Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler - Strange FSX/REX Problem

Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support | Strange FSX/REX Problem

DVA11781
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Posted onPost created on November 03 2013 20:04 ET by Joe Cappelo

Hey guys,

So today for the first time ever I got a CTD from FSX because it said my computer had run out of virtual memory, and then it happened 3 more times. Also, REX has been acting up and giving me an error "Weather Theme File could not be loaded, or may not exist". The REX problem is minor because all it does is pause the Sim, but the FSX problem is a bit of a pain. It has only happened today when using the PMDG 737, but the REX problem has happened with any AC.

My specs are good, so I dont know if that is the problem:

32GB RAM
2 6GB GTX Titans w/ Onboard cooling
2TB HDD
500GB SSD
PZ877 Mobo
i7 Core Extreme @ 4.1Ghz
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
FSX Gold Edition + expansion pack
REX Overdrive

Any Ideas?

Joe Cappelo (DVA11781)

DVA11584
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Posted onPost created on November 03 2013 20:20 ET by Charles Blankenship

My specs are good ... master of the understatement obviously.

Have you tested your memory one stick at a time?

How many sceneries are you running/flying over?

Download a program called Process Monitor and monitor your VAS as you are flying ... note where you are when the VAS usage starts going up.

This one is a shot in the dark (depending upon your cooling solution and the quality of your chip ... I'm not even sure the Extreme chip has the same problem as the Haswell IHS and the glue and the TIM) ... but is your chip throttling due to temps?

These are starting points anyway.

C. T.

Charles Blankenship (DVA11584)

DVA11781
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Posted onPost created on November 03 2013 20:30 ET by Joe Cappelo

Ok, Half of this stuff I didnt really understand, but I will go down the list and answer best I can.

1. I have no idea how to test my memory at all.
2. When FSX crashed due to the memory happened I was sitting at SFO in Preflight, no scenery their other than FTX Global. second and third time it happened I was flying over Manhatten with the Manhatten X scenery. Happened the first time, recovered with ACARS and happened a second time. Both times I was switching between 2D Cockpit and VC.
3. I will download this monitor see what it tells me.
4. I have Corsiar Liquid Cooling + 3 front fans, 2 rear fans, 2 bottom fans, 4 top fans all 120mm with one being a 240mm the Liquid cooling is push/pull dual cooling. The Titans have their own cooling system and the RAM has its own cooling thingy as do the HDD/SSD.

Thx!

Joe Cappelo (DVA11781)

Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 08:11 ET by Charles Blankenship

Sceneries are the big culprit when it comes to OOMs and CTDs. Here is a blog entry for VAS from Kosta (http://kostasfsworld.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/vas-reminder-turning-off-airports/) here is a link to the freeware he is talking about (http://sourceforge.net/projects/fs-sceditor/).

Here is a link concerning VAS (http://kostasfsworld.wordpress.com/fsx-oom-and-addon-vas-usage/) ... it'll show you how to setup Process Monitor so you can keep an eye on VAS. Here is a download link for Process Monitor (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx)

To test memory use MemTest (http://www.memtest86.com/) ... the absolute best way to do this (which is what I did when I built this machine) is to remove all sticks and test them one by one using this software. The reason for this is that memory is designed to cover it's own butt so to speak by covering up any errors.

Charles Blankenship (DVA11584)

Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 10:29 ET by Charles Blankenship

Also ... I only have the GTX 780 ... here is my NVidia Profile for the card ... it is called a .nip file and can be imported using nVidiaInspector (http://www.dropbox.com/s/w4ni1qz07akkuws/NickN_Tabs_Profile.nip) Also, I've been told that two or more video cards can make FSX run worse ... I cannot testify to that though.

Charles Blankenship (DVA11584)

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Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 11:28 ET by Thiago Braga

Joe, You have an amazing machine. Try following this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU6VJy8t0ao
He helped me to get my FSX very smoothly and eliminating the CTD error. Also if you facebook, these guys is make a PDF for tweaking and performance issues done by FSX: https://www.facebook.com/pages/FSX-Performance-issues-tips-tweaks/178280192282579

Let us know!

Thiago

Thiago Braga (DVA9545)

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Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 11:46 ET by Jacob Benjamin

Joe,

This has nothing to do with "memory" so don't waste your time testing your mem sticks. This has to do with something called virtual memory. Read this webpage for more information on the error (http://kostasfsworld.wordpress.com/fsx-oom-and-addon-vas-usage/). Follow the suggestions and see if you have improvement. I also always suggest to delete your fsx.cfg and start fresh. Backup your old one before doing so. Sometimes it can get junked up and cause the error.

Jacob Benjamin

First Officer, B737-800

Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 12:49 ET by Charles Blankenship

Um ... VAS is memory ... what if there is a defect in the address space where VAS is referencing ... granted ... odds are low ... but until you test it cannot be ruled out.

Charles Blankenship (DVA11584)

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Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 13:25 ET by Joe Cappelo

Hey,

Thanks for all the answers and help, I am in school now but will check these things out when I get
Home!

