FS9 suddenly freezing up

[martinlest2 58]

Until this afternoon I had no problems at all like this - but now every flight I take ends up with the whole PC freezing up (accompanied by a loud buzzing/siren-like sound!) and my having to use the rest button. There is no record of anything wrong in the Event Viewer ...The only thing I have done (and this may be a coincidence of course) is uninstall EditVoicePack and replace it with the latest version. Since then it's been a disaster. Even though I went back to the previous version, and have now uninstalled the programme altogether (and put the original .gvp file back in the sound folder) I am still getting lock-ups every flight - usually within minutes, though I just managed to get as far as Paris from London before it happened. It seems to happen as I pan in spot view. Frame rates at the time are fine ...Any ideas anyone? Not much to go on, is there?! Not sure where to start. Maybe I'll have to wipe the whole thing and re-install (a day's job, what with Ultimate Traffic, FSNav etc...!) if I can't sort things out. Oh, #### fires ......Martin

[martinlest2 58]

For 'rest', read 'reset' button!!

[JSkorna 137]

Hi,Check your computer temperatures. Sounds like the heat alarm going off. Remove your PC cover/side and run a bit.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Sales and Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_dev_team.jpg http://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_proud_supporter.jpg

[Guest Ozark Dogfighter]

Exactly what I thought, Jim. Check those temps Martin, sounds like your PC is getting hot and bothered.Also, strange as it may sound, I had a similar event happen with my older compy. The sound was coming from my speakers (not the PC speaker in the case). I thought it was my sound card...turned out it was the video drivers. Have you also installed newer video card drivers recently? I'd try putting the older ones on and see what that does.But if the sound is coming from the case speaker, check those temps!You may have a failing CPU fan.-Jeremy BurchThe Ozark DogfighterHappy Flying!Pilot-The friction locks are causing the throttle levers to stick.Mechanic- Umm, that's what they're there for...

[martinlest2 58]

Thanks, but as it's a laptop (specs below) I can't really open it up and investigate the hardware. It does run warm when FS is going, but no more so than it has always done, and the fans kick into 'turbo' mode as it gets hotter. The loud buzzing comes through my speakers, or the headphones, via a PMCIA Audigy 2 card. I have ongoing problems with that - constant little clicks and squeaks - I tried various dxdiag sound acceleration settings to no avail, as well as new drivers. I have only had the laptop a few months, so will also contact Dell; may also try a complete reinstallation of XP and FS. I did upgrade my graphics card drivers last week, but they caused problems so I reinstalled the old drivers. Maybe it didn't work as cleanly as it should, and wiping everything and starting again may clear things up. If not, then presumably there's a hardware problem somewhere. (Great!).Martin