I bought this game quite some time ago on steam but quite playing shortly after the prologue because the game kept crashing every 45 minutes when i went to save. I thought i would try again because i really want to get Witcher 2 but want to play through the first part of the story.

Ive tried everything i have read on the web to fix the problem. Ran as administrator...turned off autosave...compatability mode...deleted all the saves...everything etc etc...and still no go. I finally just decided to put up with it and save very often so i wouldnt have to go back and redo to much after a crash. However, a few moments ago it crashed again and deleted my last save so i basically lost 3 hours of playtime. I just cant do it anymore.

Has anyone encountered this with the gog.com version? Anyone found a fix? I really want to support CD Projeckt cause im primarily a PC gamer and think they are doing great things for the PC gaming world...but if i cant get this working i think im going to pass on Witcher 2 :( which would be a travesty because everything ive read says it is awesome.

Not trying to be a smart ass, but it would be best if you post this in TW's forum.

You should post this in the Witcher forum but . . .

If you are running the Witcher EE 1.4 version . . . first update to the 1.5 patch before anything else as this may be all you need to do. . . =)

Here are my basic recommendations for installing games on Vista / Win 7

Are your video drivers up to date?
Click here for ATI
Click here for Nvidia
Click here for Intel

I suggest turning UAC off when you install as it can interfere with disk writes leaving you with a partial install. (Turn UAC off on Vista by going to Control Panel, User Accounts, Turn User Account Control on or off. On Win 7 move the slider to “Never Notify". Turn back on after your game install. ) See attached image

Also I recommend (especially on Win 7) installing in a directory outside of Program Files. I create a directory named Games on the C drive. After creating the directory, right click the setup.exe and click "Run as an administrator" on the resulting dialog. Point the install to the new location. (On the first dialog of the GOG installer, click the Options button on the lower left corner and point the install to the new Games directory.)

After the install you should right click the game shortcut, click Properties on the resulting dialog, click the Compatibility tab and check "Run this program as an administrator". I also suggest check marking “Disable visual themes” and “Disable desktop composition”. I usually leave the compatibility mode unchecked until I play the game. If there are problems I try the newest compatibility mode first working backwards to the oldest until a problem is gone.

Some Anti-virus and firewall programs can interfere with disk writes and may need to be disabled during the install. If you have not had install problems due to these programs in the past I wouldn’t worry about disabling them. If you do disable them don’t forget to enable them after the install. I use Comodo for a firewall. It was throwing up “Allow” dialogs behind the game start page. When I closed the game the dialogs closed as well. Only ALT – TAB’ing out of the game allowed me to see the dialogs. You can check Allow on each one but it was simpler for me to make the [gamename].exe or launcher.exe a trusted program in Comodo (or your firewall).

If you do a reinstall, make sure you backup your saves first and delete any directories left over after the uninstall has completed. Uninstall should be done even if you are installing in a different directory as you want the registry entries to be removed for the first install before the reinstall.

If it's any consolation, The Witcher 1 crashed. A lot. It was known for doing so. The EE helped a lot, but there are still very long threads a simple google search will give you about it.

Usually, however, since the game autosaves on almost every load screen, and you go through loadscreens just entering and exiting buildings, you loose very little (if any) gametime.

There's like an entire generation of Witcher 1 players who got so used to simply reloading their last autosave that it's almost part of the badge of honor for playing the game.

I replayed it again in preparation for the W2, and I had about 20 crashes over the course of the 28 hours spent on it. I think the most time I lost was about two minutes, that's how often it autosaves.

And play it in windowed mode, use the Gamers Window Relocator for fullscreen effects. It's way more stable then. Worked for me, worked for my friends. ;)

[thanks to taltamir!]

thanks for all the replies fellas....sadly i have tried nearly all of this already...ive done every google search possible and tried every trick people have suggested...although, i may start doing as Stuff suggests and making an area on my harddrive to install all my games on. THe version of witcher i am using is the steam version so it is up to date with all patches. The only other thing i can think of trying is turning one core off on my cpu...some have said that has worked. IM currently on a 3.0ghz duo core with 4gb ram and a nvidia gts250....im probably just going to give up cause im building a new comp in about a month...hopefully the new one doesnt have as many problems.

If setting to single core fixes the problem, I suggest the free RunFirst program. Sets to single core via the game shortcut and works great for me on several games . . . =)

Edit: Different game but this post will explain setting RunFirst up