FS2002 about ready to bite the dust :-( (Long)

[Guest]

Well folks,I have been a user of MSFS since 5.0 and a participating member of the AVSIM forums for over five years, but I have just about had it with FS2002. At last count I had over 175 error messages in my watchdog log file. Almost all say the same thing(See Below)//// Watchdog Event Log File//LogType: WatchdogCreated: 2002-05-10 12:59:08TimeZone: 300 - Eastern Standard TimeWindowsVersion: XPEventType: 0xEA - Thread Stuck in Device Driver//// The driver for the display device got stuck in an infinite loop. This// usually indicates a problem with the device itself or with the device// driver programming the hardware incorrectly. Please check with your// display device vendor for any driver updates.//ShutdownCount: 1125Shutdown: 0EventCount: 171BreakCount: 171BugcheckTriggered: 1DebuggerNotPresent: 1DriverName: nv4_dispEventFlag: 1DeviceClass: DisplayDeviceDescription: NVIDIA GeForce2 UltraHardwareID: PCIVEN_10DE&DEV_0152&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_A4Manufacturer: NVIDIADriverFixedFileInfo: FEEF04BD 00010000 0005000D 0001050A 0005000D 0001050A 0000003F 00000008 00040004 00000003 00000004 00000000 00000000DriverCompanyName: NVIDIA CorporationDriverFileDescription: NVIDIA Compatible Windows 2000 Display driver, Version 12.90 DriverFileVersion: 5.13.01.1290DriverInternalName: nv_disp.dllDriverLegalCopyright: Copyright

[Guest]

Before you give up, why don't you toss XP and install Win98? Then load FS, and all the drivers that come with your devices. Then visit this site:http://www.tweak3d.net/Do not start upgrading drivers until you have your system and FS running. I have found that the newest drivers are not always the best. FS2002 IS worth the effort!HarryCVA5812

[FS Robert 52]

Hi Gunney,My Heart Goes Out To You...I can think you have tried about everything, but have you tried running in 16bit color and installed a very safe driver with your grafic card such as the 12.90

[Guest SD Sim]

Hi Jim,You have my sympathy. This must be very frustrating. I see from your post that you are running the 12.90 drivers, and I would think that these should be very suitable for your card. My first question is whether this is a problem internal to FS2K2, or is system wide. Can you run a benchmarking program such as 3DMark2001SE to see if all goes smoothly? If this runs without a problem, then the next question is whether your crashes are time dependent, i.e. do they occur after a certain period of flying, of are they sporadic? If the problems seem to eminate from within FS2K2, then have you tried a clean install of the software (don't forget to backup then toss any add-ons that aren't removed by the uninstall). I run XP home and Pro without incident, so I wouldn't worry about changing your OS. Finally, you may want to make sure that you don't have residual drivers floating around on your hard disk. I have never used it, but I understand that there is software designed to eliminate all traces of VC drivers. This might be worth a shot and then reinstall the 12.90 set. Keep us up to date. Hopefully we can get you back up in the air quickly :-)

[Guest]

I did some searching on this and found a couple posts that had similar Watchdog reported "infinite loop" errors.If you go to http://www.dejanews.com and search for "watchdog infinite loop" you might find some answers there. Here's a couple of direct links to threads claiming they fixed it.http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&fram...1.tn.home.com#shttp://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&fram...40news.eol.ca#sAnd heres several threads regarding the ILhttp://amdmb.com/vb/showthread.php?threadi...t=infinite+loophttp://amdmb.com/vb/search.php?action=show...rder=descendingHope this helps, it must be frustrating.CJ PuttKTPA

[Guest]

You can't use the WinXP/Nvidia display driver/via chipset combination. I've never heard of a fix for this well known problem.you should be able to find lots about it, but partition your drive, put 98SE and FS2002 in the new partition, and enjoy this wonderful game.michael.

[Guest SD Sim]

Hi Michael,I have WinXP pro, Det 28.32 (for GF4 Ti4600), and Via 4 in 1 drivers. What is this well known problem that cannot be fixed? I certainly don't have it. Perhaps you can post a link to a discussion regarding this problem. Maybe in examining my system I might be able to find a solution for those less fortunate?

