FSX Hangs Up And Ctd

[chavins]

pete:

thanks for the question. i do in fact have terrain.dll in the fsx main directory. it is dated september 25 2007 and has a size of 886kb. i suspect that, given the fact that fsx looks and performs well in a bunch of other countries, the problem resides in something limited to new zealand. the fact that both north and south island are affected seems to implicate vector land class, rather than one or more of the other new zealand sceneries which are essentially individual airports or relatively circumscribed small regions.

i am still hoping someone can come up with some kind of fix or solution, to enable me to continue using vlc. right now, i feel as though i will have no choice but to switch to the upcoming orbx scenery (as i am unaware of any alternatives.

steve chavin

[toprob]

Have you tried reinstalling FSX? Although you make a good point about the locality, I'm not aware of anything within VLC that isn't bog-standard SDK tools and techniques, and since it looks like you are the only one with this issue, it is far more likely to be something related to your system or installation. There are a lot of places things can go wrong, within FSX and your graphics drivers, but none of these issues can be fixed by tweaking VLC.

I don't know if you ever mentioned this -- do you have FSX service patches installed?

[chavins]

QUOTE (toprob @ Nov 13 2011,12:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Have you tried reinstalling FSX? Although you make a good point about the locality, I'm not aware of anything within VLC that isn't bog-standard SDK tools and techniques, and since it looks like you are the only one with this issue, it is far more likely to be something related to your system or installation. There are a lot of places things can go wrong, within FSX and your graphics drivers, but none of these issues can be fixed by tweaking VLC.

I don't know if you ever mentioned this -- do you have FSX service patches installed?

rob:

i am glad to hear from you again. i am running a win 7 computer with an i7 920 cpu, overclocked from 2.6 to 4.0 ghz. the graphics card is a gtx 275 with 1796mb of memory. fsx acceleration is installed along with all the service packs that i am aware of. i use nvidia drivers, and i am only 1or 2 releases behind their latest driver. i run the sim with most of the sliders nearly as far to the right as possible. i have lots of scenery installed, including all the main orbx ones for australia and pacific northwest, all the ground environment stuff, and horizon vfr scenery for the uka. i also fly some high demand aircraft, such as the realair beeches. the sim flies and looks beautiful, and the scenery is really sharp. the only problem i am experiencing at this time is with vector land class, which also is very clear and beautiful until the sim freezes or crashes ( and i am pretty sure the problem was not there at the very start, but i cannot remember exactly when i first noticed it} . the past few evenings, i spent several hours flying over new zealand with vlc disabled, and the sim performed well, with no stuttering or crashes. (new zealand itself did not look great without vlc, but i don't need to tell you that.

i am giving you all this detail because i just hate the thought of having to reinstall the entire fsx plus all my scenery for a problem which is, in the grand scheme, relatively localized. i keep hoping someone will have an inspiration. you may recall that ian warren, in the first reply to me, said he had a similar kind of problem which was fixed by a complete reinstall of vlc. i tried both a reinstall over the existing installation, and then an uninstall followed by a complete reinstall; unfortunately, these did not fix my problem.

i noticed that the automatic installation did not place the 2 vlc folders in the right order in scenery library, so tonight i am going to reposition them according to your instructions, and then try some flights with vlc re-enabled. beyond that, the only thing i can think of is trying to disable as many of the nz airport sceneries as i can and see whether this will reveal a conflict with vlc from the other side of the equation.

after that, i will have exhausted any ideas short of reinstalling fsx. but i still have difficulty how something which is wrong with fsx, and limited to new zealand, would be corrected by disabling vlc. but i am no expert on fsx and i realise how enormously complicated the whole thing is.

in the event, i will keep you informed of what i find, and perhaps you will come up withsome suggestions.

steve chavin

[brad63]

I have had issues from time to time with CTD in NZ as well early this year but seems to be resolved so far (touch wood).I only did these things.

1- Installed the UIautomation.dll thingy (theres more info somewhere here)
2- Decreased AGN to normal for most flights.
3- Decreased AI Traffic to about 20%
4- Cloud density coverage med
5- Improved PC ventilation by moving Box near to window and
made a rudimentary ducting so outside air vents straight into box.

Cooling I think was the main issue here with my problem even with the case I have.
I just use the default TwinTurbo boost setting for an O/C of 3.4Ghz and havnt had
a CTD since. But I do monitor temps constantly with my hand LOL

Since not everyone has had an issue I think as some others do that this CTD problem could be system specific.
You are pushing the 920 quite hard I see

[creator2003]

Have you deactivated all Orbx switches while using VLC or before you come on NZ shores ?

