Good news, everyone! If you open up your
World of Warcraft launcher, you might notice a line at the bottom that says, "Data for the next patch is available." Yes, it looks like
patch 4.0.1 will be coming really soon.
It seems like we're getting closer and closer to a release date. It looks like the first stage patch is about 1.58 GB. If you're getting ready for bed, it might not be a bad idea to open the launcher, start the game and close it in order to trigger the background download.
Tags: background-downloader, breaking, cataclysm, cataclysm-game, cataclysm-guide, cataclysm-news, downloader, expansion, expansion-three, facebookfeed, next-xpac, patch-401, pre-patch, third-expansion, world-of-warcraft-cataclysm, wow-4.0, wow-4.0.2, wow-cataclysm, wow-expansion, wow-guide, wow-third-expansion
Filed under: News items
Sep 16th 2010 at 12:13AM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
Jason Sep 16th 2010 12:16AM
I'm glad someone else noticed that.
Teej Sep 16th 2010 12:23AM
Yeah, I just noticed it and wanted to make sure I wasn't hallucinating (not running on much sleep).
So when can we expect the patch to drop? Next week or the week after?
Drakkenfyre Sep 16th 2010 12:45AM
You are joking if you think this patch is going to drop next week.
Read my post below. This patch needs some serious work right now. Many things are broken, and many things are unfinished. You can't even open your profession panes right now.
jam Sep 16th 2010 1:06AM
My downloader isn't loading 4.0.1, it's loading "4.0.0-patch-eu" and it's 1,76gb.
archangel_alden Sep 16th 2010 5:36AM
4.0.0 is the new patch, and it's 1.58 GB
archangel_alden Sep 16th 2010 5:38AM
Also, there's more coming in the coming weeks. This 1.58 GB, 4.0.0 is only "stage 1".
Qot Sep 16th 2010 10:50AM
Given the size of the patch, alden, I'd wager that this is the largest chunk with nearly complete stuff. What'll come later are smaller parts that fix this part.
Also, for those considering what this means for Cata, there's always (OK, it's just the previous two times) been a one-month layover between the drop of patch X.0 and the launch of that expansion. It's currently mid-September and Cata's scheduled for this year. I'd guess that the Cata content patch will head out in three or four weeks, with the official launch of Cataclysm will be sometime between Hallow's End and Pilgrims Bounty.
sassa Sep 16th 2010 12:22AM
weee
klahlman Sep 16th 2010 12:22AM
Sweet!!!
Karn Sep 16th 2010 12:22AM
Holy crap that's a lot of data.
Zef Sep 16th 2010 12:22AM
And we're off!
256KB downloaded...
Zef Sep 16th 2010 12:39AM
Also:
If you are having trouble opening the downloader from the launcher window, just find the "BackgroundDownloader.exe" file in your World of Warcraft folder and open it directly.
Pumabackup Sep 16th 2010 1:27AM
i never actually use the launcher or anything, so when there's new data for download, i just run that anyways...its so much easier than starting the game and then exiting right away just to get the download going.
Scard Sep 16th 2010 11:43AM
If what Zef suggests still doesn't work, right click on the "Background Downloader" file in the World of Warcraft folder, select "Properties", go to the "Compatibility" tab, and run the program in "Windows98 / Windows ME." That's what finally made it work for me.
Cactuscat222 Sep 16th 2010 1:44PM
@Scard:
Every time I tried opening BackgroundDownloader.exe, I would get a Runtime error. Then I tried what you said and it worked like a charm... that is really weird.
Resident Horrible Sep 16th 2010 4:52PM
Hey Zef, you're awesome. When I'd close wow, this would stay on "waiting..." for some reason. I let it wait for 6 hours (sleeping) then I did what you said. Ran a search for the background downloader, and it picked right up and I had it downloaded in a few short hours. Thanks.
jamesheben Sep 16th 2010 6:50PM
Zef and Scard are each awarded one (1) internet.
Drecin Sep 16th 2010 7:15PM
it keeps telling no patch is available...or nothing to download...but the lauchers says it is ready and would start after I exit...but did that too....and I tried the above methods also
sunnieday4u Sep 17th 2010 12:45PM
@Scard
Thanks for the info, worked perfectly.
Sikaros Sep 16th 2010 12:23AM
Changing is a-coming!