Video corruption after an hour or so

[sargeski 16]

jaybird1nyc,Let's try and get you sorted out first. Can you to please post your FSX slider settings, your nHancer settings and any changes you made to your fsx.cfg file. Have you at anytime changed the drivers you are using for you GTX260? If you have changed your drivers, how exactly did you go about uninstalling your existing driver and installing your new driver?

[nooon 21]

Jerome,Have you had any luck at all???Jay

I made a first flight in FSX for 35 minutes using default cessna from LFMN to LIMG, VFR conditions using TileProxy.I started to have some display freeze - corruption or degradation, but it was still flyable (normal 30+ FPS recovering after a 10 sec freezee period).While flying i monitored a bit the processes. I notice jqs.exe and wscntfy.exe popping up and down during the freezes.- disabled "Security Center" in the windows services (start/run services.msc then click security center then stop). Source of process wscntfy.exe.- killed jqs.exe (java quick start)- Killed vlc.exe (had an instance running)- disabled antivirus (I forgot to do it - usually always do)Did another flight in south miami, still VFR/TP, and experienced no freezes at all this time.Maybe it's just a placebo effect, probably I should have tested in the same place, always with the same protocol (LDS767 or another memory eater), but maybe there's an improvement here.Can you give it a try as well ? PS : still necessary to run a filemon _during_ the freeze, I would like to make sure fsx doesn't seek for non-existing files (usually textures) when the freezes occurs. I've seen many posts about this FSX file seek issue, that can potentially be related as well.

[jaybird1nyc 24]

I made a first flight in FSX for 35 minutes using default cessna from LFMN to LIMG, VFR conditions using TileProxy.I started to have some display freeze - corruption or degradation, but it was still flyable (normal 30+ FPS recovering after a 10 sec freezee period).While flying i monitored a bit the processes. I notice jqs.exe and wscntfy.exe popping up and down during the freezes.- disabled "Security Center" in the windows services (start/run services.msc then click security center then stop). Source of process wscntfy.exe.- killed jqs.exe (java quick start)- Killed vlc.exe (had an instance running)- disabled antivirus (I forgot to do it - usually always do)Did another flight in south miami, still VFR/TP, and experienced no freezes at all this time.Maybe it's just a placebo effect, probably I should have tested in the same place, always with the same protocol (LDS767 or another memory eater), but maybe there's an improvement here.Can you give it a try as well ? PS : still necessary to run a filemon _during_ the freeze, I would like to make sure fsx doesn't seek for non-existing files (usually textures) when the freezes occurs. I've seen many posts about this FSX file seek issue, that can potentially be related as well.

Jerome,I believe now that my (and others) problems are due to some Vista/DX9 issue that has no known soulution at the present time. After looking thru the PMDG forum, I came across numerous threads about the same problem I've been having. This thread: http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=240029, is just the latest of many. You can go to the PMDG forum and do a search on 'corruption' to get an idea. The only solution I can come up with are to run in DX10 mode or run FSX under XP64, possibly in a dual-boot scenario. For right now I'm going with DX10 only when I want to fly PMDG a/c. I'm still considering going the XP64 route, but I dread the thought of having to re-install FSX + everything again. That is supposedly the sure-fire fix, but it's alot of work getting everything set up, and I just don't have the time to devote to it right now.Jay

[sargeski 16]

Jay,I doubt it has anything to do with Vista and DX9 since there are countless others including myself that run PMDG products under Vista without issue. I would be more inclined to believe that possibly some bios updates would cure these problems for many especially in the case of i7 owners. The i7 technology is new and it may take a while for bioses to play catch up. There is also alot to say theses days about making sure that the memory you purchase for a particular motherboard is on the mobo manufacturer's approved vendor list. The majority of bios updates I see these days are memory compatibility updates.

[nooon 21]

im running XP32 SP3... Dx9 is the only option for me... and I experience(d) these video freezes/corrupt too..Therefore Im not sure it has a link with Vista...

[jaybird1nyc 24]

Jay,I doubt it has anything to do with Vista and DX9 since there are countless others including myself that run PMDG products under Vista without issue. I would be more inclined to believe that possibly some bios updates would cure these problems for many especially in the case of i7 owners. The i7 technology is new and it may take a while for bioses to play catch up. There is also alot to say theses days about making sure that the memory you purchase for a particular motherboard is on the mobo manufacturer's approved vendor list. The majority of bios updates I see these days are memory compatibility updates.

