hi,i'm getting really annoyed by this, but whenever i fly a flight of 2hrs+ i get a gradual frame rates slowdown to about 9 by the time i'm on approach (to any airport, doesn't matter if its somthign like simflyers or default). however it rarely goes lower than 9, but it is quite noticable at this point.the problem occurs online & offline, day & night, all times of year, with low scenery settings & max settings.i have tried refreshing the scenery when it starts to slow down & locking the fps higher (currently locked at 25).i also get "out of memory" FS crashing errors now & then which suggests a memory leak to me, but if i look in the windows XP taskmanager i still have about 40% system memory remaining.i also find that i ahve slightly slower fps than i think i should generally with such a system.any ideas much appreciate as this problem is driving me mad (especially since a PC like mine doesn't come free & you expect things to work with no problems!)PC specs:P4 3.2GHz HT 800MHz FSB (OC to 3.6GHz)2GB DUal CHannel DDR400ASUS nVIDIA GF FX5950ULTRA 256MB (not OC'd) (56.72 nvidia)ASUS P4P800 i865 Chipset60GB IDE (ATA133) HD (windows XP Pro system drive)30GB IDE (ATA133) HD (secondary drive)120GB SATA (ATA150) HD (FS2004 drive)SB Audigy 2 (latest drivers)Windows settings etc.:Windows XP Pro SP1 with all updatesNorton AV2004 (auto protect disabled when running FS2004)FS2004 changes:FSW cloudsFSNav 4.6 installedSimflyers Addon sceneriesUK2000 addon sceneriesVarious freeware addon sceneriesVarious mesh addonsPMDG 737NGLAGO TornadoFlight1 C310FSUIPC (latest version, registered)WideFS (latest version) - all external programs running on a separate PCNo AI traffic (fly online - VATSIM)autogen (default.xml) file deletedFS9.cfg settings:{weather}TurbulenceScale=0.500000MAX_UNLIMITED_VIS=96560CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE=43D_CLOUD_PERCENT=10DETAILED_CLOUDS=1CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY=6{GRAPHICS}FULL_SCREEN=1PERFORMANCE_MODE=0DEF_PERF_MODE=7TEXT_SCROLL=0AUTO_LOD=0DETAIL_TEXTURE=1WATER_EFFECTS=2TERRAIN_USE_VECTOR_MAP=1TERRAIN_USE_VECTOR_OBJECTS=1EFFECTS_QUALITY=2GROUND_SHADOWS=0SMOOTH_VIEW=1IMAGE_SMOOTHING=1TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=1024COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=1AIRCRAFT_SHADOWS=1LANDING_LIGHTS=1IMAGE_QUALITY=0TEXTURE_BLDG=1TEXTURE_GND=1TEXTURE_WATER=1AIRCRAFT_TEXTURE=2SEE_SELF=1TEXTURE_QUALITY=3LOD_TARGET_FPS=17NUM_LIGHTS=1{SOUND}CHANNELS=4SOUND_QUALITY=1{DISPLAY.Device.ASUS V9980 Ultra V56.55.0}Mode=1024x768x32MipBias=8TriLinear=1RenderToTexture=0{DISPLAY}UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=25TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=600{TERRAIN}TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=100.000000TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=19TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=4TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=1TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=9.9TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=9.9TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=1307992{SCENERY}IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=5DYNAMIC_SCENERY=0DYN_SCN_DENSITY=0DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1SUNGLARE=0LENSFLARE=1

Check your addon scenery folders for empty texture folders. If you have installed third party scenery or mesh check out where the main folders are for each one. If the scenery is made up only of bgl files (like mesh or afcads) then there should NOT be a texture folder. Some sceneries may have this as folks use to think you need a texture folder for it to work. There is a known problem where this can cause a memory leak similar to what you are seeing. I think also i would change the texture bandwidth multiple to something smaller 400 is PLENTY. The only ohter strange thing I see is the terain extended levels, try something like just 8 or 9 that number there looks really weird. That is where I would start.Hornit

I think you are being hit by the autogen monster. There's been a lot written on this forum about how to cure that. It's been a long time since I did this, so some fellow simmer might correct me. Two things: go to the Autogen folder in your main Flightsim directory. Remove the HTML file that's there and store it away somewhere. The other thing is to use a program like enditall (or similar) and shut down all background running programs when you fly. Thus the computer is only doing FS9 and nothing else. I just keep my networking on so I can download real weather.Definately get FSUIPC and take advantage of the visibility options provided. Limiting visibility smooths a lot of things out.BTW I have a loaded Dell XPS 3.2 machine, and I have used every trick posted on this forum to get a decent performance out of FS9. There are some inherent glitches in the software we can't do anything about.Lee

Well, re-reading your post, you have done all this! Now I'm stumped!Maybe it's stuff running in the background.Lee

Hi,I am not certain of the cure for you.But I think since you have made custom settings to the following 2 lines...TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=9.9TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=9.9You need to change this...TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=1307992 - to - TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=4You might want to also make sure that none of your freeware sceney addons have an empty 'Texture' folder. I recommend you read the following thread and make sure that what's talked about in there is not your problem...http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...&mesg_id=198058Hope that helps,Jim

