Bazza, I had that with my 256 meg ATI 1950 Pro, running with SP2 and a harbor view of Victoria Plus. I did not even have the BUFFERPOOLS in my FSX.cfg file.When I went back to SP1, I had no such problem, and still great graphics.Mitch

Barry, it's not an SP2 issue.Try Mike's tweaks, they can really help.(I suggest to let FSX build a new FSX.cfg)Check also if your graphic card/cables are well plugged and perform a 3DMark test to see if everything is OK with your hardware-----------------Dave, I beg to differ. I had no such problems with FSX, FSXSP1,...but in running with FSX2 at Victoria Plus harbor for about 5 minutes, exactly what Bazza shows, came upon my screen.I dumped SP2, reapplied SP1, and back to great graphics with no artifacts. The ONLY thing I did, was apply SP2 over SP1 and then rebooted. The artifacts came up shortly, after that.MitchATI 256 meg 1950 Pro card.

>I dumped SP2, reapplied SP1, and back to great graphics with>no artifacts. Hi Mitch What do you mean "reapplied SP1" - are you saying that you installed SP1 again after uninstalling SP2?I am a bit mystified by the fact that I do not appear to have any facility to uninstall SP1 (not that I want to) - but only have FSx in the add/remove programmes section of Control Panel. I have flown to a place that was "fixed" in SP1 (Lisbon Harbour) and my Sim is appearing as it should. See here http://www.fsinsider.com/developers/Pages/...sforFSXSP1.aspx

I un-installed SP2 due to constant crashes. I ran the SP2 install file again and it asked to Install or Un-Install SP2. I selected Un-Install.So, I would suspect it is the same for SP1.Richard

>>>I dumped SP2, reapplied SP1, and back to great graphics with>>no artifacts. >>Hi Mitch >>What do you mean "reapplied SP1" - are you saying that you>installed SP1 again after uninstalling SP2?>>I am a bit mystified by the fact that I do not appear to have>any facility to uninstall SP1 (not that I want to) - but only>have FSx in the add/remove programmes section of Control>Panel. I have flown to a place that was "fixed" in SP1 (Lisbon>Harbour) and my Sim is appearing as it should. See here>http://www.fsinsider.com/developers/Pages/...sforFSXSP1.aspx---------------------------------------------Hi Bazza,I (as you already know) did not 'uninstall SP1' after using the uninstall feature in the SP2 install mask. I just ran the SP1 install program once more so it overwrote its own files to make sure that they were not corrupted by the SP2 install/uninstall.I then rebooted (no reason, other than why not...lol) the whole system and fired up both UTX U.S. and Canada feature screens so they wrote to the .cfg file again...and then did a reinstall of the GEXnhanced textures on its own mask/screen. I am back to a great FSX world with very sustainable FPS's in the 20-25's. I am most happy, and have no intention of looking in the other person's back-TWEAK-yard. LOLOLOL! In the poor vernacular, "..if it ain't broke...don't fix it!".... I 'ain't' fixin' it no more! :) It's 'done' bein' fixed!(Read the above with a HillBilly accent, lol)The SP1 oceans...man..are they ever beautiful to behold once again! Correction; I should say the SP1/UTX/GEXn oceans are beautiful to behold once again. Oh..I just got back from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina whilst on vacation...and in FSX...the ACTUAL ocean color depths are so faithfully reproduced...I almost sputtered coffee onto the screen when observing it/them taking off from R18. There is a rather large patch of shallow water at your 10 o'clock position about a quarter mile off-shore with hues of green/blue in the real world that is, believe-or-not---right there where it should be in FSX's Myrtle Beach off-shore. That is how faithful FSX really is. I can only now sing praises of FSX-Plus (UTX/GEXn), and am one very satisfied FSX'er...Mitch'er

>I just ran the>SP1 install program once more so it overwrote its own files to>make sure that they were not corrupted by the SP2>install/uninstall.Hi Mitch Thanks for thatSounds like it could be a good idea - but I think I won't do that for now - as you said, I'm tired of fixing things that aren't broken (for now :-) ) so I will see how FSx with FS1 installed plays out . Looking good so far - and I am very interested in putting TileProxy into itBarry

