Startup Crash - Unknown Module

[NGXfanatic 85]

Hi folks, I had a virus infect my pc a few weeks ago and I needed to reinstall the OS and FSX from scratch, after 2 1/2 years of trouble free operation. I am very experienced with FSX and the issues that can cause crashes, as I have learned from trial and error, and most importantly, from everyone here in Avsim, for the last 5 years. I have seen it all, from hardware related crashes like a underpowered PSU causing reboots during flight, to the dreaded G3d.dll crashes (which have now been solved by the latest FSUIPC), so I feel like I have the ability to resolve just about all the common causes for CTDs or error messages, except for today. OS and FSX setup these past 2 weeks was done by following the NickN guide to a T.

 

Now, I have been getting a consistent crash at FSX startup (within seconds of opening FSX), here's the crash log:

 

Problem signature:

Problem Event Name: APPCRASH

Application Name: fsx.exe

Application Version: 10.0.61472.0

Application Timestamp: 475e17d3

Fault Module Name: unknown

Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0

Fault Module Timestamp: 00000000

Exception Code: c0000005

Exception Offset: 0e9dc24b

OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.1

Locale ID: 1033

 

Unknown fault module, that is not very helpful. It's been ages since FSX crashed on me, and I have no idea what could have caused this. I did see something strange happen when I got the first crash, a message showed up saying a DirectX related error happened, but I can't recall the specifics. It was then followed by the aforementioned error message. That was just during the first crash, the past 8 times I have attempted to launch FSX I only get the Windows error message. Over the past 2 weeks I have been patiently installing FSX and my tons of addons, only to have all this work possibly undone for mysterious reasons. Last addons I installed was Shade, and a few aerosoft airport sceneries.

 

I tried the following common tricks to see if they would remedy the situation, but to no avail:

 

- rename the logbook file to .old, I remember having a corrupt logbook mess up my start up ages ago, but that doesn't seem to be the issue here.

- deleted fsx.cfg

- rebooting the computer

- Ran DxDiag, no issues there

 

Those are some tricks I could recall from past experience. Are there any others I should try?

I remember getting a similar almost instant crash message at start up my first year running FSX (2008) when I ran somekind of FS9 program to speedup AI taxi speeds. That also fuxored up my FSX installation, and I had to reinstall from scratch, so I have stayed away from that program. I am willing to troubleshoot tomorrow, but if nothing works I'm going to cut my losses and just reinstall....

 

Happy Holidays

[Jim Young 2,356]

Download and install AppCrashView - http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/app_crash_view.html and take a look at all of your crashes. This App deciphers Windows crashes (.wer) and provides a lot of more information. You may even be able to pick up the DirectX related error you think you received. Check your Event Viewer for clues as to what might have caused the crash. I always check Custom Views>Administrative Events which is a list of all the errors in the Windows Logs.

 

Whenever there is an unknown module that caused the crash, it is most likely FSX crashed because setting in fsx and your display settings were set too high and FSX had a hard time rendering (even if you have 40FPS this can happen). If you recently reinstalled or updated your display drivers, I would uninstall them, run a registry cleaner, then reinstall.

 

Just running a registry cleaner and/or cleaning up your system can stop these types of crashes too.

 

I've seen some fixes to unknown module crashes by uninstalling SP2 and reinstalling FSX. Crashes at startup could be caused by a bad install of MS Visual C++ 2005 or 2008. Uninstalling SP2 and reinstalling it may fix this. I do know for a fact that if you removed any of the MS Visuals that were installed for FSX, a crash will occur at startup and you will not be able to get to the startup screen.

 

Best regards,

Jim

[NGXfanatic 85]

Thanks for the reply Jim, I have seen your name frequently in this forum and respect your opinion.

 

One detail that may help regarding when the crash occurs, I am able to get to the startup screen, but I get the error message about 15 seconds after the startup screen. Also, I have what appears to be complete and valid installs of the MS Visual C ++ Redistributable libraries (2005, 2008, 2010), as well as the needed updates provided by Windows Update.

 

I will be trying out your advice, and let you know how I make out! I think uninstalling SP2 and using the RTM repair disk may be a viable option. At this point, I have nothing to lose, so I'm going to try everything I can think off.

[NGXfanatic 85]

Update, I have tried running the repair from the original FSX disks, but that did not solve the issue. I have been tearing my hair out trying all kinds of fixes, and nothing is sticking. As usual for me, since my FSX and all the addons are so embedded in my OS registry, and I only really use this computer for FSX and web browsing, the most reasonable thing for me to do is to reinstall the OS/FSX from scratch again!

 

Ughh, what a miserable way to end the year. But I may as well, as soon as I have gotten the FSX startup errors, I'm also having a unresolvable issue with Adobe Flash on my Chrome and Firefox browsers. It's so bad, that even the Flash installer is crashing on me........ hence, why I may be better off just clean installing Win 7.

 

I'm at a loss to explain what could have caused FSX to go haywire on me, to my recollection I did not delete any mission critical files in FSX or any of libraries it is dependent on , but I swear to God, this is going to be the last time I go though this nightmare. I had already ordered a new 1TB external USB 3.0 hard drive before the crash, and once I finish this next 2 week process of reinstalling the OS and FSX back to my liking, I'll be following a rigorous drive image backup program. If there is a lesson to be learned here, backup backup backup!!

[Jim Young 2,356]

Reinstalling the OS and FSX.... Sometimes that's the best option but I really didn't recommend that and still don't. You may have gotten hit by Malware and maybe all you need to do is run Malwarebytes (malwarebytes.com). If you have other things crashing on you besides FSX that's a strong indicator you have a system issue and nothing related to FSX. Sometimes the User account gets corrupted too and causes problems. A simple way to test is to set up a new User Account and see if the issues continue - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/Windows7/Fix-a-corrupted-user-profile. Make sure your system is clean too. Delete everything in the User temp folder as Windows does not do this and I know of no program, including Windows maintenance programs, that does this. It is located in User name\AppData\Local\Temp. Of course you have to make sure you can see hidden files as this is a hidden folder. Run a registry cleaner too and run a program to get rid of Malware left on your system. I use Advanced System Care, a freeware program (does even more if you buy it but that's not really necessary).

 

Uninstall Adobe Flash. You don't need it to run Windows or any browser (you just won't get to see videos popping up on your screen once in a while). Some sites say it needs Adobe Flash to run a program on their website. Just disregard it and continue browsing without it until you get your computer stable.

 

Backing up your HDD is always a good idea. I just bought a 2TB external HD and it automatically backs up all my important files like My Documents, My Photos, etc., and keeps updating the backup automatically as I make changes to those folders. I just went through a HDD crash myself and am on the final leg of reinstalling Windows 7 and FSX. A lot of members image their Windows 7 and FSX installations but I heard it is a long process for the backup image to process, especially if you have a lot of programs.

 

Good luck!

 

Best regards,

jim