FSX has started crashing!

[AscalonStrike 0]

Hey guys.

For many years I've been using FSX with not much problems, or problems I could easily solve. Up until yesterday, when I went on to fly everything was good.

However, since this morning FSX crashes anytime I either try to customize user-defined weather or get into a flight and try to look around. The most suspicious thing is there is no "fatal error" notice, FSX just freezes, goes black and then closes. Event viewer says it's an "app-hang" issue, and I've tried all sorts of things I've found around for fixing this problem (clearing temp folder, using sfc, re-installing directx, clean-booting the pc, etc.), to no avail.

This is too weird since FSX was running perfectly just yesterday, and I haven't made any changes to the pc, the game or anything whatsoever between yesterday and today.

The only thing I am missing to do is completely uninstalling and reinstalling FSX, which would be pretty painful since I'd have to reinstall all of the addons I've got into the game.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what can I do for fixing this problem? Or do I definitely have to reinstall FSX?

Thanks in advance.

[Bob Scott 7,716]

Sounds like either a corrupt .wx or wxstationlist.bin file.  This was a common thing in FSX...a little Google-Fu on the topic may prove illuminating.

Regards

 

[charliearon 3,017]

Also you should treat this as a CTD (crash to desktop).  Here is a link to the CTD guide.  Download it and give it a read through.

 

[AscalonStrike 0]

Well, if what you guys say about it possibly being wxstationlist.bin is right, then I think my problems derive from a change I didn't do yesterday or last night but several months ago.

You see, around that time FSX's real-time weather stopped working. It said something like it couldn't download the weather, when I had perfect internet connection, something, again, completely sudden since earlier on it worked just fine. I found FSXWX and, wanting real weather, installed it following its instructions. One of these instructions was to delete wxstationlist.bin, and I did, but dumb me, I didn't backup the file, and freakin' FSXWX, once installed, decided it wouldn't work and simply throw me an "Exception received: 5" error at me, which practically rendered it useless and left me with no weather stations on FSX, with which I had to rely simply on looking for weather forecasts online and manually configuring such weather to FSX through the user-defined weather customization, which now I don't have either.

So I'm already at a point where I have no option left. All of the systems I've used have began failing, one by one. And now FSX itself is failing.

So could the fact that this file is missing be what causes these crashes? It'd be weird, since I've had the sim work just fine even without it for these last months.

[Jethro 65]

Hi AscalonStrike,

I have also installed FSXWX recently (only 2 days ago infact) up until now I have only used Orbx and /or FSX weather themes. I've been pleasantly surprised on how well FSXWX provides its user defined weather in place of (FSX's RWW disabled server).
I followed the instructions "btb" and made double backups before installing so still have the originals saved. Backedup & installed new wxmapping.bin, backedup & deleted original wxstationlist.bin (FSX to rebuild new stations), FSX.cfg settings adjusted, I Start FSXWX Client 1.6.1 As Administrator, setup paid version of FSUIPC 4.90 Winds and Clouds per diagram. Even watched an installation YT vid to be sure I had it right.

However I have had this same Black screen issue, fatal error CTD happen several times after setting up the new wxstationlist.bin and wxmapping.bin, it might be happening at some point after the injection or whenever DWC (DynamicWeatherControl) updates, FSXWX would stop responding for some reason with (a .NET AppHang) and then FSX would follow into a black screen freeze then crash offering the usual "Solution when available restart sim dialog"). 
However after a little research I discovered it may not be FSXWX but Windows Error Reporting where FSX is concerned, particularly the unhelpful MS popup offering to provide a solution when available. There never is a solution offered by MS to any FSX CTD crash or otherwise, but this does not stop the popup which causes the black screen crash from consistently wanting to send the sim into "Not Responding mode" CTD crash then offer to restart and send a report .

If you get stuck, FSX user defined weather should still work, as also FSX Weather Themes. RWW is now provided in your sim via FSXWX as User Defined weather. There is no need to click the FSX RWW weather options (neither static or 15min update) when using FSXWX.
When FSXWX Client is set to auto connect in "Current" or "Sim Time" will inject the right weather METAR from the loaded stations (I am using FSX Seasons Date Time settings for this, when FSXWX loads the time and date automatically correspond). You can also manually connect to FSX and reload the weather. It also helps if you put your Departure ICAO into the Route departure ADEP and Information box.

