Intel Graphics Monitor preventing games from launching

[goatedman87]

Hello! I've been using Intel GPA since 2020 (and my installed version is 2020.2) and use it to track my performance statistics in all games I play.

In the last few weeks, GPA will not allow CS2 to launch. The cs2.exe operation still runs in task manager, but the actual game will not launch. The only similar instance I can remember is that Rainbow Six Siege does not allow GPA due to people using the wireframe feature for cheating, which I understand. However, this is a different scenario entirely as the game itself will not launch. Unlike with Rainbow Six Siege, it does not get to a menu screen before kicking you off the game. 

I can launch the game just fine once I disable the Auto-Detect on GPA, and it is only CS2 where I encounter this issue. 

Any ideas on how to fix this? Or am I condemned to a lifetime of using NVIDIA's details?

Thanks.

[sentientSpark_Intel]

Hi goatedman87,

Thanks for your post.

Are you using any Anti-Cheat services such as FACEIT? These are known to prevent GPA from attaching correctly to Counterstrike 2.

Also worth noting is that some customers have reported that the Dec. 2 update of steam has caused problems. Have you encountered this with any other steam games?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

[goatedman87]

Hi sentientSpark, 

No I am not running external anti-cheats (e.g. FACEIT) however after some further testing I have found that the issue persists with every steam game, not just Counterstrike.

Is there a way to fix this? Or will I have to try and revert back to an old version of steam?

Thanks

[sentientSpark_Intel]

Hey goatedman87,

We are investigating the Dec. 2 Steam update issue that has resulted in some of our customers not allowing some games to launch with GPA attached, but unfortunately do not have a resolution yet.

We have seen this issue affecting DX11 games so far. Do DX12 games open in steam for you? And will DX11 games like counterstrike will open when GPA is not attached?

Since the situation you are encountering seems similar to one described earlier in the forum post (Solved: Graphics Monitor freezing programs on startup - Intel Community), I would recommend doing a downgrade of steam to an earlier version. There are guides to do this online. Also the accepted solution on that GPA Community post contains downgrade instructions as well as a download link of an earlier steam build (We appreciate the customer sharing this, per external link policy I have to say use at your own risk)

Let me know if downgrading the steam build works for you.

[goatedman87]

Hi sentientSpark,

Issue does not persist if I launch without GPA, and it does persist if I try play a DX12 game. I tried following the solution linked but after downgrading my steam, it asked me to update steam again in order to play games and so I am out of ideas. Anything you can think of?

[sentientSpark_Intel]

Thanks for sharing what you encountered goatedman87.

Does steam require you to update the client before playing any game, or is it certain games that will only play if you update the steam client?

I'm assuming you deleted the folders mentioned in the solution linked above. The user that provided this solution mentioned that should disable updates. If that didn't work for you, you could also try some of the solutions here: Disabling Steam client auto-updates :: Help and Tips (I'm not sure how up-to-date these solutions are). 

In the meantime I will check back with the GPA team to see if we have any other solutions that may help.

[goatedman87]

Hi sentientSpark, 

Steam requires me to update before playing any game, and yes I deleted the folders. Unfortunately it seems that steam will never fix this, so please reach out when you can share anything that the GPA team can think of, thanks!

[sentientSpark_Intel]

Hey goatedman87,

We have been able to reproduce this issue when using DX11 Frame Mode, and a fix is in progress. 

Are you on the latest Windows SDK? We have noticed that the version of Windows SDK can affect whether this issue is reproducible or not. There isn't enough information to suggest a correlation between the latest Windows SDK solving this issue, but it might be worth a shot in the meantime.

[goatedman87]

Hi sentientSpark,

It's good to hear you have reproduced it and a fix is in progress! I was originally on 5.0.408, but after your reply I updated to today's release of 9.0.102 and I am still unable to fix the issue. Would you be able to let me know which SDK version you were unable to produce the issue on, as this may mean I could downgrade to that SDK and not face the issue? Otherwise thank you very much for your help and I hope you can find a solution soon

Thanks

[goatedman87]

Hey, any updates?

[sentientSpark_Intel]

Hey goatedman87!

Yes we do have an update! A hotfix just went live today on the official Intel GPA download link.

This should resolve the issue you have encountered with Graphics Monitor freezing programs launched from Steam. It also fixes Graphics Monitor Server crashes which some customers have encountered.

Thanks for your earlier post - we didn't find any definite workaround with the SDK version, so I don't have anything share there. But please let me know if this new Intel GPA download works for you.

Cheers!

[goatedman87]

sentientSpark, Thank you for your continued help throughout this whole thread and thank you for solving my problem!

[sentientSpark_Intel]

Your welcome goatedman87, I'm glad to hear it worked for you!

Feel free to ask any future questions you have on this forum, and thank you for using Intel GPA.

Cheers!