FSX freezes mid flight

[tamba765 54]

I have a brand new powerful Windows 7, 64 bit  machine that is dedicated to FSX. There are no unrelated programs installed. The 8-9 minute freezes happened with my old computer, and they're happening again! As others have said, the freezes are completely random. They can happen after 10 minutes or 10 hours of flight. I have no .config enhancements. The only change I made was to add the HIGHMEMFIX. I don't use FSUIPC, and have no VAS or OOM problems. I've also installed the UI Automation core fix and tried all the other suggestions without success. Many of us have had this problem for years, and I have yet to see any "fix" ideas that really work. I've even tried running FSX with all the addons disabled. I've reinstalled FSX from scratch, and it still happens. I always notice a bright flash or a sudden increase in screen brightness just prior to the freezes.  At any rate, there's something that all of us experiencing this frustrating problem, must have in common. I only wish I new what it was, because nobody else seems to know. Thank you to all who have tried to help. 

[Jim Young 2,356]

 

 

Many of us have had this problem for years, and I have yet to see any "fix" ideas that really work. I've even tried running FSX with all the addons disabled.

 

I wish there was a fix, a "magic bullet" that would end all crashes but there is not.  Very rarely are there crashes where the cause is a known fix.  All computer systems are different and people have them set up in several different configurations.  I doubt there are any two computers in the world owned by individuals that are exactly the same.  When you employ tweaks, those tweaks do things to your computer that might work great in other computers but not your system.  There are a lot of computer "experts" offering magical tweaks and some are really good and some are really bad (like the BufferPool).  When you first installed FSX and ran it for the first time without any addons and basically at the default settings, it ran great (or should have) with fps soaring (I had my fps running close to 300 fps when I first installed fsx on my current Haswell system.  Now I'm subjected to 80-90 fps with them dropping dramatically to around 25-30 when flying into heavy commercial scenery.  I use no tweaks in my Fsx.cfg but do tweak the LOD_Radius to 6.5 (fsx max is 4.5) and Texture_Max_Load is set to 2048 (which is HD textures).  Runs great but I too get periodic crashes because my dll.xml might be corrupted with leftovers from uninstalled programs or I had a sudden loss of the Coautl.exe menu in the FSX menu and had to reinstall the latest Addon Manager for my FSDT products.  If you are going to blame one product for all of your fsx woes, you need to sit back and take a deep breath because thousands of people have the same product that is causing you grief and it's working great for them.

 

You should install the FSUIPC.dll utility.  It is freeware and it will protect you from some (not all) of the g3d.dll ctd's.  It will also warn you when your system is getting low of VAS and about to run out of memory (it dings in the background).

 

If you are having crashes/freezes, then you need to download and run AppCrashView as the OP did above and post the results in a NEW topic.  It is very difficult to maintain track of several different crashes in one topic.  Then we can take a look at the reports and see if we can spot something that might have caused your crashes.

 

Best regards,

Jim

[tamba765 54]

     I understand all that you're saying. I've monitored the virtual size limit while running FSX and I don't get anywhere near it. I had FSUIPC installed, but it interfered with FSinn, installing a FSUIPC file in the FSinn program, and preventing communication with ATC. Deleting the file didn't help. I had to reinstall FSinn after uninstalling FSUIPC. Please don't ask me why or how this happened, because I'm clueless. I uninstalled FSUIPC and FSinn worked fine after that.

      Is the FSUIPC.dll utility a stand alone item or do you have to install the entire FSUIPC program. I have the payware version, but it is uninstalled. I downloaded  AppCrashView and WhatIsHang. When I get another freeze, I'll post the results. BTW, do you notice a bright flash just before a freeze, like I always do? I don't get CTDs, just freezes (FSX not responding)

[Jim Young 2,356]

FSInn/FSCoPilot have caused problems for many if not configured properly and the developer is adamant that they be configured properly to work.  That's all I know about FSInn.  I never heard of any issues with FSInn and FSUIPC.  I ran a Google search for FSInn and FSUIPC and did not see any problems with the two programs.  I didn't read them all though. 

[Jim Young 2,356]

 

 

Is the FSUIPC.dll utility a stand alone item or do you have to install the entire FSUIPC program.

