A very specific crash issue and its solution

[VagabondEx]

On my windows laptop the game client (official and non-official) crashes sometimes while starting the game - before the login window appears - and it leaves a standard java error file:
hs_err_pid5408.log
In the header of this file I can see an EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION error.

Since it only appears rarely, but quite consistenly, it took some time to figure out what causes the issue, so I thought it might worth to share it.

The root cause of this error is that the laptop's power settings are different when plugged in and when running on battery. The most important differences are - available in the advanced setting section - the
- PCI Express/Link State Power management
- Switchable Dynamic Graphics
- ATI Graphics Power Settings

Since the game only crashes this way when the laptop is running on battery, I have updated the values in the 'Battery' line to mirror those in the 'Plugged In' line, and 'lo and behold, the game starts. Probably with a bit of fiddling it can be narrowed down to one setting, if someone has the motivation to experiment.

For the technically less educated, here is a short step-by-step guide for Windows 7:

Code: Select all

Start button ->
    Control Panel ->
        Search for "Power" ->
            Select "Choose a power plan" ->
                Click on "Change plan settings" next to the currently selected one ->
                    Click "Change advanced power settings" ->
                        Locate the abovementioned values and change them
                        Apply
                        Close the windows
                        Start Salem
                        Enjoy

Caveat: If you are not planning to enjoy Salem at the last step, then the whole process is too complicated and unnecessary. Also, these changes might decrease your battery life.

[Kandarim]

The root cause of this error is that the laptop's power settings are different when plugged in and when running on battery

That is not the root cause, but the inducement.
If I were to guess, I'd say that it is caused by your dedicated graphics card only running when your laptop is plugged in (all three of the options which you listed might influence this), reverting to the integrated card otherwise (which possibly does not support a recent enough OpenGL version). You can try to post the actual error you are getting and then maybe we can hunt down the root cause.

Anyhow, editing your power settings is a horrible horrible idea if done like that. A better solution would be to stop your laptop from changing power settings when it is plugged in/running on battery.