Dear Forum members,

I am at my whits end in trying to resolve the CTD's of MSFS 2020 on normal startup. If i restart in basic mode ( it launches normally, but then I have none of my payware software.

The community folder was moved using the Steam MOVE function and two full reinstalls where completed after initial problems with the first attempt. This all came about because i purchased a 2Tb SSD and wanted MSFS to be launched from there.

The Video driver was downgraded, and the realtek sound software was upgraded to the latest version.

I have allowed the system to manage the virtual memory space (it was defined by before by me before hand.)  I have run system checks and Scandisk and all report no issues. I have disabled the virus checker

Before the move, the community folder content caused no issues.

If i go to %Appdata% folder and delete the Microsoft simulator folder completely in Appdata and reboot the computer, when i then restart MSFS it of course wants to reisntall  the total program , but I point it to my existing installation and it resumes normal loading,  it then starts normally for one flight. the next time , back to CTD's 

I have gone through the community folder and have removed any likelihood of suspect add on's. keeping only those needed for my payware add ons.

Still CTD's...

I have spent way to long on this but if anyone out there has any further suggestions I am willing to try

Regards

Ray

There is probably some folder in your Official folder (not the Community folder) which is causing the issue. For me it was one of the Carenado planes (the Cessna 195) which caused the issue.

Since you probably don't have addon linker app to put stuff in and out of the Official  subfolder (usually called Steam or something like One Store) with a couple mouse clicks, then you can do it manually. (I use Steam so it's called Steam on my system).

Just move suspected folders from that folder which is right under the Official folder to a temporary folder, such as one on your desktop. Good candidates for culprits are any folders for addon planes that aren't by Asobo (they each have one folder).

Another clue is if the problem started recently. Look in file Explorer and sort them by date. One thats added more recently might be the bad one.

If you move them all out, then MSFS won't start without installing the whole program again.

If you move out 1/2 of them at a time then you know which half contains the bad folder. If MSFS boots up, then the bad folder is in the 1/2 that you removed. So put half of the removed ones back. Use file explorer to keep them lined up in order, such as by date so you know where you are in the process.

 

 

I think that since you have moved stuff around to accommodate your new ssd, you probably had several pointers pointing either in the wrong direction or at each other, each waiting for the other to do something.  I suggest you backup all your stuff on a external drive, then completely remove ALL of the MSFS system, scrub your system with something like CCleaner, rebooting as necessary before doing a clean install.  You should be able to find guidance around the forums for help. 

Jim Driskell

 

1 hour ago, ray hughes said:

Dear Forum members,

I am at my whits end in trying to resolve the CTD's of MSFS 2020 on normal startup. If i restart in basic mode ( it launches normally, but then I have none of my payware software.

The community folder was moved using the Steam MOVE function and two full reinstalls where completed after initial problems with the first attempt. This all came about because i purchased a 2Tb SSD and wanted MSFS to be launched from there.

The Video driver was downgraded, and the realtek sound software was upgraded to the latest version.

I have allowed the system to manage the virtual memory space (it was defined by before by me before hand.)  I have run system checks and Scandisk and all report no issues. I have disabled the virus checker

Before the move, the community folder content caused no issues.

If i go to %Appdata% folder and delete the Microsoft simulator folder completely in Appdata and reboot the computer, when i then restart MSFS it of course wants to reisntall  the total program , but I point it to my existing installation and it resumes normal loading,  it then starts normally for one flight. the next time , back to CTD's 

I have gone through the community folder and have removed any likelihood of suspect add on's. keeping only those needed for my payware add ons.

Still CTD's...

I have spent way to long on this but if anyone out there has any further suggestions I am willing to try

Regards

Ray

It might be a longshot but try the following:

Open command prompt as administrator and run each of the commands below one by one

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /checkhealth

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /scanhealth

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth

sfc /scannow

Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

Edited August 18, 20232 yr by RJC68

You may luck out using a tool like DDU to root out bad file paths with the vid driver, BUT in my experience, based on what you've said, I agree with Jim @jmdriskell or...really would take it a step further...full format and reinstall OS, drivers, the whole nine yards.

Otherwise you're just messing about wasting time, when you'd be time and aggravation saved just wiping it all.

I suppose as a last resort you could try various cleaner tools and DDU but my confidence level in that sort of thing is not high given all else you've done.

It could be something in the official folder.

Delete/uninstall everything from the official folder.

All of this sounds like a bad/corrupted install vs Asobo/Microsoft.

