Hi Andrei,
I’m sorry if this is the not the right protocol but I’m pretty much at my wit’s end with this whole “smart” trainer thing. First an update. After updating everything that needed updating I was up and running. Things were good. A couple rides in I would lose connection to the trainer momentarily but it came back. Then it got to where I had to unplug the trainer to reconnect. A friend with an M2 said he had a similar issue said he now runs the program through the companion app without any trouble. Right after that I then discovered an update was required for the Saris M2 trainer. After the update, and still running the program through the companion app, I had one trouble free 15 mile ride. The next ride locked up at 8.9 miles. I sent in a crash log under my username, Dave Tworek, on the night of 2/15 and have heard nothing back. I rode yesterday and the program locked up after 0.3 miles. I then rebooted and rode 12 miles without incident. I’m trying to send another crash log but keep getting to the point in picture and get no further. (When I sent the last log I had the same problem but miraculously I hit the right button and was able to continue. No idea what I did.). When I open the file as instructed the file opens up but there is no pop up like shown in Zwift’s protocol for me to press the OK button. I have not had three consecutive trouble free rides since Christmas and I’m really starting to wonder if it’s worth the hassle. I spend more time trying to get this to work than I actually spend riding. Not really what I signed up for. I’m wondering if the customer service might be a little better with another riding program. It is really frustrating that there is not a direct link to Zwift instead of jumping through a series of hoops. That is why I’m appealing directly to you and again apologize if it breaks protocol. Thanks, Dave
Hi Dave,you addressed this comment to me, but you probably meant to address it to Seth, forum community manager who responded to you earlier. Most people who replied to you, myself included, are avid Zwifters not affiliated with Zwift.
If Zwift crashes or hangs, it is most likely a problem either with laptop’s hardware or with one of the drivers or graphics which is not fully compatible with Zwift (which can happen with integrated graphics). Are you past the window within which you can return this laptop and get a different one? This could be the most “radical” solution for someone not inclined to dig into hardware and software.
Analysis of Windows log or application crash log requires a level of qualification above the level of training of an average customer service representative - an IT engineer would be the right person, plus a significant time investment, and oftentimes the computer on which the event happened available at hand. I am 99% certain that the issues which you are experiences are caused not by Zwift program itself but by something else that is happening on your computer. It is not easy to troubleshoot, by any means.
Hi Dave,
Suspecting overheating…
Possibly, you might want to track your CPU’s temperature while using Zwift.
My favorite is “CoreTemp” (Core Temp) - but there are many other apps that will monitor the temperature.
Run Zwift in Windowed mode - that way you can view the temperature while Zwifting. Shouldn’t go beyond ~90 degrees Celsius (and probably considerably less…)
Dave, Seth suggested that you install the latest Intel driver for your graphics. It is very easy to find on Intel web site. The latest version is 27.20.100.9168. You can download it here. Give it a try. You have nothing to lose other than another crash 
Look for drivers and software link in the left-hand side tab. For some reason, a direct link to download site gets replaced by link that is one level above.
Hey Andrei,
Yes, I suspected you were not an employee but one of the good guys in a white hat. By the way things are labeled and your apparent knowledge of all of this I didn’t want to make assumptions. Thank you for you help, it’s much appreciated. Any idea why I’m having trouble navigating my way through the crash log process. I’m trying to do everything just as they spell it out but keeping getting blocked at that screen I sent you the picture of. I still haven’t heard anything about the last crash log that I thought I managed to send out. Maybe I screwed that up also. Thanks again, Dave
Hi B,
Thanks for the suggestion. My basement is about is about 10C. It locked up after the laptop was running about 5 minutes. I have the laptop elevated on a wire rack. It always feels cool to the touch. Definitely nowhere near 90C. I’ll look into the new graphics driver. Thanks.
Andrei,
I just checked and this is the version we have installed now. A couple weeks back we noticed an update for this when we were reinstalling Windows so installed it also. Definitely helped for a while. Thanks
Dave, I am not sure what are you doing - studying the windows log using event viewer? First of all, there are very detailed instructions in the internet, you can check what you are doing against the instructions.
Secondly, if you ride and Zwift crashes, you can note the time when it happened and then check in the windows log what happened at that time. It shows the description of the even right there, in the event viewer window.
I do not know if an even when a program freezes and becomes non-responsive would appear in windows events log. But it does not hurt to check.
You can also check what Zwift log shows at the end of the log time, when Zwift stopped responding. Perhaps something interesting there.
You probably should also check your disk for errors and your DRAM for errors…
Hey Andrei,
First of all thanks for all of your time and patience. I checked for errors in the disk memory and found none. I went through the crash log protocol you sent me and found warnings at the times of my crashes, no errors or criticals. When clicking on the warnings the only thing I can make out in the report is “Hardware error”. I’ll keep riding and if it crashes again I’ll check the crash log immediately now that, thanks to you, I know how. All the best, Dave
Dave, this looks interesting. You should never see “hardware error” warnings. This is not a good sign and might be related to the issues which you are seeing.
