Heroes of the Storm stalling/freezing at 7 minutes

Technical Support
1

Hey, all!

We are currently investigating the cause of the game stalling/freezing at the 7 minute mark during matches. We need to collect some system files and logs to help us with the investigation.

If you are getting 7 minute stalling/freezing during matches, please send the following files to techinfo@blizzard.com:

  • New DXDIAG and MSINFO

  • GameLogs for Heroes of the Storm after the stalling/freezing happens.

  • The Variables.txt file located in Documents/Heroes of the Storm

Please title the email 7 minutes [YOUR FORUM NAME HERE]

Thanks for the help, everyone.

1 Like
3

I have this problem and I just saw this, hopefully im not the only one.

4

I have the same problem too!!!

5

Thanks to everyone who has sent the requested files in the emails, so far.

We are still collecting these files, so if you are experiencing issues still and have not sent an email, please do that for us. The more we get, the quicker this can be resolved. :slight_smile:

6

We have something to try out to see if it helps resolve this issue.

After you experience the 7 minute issue, please follow the steps below:

  • Press the Windows Key + R to bring up the Run window.

  • Type in %programdata% to open your ProgramData folder

  • In this folder we will want to navigate to *C:\ProgramData\Blizzard Entertainment\Heroes of the Storm* and delete the Versions folder if you have it

After this folder has been deleted, please try to launch the game through the Blizzard application and see if the same issue happens. Please report back if this has helped at all.

Thanks!

7

Not working, it’s still happening. FYI it’s getting worse after recent patch, before I could play only if I set everything to low including sound, graphic and texture. But after recent patch even if I’ve already set everything to low the lag and freeze still happening on minute 7:20.

I’ve been playing hots since alpha and always use 64 bit client , but until the beginning of 2018 the freeze happening on minute 7 which made me had to use 32 client to overcome the problem, but now I can’t play anymore.

8

Any progress on this?

9

INFO:

This also happens when assets try to load, e.g. objective spawn, scoring a kill, using an ability (at random times) and so on.

It can vary from short to long freezes.

System well within the recommended specs and beyond. Fully optimized and taken to technician experts for review, no hardware or software problems found, the system operates as it should.

ALL Drivers and Firmware UP TO DATE.

This Only happens in Diablo 3 and HoTs but Mostly HoTs!

Other Games I Own such as Path Of Exile, league of legends, dota 2 and fortnite have no issues.

10

Hereby me Charmer, i have fixed the “7 Minute Curse” by toggling of the real time protection of Windows Defender.
Settings> Update and Security> Windows Security > Virus and Threat Protection Settings > Real Time Protection (Toggle OFF)
Worked like a charm no fps drop or high pings during the game and no crashes after the game ends.But i need to toggle it off everytime i boot my pc.So please fix this.

11

Thank you for the update, Charmer!

If anyone else can verify this, it would help. We are under the assumption the 7 minute time frame issue is affecting machines with lower amounts of RAM, so any workaround would help diagnose the cause.

12

In some cases there was a bug in the past where standby-memory would not be dumped when a program requested Ram space, this is not the 100% culprit but it is a thing try.
It could also be a blizzard server issue OR some hop device in between your players and your servers could be at fault and somehow they should be addressed, in this scenario the players’ ISP would not be able to directly assist with the issue and would most likely ignore the request.
I myself have 16gb of 3200mhz/14cl ram and still encounter the issue, noted that this is a factory advertised 3200mhz/14cl ram.

For me it does not only occur in this game but also in Diablo 3 (Although each game reacts a bit differently) and Starcraft II, the rest of your games run perfectly fine although I cannot provide too much detail on that regard.

The above fix for the real time virus scanning does not affect me in any way, I can confirm this happens on windows 10 1809 newest update as well.

I have opened tickets in regards to that problem but the specialists could not find any solutions.

13

Hey, TwinDenis!

Would you please you email an MSINFO and DXDIAG to techinfo@blizzard.com with the Title: 7 Minute Freezes [3466]

I would like to take a look.

Thanks!

14

Sent, please keep in mind that we did all the troubleshooting steps with the support specialists (including but not limited to selective start up, uninstalling programs etc…)

15

To be clear, you are having the game freeze at exactly 7 minutes while playing? Not randomly or at a different time frame?

16

When assets load in real time which were not preloaded in the ram (such as announcing objectives or/and casting abilities for the first time).
I have made a separate thread for this. Intending to raise awareness about this.
Also, I suspected the problems could be somehow related, of course I mentioned this is not an exact 7+ minute issue.
Performance issue [loading assets-stuttering] - #34 by TwinDenis-2293

17

I am having the exact same issue: the 7 min freeze in Heroes of the Storm… It is horrible to play ranked games with this bug/freeze.

I deletes the folder “Versions” but it didn’t work. Any other suggestion?

Thank you

18

Hey, Soulz!

From the troubleshooting we have done for the 7 minute issue, it appears to be related to Anti-virus software settings. Mainly with AVG/Avast and some reports of Windows Defender causing the problem. If you could temporarily disable them to test if the same thing happens then please report back and let us know the details. :slight_smile:

Please make sure your AVG/Avast and Windows Defender definitions are completely up to date, also.

19

Hello,

Thank you for answer.

Unfortunately it seems to be related with the "Real Time protection. (like the Charmer post above on Nov’18). I was able to play normally by setting it OFF.

If there is any other things I should do please tell me.

Thank you.

20

If disabling your security program’s features fixes the issue, I’d update the security program to the latest version. If you can’t run all of your security features after that, please report the compatibility issue to the support team for your security application. This will allow them to report to their developers, reproduce the issue, and update their virus/malware definitions and fix the incompatibility. They may also be able to help you white-list our programs which may allow you to work around the problem while maintaining your real time protection.