About a month ago, I had upgraded my Creative Sound Driver suite for my Creative Titanium sound card. Until then, I never had an FSX 'issue' with the screen animation in-flight all of a sudden freezing and hanging. The sound of the engine and/or special effects would still be playing, but the animation would be frozen. If you waited, it would eventually un-freeze itself and FSX would carry on. It might not freeze again, or could happen once more at any time.So, as stated, I had only upgraded my Sound Card drivers.Only after that event, I started to get these random freeze-ups in any situation...whether at 5,000 feet, or the FL's. No other software was affected...only FSX. Not even FS9.I played around this last month looking for a cure to this aggravation. Usually, you ended up using the Task Manager to end the FSX session, much to your dismay.Over the last two full days, I have been sleuthing around, trying everything, scouring the Net for possible leads, but came up with only other people not finding out what it was. I then focused on the ONLY thing that I had swapped out other than W7 (via M.S.) updates. I went back a month and uninstalled each M.S. update and then ran FSX to keep finding out that the freeze/hang-up was still in place.OK...so I reinstalled each one to bring my W7 Ultimate back up to the present. I then focused on anything to do with SOUND as the culprit for the freeze. I uninstalled my current (latest) Creative Driver Suite and STILL, I had the freeze/hang. The only final suspect was something that we don't usually think about, or update; the RealTek High Definition Sound Driver. On a hunch, I then went to the RealTek website and downloaded the latest driver version (R243 for Vista/W7 64 Bit) and then did the uninstall and install of the suite.I am most glad and happy to report that I am just about to land in KLAS (the land of what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas) from a 3 hour and57 minute flight in the StationAir 6 from Myrtle Creek, Oregon. No freeze. No hang. I believe that the RealTek High Definition Audio Driver could be the culprit behind a lot of user's FSX freeze/hang issues that weren't always there since their initial install. The H.D. driver isn't something that usually gets updated, **if ever**, so could present problems as W7 or Vista DOES get updated in code via M.S. updates and revisions. It could also become corrupted over time and no longer functioning as expected.The following is important as regards the proper way to uninstall and install the R243 (latest) driver suite. Read on...After downloading the suite ZIP file, unpack it to a folder on your desktop. Make SURE that you have either the 32 or 64 bit version as you require. The VISTA and W7 are covered in the same zip package.Double-Click the SETUP and go through the process. The mask will tell you that it now wants to RESTART your computer. Do so, BUT KNOW THAT THIS IS THE FIRST PART OF THE INSTALL SEQUENCE and it in fact has ONLY UNINSTALLED your older RealTek H.D. driver.You now have re-booted and once more are at the Desktop. AGAIN...run the SAME setup installer. This becomes the SECOND part of the install process. Let it do its thing all over again, and NOW you will see another mask come up that wasn't in the first run-through, telling you that you are now in fact, installing the R243 driver. After this is done, you must once again REBOOT your system to initialize the new H.D. driver. You come back to the Desktop and you are done. Congratulations. You have most likely ENDED the P.I.T.A. of FSX freezing up, with the sound running in the background. Enjoy your flights once more...uninterrupted. See you in Vegas!Mitch

About a month ago, I had upgraded my Creative Sound Driver suite for my Creative Titanium sound card. I believe that the RealTek High Definition Audio Driver could be the culprit behind a lot of user's FSX freeze/hang issues that weren't always there since their initial install..........come up that wasn't in the first run-through, telling you that you are now in fact, installing the R243 driver. After this is done, you must once again REBOOT your system to initialize the new H.D. driver. You come back to the Desktop and you are done. Congratulations. You have most likely ENDED the P.I.T.A. of FSX freezing up, with the sound running in the background. Enjoy your flights once more...uninterrupted. See you in Vegas!Mitch

Mitch,Why would updating the onboard sound which --->should be disabled since you have a Creative sound card help you at all? The Creative card doesnt use a RealTek driver. If you have the onboardsound (realtek) disabled windows no longer is loading the driver. If on the other hand you have not disabled the integrated HD sound or onboard sound, well you should if you don't want any conflicts with the creative card.Use one or the other but not both.

Intresting find and much appreciated the effort you put into this. I will have to give this a shot. Quick question though, are you able to go into the menus? alt-enter without it crashing?

Intresting find and much appreciated the effort you put into this. I will have to give this a shot. Quick question though, are you able to go into the menus? alt-enter without it crashing?