[chavins]

i am not sure which orbx switches you mean. the only switches i know of are the buttons in ftx configurator to select default, australia or north america, and the check box to disable ozx with fsx default. are there some others that need to be looked at? my flights in new zealand usually begin and end in new zealand, so i don't need to switch back and forth.

as i mentioned in one of my earlier replies, i believe that there are some gex textures (and presumably their microsoft default counterparts) which are used for new zealand texture, but i am not sure whether the gex can or needs to be turned off. but i would expect that vlc textures, when they are enabled, overide all default scenery for new zealand.

steve chavin

[chavins]

QUOTE (brad63 @ Nov 13 2011,7:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have had issues from time to time with CTD in NZ as well early this year but seems to be resolved so far (touch wood).I only did these things.

1- Installed the UIautomation.dll thingy (theres more info somewhere here)
2- Decreased AGN to normal for most flights.
3- Decreased AI Traffic to about 20%
4- Cloud density coverage med
5- Improved PC ventilation by moving Box near to window and
made a rudimentary ducting so outside air vents straight into box.

Cooling I think was the main issue here with my problem even with the case I have.
I just use the default TwinTurbo boost setting for an O/C of 3.4Ghz and havnt had
a CTD since. But I do monitor temps constantly with my hand LOL

Since not everyone has had an issue I think as some others do that this CTD problem could be system specific.
You are pushing the 920 quite hard I see

brad:

thanks for your specific comments and questions. first, i realise that i am pushing the 920 but i work with a friend who has helped me to set up my system and it seems to do pretty well in general. temperatures are not a problem with my noctua NH-U12P SE2. my baseline temperature, monitored with core temp program, runs around 44-48 degrees C, and even after flying for several hours, usually is only 52-60 degrees. these are about the same regardless of which scenery set or area. so i don't think overheating is an issue. also, most of the time, if a crash occurs, it is usually early in the flight.

i am aware of items 1-4 in your list, but havenot yet tested any of them. for one thing, i am not sure why some of these global settings would cause crashes only with vlc and flying over news zealand, although i suppose anything is possible with fsx. after i try disabling a bunch of specific airport and regional nz sceneries, i can play around with the various fsx settings. (though again, i would not expect the fsx settings to affect only new zealand flights.)

thanks again for the thoughtful suggestins.

steve chavin

[brad63]

Spoke too soon didnt I.The FS gods were not happy.After Steve Chavins mentioned his CTD prob I thought Id do a flight between NZNR and NZPP since I havnt been out here for while (I mostly fly in the south Is where Ive never encountered a problem). 30 odd mins into the flight the dreaded stutters started followed by a CTD. Not a happy chappy,thought all this was behind me. But not to be beaten I thought this is just a one off so tried it again with the same settings and yep 30 odd mins later stutter stutter CTD. SO since others have had issues in the past including myself I decided to have a go at diagnosing what where and why. I used this same direct GPS route for each test same settings same time same alt 7200 ft asl and same aircraft (carenado C208). I systematiclly eliminated each addon and when finished testing reactivated the addon/process/cfg and tried the next thing.Some things I tried I maybe didnt need to but I had to anyway just for my own satisfaction.And yes I have recently reinstalled VLC with all updates libraries etc.
Each CTD happens in the same time (approx 32 min south of NZNR ) and same spot ie. Lat. Sth 40.10.63 Long. East.175.57.71 or very close (Consistency was what I was hoping for and getting) inbetween NZDV and NZPM about 5nm north of the Te Herehau windfarms along the ranges I dont know the name of.All tests are numbered in order of trial and I didnt always allow a CTD but exited while stutters were happening and CTD was imminent.So bear with me if you can.

1.Disable all AI Traffic result stutter and CTD.
2.Disable Ray porters Te Rerehau wind farm. Result CTD
3.Disable all VLC in scenery library. Result-No problems
4.Re enable VLC Disable all obvious NZ files from add on scenery/scenery. Result CTD
5.Disable all obvious scenery/world/scenery files. Result-CTD
6.Disable NZDV and NZFI which are nearby. Result-CTD
Defrag and restart just in case
7.Swap priority VLC and VLC DTM (clutching at straws here) Result- CTD
8.Disable GNZLAP file from scenery/world/scenery. Result-CTD
9.Disable VLC libraries and Airfields. Result-CTD
10.Disable RealNZ NZPP and all Power project library files. Result-CTD
11Then tried another T and G flight between NZDV and NZPM and flew over the wind farms and north up the ranges over problem area. Result-CTD after 1 hour
12.Adjusted GPU settings and tried in windowed mode.Result=CTD
13.Disable VLC,VLC Libraries,VLC Airfields and left VLC DTM on. Result-Big Crash, Complete PC freeze and no TM out of this one. PC reset.
14.Disable VLC DTM and left VLC,VLC Libraries and Airfields on. Result- No Problems at all (touchdown at NZPP)

So is something in VLC DTM the problem? Is it just me? My system?

