almccoyjr

"Hear, Hear" UK +1 to all plug_nickel

Vista introduced the AERO desktop theme; W7 continues it. FSX doesn't have the library pallet to handle it. The message is typical MS "geek-techno speak" for simply deactivating the AERO desktop theme before starting. Quad cores pretty much do nothing for FSX and dual cores don't allocate the same percentage between them, so..... plug_nickel ps, my apologies for temporarily high jacking the thread.

You need to see just what is going on temperature wise, and not think "it's running cooly." You need to load test cpu, memory, gpu and log the temps using something like CPUID's HWmonitor. Depending how old your components are, the T.I.M. on cpu/gpu may have finally set and when that happens the result is thermal resistance. Heat transfer is just not as efficient as it was before. And when T.I.M. sets or starts to harden, STRANGE things start to happen. Vdroop is another possibility, but that's best left for a "tech". Depending on the motherboard, you may have points on the board from which to meter the voltage, but it's not something to take lightly. It's better to check the components as best you can first. Typhoon has taken care of the memory with memtest86. Stress the cpu by running Prime95 and the gpu with FurMark (FutureMark). Setup a log with HWmonitor and record the temps as the tests are being conducted. By running these diagnostics, you should be able to produce hardware and/or heat issues and see just how well the components are working or at least point you in the right direction. plug_nickel

Not all motherboards will exhibit such temp differences. You must take into account that my 680i-SLI is cerca 2006! However, you WILL have temp increases based on number of ram modules, their speed, their core memory voltage requirements and their timings. As you populate the dimms, you add NB M.C. stress. As you populate the dimms AND increase the physical memory of the ram, you increase the stress even more. This stress is the efficiency and activity of of the memory controller and that simply relates to heat. It gets worse when you start to oc the ram or tighten the timings, even when you lock the speed of the ram. Add to this that just about ALL motherboard mfgs. NB coolers "suck", IMHO, just complicates the problem(s) even more when trying to diagnose mobo problems. You really need to know what the local temp is for the NB at at idle and at full memory load, then start your upgrades, mods or whatever. And let's not get started on positive/negative case pressure and how that relates to case cooling when those tiny NB heatsinks are working (and that a stretch). Olham, go into your mobo's manual and review the sections on ram, voltage, timing etc and also make sure that the Corsair modules you're using are listed by Gigabyte as compatible for your board. If they're not, go to the Gigabyte forum and see if others are using your type of ram in the mobo. It helps to eliminate another possible "oh man, I didn't know that..." scenario. And as you see, your mileage (temp) does vary. plug_nickel (Al)

When you're system starts to run under heavier loads so do the various chips on the mobo. The NB is in particular a "normal" hot spot. When running all dimms populated, you put a heavier load on the memory controller which is incorporated in the NB chipset, EVEN if you're running memory/voltage/timings at box stock values. I run 8GB of memory, 4 2GB modules. The temp difference on my EVGA 680i-SLI using 2GB, 4GB and 8GB is very noticeable. With 2GB, temp was around 42-45C. With 4GB, 4 1GB modules, temp was 50-55C. With 8GB, 4 2GB modules, the temp was approaching 70C under full load. Using a different NB cooler/fan reduced the temp from 70 to 47C under load and about 32C at idle. When a heat load involving the NB and or dimms happens and lockups occur, the core memory voltage can droop first and then spike when the lockup occurs, rippling through the chipset, resetting the voltage value and or timing values memory is operating under. When you're trying to troubleshoot possible heat/memory issues, you MUST revert to box stock settings on the cpu, memory speed, timings and core memory voltage. You should then make sure you have no ongoing heat issues with the NB chipset, THEN follow Parky and Von Paulus recommendations on troubleshooting memory modules. As you repopulate the dimms, you'll need to keep an eye out on the NB temp and note differences. This will aid you in determining if a better NB cooler might now be needed. IF you're going to populate all dimms, adjust memory voltage and try and tighten timings, you WILL need a better NB chipset cooler, not just on yours, but on anyone's motherboard. For the record, I'm running 8GB, 2GBx4 modules of GSkill locked at 800 with bus at 1066. Stock voltage is 1.80v; I run 1.85v. Timings are 4-4-4-12 2T. I run at 4-3-4-9 2T. plug_nickel (Al)

Just to chime in....Also check the temperature of the Northbridge chip. From what I've read so far, your crashes are definitely symptomatic of memory and or a localized heat issue. You may also want to check your memory timings to make sure that they haven't drastically changed. plug_nickel (Al)

