Should I perform a complete reinstall? Stress test options?

My version of MSFS is becoming increasingly unstable. It has always frozen or crashed at various times during flight, but now it will freeze when pressing escape to pause during flight and when exiting the simulator at the end of a session. MSI afterburner is showing good temps for the CPU and GPU.

 

Has anyone had good success with performing a complete reinstall?

 

Or...

 

What programs would you recommend to stress test my intel i7-9700F, 32 GB of ram, and GeForce GTX 1660 Super? I am open to the possibility that I have a hardware problem. MSFS is the only program that crashes or freezes for me.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

-B

What are your storage devices?

What do you have in the community folder?

Is your Windows 10 up to date?

Do you overclock?

Edited July 11, 2021 by plainsman

What are your storage devices?

What do you have in the community folder?

Is your Windows 10 up to date?

Have you looked at your temperatures while the sim is running? Is it a tower with adequate ventilation?

 

Plainsman,

 

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

 

My community folder only has the H135 helicopter add-on. I will take it out just in case.

 

Windows 10 is always up to date.

 

I have looked at the temps while the sim is running, plus MSI afterburner shows the peak temp of the GPU, the CPU temp and the temp of each core of the CPU. The highest I am getting is on the CPU which will top out at 70C.

 

The tower has plenty of ventilation.

 

Do you have any suggestions for stress testing? I am beginning to wonder if this is a component issue.

 

OH- and just to add- most of my graphics settings are on high- nothing is on ultra. I am running at 1080p.

 

Thanks again.

 

-B

Please take a look at this video on You Tube-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRbMfZKuRUo

 

It has a stress test program included, plus other free programs which will tell you a LOT about your system.

If you overclock, you might try backing off the overclock and testing.

Also, do you have a bunch of saved flights? If so, you might try deleting all of them and testing.

Edited July 11, 2021 by plainsman

This game does not like overlocked systems. I had to back down from 3.8Ghz to 3.5 and now its rock solid with no problems at all.

 

Play some other demanding game on your system. There are also lots of synthetic tests you can do. Check the article below. Scroll down a bit till you see "CPU Benchmarking"

 

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-free-benchmark-programs/

This game does not like overlocked systems. I had to back down from 3.8Ghz to 3.5 and now its rock solid with no problems at all.

 

Play some other demanding game on your system. There are also lots of synthetic tests you can do. Check the article below. Scroll down a bit till you see "CPU Benchmarking"

 

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-free-benchmark-programs/

 

Thanks for your response.

 

I do not have anything overclocked. I will look into the website you suggested.

 

As to my other question, has anyone had success with fixing CTDs and freezes by doing a full reinstall?

 

I also wonder if AI traffic might have something to do with this. There are times when I see two of the same AI planes, one following the other by a few seconds.

 

-B

I can't respond to your question, because I have only had one CTD since August of 2020, which was a result of the openning of the map, which has now been fixed.

I would exhaust all other alternatives before you try to reinstall. Clean out all saved flights. Empty your community folder, lower you settings to a mix of medium and high, turn off live weather and live traffic. If that does not solve the issue then consider reinstall. Are you using an HDD, an SSD or and M.2? What is your internet speed? You might be more likely to get a corrupt installation with a slow internet speed and a HDD?

Everytime a update is released, several of the packages get updated, so basically your getting a "reinstall".

 

I just had my first CTD after my internet cutout and MSFS switched to off-line mode. Waited for modem to reconnect and all was good.

Something is going wrong.

 

It has taken longer and longer to load the sim and the subsequent chosen flight. Now I've had a CTD as soon as the flight finished loading. On top of it all, my TrackIR stopped working.

 

To recap:

• No overclocking
  
• Running 1080p
  
• None of my settings are beyond high
  
• 32 GB of RAM
  
• Decent i7 processor
  
• GeForce GTX 1660 Super
  
• Nothing in my community folder
  
• Great internet- fast and stable
  

 

 

 

Frustration mounts.

Hi, have you reinstalled flight sim yet then? I have done it many items due to several reasons. The most recent one was when I did a full Windows reinstall too. I downloaded every available Windows update.. and eventually MSFS.

It’s never run so well!

If you’re simply planning to reinstall MSFS and you’ve got a good internet connection.. then what’s stopping you? You’ve nothing to lose.

 

 

Regards

Steve

Hi, have you reinstalled flight sim yet then? I have done it many items due to several reasons. The most recent one was when I did a full Windows reinstall too. I downloaded every available Windows update.. and eventually MSFS.

It’s never run so well!

If you’re simply planning to reinstall MSFS and you’ve got a good internet connection.. then what’s stopping you? You’ve nothing to lose.

 

 

Regards

Steve

 

 

Steve,

 

I have reinstalled the sim. I did not get to fly yet, but it loaded quickly and shut down quickly on command (not a CTD).

 

I will keep everyone posted. I hope this works.

 

-B

Glad it went well. Hope it runs better now :)

 

Regards

Steve

Like you, I watched the sim gradually deteriorate to the point it would CTD every time. Tried everything for several days and yesterday finally bit the bullet and did an uninstall and then reinstalled. Took about five hours, but since then have made many flights and it is smoother and better than ever!! I have a similar system to you.

Great! Another happy ending :)

Wait til the big update comes on 27th. Hope it all goes smoothly for us all.

 

Regards

Steve

I recently (3 days ago) built a new PC - Asus Prime Z590 motherboard, Intel I7 10700k, 32 gb 3200 memory, 1 tb samsung evo 980 nvme ssd drive, brand new Windows 10 install. 750w EVGA Gold GA power supply. In a Fractal Design Define 7 Compact case with Fractal Design S24 water cooler.

 

Once I had it up stable, I downloaded MSFS from the Xbox store and installed in less than 2 hours.

Surprisingly, when I started the program, it can up very quickly and with all my Pilot Profile statistics in tack. Despite it containing a profile for my CH Flight Yoke, I had to remap it to my personal preferences.

 

My general Options were automatically updated to match my new CPU with EVERYTHING on HIGH!

I'm running 3440x1440 @ 100hz and getting over 60fps in non-urban areas and no less than 40 in NYC.

 

One thing that often gets overlooked is the quality and wattage of the power supply. if building new, DO NOT skimp on the PSU.

I agree entirely. You see so many posts where people are wanting to get a new GPU etc and the psu gets overlooked.

Hope you enjoy the new machine :)

 

Regards

Steve

OK- so far so good. Load times have improved. I have completed two short flights so far.

 

I will keep you posted.

 

- Bob