New PC, first ever MSFS install & instant CTDs... Help :(

[orchestra_nl 925]

6 minutes ago, Ricardo41 said:

This is weird. 

I have 8 gigs of system Ram

So, by your calculation I'm running my PC on -2 Ram. 

How does that work?

Windows will just use what's available and augment with virtual memory. It might not run as fast as with more RAM but will still run everything that does not require more than 8GB.
8GB is sufficient for webbrowsing and office work, for heavier stuff more is recommended but it will still work as long as the software does not require more.

[peloto 213]

Try to check in BIOS if all the PCI energy saver options are off, if not, do it and test, that was my big hassle problem, no BIOS update solves that by the moment, even for to do OC that is a problem for me and OCCT always failed with a WHEA error.

Edited February 20, 2022 by peloto

[Virtualwombat 4]

I've had problems with CTDs too. One thing that worked for me is having an empty community folder. Really annoying not to being able to run add-ons from outside of the marketplace but there it is. Even without any add-ons, I'm still struggling with weird autopilot behavior when following a flight plan. It's like the autopilot loses the next waypoint. So there are still bugs that need attention, even after installing the latest update today.

[andym001 37]

I had a 650W PSU and had to undervolt the graphics card until I was able to replace it, however, I wasn't getting CTD's, my PC would actually reboot. It's worth trying the undervolt trick anyway to discount the PSU as it's easy and you don't have to purchase anything.

[peloto 213]

5 minutes ago, andym001 said:

I had a 650W PSU and had to undervolt the graphics card until I was able to replace it, however, I wasn't getting CTD's, my PC would actually reboot. It's worth trying the undervolt trick anyway to discount the PSU as it's easy and you don't have to purchase anything.

Even I doubt that he needs a new PSU, the PSU calculators says that PSU is ok with its rig.

[Bobsk8 12,570]

3 hours ago, peloto said:

Even I doubt that he needs a new PSU, the PSU calculators says that PSU is ok with its rig.

When I got my new PC last year, I had CTD after CTD, with sometimes the screen freezing. They tried everything remotely from the manufacturer including stress testing it, and could not find the problem. It only did this on MSFS 2020. I finally sent the PC on an RMA back to the company. They replaced the AMD GPU with a Nvidia, on my request, and replaced the power supply with a higher wattage unit. Have not had a CTD since. 

[MDFlier 2,031]

You might want to pop the case open and make sure that the graphics card has the proper number of power connections. There's usually 2 or 3 and if whoever built the system missed one, everything works fine until you put it under load. Flight simulator has always been one of the best diagnostic tools. If your system has any issues, flight sim will make it show up for sure.

Edit: I looked around on the web and see that the 3070s use a 12 pin connector for the power connection. My 2080Ti also has a 12 pin connector, but I have 2 separate bundles of wires with 6 pin connectors plugged into it. If you setup is the same, check the connections on both ends. You didn't mention if your system had a modular power supply or not. If it does, there are connections on both ends of every bundle of wires. Unplug and re-plug them all in one at a time just to be sure. 

You really need to look in the event logs and see if there are any errors logged. We can only guess if we don't have any real technical information to work with. If you see something in there, post it here. Check if there are any *.dmp files in C:\Windows\minidump created at the time of the crash and try vgbaron's suggestion if there are.

What brand of motherboard is in your computer? You may want to download the chipset drivers directly from them and see if it helps.

And a real shot in the dark would be to restart your computer and reset your bios to default settings and then change everything back to what you need by hand. Most motherboards have a place where you can put a jumper on it or short it with a screwdriver to reset it to the default settings. Like I said it is a shot in the dark but I'm in the business and I've seen this fix literally hundreds of unusual and strange problems over the years.

There are many possibilities for a problem like this. The cause will be in the logs somewhere. You just need to find it. Application and System event logs. Check them out. 

Edited February 20, 2022 by MDFlier

[The Moose 1,177]

As others have said, it's almost certainly PSU or memory when it comes to BSOD's, especially on a brand new machine.

Do you know the make and model of the PSU? 

The advertised wattage of a PSU is completely irrelevant.  The crucial factor is having the right wattage on the right rails, in this case it's all bout the 12v rails. You want almost all of that advertised wattage on the 12v rails.

Many pre-built systems skimp on the PSU.  They can technically be 650W but are outputting WAY less on the 12v rails. As soon as your GPU is pushed... goodnight.

Having said all that.. If it's the PSU it's more likely, that it would just shut the computer off completely rather than BSOD, so I'd go down the memory route first. (might just need a bios update that has a more stable XMP profile.)  

Just my thoughts. But i cant tell you the amount of PC's I've fixed over the years where unknowing punters have bought a PSU based entirely off the advertised wattage rather than understanding that it's about where it's delivering that power!

