Program fails to load properly

[betelgeuse 41]

Am an old FS hand but am stumped this time.Two problems:1. CTDs seemingly related to CPU overload i.e. complex planes, real weather, moderate AI levels. I can fly default Cessnas to my heart's content.2. I can load default flight at Tacoma but if I try to change the aircraft the program freezes. I had similar problems about 6 months ago and I did a fresh install after which the system seemed to be fine although I did not fly 3rd party planes much. I run in windowed mode. The only other thing which springs to mind is that the program takes an age to load to the initial 'create a flight' page.The system is not overheating. I have no duplicate AFCADs (checked with scanafd). I have deleted the fs9.cfg file and allowed a rebuild. I have checked for viruses, trojans, spyware. I have installed the latest graphics and chipset drivers. If I run dxdiag I get a message that there was a problem accessing DirectPlay the last time the system was accessed. I do not know the relevance of this. My system:Asus A8N32-SLI-DeluxeAMD Athlon 64 2.4GHz2GB DDR matched pairNvidia GeForce 7800GTX 256MBLots of HDDWindows XP ProI suspect either a faulty CPU which copes when demand is low but flips when pushed hard, or a faulty stick of RAM, or software corruption. I must say I am getting very fed up with this and wonder more and more about X-Plane!Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks.John

[Ray Proudfoot 8,945]

Hi John,I suspect DirectX, or part of it, may be corrupt especially with that DirectPlay error.As a start trying reinstalling DirectX from here www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&displaylang=enOne thing you didn't mention is if you regularly defrag your HD. If you haven't then try that before the DX reinstall.If you suspect your CPU is stressed you can try running Orthos. http://sp2004.fre3.com/beta/beta2.htmCheers,

[Opa 6]

It would not hurt to run checkdisk (see thread )http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho..._id=49447&page=While you are not experiencing the particular error mentioned in the thread, checking your HD occasionally is desirable.Your problem would seem to be a basic computer issue rather than one only associated with FS2004 so you would still have issues no matter which sim you were using.Good luck.

[Guest over and out]

Few things that I do when I start getting strange performance issues, these are things that you may have done already:Run task manager to moniter CPU usage and to look at running applications and services: are there any services or programs running that could be in conflict or source eater - such as a running antivirus or something.Sometimes installing new updates or drivers cause more problems, do a roll back if necessary.Defrag and repair the system registry.Try runing MSFS in non-windowed mode, I never run in window mode unless I need to get to one of the menus.I agree that it is not a MSFS software problem, if it works fine without all the addons, then starts running strange after addons are installed it has to be related to that or some other program conflict. So if you have to do another MSFS reinstall do that and run it a few weeks without any other addons and see what happens.Good luck!!! I feel your pain, we have all been there :)

[betelgeuse 41]

Many thanks for all your suggestions. Will update later.John

[betelgeuse 41]

Okay, one by one! Ray: I defragged already. I downloaded a new version of DirectX from the MS site and installed this. I also installed Windows XP Service Pack 3. After this FS9 ran flawlessly with the Moach 737 and I was sure I had it cracked. I got worried though at the end of the session when I clicked on . I got the standard Microsoft apology/error message saying that FS9 was being shut down, even though I had already shut it down. It gave me the option of sending an error message. Today I ran the same flight with the same aircraft in real weather and it CTD'd after 10 minutes.I am currently 3 hours 30 min into the Go-Orthos Beta. So far everything seems okay. Each run so far of low and high FFTs has shown up as 'Self test ...passed'.David:I ran Chkdsk and no errors showed.James: Task Manager showed no significant usage by other programs. I keep antivirus (Eset_NOD) running when I am flying in Real Weather. I am not yet sure if Real Weather itself is the culprit or if it is but one route through which CPU or RAM 'stress' can be induced. I have defragged using the standard XP defragger. The files still look pretty jumbled up though. I do not know how to repair the Registry. Obviously, if it needs repair it is something that should be put right so I would be glad of advice how to do this safely. If anyone has any other ideas I'd be grateful again. In the meantime I will finish the Go-Ortho program and re-test.John

