FSX Crashes - Crash Dump Info attached

[RKillins 1]

My apologies if this post is in the wrong forum ... it was a choice of here or in a hardware forum. I trust that if this is inappropriate for this forum, it will be moved.

 

I have recently started to encounter FSX crashes. After several minutes of preparing my PMDG 737NGX on the ground at KPHX (FlightBeam), my computer display will go black, and the computer system crashes. My only recovery is to physically reboot my system. Since I'm just learning the 737, it's a disappointing loss of time preparing all the intricate details of flight with this aircraft.

 

I hope someone with some experience and/or understanding can shed some light on the likely issue, and perhaps provide some advice and guidance to avoid or eliminate encountering it again in the future.

 

First, the specs of my system:

 

Intel Core i7 2600k @ 3.5 GHz OC'd to 4.4 GHz

ASUSTeK P8Z77-V (LGA1155) MOBO

8.0 GB Dual-Channel DD# @ 823MHz RAM

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660ti (3071MB) GPU driving 3x 31" LCD monitors in surround mode for a resolution of 5760x1080@60)

NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT driving 1x 19" monitor with resolution 1440x900

NVIDIA Driver 341.44 (later drivers seem to not want to install)

931GB WD HD x3 (SATA3)

 

The software (running at time of crash):

 

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit SP1

FSX & Acceleration

Steves DX10 Fixer v2.9

FlightBeam KPHX Scenery

PMDG 737NGX SP1d

GEX v2.1

UTX Canada v1.0; UTX USA v2.0

FSDT Ground Effects X

FS2Crew PMDG 737 Voice

REX 4 Direct

Active Sky Next SP3

TopCat 2.74

AivlaSoft EFB

Chrome (for Simbrief)

 

I have attached some crash dump reports for anyone that is able to decipher such info. My last 7 crashes all had the same info since July 8, 2015.

 

 

Dump File:            090315-37081-01.dmp

Crash Time:           9/3/2015 8:25:14 PM

Bug Check String:

Bug Check Code:   0x00000116

Parameter 1:          fffffa80`0d96d010

Parameter 2:          fffff880`1011aaa0

Parameter 3:          ffffffff`c000009a

Parameter 4:          00000000`00000004

Caused by driver:   dxgkrnl.sys

Caused by address: dxgkrnl.sys+5d134

File description:     DirectX Graphics Kernel

Product name:        Microsoft® Windows® Operating System

Company:              Microsoft Corporation

File version:           6.1.7601.18510 (win7sp1_gdr.140615-1511)

Processor:              x64

Crash address:        ntoskrnl.exe+735c0

Stack address 1:

Stack address 2:

 

Stack address 3:

Computer name:

Full path:              C:\Windows\Minidump\090315-37081-01.dmp

Processors Count:   8

Major version:       15

Minor version:       7601

File dump size:      1,160,640

File dump time:     9/3/2015 8:28:18 P

 

 

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[JSkorna 137]

Reinstall Direct X for Win 7.

[RKillins 1]

Hi Jim, thanks for your reply.

 

Reinstalling DirectX was kind of a challenge. Microsoft's auto installer refused to reinstall (apparently you can't uninstall DirectX from Windows7) something that was already "up to date". Ended up having to download Directx redistributables (June2010??) from Microsoft and "install" that way.

 

Whether it did anything worthwhile, I don't know. I continue to experience the same problem.

[AVSIM Admin 4]

This is an automatic message.

 

This topic has been moved from "MS FSX | FSX-SE Forum" to "Crash To Desktop (CTD) Forum". This move has been done for a number of possible reasons.

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[Jim Young 2,356]

 

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Do you have SweetFX or the ENBSeries installed?

 

Best regards,

[RKillins 1]

Hi Jim, 

No to SweetFx or ENBSeries.

[Jim Young 2,356]

Hi Jim, 

No to SweetFx or ENBSeries.

First of all, based on your report, there is no known solution to your problem.  In other words, there are too many possibilities for this type of crash.  Most of the time, this faulting module dxgkrnl.sys, a Windows driver, results in a Blue Screen of Death, meaning a driver or hardware problem.

 

I would suggest investigating the cause of your crash by doing some of the actions as suggested in the AVSIM CTD Guide:

 

Update your drivers by using a Driver Update program (usually freeware until it finds outdated drivers; payware to get a license to have the program download and install the outdated drivers).  There are some freeware programs too but they will have a very slow connection to download the drivers and it gets really fast if you buy a license.

 

If your MB is overclocked, return the BIOS to the optimal defaults.  A bad overclock or too high, too low voltages (memory and CPU) will cause a crash when too much stress is placed on your system (and FSX puts a lot of stress on systems).

 

Bad tweaks in the FSX.cfg (less likely as this is a graphics driver but a bad tweak can cause stress where it shouldn't and cause a graphics driver to crash at a certain memory address).  Too much stress on your system can cause all kinds of anomalies!  It's easy to check out.  You move the fsx.cfg to another temporary folder, restart fsx and let the config rebuild to the default settings.  I would make a change in the resolution but leave the other settings alone.  If the crash still occurs, it is not the FSX.cfg and you can move the one you put in a temp folder back into the fsx.cfg folder.

 

You have two different monitors and each is run by a different video card.  That could be the problem too.  I would disconnect the smaller monitor.  While it is disconnected, reinstall your graphics drivers for the GTX660 by clicking on the setup program and selecting "Run as Administrator".  Keep the other monitor disconnected until this problem is fixed.  You can also try to upgrade your drivers for your GTX660.  I do not think any of the latest graphics drivers can be used with the really old GeForce 8500.  The GEForce 8500 might run okay after the drivers for the GTX660 are updated but I really doubt it.  When you disconnect the 8500 and the crashes stop, then you can probably be assured the 8500 does not like the drivers installed for the GTX660.  To run the second monitor, why not connect it to your board and use the internal graphics?

 

Make sure FSX is always started with Admin Privileges by going to the fsx.exe, right clicking on it, then select properties, and then, under the Compatibility tab, make sure Run as Admin is ticked at the bottom of the tab.  No other checkmarks above this should be made or you may have more anomalies in the future.

 

Make sure UAC and any anti-virus program is disabled.

 

The AVSIM CTD Guide as many more suggestions to help you troubleshoot.  Hope this helps.

 

Best regards,

[RKillins 1]

Jim, fabulous answer with lots to digest.

I truly appreciate the effort put into your reply. Well thought and presented.

 

Personally, I am leaning towards a graphic card problem. Either a hardware issue (I have been geeting new unexpected graphic spikes lately while panning around on the ground), as well as graphic related crashes on bootup. It maybe driver related, but because of the older card, I can't update to the latest 660 drivers. Perhaps my first step is as you had suggested is to disconnect the older card, update the river, and see what kind of results I get.

 

Thanks all!

[Jim Young 2,356]

I'm pretty sure that's the problem.  Why not connect both monitors to the GTX660?  That's what I've done with my GTX 780.  My 34 inch monitor uses the HDMI port on the graphics card and the 24 inch monitor uses the DVI connection.  I would sell or get rid of the older card.

 

Best regards,