Fixes for 2.1 and TW2EE Issues and 142 error or W2 stopped working Update 12/19/2014

[tommy5761]

Fixes for 2.1 and TW2EE Issues and 142 error or W2 stopped working Update 12/19/2014

While these fixes were first for the 2.1 patch they also work for the TW2EE patch

After working with a member by the name of Darius Naglo (permission given to use name) recently who was getting the 142 error with Steam version of Witcher 2 and finally after 2 days of updating software and outdated drivers and removing unneeded software to no avail we finally stumbled on the culprit...Browser Toolbars or in his case the Jzip toolbar .
After further searching and installing toolbars of various vendors i`ve found 3 that will cause this error or condition . Are there others ? I`m quite sure there are but i neither have the time nor energy to try every toolbar out there . I have listed 3 that i know to be causing the issue . I know the Yahoo and Google toolbars to be ok with no ill effects from either .

Jzip toolbar
Wincore Media bar
BearShare software
ILivid toolbar
searchqu toolbar - This program is deceivingly listed as Windows searchqu toolbar . It is NOT a Windows program but a program made for Windows
Media bar - usually comes as part of a software package deal from imesh or Bandoo media and several other vendors .
Zoomex - Is adware that usually comes bundled with other applications A facebook helper that will enlarge photos of facebook pics. Runs as an extension in Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer . Uninstalling tips can be found in this link
safe saevoee - comes bundled with other 3rd party software

other possibles are

Conduit Engine
ijji(IJJI) toolbar
any torrent toolbar
UPDATE 8/19/2013 - Nvidia beta drivers 326.41 and GEForce Experience 1.6
It has been noted that the Nvidia beta drivers 326.41 along with GE Force Experience 1.6 will also give the 142 error . It is advised to roll back the drivers to a WHQL set and or uninstall the GEForce experience app . Do note that these beta drivers work fine on Vista but not so much with 7 and 8 .

UPDATE
12/11/2012 -
The Bing Desktop released as an optional Windows Update installed alongside with Magic Disc will also cause Witcher 2 not to launch with all versions.

Magic Disc coupled with more unknown programs causes Witcher 2 to stop working . Uninstalling Magic Disc lets The Witcher 2 launch

Also it may be worth checking the windows update log for any failed updates for the simple reason that if a windows update fails for any reason then there is something that`s not right with the OS at the start and not correcting it can only lead to further complications later on .

Another possible solution is to synchronize internet time as suggested by another user (SpamIrwin) . To synchronize time click Start>Control Panel>Date and Time then click the tab Internet Time then click the Change Settings box and then select Update Now . Once synchronized retry game .


OF NOTE : Since the issue with Kaspersky2011 causing issues with witcher 2 i started searching for 2012 versions of antivirus programs , the more common ones are listed below with extra security if you are so inclined for free trials .

http://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/internet-security.html - free trial
http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/solutions/internet-security/
http://www.avg.com/us-en/internet-security - Free trial
http://download.cnet.com/Norton-Internet-Security-2012/3000-18510_4-10592551.html - free trial
http://www.f-secure.com/en/web/home_us/home - Free trial
http://www.avast.com/en-us/internet-security - Free trial
http://www.eset.com/us/home/products/smart-security/
http://www.gdata-software.com/home-security/
https://www.bullguard.com/download-login.aspx?action=download&pid=3

There are free antivirus programs for personal use and are listed below . This is not a complete list by no means but are some of the better ones .

Microsoft Security Essentials
Avira Free
Avast Free
AVG Free

ADDITIONAL STEPS THAT USERS CAN DO - added on May 6 2012

Adding a game exe to the VIRTU Control Panel instructions is a step to try before uninstalling ftp://174.142.97.10/manual/virtu/Z68 Extreme4/English.pdf
Q : Do i have to uninstall Lucid products like Virtu , LucidLogix , or HydraLogix ?
A : No . You can simply rename a single file namely this one appinit_dll.dll before playing Witcher 2 and after you`re done with Witcher 2 then rename it back to what it was originally with full functionality to the program(s) restored . But if you do not use these programs and have no intention to then it can be uninstalled with no side effects to your computer or games .

Q : Do i need to uninstall Adobe Acrobat Extended Pro ?
A : No . It`s enough to rename or remove this file Acaptuser32.dll before playing Witcher 2 . After you`re done then either rename or move it back to the original folder and full functionality will be restored to Adobe Acrobat Extended Pro .

