WOW Error 132 Fatal Exception Fix!

If you play the popular video game World of Warcraft (WOW), you may have come across error 132 fatal exception before. If you are scrambling for a solution that would fix this error, read on!

Error 132 happens when there’s a problem with the World of Warcraft’s game temporary files. Let me explain this in a little more detail. When you play video games on your Windows PC, your computer needs to both read and save the temporary files required for whichever game you are playing correctly.

When your computer is not able to read and save these temporary files, you will get this error message.

What this essentially means is that, in order to fix this error, you will need to find out what is actually preventing your computer from reading and saving the temporary files correctly and repair it. Until you do that, the error will persist.

Fortunately, there are a few things that can be done in order to fix this error. You will not need a high level of expertise so, basically, everybody following this tutorial should be able to fix this World of Warcraft error.

“I’m a huge gamer! I love playing ‘World of Warcraft.’ It helps me wind down and escape reality for a few.” 

All that being said, before I go over the different steps that you will need to follow in order to fix this error, let me look at why this error happens when you get this error and why.

If you are not really that interested in the ins and outs of this error or you are in a hurry for a solution so you can go ahead and play your game.

Why Does World of Warcraft Get This Error?

So, as I said in the introduction to this article, the cause for this error is that your Windows computer is failing to both read and save the temporary files it will need to be able to read in order to run it.

If you are not too sure whether this article is about the error that you encounter, let me reproduce here the full error message that you will get if this is indeed the problem inflicting your Windows computer:

ERROR #132 (0x85100084) Fatal Exception Program: C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\WoW.exe Exception: 0xC0000096 (PRIV_INSTRUCTION) at 001B:023327B0

If this is the error that you have gotten, then you can be assured that

So, what are these temporary files that I keep talking about? In this case, these temporary files are created by the WOW game so that it can be run correctly.

These game temporary files contain all kinds of important data and information without which the game would not run. So, we are talking about things like your own profile information or data relating to battle.

For some reason, this error (132 fatal exception) is quite prevalent in World of Warcraft. The only way to fix this error is, as can be surmised for the reason that causes it, fixing those files or settings that are getting in the way of your playing the game.

In the remainder of this article, I will go over what the best methods for fixing this. There are a few different methods depending on the specific cause for the error.
So it is really up to you how you want to approach the instructions. You could either read the whole article and then decide which method you think might be worth trying out first or, if you do not have any preference or do not know what may be causing the problem, you could actually just try out the different methods. If that is the case, you could try out different methods randomly or you also might as well just follow the different methods in the order they are presented here.

Without much further ado, here are the different methods to fix this World of Warcraft error.

Possible Fix Number 1

The first possible fix seems like a rather obvious one but, as it is often the case when it comes to computer errors, it tends to be the obvious solution that more often than not does the trick.

Because this error is caused by the inability of your computer to read temporary files, it follows that the more logical method to follow would be to delete all the temporary files and start all over again.

If you do not know or if you are not quite sure how to do this, here are the simple steps you will need to follow:

1. Grab your Windows computer.
2. Click on My Computer.
3. Then head over to the exact location where you installed the World of Warcraft game. If you have not install it in a specific location, you should be able to find it here: C”/Program Files/WarCraft.
4. Look into the program files for the World of Warcraft until you locate the following folder: interface.
5. Once you have located the interface folder, you will need to rename that folder to something else. We would recommend renaming it to Interface Backup.
6. Then, locate the following folder: cache and rename it to whatever you want.
7. Next, locate the following folder: WTF and rename it to whatever you want.

You may be wondering by now how just renaming a few temporary files folders will fix this error, it really does. Sometimes, however, it will not work, which is why there are other methods available.

Also, if you were not able to locate the interface folder, the cache folder, and the WTF folder, it could be because, most likely, they just do not exist. No need to panic, all this means is that this method is not the one for you.

Hey, at least you have ruled something out. Now that you know that this first possible fix will not do the trick for you, you should move on to the next available method.

Possible Fix Number 2

If the temporary files are not a problem and you have ruled out this following the previous possible fix, then it could very well be the case that the problem resides in one of your computer’s video drivers.

If this is the case, then you should try to repair them.

But first, why would a video driver cause this error? Well, the fact of the matter is that the game World of Warcraft has pretty awesome graphics.

While this is great for gamers, some Windows computers will struggle with this awesomeness. It is almost as if World of Warcraft is too advanced or sophisticated for your PC.

This is not really a problem as you can always update your video drivers at no additional cost.

The process is easy and self-explanatory. All you will need is just some patient because, as you can imagine, updating your video drivers will take some time.

Just launch your Internet web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, or whatever you normally use to surf the net). Then search for NVidia or ATI.

Once you are on the NVidia or ATI official websites, head over to the download area and click on the link to update their software. From then on, it is just a matter of following the onscreen instructions until the video drivers have been fully brought up to date.

Once you have made sure that this is the case, simply try to run the game again and see what happens. If it works, then congratulations, there is no reason for you to continue reading this tutorial and should be playing WOW right now, instead!

If, however, you are still getting the error then, at least, you would have ruled out another thing. If this is the case, then move on to the next method!

Possible Fix Number 3

If nothing else works, you could try downloading the World of Warcraft game all over again. This may sound like a radical solution but is the problem is not fixed by renaming the temporary files folders or by updating the video drivers, there is very little else that could be done.

So, you might as well remove the video game and then install it again. If you are not sure how to go about doing this, these are the simple steps that you will need to follow:

1. Grab your Windows computer.
2. Click on the Start button.
3. Head over to the Control Panel.
4. Once in the Control Panel, look for Add / Remove Programs.
5. Locate the World of Warcraft application.
6. Right-click on it and select remove.

Once it is confirmed that the game has been removed, you will need to get a hold of the original installation CD and install the game again. This fresh installation will ensure that whatever was going wrong before is removed, so you should be able to go back to playing the game without encountering any errors.

If you have any feedback about this tutorial or would like to share your experience with this error or any tips of your own to fix it, please be sure to leave us a message in the comments section below!