ASN and Computer Freezes

[Vargveum 53]

I see, I see.. Really, I haven't got a clue what is going on with these freezes - wether it is an ASN or FSUIPC problem, or something else. However, I am quite sure the symptoms have been cured on my set up at least. 

 

Well, for what it is worth, I am running FSUIPC 4.927a. 

[HiFly 16]

OK, Daniel.

 

      Results are in.  NO LOCKUPS on ConcordeX 4 hour flight in complex weather departure flight across Atlantic with full ASN and FSX sliders to the right!  This completes my testing and proof of your suggested fix, at least for you and me, anyway.  My VAS available never fell below 2.1 GB and my frame rates during normal flight (2D cockpit) ran 45-60 and with accelerated flight (4X) they ran 35-45 so I am completely comfortable closing the door on this problem thanks to your find.  I also am dispelling the theory that our lockups had anything to do with repeated menu access and UIautomationCore.dll.  I am not using any different version than came with my VISTA SP1 install and on ConcordeX flights I access menu 3 times at each waypoint bringing me well over the dreaded 25 times and no change in VAS available, no stutters, and, of course, no freezes.  And I use the affinity=14 in my FSX.cfg as I have in the past.  Again, no issues.

 

Have a great weekend!

[Vargveum 53]

That's what I wanted to hear, Craig! 

 

Enjoy your Sunday too

[Bandselect 11]

Thanks to all for the ideas to try out to fix this issue - I wish it was a case closed for me. I really enjoy the depiction of clouds in ASN, but so far, even with unlimited frames (both in FSX and NI), I find freezes 90-120 minutes into the flight with ASN using PMDG aircraft. So for now I will use Opus for the long hauls in the Boeings and ASN for the short range flights in less demanding aircraft. I hope either future h/w improvements I make or software adjustments will allow ASN to be used with any PMDG aircraft over long range flights. I remember a time when Opus was not too kind to some PMDG aircraft in cruise (MD11), but that is much improved these days. Likewise, I believe ASN will evolve and improve.

[Laban4 0]

Hi!

 

Same for me. I did set framerates to unlimited but think I got several freezes during a 10 hour flight.

When I took off the clock on the aircraft panel showed 19.00 UTC and my phonewatch the same. Did check the flight every 2-3 hour. Ni freezes. But I noticed that the panel clock didn't show the same time as my phone. After 10 hours the aircraft clock showed -53 minutes.

I believe the sim frooze several times and that's why my phone and the planeclock didn't show the same.

At every check I listned to the ASN ATIS on 122.02. It did report the weather att the true UTC time, so ASN did update the weather all the time.

 

I will do another check later today and let you guys know how it went.

 

Alex

Hi again.

 

For your information. I am using Project Open Sky Boeings.

 

Alex

[Laban4 0]

Hi folks!

 

Did another testflight. This time I did set VAS to 12 GB and frames to unlimited. But after Teo hours of flight I began to get 8 minutes freeze. So this tips does not work for me...:-(

I will use AS2012 until HiFi has come out with a solution.

 

Best regards/Alex

[HiFly 16]

Hi Alex!

 

    With everyone's system being different, there may just be too many variables for one simple fix to work for everyone.  I did find that ASN has an error report menu and if you would try one more flight before you put ASN "back in the box", once the error clears, pause FSX and tab to desktop and into ASN.  Under the 'tools' menu select 'debug window' and then click on 'throw error' on the bottom right column and it should give you the details of any hangups related to ASN.  If everyone does that and then clicks on 'send', that will go directly to HiFi and maybe they can discover a pattern.  It also might give you a clue as to what is 'hanging' it up for 8 minutes.

 

    Why this particular fix has proven to work for Daniel and me has always been a mystery but again the problem has disappeared on all of our flights with PMDG and FSL models and they are the most complex memory/cpu gobblers AFAIK.

 

Good luck!

[Jim Young 2,356]

 

 

This time I did set VAS to 12 GB and frames to unlimited.

 

Not sure how you did this.  The max is 4GB for every Windows system.  Are you talking about the page file?  That's not VAS.  People get it confused as VAS but that's just a swap file.

 

Best regards,

[Laban4 0]

Hi!

 

I have now performed Another testflight, with freezes of course. Did do as you said HiFly. I threw an error report. So I hope it can be of any help to them.

 

Alex

[squerble 300]

Not sure how you did this.  The max is 4GB for every Windows system.  Are you talking about the page file?  That's not VAS.  People get it confused as VAS but that's just a swap file.

