How to undo the damage Razer Cortex has done? | Razer Insider

How to undo the damage Razer Cortex has done?

  • 28 November 2021
  • 13 replies
  • 140 views
J
I got a Basilisk Ultimate earlier, and I was extremely excited about it. I installed Cortex at the same time as Synapse, and after tweaking my preferred mouse settings, I took a look at what Cortex was all about. I 'optimised' my rig, and this is ultimately what I'm hoping to undo.

Initially the app was causing weird freezes - when I opened a boosted game (Far Cry 6 in this instance) it would freeze but I could still move the mouse, but I couldn't select anything, and whilst it let me open the windows menu it wouldn't restart or shut down. It also looped any audio playing at the time of the freeze at about a 0.5 second interval eternally. I had to manually shut the computer down several times, as every time there was just nothing to be done. I found this thread from 2016 where they have the exact same issue, and Razer Cortex was the cause: https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/i-keep-getting-werid-freezes.3677303/

After several restarts I uninstalled Razer Cortex, as this fixed the issue for the guy in the thread. However when I run Far Cry now it skips a few frames every second, at exact 1 second intervals, like clockwork. It ran perfectly before. I verified the game files and it found several that had been corrupted (presumably by Cortex) but after replacing them the issue remains. I've just uninstalled and reinstalled it and that hasn't worked either. I reinstalled the latest GPU drivers, but I'm not sure what to try next. Whatever Cortex has changed, it's remained that way. So what I want to know is; is there a list of all the things Cortex does so I can go and methodically undo them all? This has been a huge pain, I've been at this for 6 hours so far, and this has really soured the joy of getting the Basilisk Ultimate.

Any help is massively appreciated.
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13 Replies

J
I think it might be important to note that this stutter is present from the point the game is opened, not just in gameplay. It's noticeable from the warning messages through the logos and the loading screens, the title screen, everywhere.
A
Hey there!

Thank you for sharing your issue with us here. My name is Michelle from the Razer Cortex PC technical support team. I will be happy to assist you with your issue.

As a gamer myself, I understand how frustrating for you to encounter this issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this issue has caused you.

Before we start could you please kindly provide us with your Cortex logs for us to further investigate this issue? Here is a simple guide for you to collect and upload your logs, please ignore if you do not need it.
https://mysupport.razer.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1685?_ga=2.181716135.1628731896.1635728857-1411412704.1631495701

We'll be looking forward to your reply soon. Please feel free to let us know if you need further assistance.

Best regards,
Michelle
J
Hi, thanks for your response,

My cortex logs can be found here:

I hope that'll work, given I've had to reinstall cortex to get them.
J
After reinstalling cortex and sending those logs, I tried Far Cry again and it still froze the computer requiring a manual shutdown. I've acquired the logs for that event here, so please refer to these instead:

Interestingly, after getting those the computer froze in the same manner again. After restarting this time, I wasn't able to capture the logs of that as after clicking 'output' on the log generator it said part of the file path was missing?
A
Hey there!

Thank you very much for sharing your Cortex logs with us here. Our engineering team is investigating this issue and we will update you once I receive their response.

Thank you very much for your patience!

Best regards,
Michelle
J
Hi, any word on this? I got a huntsman v2 today and I can't wait to check out all my new gear! I just need my PC to work again
A
Hey there!

Our engineering team is investigating this issue now. They may need more time. I will update you ASAP once I receive any response.

Thank you very much for your understanding and patience.

We apologize for any inconvenience this issue has caused you!

Best regards,
Michelle
A
Hey there!

Could you please try to install Razer Cortex and go to 'SYSTEM BOOSTER' > OPTIMIZE to SCAN your system first, and then, Restore to Windows Default by going to SPEED UP? Please check the image attached.

If this issue persists, please feel free to let me know.


Best regards,
Michelle
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J
Hi, thanks for getting back to me

This has not fixed the issue. I followed the steps, twice, and the issue remains. The game stutters, skipping a few frames every second. In the gameplay, in menus, in loading screens - everywhere, every second.
J
Out of curiosity I tried running Far Cry again after Cortex boosted it, and this still causes a crash. So in summary, since installing Cortex the first time:

With Cortex: freezes before the game loads, can still switch windows and move the mouse, but not click on anything. Cannot open task manager, cannot end process, cannot restart or shut down.
Without Cortex: stutters from throughout, every second.
A
Hey there!

Our engineering team assumes there are issues in your system which may not cause by Razer Cortex. Generally speaking, if the issue is caused by Razer Cortex, we can fix this issue by using the 'Restore to Windows Default' to restore your system setting.

But according to the information you have provided for us, this issue still persists after trying the method we mentioned above. Our last suggestion is to do a System Recovery if there are no other effective ways to resolve this issue. However, there are some risks to Recovery your system. Please check the image attached.

Please feel free to let us know if you need further assistance.

Best regards,
Michelle
1 Attachment
J
Did you send your engineers the thread I found from 2016 of the guy with the exact same issue? The issue has 100% been caused by Cortex. I didn't install or mess with anything else that day. I can get other games to play but this issue has flat out broken Far Cry for me. I installed Cortex, and it started. This has been over a week now and it's very frustrating.
A
Hi @jamescedavies ,

We apologize for any inconvenience this issue has caused you. We understand how frustrating for you to encounter such an issue. We are trying to help you out as quickly as we can.

Yes, I have sent the thread of Tom's Hardware to our engineering team. There is a possibility that Cortex caused this issue, but we cannot confirm that since we cannot reproduce this issue on our side. What we confirm is that there are issues with your Windows system. Maybe caused by Razer Cortex, maybe there are other reasons we do not know.

We are still trying to investigate this issue, but we may need more time. To quickly fix this on your side, our engineering team suggests trying the below methods:

  • Could you update your system to the latest update?
  • If the above method does not work, could you please do a system recovery? Please do some preparations before you restore the system since your software apps and some things will be removed. You have to reinstall them after the recovery.

Thank you very much for your patience. Please let us know if this issue persists and you need further assistance.

Best regards,
Michelle
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