Something, somewhere has messed up my FS9 which is not surprising when I look at all the junk I've piled into it.Every three to four minutes, I'm getting slow down and long pause which manifests itself through stuttering sound (which sometimes continues, like a stuck record) followed by a pause of about ten seconds. When the sim reactivates, textures refresh each time.Seems like a memory thing to me, but I've made no changes that I know of and all has been running well for a year.Occasionally, also, I'm getting close outs with a "ntdll.dll" cause. I remember this little buzzard but for the life of me can't remember what it does, or doesn't in this case. I thought I'd cracked all this.Grateful for any advice. It's not real weather kicking in, I know that, and as far as I am aware I have no software sending regular messages to the Internet or anything like that. This happens both off and online in multiplayer.I'd be grateful for any advice. Thanks. I can post system specs if necessary but suffice to say I have an old system. Do memory chips get tired and wear out?!Mark "Dark Moment" BeaumontP.S. I never solved the problem of my waves on the shore lapping far too fast, either. All my relevant effects files are correct. Maybe Joe Watson will read this and have the answer to that!http://www.swiremariners.com/newlogo.jpg

I'm not sure that CPUs wear out but they do get too hot. The error you're getting was solved on my machine by removing a side cover and setting a small fan blowing accross the components.To clarify...I was having FS9 black screen CTDs and the error you described....after reformatting my drive I reinstalled winXP and FS9 with the exact same crashes.....while trying to figure this out I removed cover, set the fan, voila! No more CTDs!Guys don't overlook the heat factor on your hardware:-)

Hi Mark,I agree with Ron... you should check for excessive heat. Sounds very much like something is getting too crispy.Failing that, ntdll.dll is part of the Win2000 kernel and is used in XP. If it's not happy it can indeed cause a buffer overrun. You can d/l the .dll here http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/dll-files.shtml?ntdllI remember last week you mentioned a problem much like this in the Hardware forum, but I thought you had resolved the problem. You might save your original file in a safe place and try the d/l, but I really think you should try the fan in the side of the case test first. My experiences with what you describe have been very much like Ron's.Good luck,Greg

Thanks, gents.Greg, call me daft, call me silly, call me an ambulance, but I can't find the Hardware forum any more. Where's it gone?Anyway, I certainly do seem to have my fan kicking in very often, although it doesn't necessarily coincide with the pauses. Also, my CPU frequently runs up to 100% usage and sticks there for a while, but I guess this is normal? I have made no mods to my off-the-shelf Compaq Presario system other than adding a second video card.I shall dismantle the box and have a look, though. Maybe it's full of dog hair .... will report later. Meanwhile, Greg, if you can point out where the Hardware forum has gone, I'd be grateful.Mark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/newlogo.jpg

Mark,1.in google give a search for stinger.exe and download and run that. 2.if you have installed fpi's pilot client s/w then delete all the dll manually after uninstalling. 3. please use a registry cleaner to clean your registry. The point 1 is most crucial...you have virus-very common in cable braodband