Q : After uninstalling the searchqu toolbar i notice i still have the searchqu folder and that it cannot be deleted .
A : To delete entirely the searchqu folder after uninstalling the toolbar right click the searchqu folder and select rename . Then rename the folder to Searchqu.OLD and restart computer and when the computer reboots then navigate to the folder again and right click>delete and the folder and it`s contents will cease to exist .

Adobe's new patch for Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended.
(courtesy of Sygnus21)
For those that had to rename the file: Acaptuser32.dll to Acaptuser32.dll.bak (C:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64\ and/or C:\WINDOWS\System32\) to get Witcher 2 to run be aware that an update was just released by Adobe a day ago which repairs the file back to: Acaptuser32.dll.

I want to thank all users who were a great help to locate these programs !

UPDATE : 12/19/2014
Endless Loop of launcher to wolf head (game starting) and back to launcher :
Xfire : Xfire is a freeware instant messaging service for gamers that also serves as a game server browser with various other features. It is currently available for various versions Microsoft Windows.
You do not need to uninstall Xfire simply press Ctrl + Alt + Delete which opens task manager then find and and highlight Xfire and select "End Process" then game should start normally .

 

[secondchildren]

Let's hope this is useful for some more users. Thanks a lot Tommy

 

[not_slimgrin]

Good work Tommy. It's much appreciated.

 

[thingfish36]

Oh my god, I uninstalled searchqu toolbar and it finally works. Thank you!!

 

[Witcher142.354]

Thanks for this - I just uninstalled both ilivid software download manager and the toolbar and now it works!!

 

[saddletrampnc]

I've been using Vipre for a few years now and it has yet to cause any problems with any games/apps that I use.

GFI Vipre

 

[drunknmunkey666]

Just to get things straight: Avast is not "free trial" - it's free, with option to get more security by paying, but basic version is more than adequate....

Good job on the fix list, you're really an asset to this forum!!!!

 

[tommy5761]

Just to get things straight: Avast is not "free trial" - it's free, with option to get more security by paying, but basic version is more than adequate....

Good job on the fix list, you're really an asset to this forum!!!!

OOPS ! Thanks for the reminder that i needed to edit the description a little bit .

 

[sportycat]

I was just looking at what I have running - and I don't have any of the above toolbars. All I have is Bing and McAfee. However - I just realized that somehow Garmin is set up to auto run all the time - even if I choose to shut it down ... I wonder if that could be the problem.

 

[waltc.480]

Here's a link to what I think is the best A-V/spyware/malware program I've ever used: Microsoft Security Essentials. It's absolutely free of charge, too.

What's great about it is that it is very effective--according to reviews it's among the best if not the best program of its kind, and it is very non-invasive. For instance, on an invasive scale of 1-10, with 1 being the least invasive and 10 being the most invasive, I'd give AVG a 10 and MSE a 1. You will hardly notice that MSE is there, and it takes up very little room on your HD and in your ram when it's running. It's exactly the way this kind of program should be, imo---way, way better than Norton's, too. Best of all, it updates through Windows Update so you don't have to hunt for updates, and etc. It's a Microsoft program, too. If it wasn't for the silly US anti-trust people I'm sure Microsoft would be bundling it with the OS. Anyway--it's great, I was very surprised it didn't make your short list, Tommy...

Most important here: it hasn't interfered with a single game I own, including Witcher 2.

 

[tommy5761]

I was just looking at what I have running - and I don't have any of the above toolbars. All I have is Bing and McAfee. However - I just realized that somehow Garmin is set up to auto run all the time - even if I choose to shut it down ... I wonder if that could be the problem.

Could be don`t have any experience with Garmin .
If you have more than one browser installed the above toolbars can be installed to different browsers simultaneously . The one thing i did notice that with most of the toolbars is that they usually installed their own search engine as well . You might check all browsers search engines and if there is any there that you don`t recognize then uninstall it.

@ Walt
actually Microsoft Security Essentials did make the list along with Avira but were overlooked when i entered the post . I`ll rectify that shortly with links and an edit for free av programs .

 

[username_3117422]

After two days of tweaking and upgrading, a couple of trips to AMD and Microsoft, back and forth to the Support board here, I finally have the game up to speed again. I wasted a lot of time hunting viruses.
Now, if I could just do something about the loading speed of saved games.

 

[djawkwardsilence]

Thanks so much for the incredibly hard work you're putting into this guys. It's been very frustrating trying to get the game to work, but it's encouraging to see you really working on fixing it. Thank you.

