Flight Simulator has slowed down considerably

[Hernan1 5]

Hello. I am a FS9 user and have been a flight simmer since the first Microsoft Flight Simulator came out. I have enjoyed using FS9, even though I have a copy of FSX which I only used one time when it first came out. Over the years I have loaded my flight sim with everything available including the original Ultimate Traffic software. Much later I noticed that the textures of my AI traffic planes would be gray and would take a while to "paint". The scenery textures would behave the same way. At the time my only solution was to do a "refresh" by updating the local time at my airport, then I could see  all textures taking their correct color. When the Quality Wings 757 came out I bought a copy but I could not install it because it detected I had the original FS9 and not the FS9upd. I downloaded the update, but for some reason it wouldn't run it. Therefore I wasn't able to use my QW757. I remember I bought the payware MMMX by Taxi2Gate. A wonderful scenery, but the moment I was on the Terminal 2 side of the airport, the computer would shut down. I reinstalled the scenery and even with their support help it wouldn't work. Simultaneously I bought a great MMUN scenery from SimMarket. Any time I would open it, it would shut down. I would make an approach to that airport, as soon as I was on final to land the sim would shut down. Occasionally this would happen at major airports whenever I was using payware airplanes such as Level-D or CLS. Recently, all objects within a scenery are gray, all AI aircraft are gray and the simulator just freezes.

I am not a computer wiz. My computer specs are: Dell XPS, Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.60GHz, 3.00 GB of RAM, RADEON X800 XT video card. I have been making Flight Simulator videos over the years, and my latest ones are no longer smooth, they skip a lot, even when I edit them. Is there anything I should do to resolve my problem?. I would appreciate your help. Thanks. :(

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

Not sure what is ailing your system, but I would one more time try to install the FS9.1. update.

 

If the install fails, see if you have a "Backup modules"  folder in your FS9 folder.  If yes, rename this folder to something like "Backupxx modules", and try the install one more time.

[Appliance 51]

I agree with Bert. FS9.1 is mandatory.  MS recommends applying the patch to a fresh (new) install of FS9.  I hope you read the Read Me file.  It is essential to run the patch from the root file of FS9, not from anywhere else.

 

I would suggest you:-

 

1.  defragment your hard drive.

2.  give your computer a spring clean to  get rid of the dust. It's amazing how much that can degrade performance over time.

3.  apply the 3Gb/4Gb patch if you haven't already done so.

4.  make FS9.1 "large address aware"... Google the phrase.

 

That takes care of the housekeeping.

 

 

It is apparent your computer is lacking memory, or there is a memory leak somewhere. The patch and LAA already described will help the former, however you need to track down the latter.  Several freeware utilities may help. In no particular order:

 

ScanAFD

ProcessExplorer

dxtfixerx_v2.1

FSTextureChecker.exe for AI Aircraft.  This is usually where problems similar to yours eventuate.

 

Many others I can't recall right now Hernan1 but I'm sure other forum members will chip in with further good advice.

[Groovy_Kincaid 71]

If you are running a 32 bit os, try turning off applications running in the background. There is a utility, cannot remember what it is called but there is one that will help you identify what processes that your os is running in the background. I think it maybe available here at AVSIM.

 

You can also access these using ctrl+alt+delete. There are always programs running in the background that you are not using and these use memory. Shut those down to free up some RAM. If you have any Apple software like iTunes, you can shut that down if you are not using that or iPod services or iTunes helper.

 

Just from my experience.

 

Hope that helps.

[Hernan1 5]

Gentlemen, thanks you for your replies. I found ou tmy BACKUP folder was missing. I was able to load FS9 on another computer, copy the folder back into my original FS9. I installed the FS9.1 update but got the message "FS9.1 update already installed". I run the defragment of the hard drive. I increased the memory for my computer a few years ago. Next, I will apply the patch. I am still a bit confused about the LAA. The search of LAA thru Google has me a bit confused. I'll work on it when I spend more time learning about it.  I will work on these once I know where to find them:

ScanAFD

ProcessExplorer

dxtfixerx_v2.1

FSTextureChecker.exe for AI Aircraft

Your instructions sound like they are the best for me. Thanks so much for taking the time to look into them for me. After doing some of the initial suggestions, I run my flightsim to see if there was a difference, but I didn't notice anything different yet. In the mean time a couple of projects got on my way. I got a request to do a repaint texture for the new Boliviana de Aviacion Boeing 737-700W TDS model.

I hope I can now install my QW757. I'll keep you updated. Once again thank you all for your helpful responses.

[pschlute 37]

Hernan

 

I belive the backup folder is only created when the 9.1 update is run. That is why you are getting a message that it is already installed, because you copied a backup folder.

 

Many addons require FS9 to be patched to 9.1 in order to install/run correctly. My advice in addition to the above would be to uninstall your payware aircraft and other payware programs, remembering to search throgh the FS root folder and remove any left-over folders/files that the uninstaller does not remove. Then reboot and run a registry cleaner such as CCleaner. Reboot again then run the 9.1 update.....read the instructions first !

 

Google "FS9.1 large address aware"  If you are running a 64 bit Operating System it is a simple .exe you download and run. If you are using a 32 bit OS, you will need to do more research.

 

Then reinstall your addons. Start with the QW 757.... I have it working fine with FS9.1... I am running Win7 64 bit OS

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

Rename the BACKUP folder to BACKUPxx and re-install the FS9.1. upgrade.

[pschlute 37]

Rename the BACKUP folder to BACKUPxx and re-install the FS9.1. upgrade.

 

I have read that this will still cause problems with "some" addons, which need to be installed directly to a patched system.

 

However, it is of course worth a try.

 

Alternatively, upgrade your computer to something more modern , but dont go for Win8. Install a 64 bit version of Win7  which will still be supported till 2020

[Hernan1 5]

Thanks Bert. Peter, your suggestion makes a lot of sense. I'll install on another computer the 64 version of Win7. This project will take a long time, but, I'll give it a try and report. Thank you guys.