Launcher. Play game

    Its really very simple. I am not a tech guru, and never used a VPN before.

    No reason to rage quit ESO over this.
  • devlyn1
    devlyn1
    ahsen74 wrote: »
    And same solution that worked last time worked for me again. Download on VPN.

    I have never used a VPN before. I downloaded it last week and it worked for me and its working again. Here are the instructions on how to get a VPN to work, if you don't know how to use one.

    1. Make sure ESO launcher, steam etc are closed.
    2. Open a web browser, and get a free VPN software. I did this by searching for free VPN on a trusted site (Tom's Hardware, https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-free-vpn-services,review-5516.html). After reading this article, I chose to get Windscribe (https://windscribe.com/?affid=yafk4u62&cpid=tomsguide1&afftag=tomsguide1)
    3. After installing Windscribe, their UI is very simple. Press the big ON button to turn on VPN.
    4. Launch Steam (if you use it) and then ESO launcher. Let the game update.
    5. Close the ESO launcher, and Steam.
    6. Turn off VPN
    7. Relaunch Steam and ESO Launcher. Play game

    Its really very simple. I am not a tech guru, and never used a VPN before.

    No reason to rage quit ESO over this.


    except Winscribe is only free for the first 2gig of data you download (10 if you confirm email address) and after that you have yet another monthly fee to play the game. I used them also
  • ahsen74
    ahsen74
    Soul Shriven
    devlyn1 wrote: »
    ahsen74 wrote: »
    And same solution that worked last time worked for me again. Download on VPN.

    I have never used a VPN before. I downloaded it last week and it worked for me and its working again. Here are the instructions on how to get a VPN to work, if you don't know how to use one.

    1. Make sure ESO launcher, steam etc are closed.
    2. Open a web browser, and get a free VPN software. I did this by searching for free VPN on a trusted site (Tom's Hardware, https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-free-vpn-services,review-5516.html). After reading this article, I chose to get Windscribe (https://windscribe.com/?affid=yafk4u62&cpid=tomsguide1&afftag=tomsguide1)
    3. After installing Windscribe, their UI is very simple. Press the big ON button to turn on VPN.
    4. Launch Steam (if you use it) and then ESO launcher. Let the game update.
    5. Close the ESO launcher, and Steam.
    6. Turn off VPN
    7. Relaunch Steam and ESO Launcher. Play game

    Its really very simple. I am not a tech guru, and never used a VPN before.

    No reason to rage quit ESO over this.


    except Winscribe is only free for the first 2gig of data you download (10 if you confirm email address) and after that you have yet another monthly fee to play the game. I used them also

    The update was about 63 MB. I agree if the core issue is not fixed in the long term it is certainly problematic, but in the short term this is a simple workaround which allows me to get my ESO fix on.
  • Rhorka
    Rhorka
    ✭✭
    eckertt001 wrote: »
    If anyone is interested, I was able to find a work around. You need 2 files you can download by clicking the links below: 'game_player_293to294.z01' and 'depot_248to249.z01'.

    http://142.129.4.67:80/data/07a8ac6f64dc6069/live.patcher.elderscrollsonline.com/products/eso/874DCDCF-C40C-4956-92FE-E39B8DC4764E/depot/depot_248to249/depot_248to249.z01

    http://142.129.4.67:80/data/05a8797ac260299e/live.patcher.elderscrollsonline.com/products/eso/874DCDCF-C40C-4956-92FE-E39B8DC4764E/game_player/game_player_293to294/game_player_293to294.z01

    These files go into separate folders within '\The Elder Scrolls Online\depot' and '\The Elder Scrolls Online\game'. I do not recall what the folders were called, however if you search within 'The Elders Scrolls Online' folder, you should find files with the same name, that Windows identifies as 'Partial Download'.

    You will have to kill the Launcher process a couple of times to make sure everything kicks in.

    I can confirm that this solution still works for the current patch just need to change 'depot_248to249.z01' and 'game_player_293to294.z01' to the current patch. Which I believe is 'depot_249to250.z01' and 'game_player_294to295.z01' . Double check the folder with the file that is a 'Partial download'.

