How I fixed CTD's and System Reboots

[kjackson 0]

If you have been experiencing CTD events and system reboots when using add-on aircraft try the following:1. Install the latest DirectX updates: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.mspx2. If you have a PCI or PCI-E graphics adapter disable the DirectX AGP Texture Acceleration using the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (start>run dxdiag)3. Reduce DirectX Sound Acceleration values: i.e., No Acceleration; Basic Acceleration; Standard Acceleration, Full AccelerationMy Experience:I have finally gotten past the Activation and Re-installation nightmare with FSX thanks to the wonderful fix/tool Microsoft has provided.My next hurdle with FSX was tweaking it to run smoothly. I accomplished this and really enjoy flying the default GA aircraft. I then moved on to adding a couple of add-on aircraft and immediately started experiencing CTD's and system reboots when using these add-ons. I heard others were having the same problems and it was suggested that the video drivers were the culprit. This didn't make sense as the video cards and drivers in question were Nvidia-based. My card is an ATI X1300. Why were different cards and different video drivers exhibiting the exact same symptoms.The add-ons were causing CTD events and system reboots consistently when switching from Spot View to 2D Panel View. I have tried updating and later removing my Saitek X45 drivers and the joystick itself without success. I have removed the sound card drivers and then the sound card without success. I used MEMStatus and other tools to rule out memory leaks associated with add-on aircraft such as the Eaglesoft Liberty, Cirrus and Flight1's Cessna, all designed for FSX.Well, I am now CTD free after making DirectX changes and applying the latest DirectX updates. I hope my experience helps others.Tonight I was able to complete a long distance cross-country flight in the Cirrus SR22 G2 from Eaglesoft. I can now switch back and forth between all views and VC without a single problem. I am just now beginning to enjoy flying in FSX as I did in FS9.Regards,

[Guest LeeWang]

Thanks Ken.... You tip appears to have fix my CTD problem as well. Have done a lot of testing.I can now re-create my CTD problem on a fairly regular basis. My CTD was random, making no sense.Here's how I test and proved my CTD problem was my Sound Blaster SE sound card, set to "Full Acceleration"First, with my sound card set to "Full Acceleration" do this:1. I save a flight and called it CTD test. It loads up the default b737 everytime.2. I hit the "S" key to go to spot view.3. I than select another default aircraft, over and over until my CTD happens. Within the first 5-10 aircraft selections, FS2004 will usually crash to desk top (CTD) with no error message. Also i note that by going back and forth from Full screen to window, CTD sometime happen.If I look in Windows/XP "event viewer" (error logs) and select application, you can see the error. I don't mean a whole lot, but this is the error I get every time a CTD happen.The description for Event ID ( 0 ) in Source ( ) cannot be found. The local computer may not have the necessary registry information or message DLL files to display messages from a remote computer. You may be able to use the /AUXSOURCE= flag to retrieve this description; see Help and Support for details. The following information is part of the event: 7.When i set my sound (in dxdiag) to "Standard Acceleration", I manage to test for fours hours with no CTD. Think this has fix my problem as well. Time will Tell.And yes, I also disable AGP texture acceleration to disable. Flying FS2004. Thanks Again Ken... keeping fingers crossed.

[Guest LeeWang]

I still get CTD's.. Don't know what problem is..

[Guest LeeWang]

Update:After many hour of trouble shooting, I now have fix my CTD problem in FS2004. Problem was FSUIPC 3.71. I use unregister version, so maybe this be problem? I try many thing, and could post things I did to narrow it down to FSUIPC 3.71. I keep a log as I changed thing in FS2004.I formated HDD and reload windows xp/sp2 and all updates. Install CH control manager 4.1. Install all drivers for motherboard/video card using Nvidia 93.71 (and have try older versions). Install FS2004 and test. Using CD4 in drive, and nothing added to FS2004 execpt ran the Update for fs9 to 9.1. Ran the update within the FS2004 folder as per instructions. Used the FS9.cfg that was create at install.Test my set up all Friday night with no CTD's. I test as mentioned above. I can recreate the CTD on a regular basis just by switch to different aircraft.This morning installed FSUIPC 3.71 and boom CTD..Removed FSUIPC 3.71 and no problem..Search Pete's fourms and another person indicate having same error message as me:The description for Event ID ( 0 ) in Source ( ) cannot be found. The local computer may not have the necessary registry information or message DLL files to display messages from a remote computer. You may be able to use the /AUXSOURCE= flag to retrieve this description; see Help and Support for details. The following information is part of the event: 7.Also another person indicate he have problems after install FSUIPC 3.71.I install FSUIPC 3.70 and test. No More CTD's...Hope this help other people..PS: sound acceleration back to Full. and no more problem. I Fly again...I will continue to test, but now think I have fix issue.

