Question for Elrond...or anyone else that knows

[Guest BobL]

Elrond:I have had a weird shift in events that has me scratching my head and saying h-u-m-m-m-m-m....First my system. Not a clue on the M/B or Processor except that they are OEM Gateway PIII 1000. I've updated sound card to Audigy, Video Card to Prophet GF2 GTS, 64MB Video, there's an internal modem that I don't use as I have cable internet, and Windows ME. Anything else you need to know??? Not a clue about the video driver. The only thing I can get this stupid box to tell me is that the driver file detail is version 4.13.01.2311. I know for a fact that I put a leaked 20-something in here several months ago but I don't know which one. I have a Windows configuration set that disables all the un-needed peripherals and I use EndItAll when I fly. The only thing left running when I fly is ZoneAlarm.For several months I have been running FS2000 at ~40 FPS. Even in the high detailed areas it never went below 20.FS2002 runs well over 50. We have it locked at 50 but it would go higher.About a month ago, and out of the blue...both sims started dropping to ~3.0 FPS about two minutes after startup. They, rapidly alternate and stutter between the 'normal' FPS and this low FPS for about two minutes and then return to normal. In FS2002, no more problems after that. Fly indefinitely. FS 2000, on the other hand will return to normal after the two minute startup interlude and then at about 40 minutes, you will see the FPS bleed off over a period of about 20 minutes until the point, about an hour into the flight that the FPS are in the 4 - 8 range. This is a new event. Neither sim previously did the two minute interlude thing and FS2000 did not previously wither and die in the final third of an hour. The only fix for it is to save the flight, re-boot and re-start. And I haven't put anything new in, installed any new software, made any changes, etc. I do have some scenery that I have customized but it was running before the FPS problem started so I can't nail to that.Do you have any ideas on what could be causing this? I fear something is failing inside the box since this symptom is new but I don't have a clue what it could be.I appreciate any help you can give.ThxBobL

[Guest SD Sim]

Hi Bob,I haven't heard from Elrond in about a month (I'm not a stalker, just really enjoyed his extensive knowledge). I am far from his equal, but I'll take a stab at your problem. Is there any chance that your hard drive is almost full? I believe that information is written to the HD during flight, and if your running out of space, perhaps this is the source of your problem. Other than that, I haven't a clue.

[Guest]

BobL: In my opinion, you have a program, installed or virus, running in the background that is causing this. I do not believe that a HW failure is causing this. Almost impossible in my opinion.Edit: Davids suggestion about Hard Drive - Swap File space/size is a good one too.Plz take a look at your running programs/process at the time this happens. Alt-Enter to put FS2002 into Windowed mode, followed by Ctrl-Alt-Delete to bring up TaskMan. Write down everything, and report it back here for analysis.Cheers,

[Avcomware 1]

hi, Bob.Here are some things that I would try.Check to see that AA is off, FS Options.If you use any program to set you Video attributes, NVMax etc., make sure Anisotropy is set to 4 or less. Disable Zone Alarm.Defrag your HD.Make sure you have DMA checked for your HD.Try to set your Audio acceleration, DirectX, to Min.Try these one at the time, also when you get these slow FPS try to go into Windowed mode, ALT Enter, and back to full screen, ALT Enter and see if you get back your FPS. By the the way you are running the 23.11 Video drivers, that work well, you may want to try 21.81 and or 21.83. If none of these work, can you remember what was the last thing you changed/added? TV

[Guest BobL]

David:Hi.. Actually there are two separate physical hard drives. One, labeled d:/is FS2000 exclusively (which is where I am having my biggest problem) has 64.7 GB free. This is the one that bleeds off to almost nothing by the end of a flight hour. The other, c:/has FS2002 among other things and has 72.7GB free. c:/ is the boot drive.And just in case you're wondering those aren't typos. It is GigabyteBobL

[Guest BobL]

Braun:Hi. If there's a virus I'm not aware of it. I have Norton's and the vdf is up-to-date. I have subscription service and it updates once a month automatically during boot-up. It's also available on demand and I do that once a week.As for the background programs, I use EndItAll. The only things running when I start are Explorer, Systray and Zonealarm. After I start flying, it adds FS2000, FSMeteo, and RC99Pnl. The Properties page says I have 91% when I start and 49% free when everything is running. Also, I noted that you said FS2002. The bleed-off problem that has started is with FS2000. The only thing 2002 is doing is the start-up interlude at about 2 minutes.I have also noted that after the bleed-off, when I Alt-F4 to exit and re-boot, it takes FS over three (3) minutes to bring up the 'close flight sim?" dialogue box. You can't hear it hitting the drive but it goes off and does something for three minutes but it will eventually bring it up.BobL

