What can cause FSX to be unstable?

[Sportsfan23 2]

So my new computer was working great until the last couple days when I installed I would say 8 add-on airports. Everything would seem fine until about 5 to 10 minutes into a flight and FSX CTD's. This now happens over and over and over again. 

 

With the add-on airports I am using FTX Global,REX, RC4, GSX, and that A2A programs that gives you improved wind noise and all the sounds of the plane taxiing down the tarmac. Is that to many programs to have running at once or something? Is there a limit to how many programs you can have running with FSX? I will also add this happens at non add-on airports also it just seems like it happens faster after taking off from one of the add-on airports. 

 

Is there a certain order my scenery files need to be setup in? All the airports I have installed are at the top of the scenery library if that makes any difference. 

 

[flyerboy 114]

There are many topics on this.  Suggest you do a search.

 

It could be anything.  Remember FSX is only 32 bit so you need to turn down your sliders, configure the FSX.CFG file, and look at your RAM/Video card/overclocking.

 

Have you got the latest fsuipc installed.  I kept on getting fatal errors, then it stopped once I installed it.

 

You can never expect to run all the sliders on full and expect 100 FPS at all times.  It will never be like that, but by having a trade off, you can achieve some pretty decent results.

[enrico68 3]

Hi Sportsfan23, it sure seems your new add on airports took your FSX over the limit. FTX Global, REX especially if you use HD clouds with 4096 textures and GSX are by themselves a pretty good overhead to your system, any system. Of course, it also depends on your PC specs, and the aircraft you are flying when the PC CTDs. As a general rule, we should all remember that what matters the most is that we can fly an aircraft in a smooth environment, not that we may see the grass or birds or people waving and cheering as we take off...Try disabling the airports, all of them, and then enable just one at a time, with no GSX and REX set at 1024, go for a spin with the same aircraft, and see what happens. If you do not experience any CTD, then try raising the cloud textures, or enable GSX, and try once more, until you pretty much pinpoint the point break, when the PC just can't take it anymore. Any system, with the right combo of heavy add ons, will go to its knees with FSX, This is what I would do, and then try with one airport at a time. But, as a general rule, always be mindful to how much weight you put on your PC with the add ons, especially the HD ones, FSX was not built as an HD environment, but as a 1024 texture world, and these are not my words, but Phil Taylor's, one of the Aces Team member, the architect of FSX...it's just that some developers pretend that it is not so...

 

One more suggestion: when someone tells you to configure your FSX.CFG file, be careful what you add in it, the net is full of garbage twicks that will eventually bloat it, configuring the CFG file is never a solution to a heavy overhead, unless you know exactly what you are doing and why, just my two cents,

 

Enrico

[BeechPapa 32]

Sportsfan, when I think of FSX, I think of those guys at the circus spinning dozens of plates on a wooden dowel. It's in a perpetual state of instability, and almost anything can cause a plate to fall. That doesn't mean you are limited in the number of addons you can have, but it does mean it will take more time and effort to get those addons running properly and not conflicting with anything. You can have any number of addons as long as you are willing to put the time in to diagnose problems, and most every FSX problem has some sort of workaround or solution. Your CTD can be caused by any number of issues, so the best thing to do is look at your Windows Event log under applications and see what the offending module is that is causing FSX to CTD. The event log is your key to tracking down FSX problems and diagnosing them.

 

As Flyerboy mentioned, FSUIPC can stop a form of CTD associated with d3d.dll crashes. FSUIPC (even the free version) reorders scenery commands to stop this specific fault from happening. That might be your problem or it might not be. You might also be getting uiautomationcore.dll crashes if you haven't applied the uiautomationcore fix. It's hard to know out of the vast possibilities what your exact crash is caused by. First check out the event log, try to find the specific module that is causing the crash, and go from there. There is no limit to the possibilities of customizing FSX, but some software detective work may be necessary. 

[Sportsfan23 2]

My issue isn't FPS. Everything runs really smooth with high FPS no scenery issues except for DFW but I re-installed that and it seems to work fine now. I will take a look at REX and see if lowering those settings work. Thank you very much for the help!

[Reader 2,021]

If you download and use Sysinternals process explorer you can

monitor your virtual address space and so see what is causing your problem.

Or even if the problem is vas related, I think so like everyone else.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_process_explorer/

[ryanbatc 12,832]

What is the reason for the CTD? Is it an OOM or a real CTD?

[Sportsfan23 2]

What is the reason for the CTD? Is it an OOM or a real CTD?

 

It was a TAXI add-on that was causing my problem and causing the CTD's. 

[Howellerman 104]

Actually, when you think about it any of the flight sim products are remarkably stable given their complexity.

 

The core product, with core capabilities for modelling terrain, weather, and aircraft that range from a powered kite to an F-18 Hornet, is remarkable in and of itself. 

 

But when you think about all the addons that modify and enhance those capabilities, it is really mind boggling that it even works in the first place. I have looked at some of the model parameters, and off-hand they look like gobblygook. But somehow, it all works together to create a RealAir Lancair Legacy that flies across a sea of Orbx scenery with an Opus weather engine manipulating REX textures. 

 

Really remarkable when you think about it. Now, I am not letting anybody off the hook for CTD and OOM errors - that is "housekeeping" that should be done by the core product, but if you simulate a sufficient number of butterfly wings, something is bound to break.