 

Best regards,

 

 

Just to clarify, the max for 32-bit Windows (or a 32-bit app running in Windows 32/64) is 4GB. If you have 64-bit Windows, then available address space is 8TB.

[Jim Young 2,356]

Just to clarify, the max for 32-bit Windows (or a 32-bit app running in Windows 32/64) is 4GB. If you have 64-bit Windows, then available address space is 8TB.

 

You are correct but you are using a 32 bit application called FSX.  All 32-bit applications ever developed have a 4GB VAS limit.  For more info, see the AVSIM CTD Guide or, since you have the PMDG 777 installed, check out their information on VAS starting on Page 21 of the Introduction manual.  If we can ever get a 64 bit application, like that would be cool and we could set our settings to the max.

 

Best regards,

[squerble 300]

You are correct but you are using a 32 bit application called FSX.  All 32-bit applications ever developed have a 4GB VAS limit.  For more info, see the AVSIM CTD Guide or, since you have the PMDG 777 installed, check out their information on VAS starting on Page 21 of the Introduction manual.  If we can ever get a 64 bit application, like that would be cool and we could set our settings to the max.

 

Best regards,

 

Hi Jim,

 

Perhaps I could have been clearer with my brackets indicating 32-bit apps, i.e. FSX. Thankfully, I've never had an OOM as I don't run any scenery add-ons at all.

[HiFly 16]

Hi Jim!

     I did it again.  I posted VAS when I meant VM.  I set VM to 12.0 GB in Windows.  I don't know how to set VAS directly.  But it appears that doing so has increased my paging memory in Task Mgr which I assume is my VAS or related to it.  When I monitor in FSUIPC for memory using the 024C offset my understanding is that it is displaying my unused, and still available, VAS while I am flying.  Is that not correct?

 

   Anyway, in my case what I have done has eliminated MY lockup issues.  On another matter it has just come to my attention that using the Bojotes utility to tweak my CFG file back in 2011 incorrectly formatted my "affinity' entry as:

 

     Affinity/Mask=14

 

instead of:

 

     AffinityMask=14.

 

I probably was not masking at all and that is why I was not seeing the difference in core usage in the Task Mgr display.   I now have corrected the entry so it may totally change the way things work and I may have to readjust everything.

[Jim Young 2,356]

 

 

I don't know how to set VAS directly.

 

You can't set VAS.  On a 64 bit operating system it's 4GB's for 32 bit applications.  The paging file will not increase VAS but there are a lot of "experts" around the Internet who think that's so.  You can monitor VAS usage through Process Explorer which is freeware on the Internet.  Not sure what kind of CPU you own (you only say Intel Core), but the rest of your components are not high tech so tweaking is the best thing you can do to get as much out of your system as possible. 

 

Yes, I saw where you had posted the question about the correct display of Affinity Mask.  You do have it under [Job Scheduler] don't you?

 

Best regards,

[HiFly 16]

@ Jim:

 

 

You do have it under [Job Scheduler] don't you?

 

Affirmative.  And I have now correctly formatted it and it works!  I kept checking task manager at various phases of a flight with NGX and ASN.  By using the '14' setting should keep FSX in first three cores but on task manager they seem to be in reverse order in the performance display.  From left to right, FSX first was only in the 2nd core (which is probably Core 3 ? ) when the CPU demand was less than 25%.  I checked during heavier scenery demand and it had gone to 48% with the 2nd core at 25% and the next one to the right (Core 2?) to 21% with the remaining 2% in the left core (Core 4?)  When I got to an area of heavy thunderstorms I checked and I was at 72% with the middle two cores fully engaged and the furthest right core at about 20% and again the left core (Core 4) barely being used.  I noticed no change in the smoothness of the entire flight from ground work to inflight and back to ground work at destination -- no stutters.  I am able to leave my frame rate set to unlimited whereas before correctly setting Affinity Mask I had to switch to "locked" frame rates while on the ground with NGX VC panel use to mitigate the severe stuttering I was experiencing (only with the NGX, though).

 

And BTW Jim, I have MSI 8400 motherboard with Quad Core @ 2.66 Ghz ea and I don't overclock.  So yes there are many with much more powerful machines but I only use it for FSX and now that I have made these tweaks over the past week, I am getting nice smooth performance in all weather conditions with all of the aircraft I use:  PMDG NGX, B744, MD11; ConcordeX; Level-D B763.   And you know the saying, "If it ain't broke...."