Ok, I'll give it a shot and document what I do to uninstall Nvidia drivers. Please feel free to add, subtract or enhance. Preparation... 1)Stop any Windows automatic updates; use the "let me choose" option instead. 2)Shut down any AV/MW scanners AND any real time monitoring software that launches when Windows is started. 3)> OPTIONAL < Return OC video card(s) to stock settings. Uninstall...This is a little bit more involved since Nvidia has added 3D Steroscopic and PhysX drivers to the mix. So I'm writing this as IF both of these drivers are installed. 1)Use "Add/Remove" program in Control Panel to uninstall both 3D Stero, PhysX drivers. 2)Then in "Device Manager", go to display adapters. Use the (+) sign to display your graphics card. Right click on your card and click uninstall. Check mark the pop up to delete the driver. 3)Now go to C:/Nvidia and delete the DisplayDriver folder. 4)Go to C:/Program Files and/or C:/Program Files (x86) and delete the entire Nvidia Corporation folder. It's sometimes written in both directories. 5)Go to C:/Windows/System32/DriverStore/FileRepository and delete any folder that starts with "nv_disp.inf" . Note: I've left out C:/ProgramData..Nvidia, Nvidia Corporation folders because they contain the 3D profiles. IF you're not using 3D Stero, you can delete these folders as well. Install... 1)Re-boot into safe mode. During this time Windows will install the generic VGA adaptor. 2)Using Driver Sweeper, check mark both 3D Stero, PhysX, analyze and all the items that are now listed should have check marks next to them. If not, select all then clean. 3)FINISHED! Re-boot as normal and install new video driver and restart your monitoring programs. This is the procedure I've been following for a long time, adding elements to it gleaned from different forums and crash logs. Nvidia's 260.XX series drivers are "supposed" to eliminate the need to uninstall previous >>260 series<< drivers and future releases. This doesn't apply to 258's or earlier. Also, Nvidia's 260 series will allow for opting out of the 3D Stero, PhysX drivers if you don't use one or both. That's my 5 cents worth. plug_nickel

W7_64 Ultimate; installed 260.89 WHQL yesterday and found them to be extremely good so far. Did you go through the multi-step uninstall procedure or try to do an over-right? plug_nickel

"turned it into a slide show on pause"....hahahaha. Finally something slower than watching paint dry. Windows7forum.com is where I first picked up the Dx insight. Do a search on directx. I don't use a dedicated sound card anymore; Realtek has added enough ambiance to get by with. There have been all sorts of issues with Creative sound drivers and the game sound files with the progression of MS OS's that it just wasn't worth it to me to mess with sound cards anymore. plug_nickel (Al)

It's been awhile since I went W7, but I recall that the W7 betas and upgrades had Dx10.0/1 while the retail versions of W7 had Dx11. It was noted that the earlier ran "some" Dx9 games and not others while Dx9 support was really borked by Dx11. I think it was on the W7 IT forum that noted MS had redistributed the Dx9.C for this reason with support going all the way back to Dx7. I'd install a non-beta video driver and then install the Dx9 Redistribution to correct the missing support files not found in Dx11. I'd also follow Over50's advice about waiting for the new 260.X WHQL to be issued. The current beta is very buggy. The WHQL is also "said" to reinitialize Dx7 support without having to rename some of the .exe apps as is now the case running the beta. Those of us still flying FF5 or OF will be letting out a mighty cheer when that happens! plug_nickel (Al)

It does sound like your lockups are being caused by redirects causing service issues. When confronted with any possible malicious code, I do the following: Manually disable the router. Go into Temp folder in AppData from the primary Admin Account and make note of all entries. Then open each entry if it is folder and check what's in them. Make notes. You can dismiss FSXAPIDebugLog. It's a permanent log file that FSX uses. Defrag your drive completely, then go back into the above Temp folder and note any changes. Except for the FSX Log file, delete only those folders where nothing new has been written. Leave the modified folder/files alone. Shut down and start up in Safe Mode with network access. IF the code is morphing type, this will force it to change and try to redirect. Port 116 is still open but blocked by disconnecting the router. The code doesn't know this and hopefully a new registry entry(s) is made. Run a complete scan with Malwarebytes and then with your regular AV program. Follow their directions if any are given. When finished, reconnect router and take her for a spin. Go back into AppData Temp and check what's there. Then download a file and check same Temp again. I suspect user file service. I've had three instances of code coming in through port 116 which is the most common port user file services need access. Hope this helps. plug_nickel (Al)

I think rudder pedals are absolutely necessary when "slipping", especially when trying to establish a good lead angle when banking by "walking" your fire onto the target. But that's my opinion. plug_nickel.

