After using COF for a long time I began to get continuous CTDs. I usually try first to check for new addon's, etc. but nothing worked. One other thing I normally do is to run XP's disk Error-checking tool(scandisk?). However I had not noticed until today that the newest ZoneAlarm update was causing this tool to be blocked and that I was getting a "cannot open volume for direct access..." error when trying to do a disk check. I proceeded to uninstall ZoneAlarm(I suppose you can use msconfig to just shut it down at startup also)and then checked both boxes for disk error-checking. Restarted(it ran the scan normally), and ran COF........no more CTD's since.

Where did u find that on XP at?

It's chkdsk. You can use START RUN CHKDSK or right click on the drive letter for COF and click PROPERTIES TOOLS CHECK NOW(this may tell you it cannot check the drive but it will check it after restart).

One other note. If you decide to use the the first method, use the command CHKDSK /FThis will fix errors if any are found.to check on drive other than C: try CHKDSK drive letter: /F

very nice tips..thanks guys..will have a go at it later

I had this problem with the new Zone Alarm update - nothing for multiplayer would work and d/loads suffered etc etc. Uninstalled the 5 version and put back my previous 4.5 and back to normal.Seems like ZA did it wrong. Do a google search about ZA and see the e-mails.

Well, I thought that was the fix. Now I'm sure I found the bug causing the CTD. I went ahead and used AITM to make all aircraft(including PAI)visable. Then one by one I loaded up each aircraft and low and behold upon selecting the FEDEX A300, crash(nt.dll). I proceded to remove both the FEDEX flightplan and the aircraft from their respective .txt files and recompiled. Ran all day including round-trip JFK-LAX.....no crash(this was impossible before, usually withing 30 min. i'd get the dreaded CTD).:-jumpy(well, at least until the next bug bites)

I'm using the latest version of Zone Alarm basic with no troubles at all. FS9 COF rund just fine with no crashes.Strange...?ScottFAA Certified Flight InstructorATP/CFII - KCOS