I don't know if you have Win7 or Win10 but the below suggestion should/may work for you.
The suggestion was to stop Windows Error Reporting for FSX ("FSX.exe") since it will always result in a dead end.
What I did - in Win7, was to open "Action Center" > Maintenance >  settings > then choose - Select Programs to Exclude from Error Reporting - in the dialog, browse to the root FSX installation folder > select "FSX.exe" - and add it to the Exclusion list, click ok to close.

I am still testing if this works, but so far so good, MS FSX has been left to die (Unsupported) where not even GPU driver developers hardware or OS updates consider the negative impacts left for us poor FSX users to discover and find workarounds. Hopefully excluding FSX.exe from "WER" solves the problem for all other unidentified FSX crashes, freezes and wobbles in general.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Jethro

[fspilot737 1]

Try changing Weather Read Factor value from 2 to 0.in FSUIPC.ini

[Jethro 65]

Thanks fspilot737,  I'm willing to give WeatherReadFactor=0  a try.   What does it do in FSX/FSUIPC, does it reduce latency, or something else?

Edited June 17, 2019 by Jethro

[AscalonStrike 0]

Hey Jethro

I tried what you mentioned about stopping Windows Error Reporting. I have win10, so I looked for a video on youtube which succesfully helped me disable it. However, sadly, to no avail. I am still having the same problems: FSX crashing when I either try to customize user-defined weather or get into a flight. 

If it's about FSXWX, I've already given up on giving it a try. As I said on my earlier post, when I try to use it, it reads "Excpetion received: 5" after a successful connection, and all options are greyed out, which, according to videos featuring FSXWX that I've seen, is not normal. I asked for help on the FSXWX forum itself (that was around march this year) but sadly, until now, I've got no answer from them.

[Jethro 65]

Hi AscalonStrike,

Sorry to hear that, I only meant to Exclude "FSX.exe" from WindowsErrorReporting, it is not a good idea to turn off WER altogether, as it will be useful when tracking down other Windows and program related errors.

If you have given up on FSXWX because of the "Excpetion received: 5" error unresolved, I can understand but I am new to the program and have not experienced this error. The greyed out options would suggest that the Connect to sim is not being made either Auto or Manually, its either a Simconnect, FSUIPC v4.90, or .NET issue, these are pre-requisite programs which must be working properly in your OS and sim for programs which interact like FSXWX among other utilities. As I mentioned above I use Win7 64Pro and FSX Deluxe Gold Accpack, The latest payware FSUIPC4,  .NET latest version with all previous versions & updates,  Visual C++ up to date all versions, Simconnect installed by FSX DVD's. Are these pre-requisite's installed and running properly (example; is FSUIPC added to the FSX.cfg [Trusted] section, and as a uncorrupted entry in the dll.xml file (C:\Users\youruser\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX)

Switch your Forum PMs (Personal Messages) on for your account.

[AscalonStrike 0]

Hey Jethro

Even though the "all greyed" issue with FSXWX sounds like a connection problem, I am completely sure it isn't about the connection, since I have these programs you mention, like FSUIPC and Simconnect and they are working (it was clear in FSXWX's instructions they had to be there). FSXWX's menu says both FSUIPC and Simconnect succesfully connect, but after that comes the so annoying "exception received: 5", which to me is the real culprit.

FSXWX aside, though, I'd like to know if you know anything else I can try with the actual problem I'm trying to solve here, that is, FSX crashing upon weather customization or upon starting a flight, since, as I've said earlier, I'm by now annoyed enough with FSXWX as for not giving a thing about it anymore.

Regarding PM's, could you please instruct me on how to toggle Forum PM's for my account? Quite new to AVSIM forums yet, since I pretty much use it just for asking for help whenever I need it.

Thanks!

[Jethro 65]

Hi AscalonStrike,

About PM's  - From the Forum main page, if you left mouse click on your User icon (top right) the (A in the pink circle) right next to the notification bell, a drop list comes down. The second dark grey item on the list is "Messages" if you click that item it will offer to turn message facility on for you. Click OK to enable.

Personal messages work in the same way as a forum post, but are private between two or more invited members. The forum TOS requires that PM's between members remain private, and must not be quoted from in public forums. I often re-enable mine when it may be useful or am invited to chat privately.

When enabled PM's (New messages) will, depending on your notification settings, appear as a numbered red marker on the white "envelope icon" notification banner or via email notification.

I'll keep a watch, the invitation is open, (1-1) If you chose not to partake, that's ok no harm.
It is also quite easy to disable PM's when you have finished or no longer require.

Edited June 19, 2019 by Jethro