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My Most Frustrating FSX Problem

T

TerryW

Charter Member
I have chased this issue since FSX was released....the sim freezes mid-flight, the graphics and sound are there, but it won't respond to any input. The only way out is to bring up Task Manager which dutifully reports that FSX is not responding. Close FSX, check all system temps, check in the Event Viewer, but find nothing amiss.

I've googled the problem so many times over the years, and even though many simmers have reported the issue, I've never found any solution....at least which made any sense to alleviate my issue.

This is a new install of FSX Accel on (my last) a brand new computer (Win 7 HP 64 bit, Intel i7-860, 8 gb Corsair ram with twin fan cooler, 750W Corsair PS, Corsair Hydro CPU cooler, 4 other case fans either sucking or blowing....cpu has turbo boost, but is not otherwise o/c'd, 850 mhz gpu with 1 gig DDR5 memory). Flight was Comair schedule (POSKY) CRJ-900, JFK to DFW, all default scenery, at FL320 with minimal ai and using real weather. On checking, immediately after closing the sim, all temperatures were low to normal. FS froze after 2 1/2 hours. This computer is a flight simulator with an internet connection....no other programs running...don't have Office or Word or Norton, etc, etc....basically a bare flight simulator.

Sorry for writing a book, but I thought that after throwing another $2,000 at this thing, I'd have some peace from the freezing. No, I'm not doing a reinstall; yes, I'll rebuild the .cfg; no, my settings are not too high.

Have any of our members had this issue, and been able to resolve it satisfactorily.....thanks for any insight or input.

All the best,
Terry
 
You're not alone. I've experienced this as well.

CTRL-ALT-DEL doesn't even work. I have to do a hard reboot.

it can be very annoying.

-G-
 
The most fustrating thing about FSX is..........FSX!! I also have had simular problems, after problem after problem!
 
MudMarine said:
The most fustrating thing about FSX is..........FSX!! I also have had simular problems, after problem after problem!
Click to expand...

lolol... I hear that. So many times I have wanted to go to Walmart, buy a stack of FSX packages, take them home, and drive back and fourth over them for an hour or so till I felt better... lol..

So many things it has, so many neat features, and it barely runs and is so dang difficult to make planes for...



Back on topic. Have you tried running in 'windows' mode instead of full screen?

Also, try using a different screen resolution, like 1024 X 768. You might get a squashed look, but if it runs smoothly with no crashes, then thats the main thing.

Some GC's are having issues with gauges and screen resolutions; (wide screens). I get reports of people having crashes in 2D panel mode caused from this.

I hope they find out what is causing this.



Bill
 
Thanks for the responses guys.....I'm not at all happy to hear that you have the same issue at times. I guess I was mostly venting. My VA monitors the flights and when it freezes, I lose the flight and hours!

Bill, I had a similar fantasy....standing over a bottomless black hole, aimlessly flipping the disks in while humming "whoops, there goes another bad sim, whoops, there goes another bad sim"....tune of rubber tree, I guess.

On FSX alone, I'm over $4,200 in computers, another few hundred for add-ons (thanks for the Kodiak!), gosh knows how much the grief has aged me....but I'm obsessed.

Was in Phoenix area for the month of April last year...vacation....and out mall-hopping in Glendale. Buddy and I went into a Walmart and I stumbled across a copy of FSX Gold. When I bought it, Wayne said....jeez, I thought you had all that FS stuff, why do you need that? I just thought to myself....this might be that magical one that won't have any glitches.....but I was wrong.

Lost my post count too, I see...oh well, don't matter.

Thanks again guys....I'm feeling much better now (Pink Panther line, I think).

All the best,
Terry
 
I've had two problems with FSX over the years.. both similar to this.. Both turned out to be hardware related.

The first problem was a lockup with complex glass gauges running.. It turned out to be an issue with my BIOS talking to my Video-card (8800GTS). BIOS flash fixed it.

I've since gone to a faster CPU on a different board (Q9550 @ 3.6Ghz).. and have had flawless FSX performance.. until recently.. it started locking up after long flights. First instinct is obviously V-card heat.. so I took the old 8800GTS out.. took it apart.. blew a bunch of crud out of the cooling fins and fan blade.. re-applied heat-sink grease and put it all back together..

Back to flawless performance :wiggle:

These problems are 99% hardware related... not FSX related. I've spent a lot of money too for FSX.. so I feel your pain.. but also like you, I'm still well under the line where you can rule out that FSX pushes your hardware too far... one way or another.

Had I bit the bullet and bought a 3+ Ghz capable computer, with a HIGH end video card .. I'd have saved a little money in the long run. It would have been $4000 at the time, compared to spending at least that much in piece-meal, barely adequate upgrades along the way.. but it would have saved a LOT of aggravation.

