Sudden CTD after loadig a 737PIC plane

[Scott Miller 12]

A couple of weeks ago, after reinstalling the FS9.1 update and the 1.2 update for PMDG's 747-400, I suddenly started getting CTDs immediately on attempting to load a saved flight, ANY saved flight, regardless of the aircraft in the saved flight. I thought I had fixed the problem after finding three different [Display.Device] entries in my fs9.cfg fiile (one for the current graphics card in my system and 2 for previous graphics cards). Removing the obsolete entries and a Trilinear=1 line I also found seemed to solve the problem, or so I thought!Last night I installed a 737PIC repaint then started FS2004 up selecting a saved flight using a Delta 737PIC. The flight loaded ok, but when I try to switch to a different aircraft (ANY aircraft) I get an immediate CTD. This problem occurs ONLY after loading a flight using a 737PIC plane. It occurs immediately from the "create a flight" menu if I select a 737PIC plane. It occurs even when attempting to load from one 737PIC plane to another. It does NOT occur, however, after switching to or from a Wlico ERJ145PIC plane or a Wilco CRJ vol. 1 aircraft. It ONLY occurs when a 737PIC plane is loaded first. If I load a flight using a different plane, say a PMDG 737NG, I can switch to a 737PIC plane ok, but if I then try to load another plane, including any 737PIC plane, the CTD instantly occurs.To my knowledge, this problem never occurred before the FS9.1 and/or PMDG 747-400 1.2 updates were installed ("attempted" to install in the case of the PMDG 1.2 update. After the initial problem two weeks ago occurred, I uninstalled the PMDG 747-400 1.2 update. I have no plans at this point to try to reinstall it either!). I have the FS2004/FSX version of the feelthere/Wilco 737PIC sold by Just Flight. The problem does not occur in FSX. In any case, it appears that either the FS9.1 update and/or the PMDG 747-400 1.2 update has damaged FS2004 in some way that escapes me!Is there a patch that is required for the FS2004 737PIC to run under the FS9.1 update (assuming it is the cause of the problem)? There is a patch available for the FS2004 CD based version on the Wilco website but the website doesn't say what the patch is for. I'm extremely hesitant to run it without knowing exactly what it will do. Installing it might make matters far worse!Has anyone else run into this problem? Any assistance would be appreciated!

[Bob Scott 7,750]

You might try flipping the Render to Texture setting in the FS9 display settings to the opposite setting...and also try loading the flight with no clouds.As I recall, Render to Texture and DXT3 formatted textures have some compatibility issues in FS9...I wonder if maybe one of the updates changed that setting on you or perhaps uses DXT3 textures with Render to Texture already on.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

[Scott Miller 12]

You might try flipping the Render to Texture setting in the FS9 display settings to the opposite setting...and also try loading the flight with no clouds.As I recall, Render to Texture and DXT3 formatted textures have some compatibility issues in FS9...I wonder if maybe one of the updates changed that setting on you or perhaps uses DXT3 textures with Render to Texture already on.Thanks, Bob! I'll check out the Render to Texture thing! Never had a problem loading a flight with clouds before, but that may have changed if the Render to Texture setting was altered by one of the updates...Scott

[JP_Visser 3]

I would just load no saved flightas it seems to happen with saved flights only.So start with the aircraft selection screen, selectthe default C172 go to the airprot you want to fly fromthen change to the plane you want to fly.That might solve it.

[Scott Miller 12]

Actually, no, it also happens, as I mentioned, if I select a 737PIC plane while setting up a flight from scratch in the "create a flight" menu. I hadn't ever needed to select a default plane to start a flight before, but if the FS9.1 update turns out to be the culprit, I may have to start (since the QualityWings 757 and the PMDG 747-400 both require the 9.1 update)! Actually, it appears that selecting pretty much ANY aircraft before switching to a 737PIC plane will do the trick. I know that selecting a PMDG 737 works every time...I do have to be careful to be in the 2D cockpit view of another plane when selecting a 777 Pro or Flight 1 Meridian (and to save a flight involving either aircraft in the cockpit view). In the case of the 777 Pro, failure to do so results in the instrument/view selector shows up partially hidden by the windscreen frame. Trying to save a fight involving the Meridian in anything but the cockpit view freezes FS up or causes it to crash (I forget which since it's been a while since I made the mistake of trying to save a flight with it in spot view)...I have noticed that the more changes, addons, etc. I make to any version of FS the flakier it tends to get! FS2004 in particular also takes a good deal longer to load that it initially did. Anywhere from about 6 minutes for a typical aircraft/airport combo to at least 2 or 3 times that long if a PMDG 747-400 or similar plane and scenery requiring a extremely dense scenery setting are involved! My system, a 5 year old 2.2 Ghz system (I know, a museum piece by today's standards), still gives me a (barely) acceptable frame rate of 12 - 20 in dense scenery, is of course, partially to blame for this...still, if there is anything (short of a new system of course!) that would improve the load/frame rate situation, I'd love to get it!Flipping the Render to Texture setting, as Bob suggested, didn't help. It was on so I switched it off but still got the CTD when I tried to switch from a 737PIC plane to something else...I'll try switching the clouds off next but I have my doubts it'll do any good (except to improve my frame rate!) either...Scott

