Week-old PC won't run FSX???

[haskell 298]

A week ago I upgraded my computer. With the new multi-core coding in SP1 I thought I would give FSX another try. What a nightmare! First off, it runs very smoothly with frame rates locked at 30 fps. BUT, it won't stop crashing. First off, once I enabled AA it crashed EVERY TIME I switch to spot view then go back to cockpit. This is well documented in the CTD forum. I tried all fixes... nothing works. I turned AA off in the game and enabled it in nHancer... still crashed. Turned it down to 2x and YAY! It flies! Tried several planes and locations and it worked great. I love the water and terrain in FSX! Then, I get errors when trying to switch airports. Only about a dozen airports show up and it won't accept and airport codes in the search box. Close FS, restart, works fine. Then I switch planes at SABA and BOOM! ANOTHER CTD! This time terrain.dll was the culprit. That's it. Uninstalled. Knowing I have to re-buy all my payware planes, FSUIPC, ActiveSky and Ultimate Terrain and Ground Environment (so I can actually see roads and cities!) only to have CTDs constantly killing flights... can't do it. Clearly this isn't typical or there wouldn't be an FSX forum. But it must be rampant, based on ALL the CTD posts here. Disappointing. Intel E8500 Dual Core4 Gig Corsair memoryeVGA FTW motherboardgeForce 7900GSThe 7-series graphics card is a common thread in CTD posts. BUT the posts are a YEAR OLD and still no resolution? Frustrating. That's a great system and FS9 kills on it! Any other ideas? Or am I hosed?Thanks,Eddie

[Guest UlfB]

Eddie,The 7900GS card was a budget card when released 2 years ago. IMO it's not a card suited to run FSX.Ulf BCore2Duo X6800 3.3GHz4GB RAM Corsair XMS2-8500C5BFG 8800GTX, Creative SB X-FiFSX Acc/SP2, Vista 32

[bobbyjack 61]

Many suggest a reformat after an upgrade like yours, to erase any driver conflicts. My 7950gs ran FSX without crashes( my 8800 is far better), but then I didn't run any add ons. You might try FSX with all the SPs(one of them deals with cour duo) and SDKs, no add ons. If it is OK, then put your add ons in one at a time untill you find the culprit. If bare-bones FSX doesn't run, then you might need to look into optimizing your system.Bob

[haskell 298]

Yeah I guess I just have to bite the bullet and get a new video card if I want FSX that badly. It just annoys me that it CRASHES. I could accept the fact that it was slow, but CTDs are bad software. Period. And I am afraid that after investing hundreds more in a new card I'd still get the crashes. In all the years and hardware upgrades since I got FS9 I never got ONE CTD. With dozens of add-ons. Everything is virgin so re-formatting wouldn't help. Fresh XP install on brand new HD, fresh FSX install with SP1 installed immediately. No add ons (not spending money on them til I get a stable platfom.) So that's as clean as it gets. Guess I'll just stick with FS9 for a while. Unless I get the itch to buy a new video card. After spending $700 on the new system I really hate to have to buy more. Thanks for chiming in. Eddie

[Chuck_Jodry-VJPL 663]

Your short of graphics capacity, i replaced my card on a new machine and noticed an immidiate improvement.

[n4gix 4,947]

>Yeah I guess I just have to bite the bullet and get a new>video card if I want FSX that badly. It just annoys me that it>CRASHES. I could accept the fact that it was slow, but CTDs>are bad software. Period. Yes, but who's software? The CTD's are caused by your video card and/or drivers, so point your finger of shame at the right target at least... ;)You're attempting to use a Volkswagen when a Mack is required...

[Guest AlvinS]

"Uninstalled. Knowing I have to re-buy all my payware planes, FSUIPC, ActiveSky and Ultimate Terrain and Ground Environment (so I can actually see roads and cities!) only to have CTDs constantly killing flights..."You should not have to re-purchase your addons. If you have the original Order Number for Ultimate Terrain and Ground Environment for example, you can get a new key from Flight1.I just bought a new computer and recovered my Payware for FS9.Hope this helps

[haskell 298]

Alright, I *MAY* have pointed the finger at FSX prematurely.When running a "torture test" with Prime 95 today, the CPU test went fine but the full test (including RAM) would fail within 1 minute. Then.. I REMEMBERED... I had overclocked my memory (on Crucial's recommendation... I have the Dominator series) from 800MHz to 1066MHz. OOPS. If OCCT and Prime 95 are causing failures, then FSX could easily be doing the same thing. I reset the timings to AUTO in BIOS and VIOLA! No failures. (wiping egg from face)The good news... blaming the 7900GS, I ordered an 8800 GT (with $30 rebate. WOO HOO!) that will be here Thursday! Guess what we're doing Thursday night... What have we learned today? Always pre-flight! In the future ANYTIME I make a tweak (even recommended by mfr) I will stress-test before jumping in the cockpit. BTW - my reference to re-purchasing all my add-ons meant purchasing the FSX versions. I still have my FS9 folder INTACT! :)@Fr. Bill - my FIRST purchase is going to be that SWEET SR-22 Turbo! I have been holding off until deciding if I was going FS9 or FSX! Thank you all for your comments. And FSX... please accept my apology. EddieKABQPS - I reserve the right to throw another fit if I get crashes with the new card and RAM timings. ;)