[Guest BobL]

TVHi. It's been a long time since we talked. Here ya' go..>>Check to see that AA is off, FS OptionsAA?? What is that? I didn't see anything like that in FS2000>>If you use any program to set you Video attributes, NVMax etc., make sure Anisotropy is set to 4 or lessI don't even know what NVMax is. What is anistropy?>>Disable Zone AlarmThat didn't help>>Defrag your HD.I stay de-fragged. I have Fix-it and it does that automatically once a week overnite.>>Make sure you have DMA checked for your HD.How?? and what is DMA?>>Try to set your Audio acceleration, DirectX, to MinHow?? Does this effect FS2000?I appreciate the info on the drivers. I'm gather the last four are the driver version? The last thing I added, hum-m-m-m...for FS2002 an FFG DC-10. For FS2000, haven't a clue unless you mean the radio tower I stuck in at KDED. As far as software, it's been too long. And in both cases, (FS2000 and FS2002) I haven't added anything recently enough to be a factor. NOthing has been added since long before this started.Good to hear from you again.BobL

[Avcomware 1]

Hi, Bob.>AA?? What is that? I didn't see anything like that in FS2000>In FS Options>Settings>Display>Hardware>Anti-Aliasing NOT checked.>I don't even know what NVMax is. What is anistropy?>If you did not use Riva tuner/NVmax, do not change/worry about this.Anisotropy is a filtering mode, makes things look sharp, at the expense of many FPS. You can also change this from your Display manager, if you changed anything there you may have it set.>>Try to set your Audio acceleration, DirectX, to MinHow?? Does this effect FS2000?< Some Audio boards/drivers have a problem with the Sound Acceleration, this helps some people.You find Dxdiag here (in W98SE), you may have it in another location.C:WINDOWSSYSTEMDXDIAG.EXE>How?? and what is DMA?< Direct Memory Access, makes for better/faster transfer of data fro your HD. You can check it under ControlPanel>System>Device Manager>Disk Drives> Generic disk type?>Properties>Settings, there is a window/block (DMA), that must be checked.Did you try to change from Full screen (ALT Enter) to Window mode and back? Did that make any diff.?Good luck. TV

[Guest]

"I'm not a stalker, just really enjoyed his extensive knowledge"LOL! :-lolI most certainly don't know about the extensive knowledge part, but the stalker part... um... :-bigangel.Thanks David... You made my belly rumble this morning! http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/elrondlogo.gifhttp://members.rogers.com/eelvish/flyurl.gif

[Guest]

Hi Bob,I'm sorry to hear you're having annoying-to-track problems. The suggestions from T.V. are very good ones so hopefully one of them will pan out for you. If not, here are a couple more I can think of:Try running any of those games with the side (or whole enclosure depending on type) of your case removed. The symptoms you describe can happen if heat becomes a problem so if this helps, you know where to focus your attention.On the other hand, it definitely sounds like some resource is flying out the window... But which one: memory, gdi, swap, net saturation, etc? If you were running WinXP or 2k, this would be easy to find out (little dig there btw :-)). On Win9x, there is still a solution however. Try this utility:Resource Trackerhttp://products.asynchrony.com/Resource_TrackerThis lets 9x systems have some of the same type of resource tracking abilities that 2k and XP systems have in their Task Manager (its almost identical actually). It'll show you all of the processes running on your system (of which many are hidden on 9x in CTRL-ALT-DEL), how many resources of various types are being used by each process, a cpu-RAM-process toolbar that docks to your screen for real-time tracking and a full performance monitor that allows you to track cpu and swap file usage over time.With such a tool, you should be able to see what, if any, application is consuming more and more resources over the period your system slows down. If the slow-down is not heat related, this should help you pinpoint your problem. Simply run a few sim sessions in windowed mode so you can track your resources during that period with the utility.As a side-note for those running 2K or XP systems, there is a wonderful utility called CureInfo that can embed itself into your taskbar for real-time monitoring of just about any system resource. Here's a sub-shot of it running in my current taskbar to give you an example:http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3ccfed7f49ba6048.gifThis is just an example. Any of the hundreds of standard PerfMon items can be configured for display. You can check it out here:http://www.hbg.lth.se/~pv98gluGood luck,http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/elrondlogo.gifhttp://members.rogers.com/eelvish/flyurl.gif