Sarge,Now that you mention it, my memory is NOT on the 'approved' list for my mb. Could be something worth looking into. It's just that it's so time consuming to troubleshoot this type of problem, it happens only after some time has gone by while flying. So, each attempt eats a good hour or two, and to have absolutely no success at all to this point, it's getting a little frustrating.Thanks for your suggestion about the memory, I'm definitely going to ask Asus about that. Oh, and I have already updated to the latest bios, so I can rule that one out.Jay

im running XP32 SP3... Dx9 is the only option for me... and I experience(d) these video freezes/corrupt too..Therefore Im not sure it has a link with Vista...

Jerome,Wow, it's getting harder to even come up with some factor that we all have in common. That, of course, would go a long way in figuring out why this is happening. When I started reading those threads on the PMDG forum, it sure sounded like the Vista/DX9 issue was the cause, but you may be right. I don't know what to think anymore, it's getting a little frustrating. Not giving up, just need to step back for a minute or two :( Jay

[sargeski 16]

Oh, and I have already updated to the latest bios, so I can rule that one out.Jay

Well, you most definitely cannot rule out the bios yet. If your issue is your memory not play nice with your board and it has not specifically been addressed in the bios update you just installed, you could still be waiting for the appropriate update. Just keep positive, sooner or later you will get it sorted. My experience with graphic corruption in FSX has usually come down to a memory issue wether it be system memory or video card memory. Once in a great while a new video driver can cause a problem.

[jaybird1nyc 24]

Well, you most definitely cannot rule out the bios yet. If your issue is your memory not play nice with your board and it has not specifically been addressed in the bios update you just installed, you could still be waiting for the appropriate update. Just keep positive, sooner or later you will get it sorted. My experience with graphic corruption in FSX has usually come down to a memory issue wether it be system memory or video card memory. Once in a great while a new video driver can cause a problem.

Good point, Sarge. Apparently the memory issue was not addressed in the latest bios update, according to the release notes. My memory is not listed in the latest QVL on Asus' website, so that may indicate something. I did purchase all the components back in Nov so they had ample time to add it the QVL by now, don't you think?I have tried various drivers and although I don't use any driver cleaner, I do unistall the driver from the control panel, reboot, and then make sure that windows is using the generic VGA driver before installing the new driver. Never had any issues doing it that way. What do you think?Thanks for your input, btw, just in case I haven't mentioned it before :( Jay

[sargeski 16]

Jay,I now always use a driver cleaner just in case. I used to uninstall via the control panel just as you describe but had issues. The right remnant of a previous driver can cause ALOT of headaches.Nowadays, I go into the device manager, choose the video card and then choose uninstall. I will then reboot the computer into safe mode and use Driver Cleaner pro to uninstall any left behind remnants (there always seem to be a few). I will then boot the computer normally, install the updated driver, then reboot.

[jaybird1nyc 24]

Jay,I now always use a driver cleaner just in case. I used to uninstall via the control panel just as you describe but had issues. The right remnant of a previous driver can cause ALOT of headaches.Nowadays, I go into the device manager, choose the video card and then choose uninstall. I will then reboot the computer into safe mode and use Driver Cleaner pro to uninstall any left behind remnants (there always seem to be a few). I will then boot the computer normally, install the updated driver, then reboot.

Sarge,I gave the driver re-install procedure a shot. I followed your method to uninstall, safe mode, driver cleaner pro, reboot, installed latest nVidia drive (182.08), reboot. All went ok. I also set back ALL memory timings to the slowest available, in my case it was DDR3-1059 for speed, and 9-10-10-25-2T on the timings. I did not run nHancer at all, and I deleted my CFG and let FSX rebuild. Ran my usual test flight using the PMDG MD-11. FSX ran great.... butThe same problem happened. (where's that smiley with the gun to it's head???)Jay

[sargeski 16]

jay,Sorry to hear you still have the same results. When you get your video corruption, does it just happen or does it seem to happen when you are in the process of switching views? Also have you checked your Vista error logs to see if you have any display driver stopped responding errors?

[jaybird1nyc 24]

jay,Sorry to hear you still have the same results. When you get your video corruption, does it just happen or does it seem to happen when you are in the process of switching views? Also have you checked your Vista error logs to see if you have any display driver stopped responding errors?

