Fsx Pmdg Md-11: Occasional Ctd While Taxiing For Takeoff

[Guest HJHartung]

Hi folks,I have a quite strange problem with my MD-11 (FSX): during taxiing for takeoff, a few minutes after starting to taxi (but always before I reach the runway), FSX occasionally (i.e. every 2-3 times) crashes to desktop with a message like "Application stopped working". My workaround is to save the flight just before taxiing and reload it after the crash - FSX runs perfectly fine afterwards even on the longest flights.Now what makes the situation more strange: I have never experienced this issue in the US, only outside, for example today in St. Maarten (where I have no additional scenery etc. installed).I know this is not much info for troubleshooting, but I have not yet been able to further isolate the problem. So, anyone experiencing the same issue? Any idea what is going on here?Thanks & regards, Hans

[rservice 4]

Hi folks,I have a quite strange problem with my MD-11 (FSX): during taxiing for takeoff, a few minutes after starting to taxi (but always before I reach the runway), FSX occasionally (i.e. every 2-3 times) crashes to desktop with a message like "Application stopped working". My workaround is to save the flight just before taxiing and reload it after the crash - FSX runs perfectly fine afterwards even on the longest flights.Now what makes the situation more strange: I have never experienced this issue in the US, only outside, for example today in St. Maarten (where I have no additional scenery etc. installed).I know this is not much info for troubleshooting, but I have not yet been able to further isolate the problem. So, anyone experiencing the same issue? Any idea what is going on here?Thanks & regards, Hans

Possibly overworked CPU or video card.Have you trie reducing your sliders?What are your computer specs?Ron

[Guest HJHartung]

Yes, I tried to reduce my sliders (scenery & traffic), but that did not help preventing the CTDs. That's why I started my flight in St. Maarten, just a small island and not much stuff for FSX to render. CPU was more or less bored, but I got two CTDs there.On the other hand, no issues at big US airports like KLAX, with much more scenery and traffic (and much more CPU load). That's what makes the whole thing so strange.My system:FSX & AccelerationVista 64bit8 GB RAMIntel Q9650 processorGraphics card: ATI HD 4870Latest drivers and updates for everything.Thanks & regards, Hans

[downscc 1,327]

The only differences between your system and mine is:FSX SP1 & SP24 Gb RAMSame chip and graphics. I have not had any CTDs with MD11x; however, my only non-US flights were EGLL LSZH and LIMC.I would start turning off add-on sceneries using the scenery library manager, which does not uninstall them just turns them off. Can't think of anything else.

[Guest TSE]

Hi HansI have a comparable system:QX9650 @ 3.6 GHZ4GB RAMXP642 Raptors in RAID 0HD4870Your issue can be triggered by many things, hardware, add-ons, drivers, faulty textures or config files.After installing FSX in October I got a few CTD's as well, despite the system was running FS9 without a glitch since I built it in May08.I concentrated on the hardware first and found a few small thermal issues with the RAM - all CTD's disappeared once I brought that under control.I therefore would recommend you start focusing/stress testing your hardware first.Start with the BIOS and check RAM timings and voltage for correct values, at least on my rig FSX is very sensitive to RAM issues while FS9 just kept running with that config for months.Then let's stress out the CPU a bit, google for and download Prime95 25.8.3 and CoreTemp 0.99.3.Prime95 is famous for stability testing as it will load all 4 cores of the 9650 with constant 100 % - Coretemp will monitor and read out the individual temperature of all 4 cores in parallelLet Prime95 run for about an hour - Prime95 should not report any issues in that timeframe and Core temps should not be over 60 C after that to be on the safe side for longterm operations of a Q9650.Then download Memtest and run it 4 times - with 8GB you will need multiple session of Memtest running in parallel.There should not be one single error reported back after 4 cycles (400%).Then run 3DMark2006 4 times in a row to stress test your 4870 - this should complete without a glitch.If all that is done successfully there is a high probability that your hardware is not the culprit - therefore let's focus on the software and download Filemon, run it, fire up FSX in parallel and try to recreate the CTD - Filemon will register every single activity of your system and you will be able to identify which file or activity in FSX caused the CTD.ThanksJoerg

[Guest HJHartung]

Hi guys,first thanks for all the quick replies.I did some tests today with and without addon sceneries and traffic, and so far no CTDs. Well, the other thing I did was reducing overclocking of my Q9650 from 3.8 to 3.6 GHz. Maybe the cause of my problems was an unstable system with FSX (at least the randomness of CTDs would be an indicator for that).Joerg, I did all the checks with Prime95 & CoreTemp & Memtest after OCing my Q9650 to 3.8 GHz, with no issues found (ok, my processor got a little warm with about 67 C, but as long as it works ...). This is why I did not assume to have a stability problem, because only some aircraft showed the CTD behaviour so far. But maybe FSX with a complex aircraft is a better stress test than Prime95 and Memtest ...I hope reducing overclocking solved my problem (the next days will show). If not, I will try the other things you advised.Thanks & regards, Hans

[Guest TSE]

Hi HansOk, OC to 3.8 GHZ is rather hefty - you did not mention that you oc your system that much.If the CTD's return, reduce all settings to stock speeds and check if it solves the issue for good. That's always the first step.If yes, work your way up bit by bit to find the borderline to stabilize your system with FSX - mainly around FSB, memory timings, CPU multiplier plus Core voltages, memory voltages and mainboard northbridge voltage.You also might want to try out some quick fixes like lowering the FSB to 333 but increasing the CPU multiplier and reducing memory timings from 1T to 2T.ThanksJoerg

[Guest HJHartung]

Hi Joerg,looks like reducing overclocking to 3.6 GHz already solved my problem - no more CTDs so far.FSX has been running perfectly stable at 3.8 GHz on my system for more than half a year. But I was mostly doing bush flying, so maybe the system was just "stable enough" for less demanding aircraft / scenery.And sorry for accusing the MD-11 being the culprit :( Thanks & regards, Hans