"Seriously, it is a memory error - period."It is very easy to make a statement like that - what evidence do you have to support this statement.?My evidence is that I continued to have this "problem" REGARDLESS of the scenery settings within FSx, and hence regardless of vid RAM usage. This problem occured even when all of the settings were set to their lowest values - and there was absolutely the lowest usage of Vid ram.However, after I uninstalled SP2, I can now operate my settings as high as I like -- obviously high settings also impact on FPS and therefore I don't fly all the time on these high settings but set them at a point (depending on just whereabouts I am flying)that allow workable FPS, but my point is that the graphical glitches are GONE with SP2 gone.!Barry

Things are always different down under, Barry. :)When I first had the problem I spent weeks reading everything I could on every tech forum I could google. If you want the proof - do the same, I don't keep links I just remember what I've learned.It's a graphics issue not an FSX one, those types of artifacts are caused by overloading the graphic system, usually the memory. BTW,I am not disputing that on your system removing SP2 fixed the issue. On my system, it did not. Doesn't make me right, doesn't make you wrong. It is what it is but no matter how you slice it, it comes down to a memory issue.Whatever the cause (SP2, SP1, driver, etc) the end result is memory corruption which results in spikes.Q9650 E0 CPU 3.0 o/c 4.06Asus Rampage Extreme X48 4G XP2-18200 DDR3 1800FSB Mushkin 996587 RAM 8-8-8-24-1T1-74G Raptor - XP System1-74G Raptor - Data1-320G 7200 - Programs 1-150G Raptor - FSX 1-500G 7200 HD for backup SATA DVD burner Evga 8800GTS 640 PCIx XG 180.48 702/1620/792Kandalf LCS case w/ built in liquid cooling 850W Thermaltake power supplyHannsG 28" 1920x1200Viewsonic 22" 1680x1050http://www.hifisim.com/banners/hifi-supporter-sigbanner.jpg

Just an FYI - Adding bufferpool reserve can cause this issue if the user reserves too much.I typically do not suggest 512 cards even try to tweak poolsize, only 640 and upThis issue can be caused by the following:1. Out of video memory.. most common - sliders too high or bufferpools too high for the installed hardware2. Overclocked video memory - video memory clocked too high3. Out of memory error >2GB in 32bit OS - this can be seen just before the system goes into a full blown OOM. Use the boot.ini file for XP or the cache edit in Vista to correct address space problems which can lead to OOM errors.http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_post...D=156305#1563054. Video card overheating - could be clock, dirt in the HS or fan failure, or, lack of good airflow in the tower5. Defective hardware or bad driver NOTE: After FSX SP2 and above driver 17xxx this can be seen for brief moments on the screen just after flight load and the first time you visually pan around the aircraft. After that the spikes from autogen go away. In this case flashes should only be seen on initial load and pan and they should not be constant. Seeing these spikes varies from driver to driver and hardware/settings combinations. Some may see them some may not however they should not remain on the screen during flight. If they do, one of the items above is the cause.Those are the only items and variants on them which will cause the OP's issue

I got these artifacts about 18 months ago. For the past 18 months I have used FSx in exactly the same way that I used it then - the hardware has not changed, my drivers have not changed, my video settings have not changed. No OOM's ever - no blurries.Only one thing has changed since the time that I was getting these artifacts and now, 18 months later - and that is the removal of SP2. So if FSx runs as well as I need using SP1 on the hardware that I have - without artifacts -- but does have artifacts if I install SP2?? What more can I say.I am sure that if I purchased a whole new computer - this problem would probably go away - but removing SP2 is fine with me. Barry

Did I or did I not say that SP2 with some combinations of hardware will invoke this issue when the flight first loads?Yesif you were seeing it past that then there is obviously a combination present which is forcing the problem to show more than it should.I do agree that in many cases it is invoked by SP2 but one can see the same thing if they run out of video memory in SP1 though the list I posted aboveIf its a problem past initial flight load then there is obviously something the hardware and SP2 do not like about each other and I do understand the frustration around that.I believe the reason is becasue of changes in SP2 and in how autogen is called. They made changes to the terrain engine and autogen in SP2 which this issue appears to be attached to.