Troubleshooting

Where to look first

The Overview tab. The Events list and the news at the top say what happened last, for example "The server stopped with an error: network. Details in the Console tab."
The Console tab shows the server's live log.
Maintenance › Logs lists the server's log files (such as Server.log and Errors.log); Open folder opens the logs folder in your server folder.

The launcher does not find the game

"3.3.5a client not found" means no folder with both Wow.exe and Data\common.MPQ was found. The launcher looks in the saved folder, the LonelyIce.exe folder and its parent, folders next to it, and the path from the registry.

Press Browse… on the main page (or Choose another folder… in the wizard) and pick the folder that contains Wow.exe, not the Data folder. "This folder has no Wow.exe and Data\common.MPQ." means the pick was one level too high or too low.

The client is the wrong version

LonelyIce works only with the 3.3.5a client, build 12340. "Wow.exe 3.3.0.11159, 3.3.5a (12340) is needed." or "A 3.3.5a client (build 12340) is required." means another version. Other builds, even other 3.3.x ones, do not work.

"No locales found in Data." means the Data folder has no language folder such as enGB, enUS or ruRU with its locale-xxXX.MPQ. The client is incomplete.

The wizard cannot write to the game folder

"Write access to the game folder: access denied, run as administrator or move the game" appears when the game is in a protected place such as Program Files. The launcher writes to the game folder (realmlist.wtf, WTF\Config.wtf, the client cache, plugin add-ons and patches), so move the game to a folder of your own, for example C:\Games\Client-3.3.5a, and choose it again.

"Game is running: close Wow.exe before installing" asks you to close the game first. The same goes for "could not replace …: the game is probably running".

The server does not start

The server plate shows Error with a short reason, and the Events list says, for example, "The server stopped with an error: network. Details in the Console tab." The reason tells you where to look:

Reason	What failed	What to do
`config`	The server could not read its config (`configs\worldserver.conf` in the server folder).	Check that the file is there; if you edited it by hand, undo the edit.
`client`	Reading the game data from the client failed. The log has a line starting with `Client data:`.	Check that the game folder is still there and the game is complete; or turn on the disk cache (Game data).
`database`	The databases could not be opened, or the plugins' SQL failed ("Applying the plugins' SQL failed" in the log).	Look for `ERROR` lines in the Console tab. With a database server, check that it is running.
`realm`	The realm is missing from the login database ("Realm 1 is missing from auth.realmlist").	Restore a backup: Maintenance › Backups › Restore (Backups and restoring).
`auth`	The login port could not be opened ("Failed to listen on …").	See Ports are in use.
`network`	The world port could not be opened ("Failed to initialize network").	See Ports are in use.
`exit code …`	The server process ended for another reason.	The last lines of the Console tab and `Errors.log` say why.

Other messages you may see when pressing Start or Play:

"Server config not found: …" — the server folder was moved or deleted. Run the wizard.
"The server reads its game data from the client, but the client was not found. Choose it, or turn on the disk cache (Settings, Storage)." — choose the game folder with Browse…, or see Game data.
"The storage “mysql” needs its plugin: install it, or choose another storage in Settings." — the databases are on a database server, but the package that connects to it was removed or disabled. Install or enable it again, or pick Hard drive (SQLite) in Settings › Storage.
"Installation is running, the server starts after it." — wait for the wizard to finish.
"Restoring a backup…" — a restore is running; the server can start when it is done.
The wizard's install page opens by itself with "Bringing the databases up to date before the server starts" in the Events — a newer LonelyIce brought database updates; the server starts once they are applied (Updating).

When the wizard stops with an error, its message names the part that failed: the databases could not be created or brought up to date, the server could not read its config or the game client's data, or (with the databases ready) the account or the plugins' patches failed. The details are in the logs folder of the server folder.

Ports are in use

The server needs two ports on this computer (Settings › Network and resources):

Setting	Default
Login port	3724
World port	8085
SOAP port (only with SOAP for tools on)	7878

If another program already uses one of them, usually another game server or a second LonelyIce, the server stops with auth or network. Close the other program. To see which program holds a port, run this in a command prompt and look up the number in the last column in Task Manager (Details tab, PID column):

netstat -ano | findstr ":3724 :8085"

If you cannot free a port, change it in Settings › Network and resources. A new World port reaches the game by itself: the server writes it into the realm list on its next start. A new Login port has to be in the game's realmlist as 127.0.0.1:<port>; the launcher writes that when you press Set realmlist, and before every launch when Check realmlist before launch is on.