Sarge,The problem happens when going into any ALT menu selection that takes you out of the cockpit, such as map, weather, PMDG menu, etc. Upon returning to the cockpit view is when the corruption occurs. It will also be triggered by switching between full-screen and windowed mode. But, it is unpredictable just when it will occur, sometimes I can complete an entire flight without it happening. However, I can ALWAYS trigger it by going into instant replay after landing. It has NEVER happened just when flying, or simply by switching views using the hat switch, for example. It has to be a function that takes you completely out of the cockpit view, and then back. I hope I'm being detailed enough trying to explain exactly what is happening. As I said, there are numerous threads in the PMDG forum regarding this exact problem, and the only solution they've come up with is to switch to XP64.Im off to find these error logs, maybe something there, never thought to look...ThanksJay

[jaybird1nyc 24]

Sarge,The problem happens when going into any ALT menu selection that takes you out of the cockpit, such as map, weather, PMDG menu, etc. Upon returning to the cockpit view is when the corruption occurs. It will also be triggered by switching between full-screen and windowed mode. But, it is unpredictable just when it will occur, sometimes I can complete an entire flight without it happening. However, I can ALWAYS trigger it by going into instant replay after landing. It has NEVER happened just when flying, or simply by switching views using the hat switch, for example. It has to be a function that takes you completely out of the cockpit view, and then back. I hope I'm being detailed enough trying to explain exactly what is happening. As I said, there are numerous threads in the PMDG forum regarding this exact problem, and the only solution they've come up with is to switch to XP64.Im off to find these error logs, maybe something there, never thought to look...ThanksJayUPDATE: I checked the error logs, and there wasn't any entries regarding video drivers or nvidia or display drivers. However, there were numerous entries related to 'volmgr', which is the service that controls the pagefile, I'm guessing. It was complainimng about not being the correct size, or not able to create one the correct size or something along those lines. Now, I did set the page file as fixed at 3072mb, according to Nick's guide. I then tried setting the page file to NONE, rebooted, deleted pagefile.sys from the c: root, then set it for let windows control the page file, blah-blah-blah. I reboted again, checked the page file, and it was there again, this time it was over 6gb, which corresponds to the amount of system ram I have installed. I guess that's what windows wants.However, all this led nowhere because on the very first flght after doing this the exact same problem happened...

[BobP 56]

I have had the same problem since day one with my rig. For me, the event viewer was reporting the dreaded nvlddmkm error. The web is full people trying to fix it. I think I solved it as I can complete a 4 hour flight in the MD11. Of course by the time I get there, the airport buildings won't draw. The MD11 is the succubus of memory! :) The following MS article provides background of the cause, but offers no solution for the end user. It does explains why the solution is unique for each user. http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/displ...dm_timeout.mspxI can fly without the video corruption of the PFD/MFD and hard crash. I went back to the 178.19 drivers (pre-physics accelerator thingy), upped the dram voltage slightly and manually set the GPU fan speed at 60 percent. The fan speed and VDram were in auto, however, neither were at the recommended the values. My GPU was running in mid 70c which can result in instability. My mb is an ASUS 5PND and the nforce drivers apparently hosed the ability of GPU fan to run in auto. I don't trust the bios 'auto' function for vdram and manually set it at 1.9v. So far (1 week) so good. :)Bob..

[nooon 21]

I have had the same problem since day one with my rig. For me, the event viewer was reporting the dreaded nvlddmkm error. The web is full people trying to fix it. I think I solved it as I can complete a 4 hour flight in the MD11. Of course by the time I get there, the airport buildings won't draw. The MD11 is the succubus of memory! :) The following MS article provides background of the cause, but offers no solution for the end user. It does explains why the solution is unique for each user. http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/displ...dm_timeout.mspxI can fly without the video corruption of the PFD/MFD and hard crash. I went back to the 178.19 drivers (pre-physics accelerator thingy), upped the dram voltage slightly and manually set the GPU fan speed at 60 percent. The fan speed and VDram were in auto, however, neither were at the recommended the values. My GPU was running in mid 70c which can result in instability. My mb is an ASUS 5PND and the nforce drivers apparently hosed the ability of GPU fan to run in auto. I don't trust the bios 'auto' function for vdram and manually set it at 1.9v. So far (1 week) so good. :)Bob..

Wow thanks for thisDo you have a tool for setting the fan speed?EDIT : ok Rivatunner will do the job for the fanUnclear why do you change your dram voltage ? a dram issue would hang or bsod the whole system isn't it ?