Constant CTD all of a Sudden

[ErichB 3,674]

1 hour ago, Brocky120 said:

Hmm, RealTek audio driver could still be an issue (there are a lot of threads on it). Are you able to uninstall it and play with no sound and see if the issue still occurs?

Interestingly, I've run a driver fix/updater utility which is suggesting about 5 separate Realtek updates.  Normally my Intel Driver updater prompts me for these updates, but it hasn't in this case.  This was a separate driver updater utility.    It may just be an outdated Realtek driver afterall....  

I will install them this eve and let you know.

Edited August 17, 2023 by ErichB

[Brocky120 65]

1 hour ago, ErichB said:

Interestingly, I've run a driver fix/updater utility which is suggesting about 5 separate Realtek updates.  Normally my Intel Driver updater prompts me for these updates, but it hasn't in this case.  This was a separate driver updater utility.    It may just be an outdated Realtek driver afterall....  

I will install them this eve and let you know.

You can try it, but it’s always been a long standing issue with the Realtek audio drivers. Personally I would uninstall it and try the sim first, then if it still crashes, you can update to the latest one

[ErichB 3,674]

 

26 minutes ago, Brocky120 said:

You can try it, but it’s always been a long standing issue with the Realtek audio drivers. Personally I would uninstall it and try the sim first, then if it still crashes, you can update to the latest one

Sure, will try without it first

[udidwht 139]

9 hours ago, ErichB said:

 

Sure, will try without it first

What Realtek chip is the motherboard using?

[Sonosusto 728]

On 5/5/2023 at 11:39 AM, PilotPete99 said:

Hello - Not sure what's going on. but over the last few days, I can't complete a flight without a CTD at some point before arrive. I rarely over got these up until now. Just now, in PMDG 737, enroute from EGAC to EIDW, about 20 miles from EIDW. I am not sure what is going on, but hardware shouldn't be an issue. Any ideas? Here are my specs: Intel Core i7-11700F @ 2.50Ghz, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 @12GB, 32GB RAM DDR4, and no overclocking. I'm using the latest GeForce Game Ready Driver 531.79. Thanks in advance.

Cheers, Pete

All of the above. Did you find a solution yet?

[PilotPete99 918]

17 minutes ago, Sonosusto said:

All of the above. Did you find a solution yet?

I think the issue was the latest Nvidia driver. After I rolled it back, all was fine.

Cheers, Pete

[Sonosusto 728]

4 minutes ago, PilotPete99 said:

I think the issue was the latest Nvidia driver. After I rolled it back, all was fine.

Cheers, Pete

Glad to hear. I had rolled back those a while ago due to CTD's. Still got those so I just updated the nvidia drivers and have better results now.

It's just silly to me.

[PilotPete99 918]

1 minute ago, Sonosusto said:

Glad to hear. I had rolled back those a while ago due to CTD's. Still got those so I just updated the nvidia drivers and have better results now.

It's just silly to me.

Yep, the latest ones have been good. Every few updates we get a lemon for some reason.

Cheers, Pete

[udidwht 139]

No issues here with 536.99 (Latest)

[ErichB 3,674]

23 hours ago, Brocky120 said:

download Prime95 and running a stress test on Large FFT's for 30 minutes to see if any CPU cores fail or stop, and as @Bob Scott mention keep an eye on your temps using Hwinfo.

My PC did not like this at all.   Within 4 seconds of starting the Prime95 stress test, my PC blue screened.  I had to do a system restore to get it back.  Is this a hardware issue maybe?  Everything is backed up so I have no issue with resetting the PC /reinstalling Windows.  Really tempted to just reinstall Windows and MSFS to see if that sorts out the issue.  

If that doesn't work I am rebuilding my system next month so not too big a deal.  

The things we do to watch pixels fly by on our screens...

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by ErichB

[bobcat999 8,550]

3 hours ago, ErichB said:

My PC did not like this at all.   Within 4 seconds of starting the Prime95 stress test, my PC blue screened.  I had to do a system restore to get it back.  Is this a hardware issue maybe?  Everything is backed up so I have no issue with resetting the PC /reinstalling Windows.  Really tempted to just reinstall Windows and MSFS to see if that sorts out the issue.  

If that doesn't work I am rebuilding my system next month so not too big a deal.  

The things we do to watch pixels fly by on our screens...

 

Frustrating for you Erich! 😕

About three years ago I installed 32GB of Corsair RAM, set it to XMP (3600) and put it through a full Memtest86.  It passed no problems.

Just recently I have had some stability issues (CTDs, Blue Screens, and sometimes programs just shutting down). No CPU overclock.

I ran Memtest86 again, and the same RAM failed.  Red screen, and plenty of errors  I repeated the test, same result.