[Guest]

David,It seems the problem is associated with the AMD, via Chipset and NVidia combination. I installed the 4.35 4 in one drivers yesterday and still had infinite loop lockups. This is a wide spread problem with the above combo, but it seems there is not just one solution to it. If I knew how to partition my drive, or even install Windows 98SE over XP, I would try that solution.Jim Golden, GySgt, USMC (Ret.)

[Guest Murf]

I'm running XP Pro on an AMD Athlon XP 1800 CPU with the Aus A7 motherboard using the KT266A VIA chipset. I have a ChainTech GeForce 3 TI200 video card. I'm running the latest VIA drivers and nVidia drivers.Knock on wood, I'm not having any problems with this hardware and FS2K2. This is the first I've heard of this well known problem.I hope you can find a solution to your troubles.- Murf

[Guest]

Seeing as you've bought the system to play FS2K2 and have tried getting the latest drivers and all, then I seriously agree with simnuts' suggestion. Toss XP and install Win 98. I don't want to start a flame war about XP vs 98. But it's just that Win 98's been around longer. Most probably your problem could be because of your choice of hardware e.g. Mobo + display combo (i'm just guessing here) with which XP is not too comfy with. Most likely the issue does not exist under Win98. FS 2K2 is a great program and if it's possible just try this alternative before chucking your FS CDs.I run FS2K2 under Win98 and have had no issues at all. You could also try getting the latest DirectX drivers and installing them and see if that helps. If you are able to try it under Win98 do post back and let us know the outcome. I'm sure it'll make interesting reading :). best regards alwaysP.S. This just popped into my head, you might want to try and see if your MotherBoard manufacturer has updated the drivers for the motherboard you have.

[Guest]

The combination of AMD, nVidia and Via chipsets is one of the most commonly used combos by FS, and other gamers in general. Although there were some reports of problems with this combo those problems are from the past, with the newer drivers and chipset versions, I don't think it is a problem anymore. I have been using the AMD CPU with VIA chipsets and nVidia graphic chip for a couple of years and have never experienced any problems with them.Some of the problems that users experience are usually linked to some other hardware and/or software on the system. I, for example, experienced a problem of not being able to run the 3d glasses on my PC, and even though I have tried everything I could think of, I had to eventually give up and return the glasses. Other people with the same basic spec's as my system had no problems running same glasses.So I guess it's a crap shoot trying to figure out why some systems have a problem, while other same basic components, don't.http://home.mmcable.com/stepanoff/images/OK_c2.gifPete S

[Guest]

I'll back you there, Windows 2000 here with a Via/AMD/nVidia combo, one crash EVER.Windows XP - forget about uptime with anything, I flame out during the installation :-lolWindows 98 Second Edition is still the best gamers OS out there. It works, all the time, and can be fixed 99% of the time when there is a problem with a simple quick reload on top of itself. Drivers are widely available for EVERYTHING on the planet. Drivers actually work!Ray

[Guest]

Install Windows 98SE? I have the disk. Do I have to uninstall XP? I don't have a clue for the proper procedures to change an OS. Any help out there? Thanks for all the suggestions.Jim Golden, GySgt, USMC (Ret.)

[Guest]

I'm not quite sure about uninstalling XP. But I guess uninstalling XP basically means you'll need to zap your hard drive partition containing XP, with fdisk (provided with win98) or some such utility. I haven't really worked with XP but I figure there should be a similar utility.Then using fdisk again you'll need to create a new partition and format it. After this just pop in the Win98 CD and boot from it, the installer comes into play. Make sure you have all your driver cds ready (Graphics card driver, Sound driver, Mouse driver. Normally the install detects all your devices just fine, but if it doesn't then you'll need to provide the necessary drivers for Win98 from those driver cds. The rest of the install is pretty intuitive and should take about 20 minutes tops.regards

[Guest]

Hi GunneyThis may help. I had the same problem as you - same error reports, same level of frustration.I eventually went into my BIOS and turned every setting down to minimum. This immediately solved the problem, then I went through a process of gradually increasing the settings until the problem re-appeared. The problem was the memory timing - I had it turned up too high. It's now at one setting below maximum with no noticeable loss of performance, and it solved my problem.Might be worth a try....CheersAMD Athlon 1.4WinXP HomeGF3 Ti200512MBNo Via drivers installed