+1 plug_nickel

How about trifocals? You'll have cockpit, convergence and horizon covered then. plug_nickel

IF 2....I couldn't write and tell you

I pretty much follow the same tactics as RAF_Louvert and I also sit on a helmut for added protection. plug_nickel

It was a bad initial install; however, not a typical one and one that can and will happen again to anyone. Ras had installed CFS3 and had problem getting the game to run. This was followed by OFF install and subsequent problems. Several more uninstall/reinstall attempts were made without any success. After many forum suggestions failed and after my last procedure on how to do a clean uninstall didn't work, Ras and I agreed to get together using Skype and allowing me to look at his files and registry. Ras had followed all the procedures to uninstall except for purging the files written in AppData, which is a hidden file. After pointing that out, we proceeded to unhide the file, but it took me several seconds trying to remember just where that was done!!! We both were having "older" moments. How often do you modify folder appearances or unhide one? Just once maybe and afterward, that's water long under the bridge...lol. Got that taken care of. Docs, files, and registry were cleaned and CFS3 installed uneventfully. Patched to 3.1 and went to run the game; no go. It wouldn't run. Checked compatibility and Admin again and tried unsuccessfully one more time. So we went into CFS3, brought up config and I had Ras change only his resolution. CFS3 then ran "just fine". Ras then went on to install OFF, updates, HiTR and updates and was to let me later how it went. CFS3 would not auto-config for initial start and run. When the config file was opened, it showed that CFS3 was initially configured, even though it had not done so properly. The ONLY way to have known this was to have run the game first! A run-time error developed after Ras's initial OFF install; I had suspected this might happen, but wasn't absolutely sure this would be the case. The run-time error has nothing to do with OFF, but has to do with the CFS3 auto-config not properly taking place. Run-time errors are 90%+ update errors do to a registry entry not being properly directed to a .dll file thus not completing a function. In this case it has to do with CFS3update entry under OBDSoftware. OFF uses some CFS3 files; think of OFF as being an UPDATE to CFS3 even though OFF is an application. This particular run-time error is more annoying than anything else and won't affect OFF in any way. So I'm looking for a free .dll/reg cleaner to repair the run-time error for Ras. I've downloaded and tried 4 so far to correct an error I've induced on my system, but don't like the hoops you have to jump through. When I find a good, straightforward program that works without bs, I'll get it to Ras and he'll finally be finished. Somewhere, on one of Ras's CFS3 discs, there's an error that will always be present when installing with those discs. At least now it's known and can be remedied. Moral: Run CFS3 after it's installed. You're already there. You don't have to do anything but start the game. Take 5 more minutes and make sure the initial install works properly. As Unclean said in the past, "Go fly the P-47...". You have nothing to lose except possibly a lot of frustration down the road. Now that's about $1 worth. plug_nickel

aaahhh....now we know the cause of your addiction: it's the oil. The Camel's is quite tasty. plug_nickel

Here are the settings I use from Homeboy's config: http://forum.combatace.com/topic/38949-my-game-settings/page__p__266620__fromsearch__1entry266620 My TIR is .9 Speed and 33 Smoothing. With OFF, my TIR profile uses 2 extra control points. I was using five, but found it just to tedious to map. plug_nickel

I can take some screen shots of my config and post if you like. It's the same setup Homeboy and Rabu had collaborated on and posted much earlier. I have the info from R_L on his nHancer setup, but haven't tried them out yet. When I install my GTX 260_216 card, I'm going to use my same setup first as a baseline and then go from there with the nHancer config. One thing I have noticed is that the max refresh rate I can run before getting into any abnormalities is 75hz. I believe this is purely hardware related since I'm using a Sony GDM-FW900. It seems logical to me that there is a refresh disparity = anomalies variance between glass and lcd that probably needs to be taken account. Just a thought. plug_nickel plug_nickel

I'm running 5-4-4-4-5. I like to pounce on unsuspecting prey from the clouds. plug_nickel

As my wife is fond of telling me, "Let's see, the last time I used it was....". Hint, it's with your Postit Note pad. plug_nickel zzzzzzzzz....

Huh?...What?...(yawn)...Someone type something? What were we talking about anyway?

F5_HUD will put ammo counter on the screen. I had to think about it for a minute since I don't use it. Damn, that tired me out: nap time. I'm having a senior moment now. plug_nickel

Thanks Tamper. My "gut" was right. I run a 24" flat-panel glass monitor and as Nvidia introduced new drivers, I was forced to customize my refresh rate from the 85hz default to 70hz @1920 X 1200 32bit. When I was at 85, stuttering was most noticeable as well as the heat coming off my monitor. Through trial and error, I found my sweet spot to be 72hz, 45fps max., for my 8800gtx. I use Disktrix to defrag and optimize so I've always had flight sims located as close to the edge of the platter as possible. Running TIR4 w/ 5 software, I have no tearing or jaggies. I'm in the process of modding my new HAF 932 case and will be installing a GTX 260 216 card along with a new WD 1TB black Caviar hd. I'll update new findings as I find them. Very good threads from both Rabu and yourself.