Charles Blankenship wrote:

Also ... I only have the GTX 780 ... here is my NVidia Profile for the card ... it is called a .nip file and can be imported using nVidiaInspector (http://www.dropbox.com/s/w4ni1qz07akkuws/NickN_Tabs_Profile.nip) Also, I've been told that two or more video cards can make FSX run worse ... I cannot testify to that though.

Charles, I have two graphics cards because It was a basically free upgrade on labor dat and so I thought why not especially since at
Some point I am getting more monitors.

Also, so far to this point I have been having fabulous fsx performance, usually 100fps in the air and 30-40 on the ground. I will check out what you suggest though! Thanks!

Joe Cappelo (DVA11781)

Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 14:07 ET by Charles Blankenship

Ho ... ho ... holy CRAP ... I always wondered what that Extreme chip would do ... and you are only running 4.1GHz too. I was under the impression that FSX only recognizes four cores ... I believe the Extreme has six does it not? I'm dying to know where that performance is coming from ... the Titans or the CPU. I also want to know what your nVidiaInspector settings are as well as to be able to check out your FSX.CFG file.

I too am getting 30 fps on the ground (I have it limited to 30 fps) but have no idea what I'm getting in the air.

Thanks for posting ... love to learn about rigs I'll never be able to afford!

Charles Blankenship (DVA11584)

DVA11781
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Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 18:11 ET by Joe Cappelo

Hey,

So I decided not to test my memory, because I don't want to go taking things out of my computer and then having them not work when I try to put them back. I will follow that guy that you [Thiago] told me about, and I will try testing it from the internet using one of the sites you guys posted. I havent done anything to my FSX other than adding the scenery and other addons, I never tweaked my CFG file, never did any of that stuff, it is as it was out of the box. The only Thing I have done is have the settings maxed out, unlimited frames. I dont even have sweetfx. I deleted my CFG file and had FSX make a new one, so far no OTM's, CTD's or anything, working as normal. I dont know what nVidiaInspector is, but I do have CPU-Z and thise is what it says:

Processor - Intel i7 Core Extreme 4770K
Code Name - Haswell
Socket 1150 LGA
4.1Ghz
4 Core
Hyperthreading ON

Thanks Again!

Joe Cappelo (DVA11781)

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Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 20:01 ET by Vincenzo Musumeci

Joe Cappelo wrote:

I never tweaked my CFG file, never did any of that stuff, it is as it was out of the box.

You better start looking into tweaking if you want to optimize FSX.
Regarding REX not loading the weather, open their Configuration splash screen and make sure you put the right folder for the FSX path.

Vincenzo Musumeci (DVA3794)

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Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 20:23 ET by Joe Cappelo

Vincenzo Musumeci wrote:

Regarding REX not loading the weather, open their Configuration splash screen and make sure you put the right folder for the FSX path.

Ok I will check that. Why is it important to tweak FSX if it is working wonderfully?

Joe Cappelo (DVA11781)

Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 21:01 ET by Charles Blankenship

Actually, the less you do the better the results you will have. That said, however, there are a few "tweaks" that you should have in your FSX.CFG ... here they are:

1. WideViewAspect = True : under the [Display] header
Comment: change this from FALSE to TRUE if you use a wide screen aspect ratio monitor

2. HideInfoText = 1 : under the [Main] header
Comment: This gets rid of the messages on the screen such as BRAKES and VIEW information. If you want that text on the screen, then leave this out. Otherwise edit this into the file.

3. DisablePreload = 1 : also under the [Main] header
Comment: This will make FSX launch faster from the desktop. This disables FSX from pre-loading files for the default flight when you launch FSX from the desktop icon. Why would we want to fill our system memory, video memory with rendering data for a flight and aircraft we may not boot? If you ALWAYS boot the default FSX flight then leave this out, however since most users typically select a flight based on criteria along with aircraft changes we do not need FSX loading up our systems with data for a flight we may not or will not use.

4. HighMemFix = 1 : under the [Graphics] header
Comment: to add a line that should have been written to the config file with the installation of FSX SP2/Acceleration but that Aces forgot to include

!!! PLEASE DO NOT ADD ANYTHING ELSE AT THIS TIME !!!

Shamelessly reposted from (http://www.simforums.com/forums/the-fsx-computer-system-the-bible-by-nickn_topic46211.html)

C. T.

If you are getting that awesome performance that you speak of ... just go about your business and fly ... count yourself lucky because you my friend ... are DONE!

PS: You just have to love that PMDG 737NGX (get it if you don't have it). I worked my butt off to get through the 757 and the 767 just to get into the T7 program. I'm currently waiting the outcome of the T7 check ride.

Charles Blankenship (DVA11584)

Posted onPost created on November 04 2013 21:07 ET by Charles Blankenship

Also ... what driver are you using for your Titans? I'm having difficulties with the latest drivers with the screen going black for a second ... then coming back ... and some shimmering and shaking. This is well documented for the 770 and the 780 ... I'm just wondering if you have any problems with the Titan.

Thanks,

C. T.

Charles Blankenship (DVA11584)

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