FS2002 - FREQUENT CRASHES, HELP REQUIRED URGENTLY!!!

[Guest]

Hi all.I am desperately hoping someone can help me with my FS2002 problem. Basically you'll start a flight and after what seems to be a random amount of time the machine suffers a hard-lock. The screen freezes but the sound carries on (kinda stutters on I guess.) I have tried LOADS of things including gfx driver updates, change of graphics card (to TNT2 Ultra from GeForce4), disable sound, keyboard control, re-install FS2002, fan blowing into the case, etc.My system spec is as follows:Gigabyte GA-7VRXPAMD Athlon XP 1700Kingston 512MB PC2700 DDRGeForce 4 Ti4200 64MB DVI TV-OutMaxtor D740X 7200rpm ATA133ProCase Icemaster case with Chieftec 350W PSUThe CPU is cooled by a GlobalWin rated up to XP1800 (1.53GHz?) The CPU temp seems to be around 62C and the system temp about 38C (both idle.)If anyone has any ideas I would be grateful!!!

[Guest]

Can i say a simalar thing recently was happening to me with Gigabyte mainboard GA-71xEH and the only way i fixed it was to go to bios and set to failsafe defaults then save bios then restart fs2002 then go through the bios 1 at a time and test fs each time with the gigabyte sometimes certain things make fs not work right like the "top performance"=disable and dram frequency are main problems with flight sim and gigabyte also sometimes AGP modeHope this helps you but most llikely if you tried all the usual installs and video card/sound card checksAlpha xxxxxxxx

[Guest]

Thanks for those ideas Alpha. I'll have to give the BIOS 'failsafe defaults' a try I guess. But I can't help wondering: if I have to decrease settings such as DRAM frequency and AGP mode isn't it a bit of a waste of money buying technology which is supposed to work with these standards? Opinions, anyone...BTW, I forgot to mention on my first post that my OS is Windows XP Home Edition. Also I am using the motherboard's on-board sound (SB PCI128.)

[Guest]

Hi foxtrot,There is no doubt in my mind that FS2002 has something about it which is more likely to cause lockups than any other comparable software I have on my system. All the evidence points also to AMD-based hardware/chips being more susceptible than Intel-based technology.As a developer I find this doubly frustrating since I have to run FS2002 with extremely cautious settings to assure stability.Very early in the Fs2002 beta I pointed the instability issues out, but few other testers concurred and the usual points were made in return about implied flaws in my "system".I am totally convinced now that the above so-called system flaws is a red herring and in fact there IS something in FS2002 which is unstable.Whilst well meaning people tend to suggest looking at Bios and system "settings", I completely agree with you that we shouldn't have to revert to fail-safe settings on an otherwise well-proven and reliable system just to run one piece of software.For this reason, I do think MS should look at this now well established issue. Regards,Rob Young

[Guest]

Hi,I just wanted to comment that I've seen a serious problem with FS2000 & 2002 where the master switch seemingly turns off by itself. In my case, I start my flights with the 737-400 "cold" - with everything turned off. When I hit SHIFT-M, the master switch turns on as it should. If I simply let it sit in that state, with the master switch on, the master switch will turn OFF ON IT'S OWN after 30 seconds to 30 minutes. This can also happen in flight. Have you seen this?I reported it to MS today....

[Guest SoarPics]

Hi Foxtrot,62C at idle seems high. I see you've tried the fan in the case routine, but that temp at idle seems too high (my 1.4 Athlon @ 1.5 is at 46C at idle with a 80F ambient room temp). Once you start this hardware taxing sim, the CPU temp will only go higher.You seem to have done alot of troubleshooting before posting here, but have you tried replacing the thermal compound between the CPU/Fan? Perhaps a fresh application of Arctic Silver 3 would offer a solution.Keep us posted,

[Guest]

This thread is interesting. http://www.flightsimnetwork.com/dcforum/DC...ID10/26507.html

[Guest SD Sim]

Hi Foxtrot,Greg's advice above is right on the money. Your CPU is too hot. I've had similar problems with both of my AMD based systems. This is the only thing that bothers me about the Athlon, they run very hot and need better than average cooling solutions, particularly when running FS2K2. Both the CPU fan, as well as the case fans are important. By way of example, if you check my profile, you'll see that I have two computers that are virtually identical save for the graphics card. Both cpu's are cooled by Thermaltake Volcano 7's running at 5K rpm. The server is in a nice big Antec case with multiple fans. In this system my idle temp hovers around 48C and climbs to as much as 55C under load. The client is in a smaller Enermax case with lower speed case fans. This system's cpu idles around 58C and climbs up to 64C under load. Of course, it doesn't help that it's summertime with indoor temps of 80F. I have had a couple of freezes of the client, and I will probably need to invest in some more powerfull (and noisier) case fans to bring the temp down (I didn't have problems during spring when indoors was 70F and cpu idled at 52C). Sorry, but that is my long winded way of trying to steer you in the direction of cpu cooling. It really does make a difference.

[Guest]

Hi,Thanks for this advice. I've got the EXACT same symptoms on my installation and I'm using one 128K & one 64K memory together - I'll test tonight as this might very well be my problem.Regards,Hennie

[Guest]

Just for info... This is not unlike my problem reported under FS2002 Video Stalls. The screen will completely come to a halt, the sound continues, then the sound may stop, and the flight will go on for a couple of seconds. Can you create the problem by flying over the same spot of scenery? I have 4 fans in my box so it should not be heat in my situation, but the problem sounds much the same. Al

[Guest RSmith]

JUst FYI - you might want to read the thread (currently follows this) regarding "XP" auto-updates.I have brand new system - clean - few adds. The recent XP update which came through late last week - I accepted last Friday & installed. Experienced my 1st FS2002 freeze ever - heading north over British Columbia to Fargo Valley.Used XP "restore" and all Ok again - just reset system to Thursday PM restore date......Good luck.Ron