Maybe someone could fly this same route and see what result they get

[creator2003]

I did the same flight just then on my amd 6x core ,display 5070 hd 1 gig/ 8 gig ram/
left nznr and traveled about 100 nm across to nzpp in bell 222 ,shade addon fex and a ton more things running , all nz addons from myself and Robin and Timmo including a couple of extras all setting sliders full ,frames set to unlimited which i normally lock at 25-30 this was set to fail with my system, but it did it with no problems at all no issues like above .

[Rotordude]

Flew the same route, big hit at down to 3fps did recover but lagged at 11fps, usual constant fps of 30 no matter where I go.
S40° 4.98'
E176° 4.58'
+7912
HDG 202

Soon after about 3 minutes CDT.

i7 2600k @ 4.8ghz - 16gig - EVGA GTX 480 Superclocked

[brad63]

Hmm Interesting. Tomorrow I will look at the VLC DTM files and maybe do a compare with what others have got. Maybe something has gone missing or corrupted. And probably do a reinstall off my DVD.I WILL solve this.But now sleep beckons. Thanks a lot for trying this guys.

[chavins]

QUOTE (brad63 @ Nov 17 2011,1:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmm Interesting. Tomorrow I will look at the VLC DTM files and maybe do a compare with what others have got. Maybe something has gone missing or corrupted. And probably do a reinstall off my DVD.I WILL solve this.But now sleep beckons. Thanks a lot for trying this guys.

brad and others:

i was giving up hearing any more comments. it did not please me to hear that brad seems to be having a similar issue.

i had previously disabled only the vlc dtm folder, leaving the main vlc folder, but unlike brad's experience, eliminating the dtm files did not prevent my ctd. i think i mentioned earlier that unchecking the 3 boxes in the vlc configurator did not prevent the ctds. so far, in my experience, the ctds occur with both north and south island flights, and the only thing which prevents them is to disable the main vlc scenery folder. as far as i know, i have no other new zealand landclass scenery installed. i was just preparing to go through the systematic disabling of all scenery files beginning or including "nz**", but from brad's results, this is not a promising approach. i have recently defragmented my computer, so i don't think this is likely to be a cause. it seems clear that whatever is going on is localised in and around new zealand, shows up (albeit, only in certain computers?) when vlc is installed.

i also have done quite a bit of flying outside of new zealand with vlc enabled, to try to confirm that the problem is limited to new zealand. the flights were in central america, mexico, australia, canada and the central rockies. these areas are covered by ground environment and ftx orbx sceneries. i have encountered absolutely no problems with the scenery in any of these areas, and the flying was as smooth as can be.

i cannot think of any other diagnostic tests i can do. i am still hoping that your collective wisdom can save me from switching to the ftx orbx south island scenery.



steve chavin

[Ian Warren]

Steve , not sure what the cause is .. FS can get to be a fickle file manage prob , i,d simply delete the lot .. BUY Nelson and start from there ... start from New Zealand then pan out ... its all these other addons that will be causing the problem .. hells , what else is left there to do .

[scaber]

Tried that flight yesterday, no problems along the way. Though this situation did remind me of something similar which occurred to me a few years back. Eventually traced it to a dodgy hard disk sector. Reinstalled on a new disk and there were no further occurrences. It appeared that one piece of scenery was located on a failing/failed disk sector so everytime FSX tried to load it there was a hesitation and then a crash. This may be worth considering in your case too.

The trick is to get FSX to reinstall on a different part of your hard disk - I cheated (took the easy way) and installed it on an entirely different disk!

[brad63]

Thanks guys.Got a few things to try now over the next few days.Will keep you posted.

[Timmo]

Rest assured (well, as assured as you can be given your issues at the moment) that I have been following this thread with interest and will do some research tommorrow given this new info- My lack of replies at this stage has been because I'm as stumped as you are. I am working on a new patch for VLC to fix some minor issues and user requests so hopefully if we can track it down to a problem with VLC, the fix can be released with the patch.
It is interesting that it only seems to happenning on a few peoples machines....

