Thank you for reading this...

[N60JBravo 27]

Hi to all and thanks for your time reading this,As I have added planes and scenery to fs9, fps has dropped and the time to load fs9 has gotten longer. I am sure that none of this is foreign to you. I had come to accept it as a side affect of customizing fs9 for my personal enjoyment.Then I started to experience CTD when switching from windowed mode to full screen. Since this happened regardless of where I was, when I was there, and what plane I was flying at the time I was lost as to the cause. Could not blame it on scenery as I experienced it everywhere I tried it. Nor could I blame it on a certain airplane because I fly several. Turned off AI, did not help.Just when I was facing the fact that a full reinstall was most likely called for (a thought I did not cherish due to the volume of add-ons I would have to re-install would require a fair amount of time with my son looking over my shoulder "when can I go flying Dad") I decided to spend a little more time investigating my issue.Enter Filemon. After reading several threads on different forums mentioning Filemon I turned it loose on my setup. My initial response was "this is a waste of time" because I was looking for a large amount of failed file accesses and not seeing them. Upon further review I started to notice calls for textures from scenery entries far away from where I was flying.One particular instance fs9 kept calling for files from a freeware scenery that happened to come with an auto-installer. Thinking this odd I started to look at the files in the folder for that scenery and I found a file titled trees_0.bgl in the fs9/addon scenery/xxx/scenery folder (the names have been withheld to protect the guilty). This caught my eye because I had disabled the scenery entry in question which caused trees in other locations to show up as big white blocks instead of nice looking trees.trees_0.bgl was also located in fs9/addon scenery/scenery where I put it when I installed Gerrish Grays trees. Apparently the designer who created xxx used some of Mr. Grays trees in his design and included the bgl file in his package. This duplicate bgl file is seemingly the root of my troubles. Since removal of the bgl from the local scenery folder not only have I not experienced any CTDs, fs9 loads in 1/10 the time (guess it does not have to try and figure out what to do with the duplicate bgls).Why did duplicate bgls cause the CTD when it did I do not know. From what I have read duplicate bgls would cause fs9 to not load at all. Why could fs not find trees_0.bgl in the addon scenery folder when xxx was deactivated? Have not got a clue. Are my frame rates up? I think so, however I cannot substantiate it, it just seem so. Am I going to continue to look for duplicate files? You can bet on it because I think it is the MAJOR cause of performance loss in fs9. In closing, a word to all you designers from someone who has no ability (or patience) to do what you do. Thank you for all your hard work, it REALLY is appreciated by all of those whose fs experince is enhanced by it. That being said if you use someone elses work ie:library objects please DO NOT include them and their textures in your package, reference them in your read me file and tell us where to get them. This will go a long way towards not having duplicate files and keeping performance levels where they should be. Also if you do include your own designs give them specific names so people like me are not forced to decide which of the many concrete.bmp files I have seen I should keep. I want to enjoy your work through your vision, not someone elses (at least initially).Also to all you software designers may I suggest a utility to locate duplicate bgl files. If it already exists please let me know, if not, create one. I do believe one exists for textures and if I can find it, it will be my next download.Thank you all for reading the ramblings of a man tired of troubleshooting fs9, all I really want to do is fly.And PLEASE understand that in no way is this meant as an assault on any individuals, nor should it be fodder for a flame war, just info to help everyone enjoy this great hobby.thanks, Joe

[duckbilled 310]

I went the filemon route for a while. It can be very useful but it can also send you on a wild goose chase.What is you AA setting? Anything over 4x will produce ctds and other unwanted issues.

[N60JBravo 27]

Hi Jeff,Thanks for your suggestion.Might need your help on this one. I believe AA is anti-aliasing and that it is adjustable on some "upper end" video cards.My PC was not purchased with gaming in mind, it is a basic Dell package P4 2.8 1gb with this video card - Intel® 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family.I have looked at the settings for this card and it does not appear to be tunable. So I have AA turned off in the sim. If it is adjustable through the pc and I just have not found it, can you tell me where to look?BTW have now spent several hours flying in different scenery areas and airplanes and have not been able to produce a CTD.thanks again,Joe