 

I do not understand this question.  It's a standalone program unless you implement any of the tools.  I have the registered version and have never used any of the tools.  I do look at the FSUIPC.log after a flight though to see if it trapped any g3d.dll faults.  Usually it traps about 10-50 as session depending on where I'm flying.  Sometimes I see no issues whatsoever.

 

I do not notice any bright flash before or during a freeze.  FSX just stops working and I can see the flight and hear the sound in the background but the flight will not move.  I fixed my freezes by discovering that it happened only if I enabled AS2012 before the flight.  If I enabled the default weather program (which is really AS2012 as AS2012 takes over even your default weather), no freezes.  I could replicate this 100% of the time.  This was with my old Sandy Bridge i7 2600K system though.  Now I have a Haswell, have activated AS2012 before a flight and no problems.  Freezes can happen if you have a non-FSX program running in the background that might be running a service schedule.  You know, one that goes on the Internet and looks for an update and may even download the update.  Having Internet Explorer running in the background can cause issues too as a lot of resources from all over are being used.  If FSX was a modern program, it might run better with today's modern systems.  It does for the most part but there definitely are occasional glitches which really frustrate those who are not an expert with computers.

 

Best regards,

Jim

[tamba765 54]

     So, if I understand you correctly, you have FSUIPC running, but you're just not enabling or using any of it's features, right? I actually had this problem before I ever used AS2012. By default weather, do you mean you enable FSX real world updates and winds aloft? I tried this and had all kinds of wind shift problems. If you don't enable AS2012 before the flight to get winds and your flight plan, when do you activate it? I don't  have any service schedule stuff running. I have Vattastic running, but that's all I can think of. I installed FSinn just like the directions said and I have the weather disabled.

     I was a real world Airline Pilot, so I'm probably expecting too much from this outdated program.   I do get frustrated, and I'm not a computer expert, but I guess you already know that.

     Sorry for all the questions. Thanks

Pete Locascio.

[Jim Young 2,356]

 

 

So, if I understand you correctly, you have FSUIPC running, but you're just not enabling or using any of it's features, right?

 

Correct.

 

 

 

By default weather, do you mean you enable FSX real world updates and winds aloft?

 

No.  When I open up the FSX startup screen, I select Weather and then real world weather (not the one that is updated every 15 minutes).  When I do this, the weather program will automatically use AS2012 settings even though I did not activate AS2012 before I started up FSX.  Once AS2012 is installed, it is the weather engine for everything. 

 

 

 

I tried this and had all kinds of wind shift problems.  If you don't enable AS2012 before the flight to get winds and your flight plan, when do you activate it?

 

There's a setting in the FSUIPC that can be changed - http://support.hifitechinc.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/14/0/stuckinvalid-winds-in-aseas2012-when-using-fsuipc or Page 8 and 12 of the User's Guide. You set up AS2012 with the winds and options in AS2012 that you want, maybe when you first get the program.  When you enable the weather at the FSX startup screen, it will use those AS2012 settings you made and it will use the AS2012 weather servers.  You do not need to start up AS2012 every time you run FSX unless you want to change the theme to fit your flight plan.  A lot of people think they need to tell AS2012 their flightplan.  They don't as the weather program will download where you state you are flying from and it downloads the weather everywhere so you'll have real world weather everywhere.  (NOTE:  I tried to find the statement from HiFi and AS2012 regarding what program controls the default weather and cannot but this is my understanding of how the program operates).

 

Hope this helps.

 

Best regards,

Jim

[tamba765 54]

It seems to me that AS2012 goes through a boot up process every time you start it, which includes validating your copy and connecting to the weather servers. You know more than me, but I don't see how it can possibly do this if it's not running. Also, the reason I always enter a flight plan in AS2012, is to get the winds at each waypoint, which I enter into the PMDG FMC prior to each flight. Additionally, I always print the AS2012 flight log so I can keep track of the ATA and fuel remaining at each fix, as is done in the real world. This maybe overkill, but old habits are hard to break. Thanks!