You never mentioned the v-card.. so I'm guessing that's the source of your problem.. it's either overwhelmed and just quits.. or it's over-heating.
 
I haven't had this, but lots of other little niggles, among others:

- I can't take screenshots in full screen mode, I just get a black picture
- If I open the doors or canopy, the zoom function won't work anymore
- sometimes, out of the blue, it starts stuttering...real bad
- in some aircraft, lately, if I switch planes, I get a warning saying "oops, that's not the right aircraft!", after which it works perfectly...go figure

of course, sometimes when I have photoshop, dxtbmp and an viewer open at the same time with FSX, things don't work that well.....
 
I can't take screenshots in full screen mode, I just get a black picture
Click to expand...

Surely a video-card issue..

If I open the doors or canopy, the zoom function won't work anymore
Click to expand...

That's normal..(all the way back to FS8) just hit the back-space to reset the view.

sometimes, out of the blue, it starts stuttering...real bad
Click to expand...

Hardware..

in some aircraft, lately, if I switch planes, I get a warning saying "oops, that's not the right aircraft!", after which it works perfectly...go figure
Click to expand...

Probably non-native FSX add-ons..
 
jankees said:
- I can't take screenshots in full screen mode, I just get a black picture
Click to expand...

Are you using nHancer? I think this is related to nHancer, because I also play Battlefield 2 and it used to take screenshots (I was not using a nHancer profile, now I am) but now all I get is black screens. Same with FSX in full screen mode... not sure what the deal is.
 
Hi Brett.....just reminded me with this new install to go pick up your Saab 340 and the Cessna RG...love 'em both.

The flight was over totally default scenery somewhere close to the Tennessee/Arkansas border when it froze.

After I made the original post, I thought I'd do a little test:

I have Simaddons very fps heavy Halifax scenery, which includes a remake of Sable Island with a strip and research station. The whole thing is very heavy on the gear. I departed Halifax with Just Flight's Duchess...an hour out to Sable Island with some tooling around for screenies, then back to CYHZ with a detour to fly up through Halifax harbour with all the huge amount of scenery objects, then landed at CYHZ and taxied to parking.....total fs time was about 2 hours and twenty minutes....not even one stumble or stutter!

As I mentioned above, the vid card is an 870 mhz card (Gigabyte) with 1gb of DDR5 memory....so far, it's taken more strain than the 8800 GTS I had in the old rig.....all is cool (temperature-wise) with the case and components. Somehow, though, I feel you might be onto something about it being hardware related....but I don't know what seeing as how everything is brand new.

Anyways, nice to hear from you.
Terry
 
Hey.. check out my 310 and Bonanza while you're out there..

What I'm getting at.. is that every problem I've encounterred, was rooted in hardware (or software if you count BIOS)..

I've built FSX computers for people with no budget.. price no object, and FSX runs perfectly on them.

Even if your hardware is reasonably current, there are still those little gremlins.. like even the best v-card get's "out of step" when it's waiting on a sub 4Ghz CPU.. sometimes that timing is corrected.. sometimes not. Like, if it happens straight-n-level at FL360.. no big deal..but if it happens at 1500agl while banked and turning.. BOOM.. lockup.

What it boils down too.. is that FSX needs not only good hardware.. but "head-room", to boot. If you stick FSX on $4000 worth of hardware specially built for FSX.. these problems will all but vanish.. at least to the extent that ANY piece of complex software would consider stable.. there's always crashes.. even for scientists running super-computers...lol
 
jankees said:
I haven't had this, but lots of other little niggles, among others:

- I can't take screenshots in full screen mode, I just get a black picture
.
Click to expand...
That happened to me when in DX10 preview mode, I started using the latest version of Fraps since
it's DX10 compatible and it works just fine.
 
I have this freeze problem also. Comes and goes, better sometimes worse others, no patten! Have never found a answer to this . Im sure its like others have said many things.
 
Have you tried pressing CTRL, ALT & DELETE, but instead of selecting task manager, just press cancel. This seems to bring the game back on for me and I carry on flying (I7 920 jobbie).
 
jankees said:
I haven't had this, but lots of other little niggles, among others:

- I can't take screenshots in full screen mode, I just get a black picture
- If I open the doors or canopy, the zoom function won't work anymore
- sometimes, out of the blue, it starts stuttering...real bad
- in some aircraft, lately, if I switch planes, I get a warning saying "oops, that's not the right aircraft!", after which it works perfectly...go figure

of course, sometimes when I have photoshop, dxtbmp and an viewer open at the same time with FSX, things don't work that well.....
Click to expand...

If you press the mouse button, this cures the zoom problem after opening the canopy.
 
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