[Guest]

Well...based on that information, it is less likely that my statements above apply. You're getting lots of other good suggestions...keep us informed, will ya' please?Cheers,

[Guest BobL]

TV:Hi again.>>Did you try to change from Full screen (ALT Enter) to Window mode and back? Did that make any diff.?Yes I did and it didn't make any difference. I also went back to look for AA. I can't find it. Per chance is it synonomous with MIP MAPPING? I found a check box for that but I don't have a clue what it does either except it does seem to help the out windshield view.Also, I noticed something else. In an earlier post I mentioned that after the FPS bleed off to a near slide show, I ALT-F4 out, re-boot and re-load the flight. When I do that it takes a good three minutes for the 'Exit Flight Sim' dialogue box to come up. You can't hear it doing anything and given the time, it will come up. Here's the interesting part. After it does and you confirm exit, it spends the next 10 - 15 seconds, continually hitting the d:/ drive (which is where FS2000 is). It doesn't hit c: but d:. I can tell the difference based on the sound made.It is definitely cleaning something up but I don't know what.BobL

[Guest BobL]

Hi Elrond>>Try running any of those games with the side (or whole enclosure depending on type) of your case removed. The symptoms you describe can happen if heat becomes a problem so if this helps, you know where to focus your attention.I thought about that first and the case has been open for about a week as I tried to work through this myself before coming here. >>On the other hand, it definitely sounds like some resource is flying out the window... But which one: memory, gdi, swap, net saturation, etc? If you were running WinXP or 2k, this would be easy to find out (little dig there btw ). On Win9x, there is still a solution however. Try this utilityI got the utility (at least the trial version of it). I'll let you know.BobL

[Avcomware 1]

Hi, Bob.In the Flight simulator, press ALT key than Options>Settings>Display>Hardware>Anti-Aliasing NOT checked. What OS are you running, W98SE? or XP?. How much space do you have on C: and D: drives? It sounds like the Swap file may be getting too small? TV

[Guest BobL]

Hi TVhere's the latest from a 1.5 hour flight this morning consisting of two segments about fifty minutes each. I had to stop and re-boot because of frame rate leakage>>ALT key than Options>Settings>Display>Hardware>Anti-Aliasing NOT checked. Still can't find it. Sure you're not thinking FS2002? I still use FS2000. If not, I'll post a screenshot>>What OS are you running, W98SE? or XP?.Windows ME at present. I've purchased XP but am a little hesitant to put it in. The accompanying literature leads one to believe you only get one shot. If a HD crashes, I guess you're toast or go buy another copy. And since I am now considering replacement (see below) and I only get one install I thought I would save it.>>How much space do you have on C: and D: drives? It sounds like the Swap file may be getting too small?c:/ has 72.7 GB free on a 100 GB drived:/ has 64.7 GB free on a 80 GB drive.After this morning I wrote down the specs from the resource monitor that EE recommended..After starting FS2000, CPU usage 55 - 60%; 349.8 RAM (I assume that is used and not remaining); FPS 35 - 40. I then taxied out, runup, two loops around the pattern involving a touch and go, landing and taxi-in.Everything was about 50 minutes...CPU usage 100%; RAM 89.7 MB (again I am assuming that is remaining); FPS 4 - 6. After recording the resource data, I Alt-F4'd. About 3 minutes later, up came the close dialogue box. WHen it closed it spent 13 seconds (I timed it) in a solid hit on the d: drive. I know it was d: because c: and d: make different sounds.One thing occurred to me today though...I have run, since before this started a screen resolution of 1600 x something. Would that cause this? Given all these difficulties I have been having led me to start thinking system replacement today. That leads me to a couple of questions...I visited a mom/pop computer outlet store where they sell piece parts. (I've been inside the box enough now that I think I can assemble one). All the motherboards cite DDR as being the greatest. But when I price compared a 'home-built model' with a custom built mfg unit (Gateway) they told me DDR is on its' way out and I needed RDRAM. Comments? Which one is better and which should I get if I choose to go the replacement route. Also, I found on the internet a KDS 21" monitor, adverised as new for $379 US. I'm old enough to know that when something sounds too good to be true....it usually is....and every warning bell and alarm in my head is going off. I don't suppose you've seen this have you? Should I be put off by this low price?Well, as for my problem child, I'm going to turn the resolution down and fly a little tonite. I'll let you know the results either in the morning or tomorrow nite.BobLPS..I want to thank you for your assistance. Your time and patience is much appreciated.