The game cannot connect

Press Play and wait. The game opens once the world is loaded ("the game opens when the world is loaded"); the first start takes about a minute. Until the world is up, the realm list stays empty.
realmlist. The Game plate on the main page shows where the client points: "The launch language is highlighted; 127.0.0.1 everywhere." is what you want. "enGB: foreign address." means realmlist.wtf of that language points somewhere else. Press Set realmlist, or turn on Check realmlist before launch in Settings › Launcher (it is on by default; the plate then says "enGB: foreign address, the launcher fixes it when the game starts."). The launcher writes 127.0.0.1 (127.0.0.1:<port> with a login port other than 3724) and keeps the old file as realmlist.wtf.bak.
Another computer cannot connect. See Playing in your local network: This computer only must be off, the server restarted, the login and world ports allowed in this computer's firewall, and the other client's realmlist set to this computer's address in the local network.
Login. Use the account from the wizard. The Accounts tab lists the accounts while the server runs; see Accounts and GM rights.

Items and quests look wrong

Item names, tooltips or quest texts that belong to another server come from the game's cache. Leave Clear the client cache (Cache\WDB) on in Settings › Launcher; the launcher then deletes Cache\WDB before each start.

Bots walk through walls

Bots and creatures find their way with navigation maps (mmaps), which are optional in the wizard. Without them, bots walk straight through walls and terrain. Build them later: Maintenance › Server data › Setup wizard…, tick Navigation (mmaps) on the Data step. It takes about 6 GB and 20–60 minutes. See Game data.

A plugin is not loaded

The server loads each plugin when it starts and writes a line to the log (Console tab) when one cannot be used:

Log line	Meaning	What to do
`Plugin <id> <version> not loaded: built for core lonelyice-ac-1, this server is lonelyice-ac-2`	The package was built for another version of LonelyIce, typically after you updated LonelyIce.	Plugins › Updates › Update; if there is no update, disable or remove it.
`… not loaded: no build for windows-x64 (…)`	The package has no build for your system.	Remove it.
`Plugin <id> <version> skipped: needs <other> <version>`	A package it needs is missing, disabled or too old.	Install or update that package.
`… skipped: conflicts with <other>`	Two packages cannot run together.	Disable one of them.
`… skipped: cannot read the version range …`	The package states a dependency in a form LonelyIce cannot read.	Update it, or tell its author.
`… not loaded: a dependency failed to load`	A package it needs was not loaded.	Fix that package first.

The server starts without the plugins it could not load.

The catalog only lists packages built for your version and system; "The catalog has nothing new for this version." is not an error.

Plugins cannot be changed

"Stop the server: plugins change while it is off." — stop the server first. From the command line the same refusal reads "the server is running on this plugins folder (…): stop it first".
"… could not move the old version aside, is the server running?" — the server, or a program started from the plugin folder, still has its files open. Nothing was changed: "Nothing was changed: the previous versions are back in place."
"lonelyice.qol is needed by: …" — other packages need the one you want to disable or remove. Disable those first.
"… is disabled: enable it first" — the package you install or update needs a plugin you disabled. Enable it.
"… cannot be enabled, it needs: …" — the plugin you enable needs packages that are missing, disabled or too old; the message lists them. "… conflicts with …" — two packages cannot run together.
"… the package is damaged (size or sha256 mismatch)" — the download does not match the catalog. Try again later; nothing was installed.
"Catalogs unavailable, details under “Catalogs…”." — the catalog could not be downloaded; check your internet connection. Installed plugins keep working.

A plugin you disable is not deleted: it moves to plugins\.disabled next to LonelyIce.exe, shows disabled on the Plugins page and comes back with Enable. Changes to plugins reach the databases and the game on the next server start (Updating).

Antivirus

LonelyIce has no special handling for antivirus programs. It starts copies of itself (the server runs as a second LonelyIce.exe process), writes into your game folder and downloads packages. If your antivirus quarantines LonelyIce.exe, blocks it from writing to the game folder, or blocks the downloads, add an exception for the LonelyIce folder and the game folder.

The launcher window does not open

"Could not create a window with OpenGL 3.3." means the graphics driver does not offer OpenGL 3.3. Install the current driver for your graphics card.

Setup files are missing

"setup\sql.pak and configs.pak are missing next to LonelyIce.exe." means the setup folder from the download is not next to LonelyIce.exe. Unpack the whole release again and keep its files together.