    Also, tried changing my phone into a hotspot and that worked as well to download the patch.
    Edited by Rhorka on September 12, 2018 7:10AM
  • Mykelorcrist
    Mykelorcrist
    Soul Shriven
    Dyngrin wrote: »
    The Launcher has been crashing for me as well with an apparent endless loop of writing the following to the host_developer.log:

    09/11/2018 12:09:49 WebGet Error: (http://151.205.0.95:80/data/06c97e64f7005d75/live.patcher.elderscrollsonline.com/products/eso/874DCDCF-C40C-4956-92FE-E39B8DC4764E/game_player/game_player_294to295/game_player_294to295.z01) (151.205.0.95:80) (3:956)
    09/11/2018 12:09:49 Hostname not found in whitelist (151.205.0.95)

    Once the log got over 430K MBs, the Launcher would crash. Since I was able to manually download game_player_294to295.z01 with the above URL, I assumed it was a false error and the crash was from the endless loop of writing to the log (an exception in the exception handler). So by doing the following, the Launcher patched successfully (though slowly):

    Set Deny Write permission to Everyone for host_developer.log in the Launcher folder.

    The Launcher runs very slowly so you can only see its progress using Windows 10 Task View. Once you see Play, you can kill the Launcher, set the permissions back for the log file, then run the Launcher again and it should load normally.

    --Dyn

    Here is a little batch file to automate the process. Copy and paste into notepad. Save to your desktop as ESOPatch.bat Right click and Run as Administrator on patch day. Wait for the Play button to light up and exit the launcher. Start the game as usual. If you installed ESO on another drive, change the drive letter to match where you installed it. If you are not a steam user, change the path accordingly. Be patient, it will be slow.

    cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Zenimax Online\Launcher
    attrib +r host.developer.log
    Bethesda.net_launcher
    attrib -r host.developer.log
    Edited by Mykelorcrist on September 12, 2018 2:19PM
  • corvair62
    corvair62
    ✭✭✭
    For me, I get it to work. BUT, I should not have to do their job for them. All the "little" issues add up to big frustrations.
  • Lucasfantasmic
    Lucasfantasmic
    Soul Shriven
    corvair62 wrote: »
    For me, I get it to work. BUT, I should not have to do their job for them. All the "little" issues add up to big frustrations.

    exactly!
  • JKith
    JKith
    ✭✭✭
    Yip, SUPER annoying issue,.. finally had to purchase a VPN just to update the game. There goes $49 for a 1 year subscription.
  • MrThirtyOddSix
    MrThirtyOddSix
    Soul Shriven
    Here is one solution that I've gotten to work. I did remove my old installation and removed launcher completely (started with everything fresh):
    - changed launcher.settings json field region "US" to "EU" and "p2pEnabled" to true
    - start launcher and it will say that it is downloading EU version
    - after some time it stopped saying EU and it defaulted to normal "Elder Scrolls Online"
    - given three hours and multitude of downloads now game is playable again

    Without these changes launcher could not download files for me, so something about EU version changed its behavior.

    PS. I would like to remind again about incompetence of Zenimax support to address this problem. It is either incompetence or malice. And people should decide to remember Zenimax.
    Edited by MrThirtyOddSix on September 13, 2018 12:10AM
  • Lucasfantasmic
    Lucasfantasmic
    Soul Shriven
    4 DAYS TRYING TO UPDATE THIS ***! THE *** CLIENT IS FREEZING AND CLOSING. I TRIED REINSTALL THE GAME 2 TIMES. THE STAFF ONLY SAYS "IM SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENT". *** U! MAKE THIS *** WORK OR GIVE BACK MY MONEY
  • Prainx
    Prainx
    Soul Shriven
    I used the free betternet worked fine make sure you run a full repair after the patch. I was finally able to get on. On Oahu with spectrum
  • Crimsonorion
    Crimsonorion
    ✭✭✭
    Bump

    ZOS, any comments? Anything at all?
  • InfinityIncarnate
    It sucks that you people have been suffering from this, but good thing there is a fix for it, and with the devs made aware of it, hopefully it will get fixed, which is more than what can be said about the issue in this thread: [STEAM] Launcher issue. Apparently there are some who seems to think the issue presented in the linked thread somehow is related to the issue in this thread - It is not. I have confirmed it is not, because there haven't been issues with downloading nor installing it, because the game functions fine without the workaround I've presented IF one starts the game with the exectuable and not the launcher, which confirms the game IS installed and works, and is a launcher issue.

    Unfortunately, because this issue has not been fixed, people are regretting to have purchased the game through Steam, and a lot are actually considering to quit playing the game altogether as they don't want to deal with that issue. Players don't want to deal with issues, they want to play, but some are willing to endure more than others, where some have close to a zero-tolerance. Personally I don't think it should be reason enough to quit the game when there is a workaround, however I do think there is reason to quit playing the game if the devs don't fix the issues with the game, where the launcher issue has been present at least since December 1st, 2017, which should be a simple enough fix for the devs to do.

