Sound issue - unable to create a buffer: 40965

Often (not always, but often), when entering a portal from the eternal laboratory to an instance created by a map, the loading screen will seem to just hang forever. There's an error message behind it - unable to create a buffer: 40695. It occurs for various ogg files, but the error is always the same.

I've just had a new record - this error was generated 15 times for 15 different files before the final "terminated in an unexpected way" error which means I can stop clicking on the damned error messages.

Maps are now practically unusable for me. It's not practical to throw maps away on the hope that one might generate an instance I can go to maybe a couple of times rather than the intended 6.

I am not looking forward to farming the docks another 1000 times.

This error was very rare before the last patch or two. Now it is very common.

My current choices are:

Stop playing PoE entirely.

Farm the docks over and over and over and over and over and over again. Farm the docks even more times than I get this 40965 error.


I'd like a different choice. I'm willing to disable sound entirely and play PoE silently if that's what it takes to work around the bug and be able to play maps.

EDIT:

In case anyone else has the same problem: adding --softwareaudio at the end of the target in the shortcut appears to have fixed this problem for me. I've done several maps since without any errors.

same problem here and i found anther page of someone havening this problem, too!
someone any idea how to fix that? would be really nice! it´s just no fun playing like this!
what i tried until now:
dirver update for sound sytem
delete reinstall game
quiting all other stuff in the background
u got better ideas! help me pls

I'm playing game through steam on PC.

I've been getting this error A LOT since I started ACT III.

Now after gettin Marketplace through portal, I cant get into the Catacombs there. I guess it happens because these places are big, needing a lot of audio files, memory and everything.

I tried many things stated in forum, including starting as admin, win xp mode and whatever but
I-cant-open-catacombs.

I cant play the game.
I guess this is it.
GAME OVER.

I am having the same problem
running windows xp 32 bit
this used to happen occasionally and i'd just restart the game and the zone would load, but now i get this exception every time i try to enter the Upper sceptre of god. help would be appreciated!

I am also having the some 40965 error when I try to enter another area. Reinstalling the game hasn't helped. I was hoping the new patch would fix the problem but didn't. Has anyone come up with a fix?

i am having these same issues in Vista as well....
really makes this unplayable....and pissing me off at the same time

It's like the other posters never read the thread or the edit with the answer to their problems.

"

Cynwulf wrote:

EDIT:

In case anyone else has the same problem: adding --softwareaudio at the end of the target in the shortcut appears to have fixed this problem for me. I've done several maps since without any errors.