[Solved] options can't be saved / no MOTD / no DOTD

EDIT Dec.2018: You can jump directly to a solution a couple posts down from here, with this link. If you want to read the whole story, just keep reading. Cheers!

With recent updates, I've noticed that PoE do not save anything in the My Games folder.

Here are the tests and results I have so far.

Test #1
- delete the folder C:\User\<name>\Documents\My Games\Path of Exile
- launch PoE via Steam's interface
- save the options
- exit the game
Result
- PoE launches correctly
- a Path of Exile folder is created
- a production_config.ini file is created
- the production_config.ini file is empty

Test #2
- replace the data in that folder with backup data
- launch PoE via Steam's interface
- change some options
- save the options
- exit the game
Result
- PoE launches correctly
- PoE reads correctly the data from C:\User\<name>\Documents\My Games\Path of Exile, both production_config.ini & filter files
- options are not saved to production_config.ini

Test #3
- bypass steam, and launch PathOfExile_x64Steam.exe directly, as administrator
- change some options
- save the options
- exit the game
Results
- PoE launches correctly
- PoE reads correctly the data from C:\User\<name>\Documents\My Games\Path of Exile, both production_config.ini & filter files
- options are not saved to production_config.ini

The environment variables from the process seem correct at first glance. USER_MYDOCS is pointing to the correct path, and as the Test #1 shows, that path is known and used by the process.

As I say above, backup data works, as reading is functional; the main drawback is that I have to change the options by hand in the production_config.ini file (not that I do that often), but the most annoying feature is the impossibility of having Deals of the Day and Message of the Day displayed, as well as suffering from the "minimap is reseting everytime you reload the area" syndrom (since they were apparently saved locally in that folder as well)

Is there any command line options I could use to have more explicit logging from the exe (like a -verbose or something, that would log all errors/warnings you'd have in there)?
Let me know if I can be of any help.

Cheers.

This morning 2018.03.05 at 09:20 UTC, PoE managed to successfully write to My Games, and started saving the minimaps again.

This was roughly 20 minutes after I started playing PoE this morning. I haven't catch anything in the Event Viewer that might give any indication of what happened.

Consider this "working again", but I really have no idea what the hell happened to allow PoE to write again correctly.

Cheers

Nevermind, back to square one. After restarting the game, it's not writing minimaps anymore.
I'm lost, I don't understand.

And I think I have the explanation, and the fix;

at the time I mentioned in my post earlier, the Event Viewer reports an update of Windows Defender. Usually, that kind of update forces the process down for patching, which means that this event probably let PoE access the folder, and while it had an handled there, it kept writing access until I exit it for lunch, and restarted.

Now, here's how the access issue can be fixed for good.

- Go to the Windows Defender Security Center




- Go to the Virus and Threat Protection panel




- Go to the Virus and Threat Protection Settings




- Go to Allow and App through Controlled Access Folders




- Add your POE's favourite exe to the list



Voila

Thank you Ravine that solved my problem !!

Thank you too for this solution! If only I found this thread before reinstalling the whole game -_-

Big cheers, thanks so much for this. The workaround worked like a charm! (PoE was right there in the "Recently blocked apps" list)

Thanks so much !!!!!

I'm not home to test this out yet, but are you guys experiencing map resetting after you exit ( the map overlay). Also my graphic settings keep resetting also, anyone experience this? again I have not tried this yet since i'm not home. But hoping it will. Thanks!