Like mentioned above - that's clearly a sign of vRAM exhaustion.Heiko

>Like mentioned above - that's clearly a sign of vRAM>exhaustion.>>HeikoNO-NO-NO! You clearly haven't read all my postings. This problem was evident, regardless of any/all settings chosen within the Sim and regardless of the amount of vid card RAM used.The ONLY thing that has eliminated it has been to eliminate SP2Barry

A 256MB card is PLENTY for running FSX if you're not planning to have everything maxed out.I've been using one since the day FSX was released (literally) without problems.Either that card is damaged (maybe by that "cleaning" operation) or it's a bad driver.

With all due respect to people trying to help, please don't post wild guesses.A 256MB card is more than enough for FSX, a 128MB card will run it without issue.

AS the original poster - I am not too sure which subsequent posts are for me or at aimed at others.Where I am with all this now - is that MY PROBLEM IS FIXED! :-) Cleaning the card was a really good idea - because it badly needed it -- but didn't fix the problem Installing the latest ATI drivers was perhaps a good idea - but didn't fix the problem.Installing and using a programme called MEMSTATUS was a really good idea because it has taught me to see just what the effect of the scenery sliders are on video RAM usage. It also taught me that I could use lower scenery settings (such as a lower LEVEL_OF_DETAIL_RADIUS)which uses less video RAM but with no discernable differences onscreen -- but it didn't fix the problem.Uninstalling SP2 was a REALLY, REALLY good idea - because it did fix the problemSo, I now know that my completely standard FSx installation is running really nicely for the type of flying I do (mostly bush and regional)stuff - and I don't have to buy a 512 MB vid card.That is not to say that sometime in the future, if I start to use complex addons, etc , I may have to purchase further equipment.Barry

>Installing the latest ATI drivers was perhaps a good idea ->but didn't fix the problem.You must have a different definition for the term "fix" then...What removing SP2 did was remove the software bits-and-bytes of the update that caused your system to become overstressed, and thereby manifest the visual artifacts.Now, having removed the 'stressors' you're back to an enjoyable experience - which is after all is what you wanted......but that is by no stretch of the term a "fix." :)

Patient to Doctor : When I do this ( hitting head against wall) , it hurts.Doctor to Patient : Well, stop doing that!!Marx Brothers - I think.Barry

Well - it looks like my cleaning of my video card and installation of the latest ATI drivers is all in vainFSx is running well - with good FPS and visuals -- EXCEPT that I am getting this belowI have seen other posts with this sort of thing elsewhere - but nobody seems to have an answerThe only thing now that I can think of is to uninstall FSx SP2Barryhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/186859.jpg

>>Uninstalling SP2 was a REALLY, REALLY good idea - because it>did fix the problem>Some months ago, I had a similar problem with artifacts appearing when playing FSX. However, unlike you, I pinpointed the problem to be with my graphic card's fan which I subsequently discovered to be malfunctioning. It was not adequately cooling my card, causing overheating and the resultant visual artifacts during playing FSX. A replacement with a new fan fixed the problem.A friend of mine, who also shares an enthusiasm for FSX, curiously developed the same problem just a few weeks ago. At the time, I told him to check his video card's fan as one of the possible causes. He promptly replaced his fan with a new one, without checking if his temperatures were really elevated to begin with. Needless to say, the replacement of the fan did not solve his problem with the artifacting in FSX.I just told him about the problem you had and how you fixed it. He had installed SP2 just before the artifacting started occurring, and both of us had not realized the association. He uninstalled SP2, and guess what - his problem is fixed, no more artifacts! Anyway, I am glad a solution was found that fixed the problem for you, and through knowledge of your fix, fixed the problem for my friend as well.My own problem with artifacts had a different cause, as SP2 has not caused me any problems, it seems to run smoothly on my system. But apparently my friend and you, and others may be susceptible to a unique set of circumstances with hardware/software and SP2 which cause the problem. Well, thanks for letting us know about this fix, I have a very grateful friend here. :)