[Jim Young 2,356]

If you click on the FSX weather and load the real world weather, it will definitely load your AS2012 weather and use the AS2012 weather servers.  I just loaded weather for Friday's Harbor and it was a nasty day there.  Loaded AS2012 and the weather was exactly the same.  HiFi just updated AS2012 (and will do so again before the end of the year!!!!) so maybe the issue with the freeze I was experiencing (100% of the time) has been fixed or it's because I have a newer and more powerful system.  I would continue to load AS2012 but, if you get a freeze during the flight, suspect this program as the fault and just use the FSX weather (which is AS2012 but I just cannot prove it beyond a reasonable doubt!).

 

Best regards,

Jim

[CiaránM 0]

Its great to see that its not just me who suffers from this problem, i would like to thank you for all your help but after re-installing FSX with no addons e.t.c. And FSUIPC installed incase, i still have crashes, is it time to update to prepar3d, i would rather stick to FSX but perhaps I can't, are there any other methods of fixing the problem? Or should I invest in more RAM to bring my 3GB to 8GB?

 

Many thanks,

                     Ciarán

[Jim Young 2,356]

 

 

Or should I invest in more RAM to bring my 3GB to 8GB?

 

I'm sorry Ciarán but I missed that major detail.  Yes, you should have a minimum of 4GB's and 8 GB's is better.  It looks like from your crash report that you have Windows 7 64 bit version installed.  That's great if true because it provides for better memory management.  With 3GB's, FSX can only see/use about 2GB's and your operating system needs to use the rest.  It's a problem with individuals running FSX with only 4GB's of RAM as FSX can only use, at the max, 3GB's and your computer system has to use the rest.  So, with 8GB's of RAM installed, FSX will be able to use up to 4 GB's (max for 32 bit applications like FSX).  Your computer system will use the rest but, at least it is not trying to use the little RAM you have installed now.  So yes, get more RAM.

 

I apologize for the confusion but see that several others posted in your topic and I was thinking it was you posting.

 

Best regards,

Jim

[csharpe 20]

Ciaran, you may also want to make sure you have addressed the "fsx uiautomationcore.dll fix" correctly.  I read that you "got rid" of it.  If you deleted it but did not replace it with the correct version, that could also be part of the problem.

[Jim Young 2,356]

Ciaran, you may also want to make sure you have addressed the "fsx uiautomationcore.dll fix".  It is a well-known, well-documented issue, and it fixed my pausing/crashing issues when I first upgraded to a new system with a Windows 7 64-bit install.

Bad information.  The Uiautomationcore.dll only fixes crashes related to hitting the fsx menu several times.  It fixes nothing else and it is questionable whether it really fixes menu crashes as I have tried to replicate this crash without the Uiautomationcore.dll in my main fsx folder and no joy.  The Uiautomationcore.dll is part of the Microsoft.net framework packages that are used by developers to make sure their product runs in the manner in which they intended, including memory management.  A few months ago I had a BEX/StackHash crash and found out one of the fsx addon programs installed the Uiautomationcore.dll in my main fsx directory without my knowledge (the developer was trying to save us).  I removed the Uiautomationcore.dll from my main fsx folder and the BEX/StackHash crashes stopped.

 

Best regards,

Jim

[lodestar 186]

I just want to add something about that issue with FSUIPC and FSInn, i think i know what happened there  

 

FSInn needs to be the last entry in DLL.XML. So, when he installed FSUIPC, FSInn was not last anymore, and then FSInn can cause freezing and CTD's. After removing FSUIPC, FSInn was last entry again, and it started to work properly  :lol:

 

The solution is to check and move manualy FSInn entry to last position in DLL.XML, every time you install new addon. FSUIPC is a great utility which will fix some crashes and add some stability to FSX. It's a must have! 

 

Jim, just out of curiosity, have you checked if that was the right version of Uiautomationcore.dll? The right version is 6.0.5840.16386(higher version would probably be fine, but earlier not).  If that was the wrong version, would cause errors and CTD's for sure. I have Reinstalled OS and FSX this days, (just to test some of my theories about FSX stability), and i put the wrong version by mistake - FSX was unstable, i had CTD's and stutters when flying. After i put the right version, everything is back to normal

BTW, i hate when installers adds files and changes to CFG files and FSX settings

[csharpe 20]

Jim,

 

Are you saying it is OK for us to delete the UIAutomationCore.dll in the main FSX folder?  I'm TOTALLY fine with that if deleting it won't break something else.

Thanks, B247NG!

I've been using the "right version" 6.0.5840.16386 with no problems for several years!