[EN] (OLD) Fix for ENTIRE PC crashing (not just game): turning off CPU0 and CPU1 + setup automatically

For those who entire PC crashes (not just the game). And also a way to automate this so you don't need to do this everytime

Update 1: CPU1 also seems to affect the crash, so both CPU0 and CPU1 is recommended for turning off

Note

The problem where your ENTIRE PC crashes when playing POE 2 seems to be caused by your CPU0 being highly used.

This problem occurs for my friend (running Windows 11) and as of now, has mentioned no further crashes when they disabled their CPU0 core (will update this if he does however).

• If you still crash even when disabling CPU0, seek other solutions
  
• Note: The game may lag when disabling CPU0, but my friend mentioned it's running fine.

Friend's spec: Window's 11, AMD Ryzen 5 7500F

When the game comes out of early access, hopefully this fix guide won't be required anymore

Updates

Update 1

• CPU1 also seems to cause crashes, making it required to disable both CPU0 and CPU1
  
• The change required is simply converting FFE to FFC (1111 1111 1100)

Update 2

As mentioned in comment, a way easier way to disable CPU0 and CPU1 can be done with this recent github link from Kapps:
https://github.com/Kapps/PoEUncrasher

• A much better solution than this temporary posted guide

TL;DR (To disable CPU0 and you know your CPU count)

Example with CPUX core's (threads):

• 12 cores: FFE
  
• 24 cores: FFFFFE

1. Create .bat file named "CPU0_off.bat". Write inside:

 %comspec% /C start /affinity FFE PathOfExileSteam.exe

• change FFE to the required hexadecimal value of CPU core's you have

2. Paste CPU0_off.bat into your game installation folder (Where your PathOfExileSteam.exe is)

3. Open Launch Option for POE 2, write down this line using your path to your game file:

 <path-to-batch-file> %command%

For example:

 "E:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Path of Exile 2\CPU0_off.bat" %command% 

1. The simplest solution (but slightly annoying)

Everytime you open the game, you need to open task manager and disable CPU 0:

1. In task manager go to "Details"
2. Search Path of Exile (can type name at the search bar) then right-click >
3. Choose "Set Affinity" and untick "CPU0"

2. The automated way to disable CPU0 on game startup

For those who just don't want to open task manager everytime:

This was the only solution I found workable with Windows 11. Other ways such as creating a game shortcut and doing cmd commands for /affinity within the shortcut didn't work (maybe for other window versions).
The steps explained here come basically from this steam guide:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3076663294

Creating a batch file to disable CPU0 for POE2

It's important to know how many CPU core (threads) you have for your Hex value. Earlier when you click "Set affinity", you can see how many you have.

• To clarify: while my friend's CPU is 6 core, he actually has 12 threads, so he would have CPU0 to CPU 11
  
• When I tested this, I had 24 threads so I had CPU0 to CPU23. (Whenever I mention core, I just mean how many CPUX you can tick in "Set Affinity")

1. Find the Hexadecimal value to turn just CPU 0 off while leaving all other CPU core's on:
   
   For example, a 12 core can be written as a list of 1's, leave the last 1 as a 0:
   1111 1111 1110 -> binary number of your CPU (CPU0 is the last 0 that will be unticked)
   
   Paste your binary number in this website:
   https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/number/binary-to-hex.html
   
   • 1111 1111 1110 Gives back "FFE" -> your hex number
     
   • For a 24 core, this would be FFFFFE (F is simply 1111, E is simply 1110)
   
   2. Next is creating a new text file. Then write this line (replacing the X with your hex number)
   
   

    %comspec% /C start /affinity X PathOfExileSteam.exe
   

   
   For 12 CPU core example:
   

    %comspec% /C start /affinity FFE PathOfExileSteam.exe
   

   
   3. Save the file as .bat file, any name is fine (e.g. "CPU0_off.bat"). Move the .bat file into your game's installation folder
   
   
   5. In Steam, open the Launch Option within the game's properties and write:
   

    <path-to-batch-file> %command%
   

   For example:
   

    "E:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Path of Exile 2\CPU0_off.bat" %command% 
   

   • Note: double quotation "" must be included
   

With that you should be playing the game with CPU0 not being used. You can verify by opening task manager > Details > find Path of Exile > right-click to view "Set Affinity"

[Tomu]

If Windows had to warn people off of versions otherwise they cannot update from then forward, i believe it is much easier to point out their issues with the architecture
because game devs creating upscaling and graphical saves and multithreading are to avoid maxing out low hardware
but if turning off multithreading and raising my Nvidia Shader Cache to 100GB isnt enough to help anyone else, i suppose the time is for upgrades. I no longer crash.

[mairon]

Fix works but it does get annoying when the game crashes right when you load up

[⋙SkaFace443™⋘]

just switch to linux, fuck windows

[_Greg]

doesnt work on my laptop with win 11 24H2 , it still crashes the exact same way.

[Kristobal]

pc crashes once an hour because of this game, nice

[Ibn]

no one should be forced to do any of this. the game is the problem

[dnzu]

OK I THOUGHT ITS JUST ME..... good to know. they need to patch this crap.

[Sieg]

I've done the methods above and it has worked for the past two weeks but today not so much, even with core 0-1 unchecked caused a complete brick loading into the zigurat encampment and once again while warping to my parter. Total of 4 restarts, only thing that helped this time was disabling multicore cpu usage ingame before loading in. Hope this helps anyone in the same boat as me.

[Amp_151]

i haven't updated to win 11 update 24h2 yet. i still have the crashing problem. only thing that worked for me is turning off Multithread in the game settings. BUT then the game looks and plays like complete trash. laggy as all hell.

[Renegade]

nvm I had to try 5 times and go at a sloth's pace