[Guest LeeWang]

Bob was kind to provide FSUIP v3.716.If you have same problem, here is link to v3.716---------------------------------Lee--Have you tried v3.716?http://fsuipc.simflight.com/beta/FSUIPC3716.zipRegardsBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VSantiago de Chile----------------------------------

[Guest wyoairbus]

Hello,I have this same problem you are describing in my FSX. I have done all the things you have suggested, but to no avail, my flight sim is still crashing when going into the VC (cockpit) view and I'm getting the message that "A Fatal Error has Occured."I have been recently testing this out with the Captainsim 757, but I've had this same problem with the CLS DC-10, CLS A340-600, iFDG A32X, Wilco 737 PIC.The strange thing is my Flight sim was working perfect until about a month ago when I started getting these!You can view my thread on another forum with what might be a little more detail here:http://www.flightsimworld.com/forums/index...opic=117800&hl=Do you possibly have any other ideas or suggestions I could try?Thanks,wyoairbusCheyenne, WY (KCYS)

[Guest Bob Keeshan]

I purchased FSX in early 2007. Ever since the first install, I would get random CTDs when I played the game regardless of the aircraft I used, the slider settings, etc. The CTD error message would consistently be that my video card was stuck in an endless loop and when I auto-reported the error to Microsoft, I would be sent to a link where I was told I needed to update my video driver or lower the video acceleration.I initially thought the error might be due to my low-end integrated GPU, so I went out and bought a newer video card with 512MB onboard (see system specs below). Still, I experienced the same CTDs and blackscreen of death. I learned to play the game using frequent game saves, but was frustrated that even when I saved my game, the log book would only record the portion of my flight after the save when I had another CTD. It was very frustrating to have a long flight interupted 2 or 3 times with a CTD, usually as I was preparing to land.I thought the new FSX SP1 might fix the problem, but it didn't. It almost made the problem worse. That's when I started reading through the AVSIM forums searching for the answers. Here are some of the things I read and did hoping to find a cure to my CTDS:1) IRQ CONFLICT - I read here where your video card should not share an IRQ with anything else as that could cause conflicts and CTDs. I checked my IRQ assignments, and low-and-behold my new AGP video card was sharing an IRQ with my sound card. I moved my sound card to a slot with a different IRQ, but the CTDs continued.2) UPDATED DRIVERS - I updated my video drivers, made sure my sound drivers and chipset drivers were all current. Still, the CTDS continued.3) OVER HEATING & POWER - I read where an overheated CPU or an aging power supply could cause CTDs, so I downloaded Prime95 and tested my sytem. I watched my CPU temp rise from 52c to 60c while my voltage remained constant at 11.9276v. No problems.4) BAD MEMORY - I read that a bad memory stick could cause CTDs so I downloaded Memtest86 and ran the various tests. No problems.5) DIRECT X - I read here where lowering the sound acceleration using DXDIAG could eliminate CTDs. I lowered mine to "standard," but the CTDs remained.6) VIDEO ACCELERATION - I finally took the Microsoft error message seriously and tested lowering my video acceleration settings. Those nasty CTDs still continued while the graphics quality was completely unacceptable.7) OVER CLOCKING - I thought maybe the CTDs were due to my video card not being tuned correctly to run the game properly. So, I downloaded Ntune and tuned my system. CTDs continued.8) SYSTEM ENEMA - People here said they ran various system tools to "cleanse" their systems and they were able to get their CTDs to disappear. So, I used a couple of the tools recommended (ccleaner, regclean, etc.) hoping to duplicate their success. No luck.9) UNINSTALL - I finally got fed up enough with the game that I performed a complete uninstall and install of the game along with SP1. Same CTDs still occurred. By this time, I thought I'd never be able to play FSX without first having to buy a brand new, high-end system.10)APG MULTIPLIER - The other night I was reading through some info on www.playtool.com about APG video cards, when I read where APG video cards with 8x multipliers and fast writes could be flaky. The site recommended lowering the multiplier to 4x or increasing the volage 0.1v. I took the safe route and lowered my multiplier from 8x to 4x in BIOS. I loaded FSX, and to my complete surprise, NO CTDS!!! Better yet, no noticeable performance degradation!!!Since lowering my system's APG multiplier, I've been able to fly CTD free. I've even tried flying into and out of larger airports, cranking up the traffic and detail, weather etc. While I noticed a big FPS hit with the increased settings (which I expected), I still did not experience a CTD.MORAL OF THE STORY: Try everything. Something is bound to work eventually. :)Here are my system specs:AMD Athlon XP 2500+NVIDIA nForce2 Chipset512MB DDR RAMNVIDIA APG GeForce 7600 GS w/ 512MB RAMSound Blaster Live! 24-bit(and believe it or not, I get pretty good FSX performance with this set-up)