Yes. Nothing crashes now. I did find though (post edit) ...that my RealTek H.D. driver in fact WAS enabled in my BIOS. I just came back from disabling it. I can't tell you the possible 'techs' behind my having the 4 hour flight with no freeze...just that I had one, since having updated that driver to R243.Mitch

Mitch,Why would updating the onboard sound which --->should be disabled since you have a Creative sound card help you at all? The Creative card doesnt use a RealTek driver. If you have the onboardsound (realtek) disabled windows no longer is loading the driver. If on the other hand you have not disabled the integrated HD sound or onboard sound, well you should if you don't want any conflicts with the creative card.Use one or the other but not both.

--------------------------------------------------------I just thought to try it...and had a 4 hour flight with no crashes/freeze.Post Edit: I just came back from my BIOS and had found the RealTek HD audio as ENABLED. I just disabled it and will see how things pan out. Actually, it came from the factory as enabled, even though I had spec'd out the Creative Titanium. Interesting....Mitch

Yes. Nothing crashes now.Mitch--------------------------------------------------------I dunno. I just thought to try it...and had a 4 hour flight with no crashes/freeze. I actually don't think that there is an option to disable the REALTek in my BIOS. I'm going to go now and take a look, but I don't think that I saw one when doing other stuff.Mitch

Mitch,In the BIOS under advanced chipset features or something like that (since you didnt post your MB spec). Disabled ->any Integerated sound Realtek or HD, disable all of it. You shouldn't use both.

Intresting find and much appreciated the effort you put into this. I will have to give this a shot. Quick question though, are you able to go into the menus? alt-enter without it crashing?

http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=267596&hl= :(

Mitch,In the BIOS under advanced chipset features or something like that (since you didnt post your MB spec). Disabled ->any Integerated sound Realtek or HD, disable all of it. You shouldn't use both.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I read your post and went back and disabled the HD. It doesn't seem to have any implication on my audio though. Like I said, it was a real long-shot as I had tried to be methodical as possible. I have had three other flights (completed) since my O.P. Who knows? FSX is one complicated bird, and then we pile on developer coding....I try not to sneeze around it.....Mitch

David, my other post was NOT about a 'sound issue', but rather if the AEMODULE.dll of that particular program was perhaps causing, or part of the reason for the freeze hang of FSX.I was just about to post that it didn't turn out to be. I was wishing to find out if there might have been a link for exploration of same.No matter, any more as I have resolved my freeze hang issue by the subject of another post. I hope that others can pursue that and resolve their same issue with FSX at present.Mitch

David, my other post was NOT about a 'sound issue', but rather if the AEMODULE.dll of that particular program was perhaps causing, or part of the reason for the freeze hang of FSX.I was just about to post that it didn't turn out to be. I was wishing to find out if there might have been a link for exploration of same.No matter, any more as I have resolved my freeze hang issue by the subject of another post. I hope that others can pursue that and resolve their same issue with FSX at present.Mitch

I got a lot of crashes with the AEMODULE.DLL which belongs to Audio Environment and had to uninstall it. I think I corrupted the installation as I kept changing sounds for various aircraft, etc., and finally started getting the freezes and errors consistently so simply uninstalled it. I no longer have crashes or freezes. I'm surprised Dell sent you a system with the on-board sound enabled if the system included a Creative or other sound card. Jim

I got a lot of crashes with the AEMODULE.DLL which belongs to Audio Environment and had to uninstall it. I think I corrupted the installation as I kept changing sounds for various aircraft, etc., and finally started getting the freezes and errors consistently so simply uninstalled it. I no longer have crashes or freezes. I'm surprised Dell sent you a system with the on-board sound enabled if the system included a Creative or other sound card. Jim

Hi Jim, I also am having issues with the AEMODULE.dll when I am trying to lift off with either of the two default 'copters. I get a CTD with a BEX and the offender as the aforementioned. I'm trying to work with it as I now like the added sounds to the heavy iron defaults. The sounds to the A.I. are so-so.I was surprised as well, after having gone into my BIOS to find that the RealTek driver was enabled. Perhaps Jim, there is still a function for it (H.D.?!?) despite whether you have a sound card in one of your P.C.I.e slots. Who knows, but that they did have it enabled from the factory. As stated, on your advice, I have disabled it, and seem to have suffered nothing at system level for having done so.That being said, it still was part of my three-part strategy to rid myself of the freeze/hang syndrome. It could have done nothing, or have been integral. I wish that I could have just identified one step, and make it the assured 'fix'. One thing is for sure...after three multi-hour flights with no freeze/hang...I sent a system image backup to my USB drive as fast as it could get it there! :( Cheers!Mitch