(a) go through the list and check how often hardware warnings appear and if the content of the messages is the same,
(b) do not hesitate to take a snapshot of the message in the event viewer and share it here. You probably can just copy and paste the text from the window where the explanation of what the warning is about appears.
(c ) just in case, check if you have error messages in Windows log and what they say.
This is a good point. If you have software or hardware issues with your computer, they should lead to errors on a periodic basis regardless of if you run Zwift or not.
Hi,
Well Zwift is telling me my graphics card is not up to snuff. That I need something that is at least an Intel HD 4000 or AMD R5. I’d like to just upgrade the card in my laptop but a friend says that may not be possible due to the compact construction of the laptop. We bought it at BestBuy where they assured it would be more than suitable for our needs. Well… If you have any advise I’m all ears. Thanks, Dave
p.s. When I tried riding tonight and I was getting no change in resistance on the trainer. The first time the light on the trainer was blinking like it wasn’t connected. I started up again and switched from running through the Companion app to directly from the laptop. This time there was greater resistance but no change still. The light on the trainer showed me connected. Tomorrow it’ll be 15F. I think it might be more enjoyable to ride outside than deal with all this disappointment and frustration. All the best.
Dave, your computer, as far as I can tell, has integrated Intel graphics, which means that there is no graphics card in it - or rather, “graphics card” is a part of the microprocessor. The only way to upgrade graphics in this laptop is to replace everything inside, including motherboard and processor. You got an office laptop, which is great for most tasks except the most graphics intensive tasks. Laptops which are designed to run graphics intensive applications and come with discrete graphics cards are marketed as “gaming laptops”.
I am not in a position to make a judgement on whether or not your graphics is suitable for Zwift. Zwift support has a list of recommended hardware and they go by this list. My take, however, is that if you were able to use Zwift for some 20-45 mins with everything working, the issue is likely not the type of graphics that you have in your laptop. If it can run Zwift for 20 mins, it should be able to run it forever. I think it is something different in your laptop that does not cooperate, and it is not Zwift, it is either hardware or software of your laptop which is totally unrelated to Zwift.
BTW, Zwift says on their support web site that if graphics is not compatible with Zwift, Zwiftapp will crash or would not start during start-up. If it started, compatibility check has been passed successfully.
BestBuy is probably not the place which will be eager to allow you to upgrade your laptop to a different model based on your verbal statement that their employee told you that it would run Zwift while e-mail from Zwift states that it does not meet their specs.
It does not need to be a very expensive laptop to be up to the task. If this link gets published, below is a link to Lenono Legion gaming laptop from Costco. $680 buys the cheapest available at Costco gaming laptop with a separate graphics card. I am pretty positive that it should run Zwift quite easily. A desktop with similar parameters will probably be under $500, if not under $400.
But again, not to be repetitive, I do suspect it is an issue with something else in your laptop than graphics card type. But I am not privvy to what exactly Zwift requires to be stable, of course.
Having said all that, if you are tired of troubleshooting attempts and just want to ride, put Zwift aside and try a different cycling application. Zwift is the most demanding of cycling apps when it comes to hardware, as it generates all visuals as you ride, and does it at very good level of details.
I can recommend that you install a trial of The Sufferfest, which has a very simple interface and uses recorded films of bike races for you to watch instead of computer generated graphics. It only has workouts, no free rides.
You can also try Rouvy AR. This program allows you to ride while watching a video of a real road, which moves synchronized to your power. Your resistance changes as you climb up and down the hills.
I subscribe to all three of these applications, and find that they complement each other in many ways.
RGS cycling is a very primitive application, a little similar to Zwift, but, like, an order of magnitude less sophisticated (or was, when I tried it). It even has a free version. It still works and has very low hardware requirements!
There is a Chinese clone of Zwift, OneLap, which is about $5 per month, with quite a bit more primitive graphics than Zwift. It lacks most of the gaming component of Zwift. I got tired of it within an hour, but it is still usable if nothing else works.
If you can find hardware warnings in the windows log, can print out their screenshots, if they prove that laptop has a faulty hardware, you might have a shot at getting this laptop taken back by BestBuy. This of course depends on how long ago you bought it…
The last but not the least, if you find that no matter which cycling app you try, they all freeze at some point, it will with 100% confidence point towards your computer hardware fault.
I have the same issue but with a Ipad,
did you get it to work?
It appears the laptop we bought does not have strong enough graphics, unfortunately. I’m not sure how that relates to your iPad but if it’s an older model perhaps the graphics may be an issue also. I know very little about computers so I’m afraid that is about all the help I can give. I wish you luck in resolving this quickly.