# Event ID 245, Source: Win32k (Win32k)



## spongeguard (Jul 14, 2010)

Application Wow.exe locked the primary surface 2 time(s).



> - System
> 
> - Provider
> 
> ...



What exactly is this error an indicator of? I've been getting this, and when it happens, the screen freezes for about 1-2 seconds. It is completely irregular, and sometimes I can go 30-40 mins without it happening, just to have it happen twice in 5 mins.


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## usasma (Apr 11, 2009)

Have you tried uninstalling WoW and then installing a fresh copy?


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## spongeguard (Jul 14, 2010)

usasma said:


> Have you tried uninstalling WoW and then installing a fresh copy?


No, I haven't, because I don't have the discs on hand and it's going to take me 7 hours to download it. 
I burned it onto DVD's from my old PC, did something get corrupted in the process? Is that what the error is indicating?

Though, I have run the WoW repair which didn't find anything, though I suppose it wouldn't.


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## spongeguard (Jul 14, 2010)

Tell me, would alt+f4ing the game prevent it from reporting to EventViewer properly? Because I played for two hours and only got the freeze twice, and after alt+f4ing from the game, there were no win32k errors in eventviewer.

This is all after having run the game in selective startup mode, os I'm really confused.


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## usasma (Apr 11, 2009)

It's possible that something got corrupted - but I really don't know what's happening here. I'm just using the usual troubleshooting steps.

Download a fresh copy (despite the time required) and see if that helps.


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## usasma (Apr 11, 2009)

BTW - if you burn it to a CD/DVD to transfer to another system - burn it at a very slow speed.


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## spongeguard (Jul 14, 2010)

Well, I found out that the error happens when I close it. Even when I don't experience any freezes, closing the game itself will cause the win32k error.
And I also get the freezes in Age of Conan, but nothing else.
I'm thinking it's HDD related, as I use a caviar green.

Selective Startup seemed to have significantly reduced how often the issue occured, so again it's possible that something was using up HDD activity.


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## usasma (Apr 11, 2009)

Please provide this info for us: http://www.techsupportforum.com/f217/blue-screen-of-death-bsod-posting-instructions-452654.html


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## spongeguard (Jul 14, 2010)

usasma said:


> Please provide this info for us: http://www.techsupportforum.com/f217/blue-screen-of-death-bsod-posting-instructions-452654.html


I'm not experiencing any BSODs, so I don't know how that information would be relevant. My problem is 0.5-1.0 second freezes in specific games.


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## usasma (Apr 11, 2009)

Although the title of the post relates to BSOD's, if you'd have a look at the reports that are generated you'll find that only two of the reports (out of 29 or more reports) will relate to BSOD's. The rest relate to the system state.


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## spongeguard (Jul 14, 2010)

usasma said:


> Although the title of the post relates to BSOD's, if you'd have a look at the reports that are generated you'll find that only two of the reports (out of 29 or more reports) will relate to BSOD's. The rest relate to the system state.


It would appear that my issue was related to my catalyst settings.
For some reason, the game was dropping to 2d clocks, which were incredibly low in my version of the catalyst drivers (157mhz core/300mhz memory). I bumped it up to 400mhz core / 1200mhz memory for 2d clocks, and I was able to play for roughly 2 1/2hr without an issue.


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