[JP_Visser 3]

Well,then I suggest something is really wrong with your FS9 install as I have a ton of addons running,including REX and Active Sky and also many payware planes and scenery including the Wilco onebut my FS9 loads in 2-3 minutes tops and that is only because I have added a lot of planes lately.Usually I keep the planes to a minimum so as to reduce the FS9 loadtime.My system is similar to yours, AMD3400+ GF6600 256MB 2GB ram so I have 2.4ghz but that is an almost imperceptible difference in terms of performance.Most sliders are to the right and most airfields and weathersituations give about 20FPS.It only slows down a bit in heavy online traffic situations but will never go below 15.

[Scott Miller 12]

My system is an AMD3200+ Athlon 64 2.2Ghz, GF7600 GS 512mb, 2GB ram.Actually, I really don't have that many addons (Active Sky, FDC LIve Cockpit, Ultimate Traffic, and FSFlying School plus a handful of single instrument addons including the ISG FMS, EZ-GPS, the Reality XP Wx500 radar).However, I do have a fair number of aircraft including the payware commerical aircraft 737PIC, ERJ145PIC, CRJ vol. 1, PMDG 737NG & 747-400, ATR72-500, QW757,and 777 Pro with a slew of repaints, particularly for the 737s (my aircraft of choice). My payware GA include the Carenado Skylane 182, Centurion Piper Dakota, F33A, V35B, F1 Conquest, Meridian, PC-12, and the Lionheart Quest Kodiak and Epic Dynasty. My freeware aircraft include the ATR series by Francisco Sánchez-Castañer, BAe-146 (PAD), the Tinmouse 737-200, DeHavilland Twin Otter, PAD Dash 8 series, Dreamwings Embraer 170, PAD Embraer 190, Project Fokker 100/70 and F28s along with a few other odds and ends. Lots of repaints for several of these as well.Actually, I think what drags my system down the most is my scenery addons. All of which, aside from FS Global 2005, I've acquired only in the last couple of years including World Airports 1 - 3 , US Airports 1, and individual airports from Blueprint and Imagine Simulations and Fly-Tampa along with a number of freeware scenery files such as those from the Friendly Frame Rate folks and Shehryar 'Shez' Ansari's equally incredible scenery for KONT, KSNA and KBUR. Many of these drag my frame rate down into the single digits! Once I get clear of such extremely dense scenery as this, however, into "open air space" at cruise altitude, my frame rate jumps back up to the 20+ range...In the end, though, you're probably right something being wrong about my FS9 install (which this current problem may have brought to a head). A new install from scratch is probably in order (unless I hit the lottery and can get my hands on a top of the line gaming system)! With all the addon aircraft and scenery I have now the thought of even attempting a new install and having to reintall all this makes me go weak in the knees!Scott

[Scott Miller 12]

My system is similar to yours, AMD3400+ GF6600 256MB 2GB ram so I have 2.4ghz but that is an almost imperceptible difference in terms of performance.Most sliders are to the right and most airfields and weathersituations give about 20FPS.It only slows down a bit in heavy online traffic situations but will never go below 15.

Say, JP, what driver version are you using with your GF6600 card? I upgraded from the driver that came with my GF7600 GS to the NVidia Graphics Driver 6.14.12.6089 (260.89)/Nvidia NView (125.36). Considering rolling back my Nvidia driver back to the original to see if upgrading the driver might be (as lease partially) the cause of all this.Something else that occurred to me is that I switched from the purely feelthere/Wilco FS2004 only 737PIC to the Just Flight - feelthere/Wico FS2004/FSX version (if I recall correctly, previous to upgrading the graphics driver). Which do you think might be more likely the cause or contributed the most to the problem?Incidentally, I just discovered that FS won't let me make a saved flight using a 737PIC plane the default saved flight anymore whereas it in the past (just how far into the past though I have no way of telling at this point! If I manually edit the FS9.cfg file to make such a saved file the default saved flight and try to run FS2004 I get the CTD...I can make any saved flight using any other plane the default flight, just not one using a 737PIC plane!Scott