So I ordered a couple of Kingston Fury Renegade sticks off Amazon.  Same day delivery an at a good price. 
These are exactly the same spec as the previous (XMP 3600) but slightly better refresh.  I removed my old RAM, slotted these in, they passed Memtest86 twice fully green.

Sometimes RAM just goes bad after a while.  I have had this happen twice in the last nine or ten years with different motherboards and CPU's, my brother was a PC engineer, and said while it isn't regular, he saw RAM fail more often than you would think, especially after a few years.  The XMP settings obviously run it hard, but then it is sold as XMP, so that is what we do.  I am not going to run it at 2400 that's for sure, but it is a balance - The candle that burns the brightest lasts the shortest!  

Not sure if you can run Memtest86?  It is normally in the BIOS menu.  That is the best way to test the RAM.  One complete test can last about 90 minutes on my PC and it is quite rigorous.  If it fails on just one line, one red line in Memtest86, it is no good and will let you down, it has to go! 

Edited August 18, 2023 by bobcat999

[Brocky120 65]

3 hours ago, ErichB said:

My PC did not like this at all.   Within 4 seconds of starting the Prime95 stress test, my PC blue screened.  I had to do a system restore to get it back.  Is this a hardware issue maybe?  Everything is backed up so I have no issue with resetting the PC /reinstalling Windows.  Really tempted to just reinstall Windows and MSFS to see if that sorts out the issue.  

If that doesn't work I am rebuilding my system next month so not too big a deal.  

The things we do to watch pixels fly by on our screens...

 

Ouch thats a big problem! Ok two things:

 

1) Reset your BIOS to defaults, this will clear any potential CPU/RAM misconfigurations etc.
2) Ensure nothing is overheating (specifically the CPU) on HWINFO.

 

Failing that, check both/all RAM sticks and ensure they are exactly the same, same numbers, same version, same voltage etc on the sticker

[Brocky120 65]

3 hours ago, ErichB said:

My PC did not like this at all.   Within 4 seconds of starting the Prime95 stress test, my PC blue screened.  I had to do a system restore to get it back.  Is this a hardware issue maybe?  Everything is backed up so I have no issue with resetting the PC /reinstalling Windows.  Really tempted to just reinstall Windows and MSFS to see if that sorts out the issue.  

If that doesn't work I am rebuilding my system next month so not too big a deal.  

The things we do to watch pixels fly by on our screens...

 

Ouch thats a big problem! Ok two things:

 

1) Reset your BIOS to defaults, this will clear any potential CPU/RAM misconfigurations etc.
2) Ensure nothing is overheating (specifically the CPU) on HWINFO.

 

Failing that, check both/all RAM sticks and ensure they are exactly the same, same numbers, same version, same voltage etc on the sticker

[Bob Scott 7,782]

7 hours ago, ErichB said:

My PC did not like this at all.   Within 4 seconds of starting the Prime95 stress test, my PC blue screened.  I had to do a system restore to get it back.  Is this a hardware issue maybe?  Everything is backed up so I have no issue with resetting the PC /reinstalling Windows.  Really tempted to just reinstall Windows and MSFS to see if that sorts out the issue.  

If that doesn't work I am rebuilding my system next month so not too big a deal.  

The things we do to watch pixels fly by on our screens...

Blowing up a few seconds into P95 is a pretty clear indication of a hardware problem.  If your system is overclocked, the silicon may have degraded over time just enough to put something on the bad side of the ragged edge of stability under load.  So re-running the overclock drill, starting at stock settings, would be in order.  That said, if you're gonna do a new build in less than a month, I'd just set things to stock and see if that works well enough to gap you to the new build.

As suggested above, a run of Memtest86+ is a good idea, as I have seen more issues with RAM than any other component over 30 years of computer building.  If it fails the test, downclocking it from XMP and/or bumping up the Vdimm voltage a hundredth of a volt or two might bring things back to stability.

 

[ErichB 3,674]

41 minutes ago, Bob Scott said:

Blowing up a few seconds into P95 is a pretty clear indication of a hardware problem.  If your system is overclocked, the silicon may have degraded over time just enough to put something on the bad side of the ragged edge of stability under load.  So re-running the overclock drill, starting at stock settings, would be in order.  That said, if you're gonna do a new build in less than a month, I'd just set things to stock and see if that works well enough to gap you to the new build.

As suggested above, a run of Memtest86+ is a good idea, as I have seen more issues with RAM than any other component over 30 years of computer building.  If it fails the test, downclocking it from XMP and/or bumping up the Vdimm voltage a hundredth of a volt or two might bring things back to stability.

 

Well, I've reinstalled W11 and MSFS.  Ran another Prime95 test with a resulting crash within seconds, so I guess it's conclusive that it is hardware.   I will set the overclock back to default and see if it behaves.  Will let you know.

thanks