4 hours ago, Noel said:

My point stands and very simply it is this:  all else being equal--the more the number and variety of addons by various developers, the greater the statistical risk of an issue.   Doesn't mean anything more than that, it's just a fact of probabilities related to complexity.

I agree with this. I only keep the bare minimum of addons in my community folder. And remove addons I don't need any longer.

6 hours ago, Luke said:

You guys keep saying that, yet there's no blue screen. I can restart the sim and every 2nd or 3rd time it loads fine, and then it doesn't. It has no instability or adverse effects on other software, and I can run p3D for 12+ hours at a time with no instability what so ever.

Additionally, when it freezes the music doesn't stop, and if FSUIPC7 is running it happily keeps going and doesn't report any SimConnect errors until I terminate the sim, which I need to do through task manager since the UI is unresponsive. At that point it gets a SimConnect error.

All the evidence strongly suggests a frozen MSFS process.

Let’s start with your pc config, os version. After that please share graphic settings and rolling cache size.

7 hours ago, Luke said:

You guys keep saying that, yet there's no blue screen. I can restart the sim and every 2nd or 3rd time it loads fine, and then it doesn't. It has no instability or adverse effects on other software, and I can run p3D for 12+ hours at a time with no instability what so ever.

Additionally, when it freezes the music doesn't stop, and if FSUIPC7 is running it happily keeps going and doesn't report any SimConnect errors until I terminate the sim, which I need to do through task manager since the UI is unresponsive. At that point it gets a SimConnect error.

All the evidence strongly suggests a frozen MSFS process.

Doesn't matter that you are not getting blue screens. I was having random MSFS crashes and PC freezes that were an absolute pig to isolate and never had a blue screen once. It would seem to work fine for some flights and then not on others. All games worked fine though. It would only happen in MSFS and p3d. It wouldn't happen for a week and then I couldn't complete a flight in 20 times of trying before working again for another few days etc.

I tried everything from reinstalls to hardware testing but my suspician firmly landed on my recently aquired 6900XT.

I was about to send my 6900XT back but looked on the ASUS website to see if there were any VBIOS updates and there was. Something I never had to do with a graphics card in all my years building my own machines.

THAT was the problem. ASUS had shipped these things with an instability out of the box.

I'm confident that there is something wrong with your configuration. Be it hardware or software or both.

Edited January 2, 20233 yr by Jazz

11 hours ago, turbomax said:

I agree, Macrium Reflect is a great backup tool, have been using the paid version for years. But you don't need an external drive, any drive letter, in- or external will do.

Ah, sure, (my bad) when I said external, I meant separate from the OS drive.

6 hours ago, Noel said:

This tells me we relate to the MSFS exceedingly differently.

Wouldn't argue with that <grin>. I've said a few times on here that for me it's a world sim that I happen to use a plane to move around in. And it is a wonderful beast for that. You mentioned childhood stuff - over here we had a comic in the 1950s called "the Eagle" with a sci-fi character called Dan Dare (all steely eyed/jawed) and his arch enemy was a creature called the Mekon (I think). This was basically a giant head with just a tiny body to carry it arround, and it was transported around on a sort of flying tray with no visible means of propulsion. Now, if I could get one of those trays for MSFS it would be my ideal transport in sim. No nasty buttons or levers to mess with! 

But I completely understand the thing about mastering the systems and becoming completely competent in a particular aircraft. So - enjoy!

And I can't argue that more addons won't potentially introduce problems - statistically that has to be true. My only point was that it's not necessarily an automatic occurence and that there are far more things at play here than just that.

Either way, this is one h*ll of a sim now!

6 hours ago, B777ER said:

Try with FSUIPC7 completely removed.

This ^

Last time I had crashes / freezes / GPU errors was with FSUIPC installed (free version).  I uninstalled it and now I have no issues at all - very stable. 
I only had it installed for a landing rate app, which I don't use any more.
I think FSUIPC doesn't play nicely with some MSFS updates / beta's. or certain add-ons. 

I know the developer works hard at the app, and of course it may have been the landing rate program running through FSUIPC, but most of my crashes / freezes were happening in mid-air. 
I know some people use FSUIPC successfully, but I have no other evidence to go on except this, so maybe it was a complex interaction causing my issues.

Edited January 2, 20233 yr by bobcat999

10 hours ago, Luke said:

You guys keep saying that, yet there's no blue screen. I can restart the sim and every 2nd or 3rd time it loads fine, and then it doesn't. It has no instability or adverse effects on other software, and I can run p3D for 12+ hours at a time with no instability what so ever.

Additionally, when it freezes the music doesn't stop, and if FSUIPC7 is running it happily keeps going and doesn't report any SimConnect errors until I terminate the sim, which I need to do through task manager since the UI is unresponsive. At that point it gets a SimConnect error.

All the evidence strongly suggests a frozen MSFS process.

Luke, the one thing to remember is that MSFS uses many Windows and Nvidia features that P3D has never used. It is very possible that a hardware issue exists, and that it only appears under MSFS. To clarify "hardware issue", it does not necessarily mean that you have a broken machine. It may mean that there is a driver, UEFI (BIOS) setting, or some left over piece of information in a file somewhere that interferes with the proper operation of a device in your system. So, just keep an open mind as to what might be going on. 

I would try a few simple things first.

Clear out leftover MSFS and Windows files - specifically scenery indexes, rolling cache, and, shader files.