[chavins]

QUOTE (Timmo @ Nov 19 2011,9:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Rest assured (well, as assured as you can be given your issues at the moment) that I have been following this thread with interest and will do some research tommorrow given this new info- My lack of replies at this stage has been because I'm as stumped as you are. I am working on a new patch for VLC to fix some minor issues and user requests so hopefully if we can track it down to a problem with VLC, the fix can be released with the patch.
It is interesting that it only seems to happenning on a few peoples machines....

timmo:

good to hear from you. i have assumed you were following the thread.

here are a couple of additional experiences, which confirm many of the earlier reports. i have done quite a few flights away from new zealand ( mostly with both vlc folders and all my other nz scenery installed) the flights were in canada, mexico, central america and australia, which are covered in my installation by various ftx orbx products. i had no stutters, hangups or crashes, and no error messages with any of these flights

then i came back to new zealand. i have rechecked for any afcad duplications or conflicts using airport scanner. none were found. i disabled both of the vlc folders in scenery library, and did a brief flight from palmerston north to napier. the flight was uneventful (if less memorable) with vlc enabled, and i landed smoothly at napier.
next, i enabled the main vlc folder (but not the dtm folder), made sure that i applied it using vlc configurator, and repeated the palmerston to napier flight. about 15 minutes into the flight, the sim suddenly froze (no stuttering this time) and i had to close the sim down before it crashed to desktop. there was an error in event viewer which implicated only fsx (no mention of terrain.dll this time,unlike on other occasions). just for kicks, i restarted the sim and tried 1 more flight out of ardmore; this one lasted about 5 minutes before the sim suddenly hung up.

so unlike the 1 report from brad, the problem i have does not appear to be related to the dtm folder, as the sim hangs up with or without the dtms being enabled. the only constant is that hangups occur in my installation only when the main vlc folder is enabled.

looking forward to any further ideas and suggestions. one way or the other, i have every intention of continuing to fly throughout new zealand. i really hope i will not be forced to switch from the fabulous vector land class scenery to the impending ftx orbx new zealand scenery.

steve chavin

[Timmo]

Those of you that are having problems when nearing the wind farm near Palmerston North:

I just did that flight (NZNR to NZPP, direct GPS route) and noticed at the location where Brad was experiencing problems was where two scenery items are loaded which could potentially be the problem: the wind farm objects (which are from the default library) and Palmerston North airport.

On my machine NZPM is default, can you confirm it is on yours too?

I doubt it's an issue with the DTM tile as that has already well and truely loaded by the time you get to this location.

Steve- Can you do the following please (just to see if the issue is the computer finally running out of puff after a certain time flying or if indeed it is being triggered at a certain location)- Start a flight wherever, then go to the FSX map. From there you can type in coordinates to go to a specific location- Enter the coordinates where you seem to have problems and tell if it crashes there/what happens.

My hunch, if it is VLC, is that it is one of the objects in either the standard library or VLC library- Some objects are only in certain areas which may explain why the crashes seem in random locations. If we can narrow the location down I should be able to find out which object it is.

[Ian Warren]

Hell s Tim , ill install just simply to test as this problem has dragged on long enough and need a solution for all parties .

[chavins]

QUOTE (Timmo @ Nov 19 2011,11:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Those of you that are having problems when nearing the wind farm near Palmerston North:

I just did that flight (NZNR to NZPP, direct GPS route) and noticed at the location where Brad was experiencing problems was where two scenery items are loaded which could potentially be the problem: the wind farm objects (which are from the default library) and Palmerston North airport.

On my machine NZPM is default, can you confirm it is on yours too?

I doubt it's an issue with the DTM tile as that has already well and truely loaded by the time you get to this location.

timmo:

thanks for the reply. i am not sure what you mean about nzpm being default. i have only a single afcad for palmerston north (name, NZPM_ADEX_PM.bgl) from someone named philip (?), who has produced a large number of new zealand afcad files. could you clarify what you mean by "nzpm is default"? i do not see an nzpm afcad in the vlc airport folder.

more importantly, the first ctd incident i can recall was when i was approaching napier along the coast from gisborne. subsequently, i had other ctds (i did not keep a list of exactly which ones), including flying north as i was nearing auckland, and flying south towards auckland from whangharei , several flights from hastings or taupo to napier, flying towards christchurch from nelson, and from invercargill to dunedin. so, whatever is going on for me includes either something 'global' or multiple areas in both north and south island.

steve chavin