Hi Laurie, this is AFAIK, so please don't jump on me if your FlyTendo goes up in smoke... Hehe. You've got a great machine and this shouldn't happen really. The others have pointed you in the right direction with the folders etc. You already have the default.xml re-named. So far so good. One other reason for regular slowdowns after i.e. 2 hours, can be warmth. The hotter i.e. your HD's get, the slower they will become... Are your HD's right on top of eachother? Do you have a fan blowing at them? Just an idea... I'll run down a few details which popped out of your post and in to my mind (hehe): 3D_CLOUD_PERCENT=10 --> Maybe consider 100 (aka 100% in the FS9 display settings) {GRAPHICS}TERRAIN_USE_VECTOR_OBJECTS=1 --> This is the second 'anti memory-leak option' as per JimmiG. Perhaps change this one to '0' too? {DISPLAY.Device.ASUS V9980 Ultra V56.55.0}Mode=1024x768x32 --> You should be able to do better with your display adapter IMHOMipBias=8 --> Perhaps set this one to 4-5? {DISPLAY}TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=600 --> Go back to 60 and/or try 80, 100 or 120 max (just my HO). (mine's @ 60) Norton AV2004 (auto protect disabled when running FS2004) --> Some may tell you to consider a de-install and using another AV product... Also, other programs like RealPlayer should be eliminated too. Now, I might need to apologize, hehe, as most of these details don't look likely at all, to explain an 'after two hour slow-down!' Except for the 'Terrain_Use_Vector_Objects' option maybe? However, if these slow-downs occur on a regular scheme and you've 'eliminated' the FS causes, I'ld say it's the sys and not the sim. In my 'simple' logic, there are then two possibilities: Hardware or software (aka OS, drivers, etc). IMHE, slowdowns within a certain timeframe (i.e. 30 mins to 2 hrs), are very often related to heat. If it's the power supply, the FlyTendo i.e. spontaneously re-boots. That's an easy one to detect! Heat desaster cause #2 can probably be overlooked in your case. Hehe. I mean the display adapter. One notices straight away when the silicon has melted... Causes 3 and 4 are HDs and CPUs IMHO. I sincerely hope with the hot days to come, people will be aware of this potential problem. Besides, we've only recently switched from 5400 to 7200 rpm in big numbers... A solution: Mount multiple HDs as far apart as you can and ideally fit coolers. If possible, blowing at them buggers directly. And avoid mounting HDs on top of eachother. A hot system will simply take more breaks... Specially drives. AFAIK, the name of the game is auto-re-callibration. The temperature itself, isn't even of so much concern. Uhhh? Yep, it 'only' has to be constant! Best of all, perfect HD cooloing is easy to achieve. Programs should run best after 0.5-X hours. And typically stay there. Mainly because the system has only then reached its true operating temperature. Therefore IMHJ, performance fluctuations after 30 minutes will often relate to warmth... Maybe -literally- in your case too? A final consideration with regard to heat might be the CPU and whether there's a pad or paste. AFAIK, super-dooper paste can make an up to 14

"Do P4s take breaks too when they overheat? Would anybody know?"Yes they do, but you've got to pass a pretty ridiculous core temp before throttling action commences - something like 90

ok in response to the system items:HD's: they all have heatsinks, have a gap inbetween each & i have 6 fans in my case!its definately not an overheating problem. i have a coolermaster aerogate2 on the front & its sayng everything is nice & cool. i can OC the CPU to 3.8GHz & it stays below 40'C.i shall play around with the vector object setting & see what that does, the terrain levels settings of 9.9 control how blurry the textures are & the value can range between 1 & 9.9the texture bandwidth multiplyer i find needs to be that high for me, 400 is a bit stuttery, 800 is also a bit stuttery, but 600 is good (FS9 gave me a default value of 60 for that!).the cloud % was a mistake in my copying over, it is on 100%.i am going to play around with different aircraft incase its the PMDG 737NG (if it is i'll be damed annoyed, as thats what i fly the most!), means flying a 2hr+ flight in the default 737 so not as much fun, but there we go...thanks for your help so far!

Turn off hyperthreading in your BIOS if you haven't already.

tried & it really slows things down generally!FS9 definately works better with HT on in my experience (tried it on a number of PCs).

Hi allI have seen this pheonom in the FS world before, with FS2002 and FS2004.When guys get new hardware, be that graphics cards, more memory , CPU, they tend to put all the sliders up and custom edit their settings.I would suggest that you disable your triliniar support, put it on biliniar. Turn of the Anti Aliasing, put your mipmapping to 4 or 5.Make sure that your FPS lock is smaller than 25. I have proven to many that this is a serious system inhibator (Your brain can only recognise 23 to 24 FPS anyway).Leave Hyper Threading on.Check that your graphics card's settings in Windows is set for performance, not custom. Big cards like the FX59xx and the Radeon 9800 could be used on the quality settings.Keep your system cool, mine is running 5 fans of which 2 are big 150mm 240V fans. Use the rounded IDE and FDD cables that you can buy from Mod shops these days.I think generally FS uses more system resources than First Person Shooters and the like. FS simulates you, the AI around you for about a 100nm radius, scenery etc. etc. etc.CheersJaco Smit

Cheers Laurie, I should have known better and sensed you're a FlyTendo savy person... Since we can eliminate heat now, IMHO it's either the game or your OS. Maybe something in the OS's memory management? Or otherwise it could be the 'empty folder issue.' Do you have a lot of HD activity at the point of 'bog-down?' Since a few days have gone by, did you get any further? Good luck and kind regards Jaap BTW, I also have HT off in bios. Also, the OS is installed in PIC-mode and the cluster-sizes are as big as possible.

Hi,A bit late suggestion, but you might consider creating a 2nd windows XP partition (i.e. dual boot) specifically for Fs2004.This way you only can install FS2004 applications and not all others which you may need for your regular work.Also you can ommit a virus scanner, because you don't have to browse and read your emails on the FS specific partition.