1. Delete all .dat files from C:\Users\<YOUR_USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\SceneryIndexes\
2. Delete shader caches by pressing the Windows key and typing "disk". Select disk cleanup from the menu, select your C drive, and check the box for "Direct X Shader Cache". Set other options to your preference.
3. Disable and delete rolling cache in MSFS settings.
4. Disable / remove FSUIPC and every other addon except for the aircraft you are using.

Try a flight. If you still have problems, you have most likely eliminated the "leftover data" option and can move on.

If you are using DX12, switch to DX11. See if that changes anything. Same for the AA mode. Just change it to see if it helps. Some versions of Nvidia drivers have been known to cause problems. Try a different one.

Update the "chipset" drivers. I always recommend that you ONLY install the ones from your motherboard manufacturer's web site. You'll find them all over the place, but I've had the most success (37 yrs in IT) sticking with the MB manufacturers driver.

If none of that works, I would consider heat, power, and dirt. Is the inside of your system clean? If not, vacuum or blow it out. My preferred method is to take it outside and use the exhaust side of my shop vac to blow it out. With the crevice tool attached I can get everything out of the heat sinks, fans, and power supplies and make the thing look brand new without even touching it. I've been mocked for that in the past, but I've done it for many years with hundreds of machines, and very little self inflicted damage. Dirt can work its way into the DIMM and PCI slots over time, particularly if you machine sits as most do with those sockets facing up. Dust settles on the connector, and the constant vibration of the fans helps it work its way down into the connections. Most of the time, I just pull the PCI cards, clean the connections with contact cleaner or alcohol and then reinstall. I do the same thing with memory sticks, but I have an odd personal habit of always putting them back in the opposite bank from whence they came. Most PCs only have 2, so I switch them. I've worked on machines with between 32 and 64 sticks before ECC memory came out when it was not uncommon to find single bit errors in the logs. Swapping sticks between banks would change the address of the failure so if you moved it and didn't get a single bit error in the other bank you knew it was just dirty connections that you fixed when you moved them. Finally, your power supply. I can promise you that MSFS is making your GPU pull more power than P3D did. Most likely, significantly more. Nothing will make a computer act more "wrong" than insufficient or dirty power. I'm not sure what you are running, but don't write off your PS if nothing else works. 

Good luck.

BTW: I think I used to live near Sweat Mountain when I lived in Norcross.

Edited January 2, 20233 yr by MDFlier

he could try DDU to clean out the driver and re install . Also SFC /scannow to check out the file system ?

10 hours ago, pete_auau said:

if it  were  hardware you expect   luke to have  other  issues  with his  pc   since  it  only  related  to msfs

My PC had hardware issues when I first got it, and the only program that had a problem was MSFS. Even the stress tests that the company did showed no problem. 

2 hours ago, bobcat999 said:

This ^

Last time I had crashes / freezes / GPU errors was with FSUIPC installed (free version).  I uninstalled it and now I have no issues at all - very stable. 
I only had it installed for a landing rate app, which I don't use any more.
I think FSUIPC doesn't play nicely with some MSFS updates / beta's. or certain add-ons. 

I know the developer works hard at the app, and of course it may have been the landing rate program running through FSUIPC, but most of my crashes / freezes were happening in mid-air. 
I know some people use FSUIPC successfully, but I have no other evidence to go on except this, so maybe it was a complex interaction causing my issues.

I have had FSUIPC paid version since the day one, 2,000 hours ago, no problems at all. 

37 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

I have had FSUIPC paid version since the day one, 2,000 hours ago, no problems at all. 

Good Bob, like I said - "I know some people use FSUIPC successfully, but I have no other evidence to go on except this, so maybe it was a complex interaction causing my issues".

1 hour ago, bobcat999 said:

Good Bob, like I said - "I know some people use FSUIPC successfully, but I have no other evidence to go on except this, so maybe it was a complex interaction causing my issues".

I use FSUIPC because a few addons depend on it, plus I do program keys to buttons with it, and don't have CTD's except on rare occasions.

38 minutes ago, Noel said:

I use FSUIPC because a few addons depend on it, plus I do program keys to buttons with it, and don't have CTD's except on rare occasions.

Yes, as I said to Bob, probably a complex interaction causing it for me, everyone's set-up is different, but I just don't need it installed now anyway. 
There is always a chance that removing it and my problems stopping was a coincidence, but it is worthwhile the OP trying without it anyway, otherwise what else?  A dead end? 
Like you, when I face problems I keep going and try to isolate the problem.

 

Edited January 2, 20233 yr by bobcat999

I realize this is only antidotal, but like the OP, I was getting CTD (not BSOD) after 30-45 min flight, changing views, exiting Dev Mode, even returning to Main Menu. No rhyme or reason. But after reading B777ER, I tried disabling FSUIPC..Only two flights, but both have not resulted in a CTD yet. Before, no matter condition of Community folder, about the 30 minute flight time and MSFS would CTD..I am not using the registered version of FSUIPC. Bizarre.. Luke, hope you find the issue.. it is extremely frustrating when it's happening to you..

1 hour ago, simtech209 said:

I realize this is only antidotal, but like the OP, I was getting CTD (not BSOD) after 30-45 min flight, changing views, exiting Dev Mode, even returning to Main Menu. No rhyme or reason. But after reading B777ER, I tried disabling FSUIPC..Only two flights, but both have not resulted in a CTD yet. Before, no matter condition of Community folder, about the 30 minute flight time and MSFS would CTD..I am not using the registered version of FSUIPC. Bizarre.. Luke, hope you find the issue.. it is extremely frustrating when it's happening to you..

This is my experience also.

Edited January 3, 20233 yr by bobcat999