 

[OneOfMany 314]

As moose said. We sell a $30 basic 650w and quality 650s for over a hundred. Watts means squats. 

[Eusebio 0]

I have had the issue as you.

Check what process is consuming more cpu resources. This process may be the cause of the ctds.

In my case was gadgets.exe. As per microsoft this program is broken for non english windows 11 versions and is causing this kind of problems.

 

[NismoRR 191]

I just built the same system as you with an 850w Corsair platinum PSU and 32 gb 3600 ram with an MSI Edge motherboard. Working perfectly. I might agree with several here that the 650 psu is on the lower side. Also check your ram in the BIOS and see if you can get your memory set to XMP1. Bottom line, regardless of the specifics, a brand new PC should not be crashing as reported. I’d be looking for a replacement with a better power supply. 650 might be ok, but the CPU and 3070 are pretty power hungry so a little headroom on the PSU will never hurt. 

Edited February 20, 2022 by NismoRR

[PiaggioPilot 26]

2 hours ago, The Moose said:

As others have said, it's almost certainly PSU or memory when it comes to BSOD's, especially on a brand new machine.

Do you know the make and model of the PSU? 

The advertised wattage of a PSU is completely irrelevant.  The crucial factor is having the right wattage on the right rails, in this case it's all bout the 12v rails. You want almost all of that advertised wattage on the 12v rails.

Many pre-built systems skimp on the PSU.  They can technically be 650W but are outputting WAY less on the 12v rails. As soon as your GPU is pushed... goodnight.

Having said all that.. If it's the PSU it's more likely, that it would just shut the computer off completely rather than BSOD, so I'd go down the memory route first. (might just need a bios update that has a more stable XMP profile.)  

Just my thoughts. But i cant tell you the amount of PC's I've fixed over the years where unknowing punters have bought a PSU based entirely off the advertised wattage rather than understanding that it's about where it's delivering that power!

 

I was incorrect with my original statement about the BSOD. All I was getting when everything crashed was a message from Windows saying "Something went wrong and we're restarting you're computer" with a ":(" at the top of the screen. Then the system would restart. So I don't think it was a BSOD now that I think about it.

I am unable to access my PC at this time as I am away flying for a couple of days but will try all the above advice as well as from everyone else once I am back on Monday.

[wims80 121]

22 minutes ago, PiaggioPilot said:

I was incorrect with my original statement about the BSOD. All I was getting when everything crashed was a message from Windows saying "Something went wrong and we're restarting you're computer" with a ":(" at the top of the screen. Then the system would restart. So I don't think it was a BSOD now that I think about it.

I am unable to access my PC at this time as I am away flying for a couple of days but will try all the above advice as well as from everyone else once I am back on Monday.

The "Something went wrong" screen is the blue screen of death in modern versions of Windows. I would look for a BIOS update to see if that fixes your problems

 

37 minutes ago, NismoRR said:

...

650 might be ok, but the CPU and 3070 are pretty power hungry so a little headroom on the PSU will never hurt. 

Actually, having an oversized PSU is not recommended as PSUs are optimized to produce power at a certain load. If you are drawing less than what the PSU is optimized for then you are likely to get less clean power, and certainly less efficient use of the power than what you would if you had a perfectly sized PSU. On the other hand, if you have an undersized PSU you might run into stability issues, so there's that. But there is such a thing as too much headroom on the PSU

Edited February 20, 2022 by wims80

[Bobsk8 12,570]

27 minutes ago, wims80 said:

 

 

Actually, having an oversized PSU is not recommended as PSUs are optimized to produce power at a certain load. If you are drawing less than what the PSU is optimized for then you are likely to get less clean power, and certainly less efficient use of the power than what you would if you had a perfectly sized PSU. On the other hand, if you have an undersized PSU you might run into stability issues, so there's that. But there is such a thing as too much headroom on the PSU

That is totally wrong, and I have  on worked on  and taught component level repair to thousands of technicians, on complex electronic equipment my entire working career. There is nothing wrong with and oversized power supply. 

Edited February 20, 2022 by Bobsk8

[SierraDelta 1,337]

27 minutes ago, wims80 said:

The "Something went wrong" screen is the blue screen of death in modern versions of Windows. I would look for a BIOS update to see if that fixes your problems

 

Actually, having an oversized PSU is not recommended as PSUs are optimized to produce power at a certain load. If you are drawing less than what the PSU is optimized for then you are likely to get less clean power, and certainly less efficient use of the power than what you would if you had a perfectly sized PSU. On the other hand, if you have an undersized PSU you might run into stability issues, so there's that. But there is such a thing as too much headroom on the PSU

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