Crash here, crash there...

[BartEnder 2]

Since few months I am getting sick of CTD's in FSX.PC is stable, no problems, no unneeded services. It happens in both 32bit and 64bit systems (Vista Business). Only FSX hangs, nothing else.It looks like this: screen freezes, sound cracles, mouse is not moving, keyboard is not working. Only hard reset will cure the PC. It happens almost always close to the ground (>3000ft AGL). I lowered the autogen - no results. I downloaded VC++ 2005 sp1 - no results. I was monitoring the temps - pretty low. No viruses, disk is always defragmented. I am starting to suspect some BIOS settings, or hardware - have tested all the components, but no failures found. It is not day/night issue (happens in both), it is probably not the scenery issue (happens in all continents), it is not particular Aircraft issue. The only "global" things are ASA (happens without it) and FS Global 2008,REX v2 and FSUIPC 4.54Did not check it under DX10, since flashing taxiways are terrible.My specs are:CPU: QX9770MoBo: Asus Striker II NSERAM: OCZ 7/7/7/20 2x2GBGPU: Zotac 280GTX 1GB RAMPSU: Corsair 850WattMatrox TH2Go (3x 1280x800)Some Saitek Stuff + GoFlightNo tweaks in FSX - only parking/stall/overspeed displays are set to 'false'. In BIOS I have disabled SpreadSpectrum and jMicron controller. All the drivers are always up to date.Any clues? It destroys the whole immersion when ready to touchdown and bang, have to fly again.

[BartEnder 2]

Since there is no 'Edit' i have to post it under the initial post:Here is an update - same things happen under DX10 preview, no matter if it is a full screen or maximized window.

[BartEnder 2]

So, replying to Gary's post:

Hello:Many FS hangs or CTDs are due to scenery, such as missing textures or effects etc. causing FSX to search through many folder paths looking for a file referenced in a BGL; sometimes it causes lag, other times it causes an eventual crash.A few questions might help identify the "type" of FSX crash occurring:Is the FSX crash at a particular % on the progress bar when loading up a flight at a particular location ?

No, never in progress bar, never ever.

If at a particular location mid-flight, is it when banking, or when approaching a particular airport at a certain distance out ?

Yes and no - banking is not the issue, even in aerobatic sessions. I fly all over the world, from airport to airport. It mosty happen on the groung or at low altitudes.

If mid-flight, is it when panning around one's viewpoint either inside or outside the cockpit ?

No matter. I always fly in VC. Last time I put Autopilot on to 2500ft MSL (2000ft AGL) and switch to Locked Spot - over deserted area, mute the sound (as one of the CTDs suspects) by 'Q' and leave the PC. When going back it appears, that PC hungs after ~15min after leaving it.I am almost sure, that this could be due to improper RAM settings (be default 'Auto' in the BIOS the timings are to short, I have to manually adjust it). Or the scenery as You mentioned. I will stick to Voltage and timing settings, but it is difficult to find all the needed data for RAM and MoBo.

[GaryGB 10]

So, replying to Gary's post:No, never in progress bar, never ever.Yes and no - banking is not the issue, even in aerobatic sessions. I fly all over the world, from airport to airport. It mosty happen on the groung or at low altitudes.No matter. I always fly in VC. Last time I put Autopilot on to 2500ft MSL (2000ft AGL) and switch to Locked Spot - over deserted area, mute the sound (as one of the CTDs suspects) by 'Q' and leave the PC. When going back it appears, that PC hungs after ~15min after leaving it.I am almost sure, that this could be due to improper RAM settings (be default 'Auto' in the BIOS the timings are to short, I have to manually adjust it). Or the scenery as You mentioned. I will stick to Voltage and timing settings, but it is difficult to find all the needed data for RAM and MoBo.

Next time in FSX press "P" to pause the sim entirely at the FSX Main Menu.Then let the computer sit "idle" for 15 to 30 minutes and see if it hangs.Also, try loading a flight where the hang has happened before, then "pause" FSX ...and let it sit as above.If FSX hangs in both scenarios above, strongly suspect hardware settings contributing to overheating and/or parts are unable to maintain data synchronization at current parameters (short RAM latency > overclock speed > overvoltage).Also, on my system, the ASUS "EPU" energy management utility seems to cause instability and performance issues when running, although the TurboV utility works very nicely.If FSX hangs only mid-flight, one might remotely have a FSX configuration issue, but more likely still has a "performance under load" hardware settings issue contributing to overheating and/or parts are unable to maintain data synchronization at current parameters (short RAM latency > overclock speed > over-voltage).Although one might also suspect power management issues between BIOS settings, drivers, and the Windows OS, one might first wish to try less aggressive settings for the above hardware parameters configuration before going through the tangled web of diagnosing BIOS / OS power management and NVidia drivers variables.Overall, my primary "suspicion" in light of what you described above, is that it's hardware related... and not FSX.PS: If you are overclocking the GPU, that also can build up heat and become unstable over 15 minutes or so; monitor GPU temperature with an appropriate utility too.Always remember: for every 10 degrees above rated operating temperature range a CPU or GPU (or other chipset) runs, it shortens the part's life by 1/2 !!!Hope this helps ! :( GaryGB

[BartEnder 2]

I am almost sure it is MoBo-RAM connection issue. Have seen similar problems on forums.Have tried today ~10 settings (BIOS), all of them hangs the PC. I've read it is normal in i790 chipset with OCZ Platinum 1333MHz 7/7/7/20.PC is used to transcoding sometimes, do big RAR archives and never have a BSOD, only in FSX - that was the reason I suspect FSX, not PC. The path was wrong, few reinstallations, different OSes, still the same... I will dig in Asus forums or other Hardware related.There is no overclocking, temperatures are always lower than 60C (CPU, GPU, MoBo), I have huge radiators and always aim at low temps.When I will get rid of this issue, will post solution for all nVidia 790 chipset users and Asus Striker II NSE MoBo users. Cheers!