 

[deemintad]

Thanks so much for the incredibly hard work you're putting into this guys. It's been very frustrating trying to get the game to work, but it's encouraging to see you really working on fixing it. Thank you.

Did I miss something or is this a case of sarcasm as I've seen or heard nothing form CD Red on fixing this issue. I see where the Mod tried to provide some relief, but nothing from the developer themselves.

I will give credit to the Mod for thier support but the developer needs to provide some feedback on the status of a fix.

 

[tommy5761]

Did I miss something or is this a case of sarcasm as I've seen or heard nothing form CD Red on fixing this issue. I see where the Mod tried to provide some relief, but nothing from the developer themselves.

I will give credit to the Mod for thier support but the developer needs to provide some feedback on the status of a fix.

Some people mistakenly think that mods are a part of CDPR which we are not . Has happened before and will probably happen again .

I have given your problem some additional thought and believe to have a sort of workaround where you can have functionality of both Witcher 2 and Adobe but not at the same time and that would be renaming the Acaptuser.dll back to the original name when your done gaming and want to use your Adobe software and vice versa . I also realize this is not the fix that you were so hoping for .

Hardly anyone from RED posts here so i wouldn`t hold out much hope for that .

 

[deemintad]

Thanks Tommy. Yeah I realize I can just put the file back o what is was but that's not really thie point. I just don't like the fact that you have to break software to get a game to run correctly. At any rate it's not really a big show stopper as it is a princple.

Anyway thanks for the support in trying to fix the issue; Just wish RED would post something on it.

And BTW I did switch the file back after starting the game but when I went to start the game again, same issue. So yeah, that file definitely needs renaming

Again Thanks.

 

[djawkwardsilence]

Did I miss something or is this a case of sarcasm as I've seen or heard nothing form CD Red on fixing this issue. I see where the Mod tried to provide some relief, but nothing from the developer themselves.

I will give credit to the Mod for thier support but the developer needs to provide some feedback on the status of a fix.

No sarcasm intended. By "you guys" I meant the mods here. I was just worried I was never going to figure out how to play the damn game and I'm deeply grateful I can now.

 

[tommy5761]

I`ll be adding an update to the 1st post sometime this weekend . When i can squeeze in the time .

 

[deemintad]

I`ll be adding an update to the 1st post sometime this weekend . When i can squeeze in the time .

Thanks Tommy. Hope it's good news

Anyway would like to add a Steam clarification statement....

Some people are under the impression that Steam is the cause of the 142 error code, or continuous .net install issue. This isn’t the case.

Point: It’s been stated that you can avoid the above issue(s) by NOT installing the 2.1 patch. I can’t confirm or deny since I only have the Steam version. That said….

Unfortunately Steam users don’t get this choice as the 2.1 patch is automatically applied to any new download of the game. There’s no way of avoiding it, thus Steam users are way more likely to see the issues as those not having or wanting to update to 2.1. In this case the only thing Steam can be blamed for is “automatically” patching games with the latest patch, not the quality or stability of the patch.

My point? This is NOT a Steam issue but a CD Red issue due to the quality of the patch.

Yeah I understand there are (supposed) issues with .Net 4 and a host of other apps…. But why does the game have to use .Net 4??? I know what CD Red says - http://en.thewitcher...post__p__747461 but…..

Point 2 – Most of us (me included) didn’t have/need .Net 4.0 until Witcher 2.1; That I’ve got a host of other Steam based games, including Skyrim, and none of them need/require .Net 4.0.

And while .Net 3.5 is native to Windows 7, .Net 4.0 is optional. That it appears that Microsoft needs to fix 4.0, CDR is the one forcing Witcher 2 players to use it… Not Steam, Not Microsoft!

Yeah there are some workarounds that work for some, but CD Red needs to fix this issue since they are the ones forcing 4.0 on us.

And yes…. I do have to latest Microsoft Windows updates to .Net 4.0, and recommend anyone using 4 do the same.

Bottom line this is not a “Steam” issue but a patch issue belonging to CD Red for their use of .Net 4.0

My two cents.

BTW Steam's Official FAQ support page points back here - http://en.thewitcher.com/support/

 

[tommy5761]

First know that i normally don`t do these type of workarounds but i see a boatload of people who use steam and have one of the above mentioned errors . What i have in mind is a way for Steam users to revert to 2.0 and effectively be able to play the game without disabling , uninstalling or renaming files . Know however that it would break all ties with Steam...no auto updates , no steam overlay , and no achievements . I`m still mulling this over as to what to include in the write up . What`s really need here is a way to uninstall the 2.1 patch for everyone .