FSX Fatal Errors

[bmodrow]

I have FSX with Acceleration installed on my system. Up until recently I have had no issues with crashes or lockups of FSX. Within the last few weeks I have added GEX and FSUIPC to my FSX install. Since that time I am experiencing random fatal errors and FSX shutting itself down. I've received numerous fatal errors api.dll and simconnect.dll are two I can remember off the top of my head. However there have been other .dll errors and the fatal errors themselves are totally random.

I do not believe GEX to be the issue because its nothing more than textures. Could I possiblly have an isuue with FSX, Vista 32, and FSUIPC not playing nicely together??

Any help would be greatly appreciated, its very frustrating to be on final at the end of a 3 hour flight and have FSX randomly crash.

[Pete Dowson]

I do not believe GEX to be the issue because its nothing more than textures.

Actually corrupt or unsupported texture files are one of the biggest causes of crashes in FSX.

Could I possiblly have an isuue with FSX, Vista 32, and FSUIPC not playing nicely together??

No, no way. FSUIPC is almost exclusively now A SimConnect client. There is no known way it can cause crashes. Possibly SimConnect is corrupt and is causing crashes, but that is really very unlikely.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, its very frustrating to be on final at the end of a 3 hour flight and have FSX randomly crash.

The fact that you say this points much more towards a scenery or texture problem than anything else.

Maybe this GEX package was developed before Acceleration/SP2 was available? There are many changes in SP2, in all these areas -- scenery, textures, panels. It really does sound like an incompatibility with that product, especially if it was okay with FSX + SP1. I'd check on their support site if I were you.

Regards

Pete

[bmodrow]

Peter thank you for your prompt reply.

I started looking at log files for anything associated with FSX after another CTD this evening.

I found these entries in my ASX logfile:

20:06:18: Problem receiving SimConnect data: Exception from HRESULT: 0xC000020D(Error) Source =

20:06:18: FSX connection closed

Which apperas to indicate a problem with data from simconnect followed by the crash. After further thinking about the CTDs occuring, I beleive it is only happening when I am receiving real world weather updates (wheter they be via ASX or FSX). Is it possible that something is somehow messed up with simconnect?

[Pete Dowson]

I started looking at log files for anything associated with FSX after another CTD this evening.

I found these entries in my ASX logfile:

20:06:18: Problem receiving SimConnect data: Exception from HRESULT: 0xC000020D(Error) Source =

20:06:18: FSX connection closed

Which apperas to indicate a problem with data from simconnect followed by the crash.

No, I think that will be a result of the crash, not anything leading to it -- the error is being returned by the SimConnect.DLL library which ASX is calling to connect to FSX. What happens, because ASX is an external program (unlike FSUIPC), is that ASX + SimConnect.DLL remain running when FSX stopps responding, so the DLL returns an error to the ASX program which called it.

After further thinking about the CTDs occuring, I beleive it is only happening when I am receiving real world weather updates (wheter they be via ASX or FSX). Is it possible that something is somehow messed up with simconnect?

Not in my opinion -- that seems to be a much less likely cause than something related to scenery or texture files.

For weather problems it is remotely possible that FSX's own downloads could contain bad data and cause crashes -- that could happen in FS9, though I've not heard about it for FSX. However, that cannot be the case for ASX since its data is checked by ASX itself and then SimConnect before it gets anywhere near the same sort of vulnerable place as FSX direct downloads.

There is one data file, "wxstationlist.bin", in the same folder as your FSX.CFG file, which, if corrupt, could conceivably cause a problem. You could try deleting that and see if it helps. FSX wil generate another.

Apart from that, why not simply try uninstalling GEX to see if that fixes it? You could always install it again if it makes no difference. I assume it makes backups so it can re-install? (I always make a backup copy of the entire Texture folder -- have done ever since FS2002 -- in case any of the add-ons do cause this sort of thing).

Regards

Pete

[bmodrow]

Apart from that, why not simply try uninstalling GEX to see if that fixes it? You could always install it again if it makes no difference. I assume it makes backups so it can re-install? .

That will be the easiest thing for me to try. GEX did backup the textures. I'll try reverting and see if the problem rectifies itself. I went back and looked at every FSX ap crash with the event viewer and the problem most definetly started after the new textures were installed.

(I always make a backup copy of the entire Texture folder -- have done ever since FS2002 -- in case any of the add-ons do cause this sort of thing)

Thanks for the tip. I'm definitely going to adopt this strategy.

Regards

Bob

[mtjoeng]

I have FSX with Acceleration installed on my system.

.. on final at the end of a 3 hour flight and have FSX randomly crash.

First, its all over the forums that Acceleration will crash many computers / you would be lucky if it doesnt.

You have crashes 'at the end of a 3 hour flight' and this might be the 'out of memory' problem.

I experienced the same: crashes when you are at the STAR at the other end (when 'new source code' is swapt in after CRZ??) / bummer.

I had 2x1GB DDR2 modules and a regular (leftover) 1GB module / also tested without the latter.

1. I researched what was going on and found Vista uses little over 1GB, and FSX with Max textures and big screen and 32bits will also use just over 1GB (Taskmgr will say 680MB or so, NOT).

So for avoiding constant Disk swap rattle, and memory probs, you want / Need >2GB.

2. BUT, putting extra GB in will get you into other problems, x86 will only see 3GB and Many ('older', like 1 year / tssss) Computers Will Crash when installed with Not Same Brand / same Specs Memory sticks. There supposed te be a MS 4GB fix for this "Windows6.0-KB929777-v2-x64.msu", hard to find, and for good reason / it doesnt work half of the time (me: some boots yes, som no / crazy)

So to get to 3GB best is 2x 1GB Same Brand & Specs and 2x 512MB sticks

I bought 2 more Same Brand Same Specs DDR2 for total 4GB and CTDs 'at end of long flight' are gone.

My 75$ :mrgreen:

[bmodrow]

It was defintely not a memory issue I have 4GB installed (thanks for your input though). I did as Peter suggested, reverted to my backup textures for GEX, reinstalled GEX textures and all is now fine.

Thanks Peter!!