[Ray Proudfoot 8,945]

Hi John,<. I got the standard Microsoft apology/error message saying that FS9 was being shut down, even though I had already shut it down. It gave me the option of sending an error message. Today I ran the same flight with the same aircraft in real weather and it CTD'd after 10 minutes.>>How do you terminate FS? I always return to windowed mode and press the X in the top right. Open Task Manager just before you exit FS and make sure the system is closing it. What was the error message? Check the Error Log - it will be there.When you get CTDs do you also get an error message? If FS just crashes but the OS remain stable that is unusual without a error being generated.I notice you run an anti-virus program. Those are a big no-no and should be terminated. Try a flight without it running. Can you fly with a default aircraft without problems? When problems occur revert to default stuff to help trace whether problems lie with the addon or with the base product.I think your CPU is fine. The problems sound software-related to me.What is 'Real Weather'? FS default weather or a 3rd party addon? Most people use Active Sky, FS Meteo or default Wx. Can you point me to their website? Never heard of that program.

[Guest over and out]

I use "Fix-It Utilities" (Payware) to defrag and repair the registry, it also has all the other things like virus scanner, hard drive repair, defragger, etc. It has an "all in one fix it" choice also that lets run your entire system through a good spring cleaning and repair with the click of a single button. I like it and have used it for several years. You'll be amazed by how defragged and filled up with junk your registry gets.They have a trial version, may you can try the link below or do a search to find it. I think the lates version is 8?http://www.avanquest.com/USA/pc-tools/anti...ofessional.html

[Ray Proudfoot 8,945]

I use CCleaner, a freeware utility and it has never let me down. The amount of erroneous registry entries it finds on the first scan may scare you but it worked flawlessly.You can get it here http://www.ccleaner.com/

[Bob Scott 7,719]

This sounds like a video or audio driver issue to me. If you've installed a WinXP service pack and/or a new version of DirectX since your drivers were installed, I highly recommend updating to a newer version of the drivers that was released after the most recent XP or DX update.RegardsBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

[betelgeuse 41]

>Hi John,>>How do you terminate FS? I always return to windowed mode and>press the X in the top right. Me too.>When you get CTDs do you also get an error message?Yes but when I look in the log it is incomprehensible to me.>I notice you run an anti-virus program. Those are a big no-no>and should be terminated. Try a flight without it running. Can>you fly with a default aircraft without problems? In the past I ran antivirus when flying MP, VATSIM, or with 'Real World Weather'. This is because I didn't want viruses getting through when online. Real World Weather is is the name for the default MS/Jeppsson weather program. :-coolThe good news is that things seem to be okay now. Just for others in the same boat I did these:1. Because the problem seemed to be worst in UK, Ireland, Northern Europe (the operational area of Flybe) I disabled a very extensive Flybe AI traffic.bgl. I also removed all the Flybe AI aircraft from the aircraft folder and various other folders. I reduced AI to 10% from 60% and removed a lot of AI GA traffic. 2. Disabled antivirus when in FS9.3. Turned off automatic updates for everything (XP seems to be getting these almost daily at the moment).4. Turned off Indexing Service on the boot drive. This apparently can slow file access although it is supposed to speed it up. 5. Increased free memory available on the boot drive to 4GB (around 25%).6. Removed a 3rd party AFCAD of EGKK which I discovered had many 'faults'.7. Checked my install of FSInn/FSCopilot and found it was dysfunctional. This might have been the cause of memory leaks. I uninstalled both and reinstalled current versions - these now work.Since doing all this I've been testing default and 3rd party aircraft in areas where I previously had CTDs. All seems okay so far but it is early days! Having reached this point I'm nervous about touching registry cleaners but thanks Ray and James for all your advice/suggestions/links. John

[betelgeuse 41]

Thanks, Bob. See reply above to Ray, dated 15 August.John

[Ray Proudfoot 8,945]

Hi John,As you have appeared to have solved the problems there seems little point continuing the discussion.I hope you can now enjoy flying and can forget about the computer!:)