    I think Zenimax should up their efforts with fixing the game's issues, because this hurts the playerbase, and ultimately the overall well being of the game, because if enough leave the game, at some point it won't be sustainable and the game will cease to exist.
  • BlueLisica
    BlueLisica
    Soul Shriven
    On September 4 I tried to download the patch but it froze the launcher. I did everything I could find to try to fix the issue, including uninstalling and reinstalling the entire giant game. I opened a support ticket but was only told to do all of the things I had already done. Now customer service just tells me to watch the forum for updates while I've been stuck with a completely broken game for over 2 weeks. They also told me that problems don't get relayed to the devs and to post my problem on the forum. So apparently opening a support ticket is worthless and a waste of time. I have invested a lot of time and money into this game under the faith that I would always be able to play it. I've logged over 1k hours as it was one of my favorite games. It's been over 2 weeks and they have done nothing to fix this patch/launcher issue. Nor has this company done anything to compensate all the players who are affected with this patch/launcher issue which results in a completely broken game. I see others have the exact same issue as me and one even has the same errors in their report as mine. I canceled my Plus membership because why continue to pay for a broken game that I cannot play. I think that all of the players with this issue should band together and file a class action lawsuit against the company because apparently they are not going to fix the problem.

    Also out of all the games I have played over the years I have never had a completely broken game until ESO. One game did have a Steam launcher issue but they let us download the game from their site while they fixed the problem, so it wasn't a completely broken game either because it was playable from their site. ESO players on Steam with this patch/launcher issue have not even been given that option.

    I just received another reply from customer service:
    "We have confirmed this is an ISP issue. We have reached out to the internet providers who are blocking the associated files, and at this point, it’s up to them to resolve the problem. In the meantime, using a different network path could fix the problem and allow you to fully patch the game since this issue only affects certain files. In this case, you could try using VPN. Have you attempted this option? We are currently looking into ways to prevent ISPs from doing this to our traffic in the future. You may also want to check our Players Helping Players forum to see how other players are resolving this issue. Unfortunately, at this point there is nothing much we can do other than the steps suggested above. Please let us know if they work in case you decide to try."
    How is it isp related if affected players are not on the same isp and not all players on the same isp are affected? I asked the coders in my company and they said if it was isp related then it would affect everyone on that isp not just some.

    So they said they are NOT GOING TO FIX THE PATCH FILES AFFECTED.
    Time for a lawsuit!
  • shardinite
    shardinite
    Soul Shriven
    So I'm also on Spectrum in Hawaii. Been trying to tackle this on my own with the help of some Google searching. I also have the issue of the launcher getting to a specific point then freezing followed by a force quit. After reading that it seems to be an ISP thing I popped on my VPN and started the launcher. Wouldn't you know it, download is going smooth as can be.

    If you have access to a VPN try it out. I'm connecting to a server in Switzerland just to be on the safe side (didn't want to hit another Verizon or Spectrum connection).

    My download went from where it was stuck at 13% all the way to 50% in the time I wrote this. No launcher freeze or force quit yet.
  • Crimsonorion
    Crimsonorion
    ✭✭✭
    Happening again on September 24th, still no word from ZOS other then the copy-paste response of "We are working on it"
  • Crimsonorion
    Crimsonorion
    ✭✭✭
    An update though, that I noticed. Without using VPN I noticed my PTS updates just fine, as it updated with no issues the last couple of times, however today it seems their is a PTS AND LIVE update, PTS goes up just fine to about 16% then the launcher crashes, with LIVE stuck at 0%. So for some reason PTS is updating just fine, but the LIVE server is causing the launcher to crash. May be something to look into while you "Investigate"
  • Crimsonorion
    Crimsonorion
    ✭✭✭
    Another update, did a test where I used a Free VPN and LIVE updates with no problem [And quickly I might add] but PTS got to about 26 before I closed the launcher

    I then opened the launcher again with the VPN turned off and PTS had no issues updating, and as I said above when its JUST a PTS update it works without the need for a VPN, so whatever is happening is only affecting the updates to LIVE server....how is this possible? Whether its LIVE or PTS its still a connection between your computer and ZOS, so if one is having trouble without a VPN, wouldn't both?

    If anyone reads this can they tag some ZOS mods? Idk how to
    Edited by Crimsonorion on September 24, 2018 6:42PM
This discussion has been closed.