It would be a lot easier on you, your computer, your patience and everything to completely reinstall Windows (on your preferred drive) and then when you're happy and set up...follow some guides on installing MSFS on your preferred drive.

Again, just reformat, complete reinstall of everything. What happened to you is rare and it sounds like a bad install/move etc.

54 minutes ago, Mace said:

You may luck out using a tool like DDU to root out bad file paths with the vid driver, BUT in my experience, based on what you've said, I agree with Jim @jmdriskell or...really would take it a step further...full format and reinstall OS, drivers, the whole nine yards.

 

Your mention of file paths rang a bell with me as I read this topic.  MSFS installations, and particularily MS Store installations, place MSFS files deep into the folder structure of a system, and especially addons can later have pathname/filename lengths that exceed what Windows will handle.  I forget the number of characters, but there is a constraint.  I believe there is a registry patch that purports to eliminate the restriction, but I had issues back in 2020 with my original MS Store installation and the registry patch was not effective for me.  So I comprehensively removed MSFS from my system, every thread, and reinstalled it. 

I reinstalled it into a shallow location.  D:\MSFS2020. Installed them there, not moved them there.  That does not place all MSFS files into that shallow location.  It just places the underlying Official\OneStore and Community folders there. But even the pathnames to the contents in those shallow folders and their underlying directories can extend to significant lengths.  Lengths that if otherwise installed deep in your system to begin with could cause significant issues. And that is where they go if you do not control the installation location.

In regard to the Addons Linker and the Community folder, even the shortcuts created by Addons Linker contain paths to the files needed by that addon.  So installing addons into a shallow location could also be important.  My addons are stored in an organized set of folders that start in "D:\MSFS Addons", so the paths in the shortcuts created by Addons Linker also fit well inside the pathname filename length permitted by Windows.

Hope I wrote this with enough clarity....

Edited August 19, 20232 yr by fppilot

I also installed MFSF on a separate 2TB SSB and the community folder and my add ons also reside there.  The stuff on the system drive isn't too hard to get to but as stated, the files are several layers down.

If you have the time and not much else on your machine, I agree that a system wipe and reinstall will probably give the best results. 

Jim Driskell

3 hours ago, RJC68 said:

It might be a longshot but try the following:

Open command prompt as administrator and run each of the commands below one by one

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /checkhealth

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /scanhealth

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth

sfc /scannow

Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

I should have mentioned  - already done this, but thanks for the support - appreciated!

after some more trals and restars I started rebuilding the community folder asset by asset. i believe the cause is found - still trialing this but my PMS folder that installs the GTN750 seems to be culprit

It has worked well up until the latest series of CTD's so it is possible it is just corrupted.

By removing this folder from the Community folder i can at lease access my payware scenery and aircraft at the moment.

Fingers crossed.

I would like to thank all contributors as there has been some good  pragmatic advice from members.

Thanks for all your contributions. (And if this doesn't work, I will let you all know.)

Kind Regards

Ray

Uninstall and go to X Plane 12, you won't regret it.

4 hours ago, fppilot said:

Your mention of file paths rang a bell with me as I read this topic.  MSFS installations, and particularily MS Store installations, place MSFS files deep into the folder structure of a system, and especially addons can later have pathname/filename lengths that exceed what Windows will handle.

Jeez...

Actually, one of MS suggestions was to move the installation to a custom folder, also to avoid issues with beta versions. And I have to say that since I moved it to the short path "C:\MSFS Packages" I stopped having problems. 

Before, my logbook and consequently landing challenges and bush trips have been wiped twice following two sim updates (SU5 and SU7 if I remember well).

This is something unacceptable from a *Microsoft* AAAAAA+ game and MUST be fixed.

P.S. To OP, frankly the situation seems a total mess and if I were you, I'd clean reinstall both Windows and MSFS. 

Edited August 19, 20232 yr by MrFuzzy

.

 

Edited August 19, 20232 yr by turbomax

 You are uninstalling the wrong thing...Complete a re-do of your Windows-10, erasing EVERYTHING...backing up your documents ect. DO NOT reinstall ANYTHING, re-download any payware, including MSFS...Dont make custom folders/directory's, change only the drive..You a;ready know. this needs to be done, as the registry and who knows what else is corrupted..best fix there is ..

6 hours ago, johnbla said:

Uninstall and go to X Plane 12, you won't regret it.

As long as you don't mind the terrible scenery.