TL;DR - creating a dual boot dedicated Windows partition with only MSFS and absolutely necessary software/drivers has DRAMATICALLY improved MSFS reliability for me. Only load the add-ons (including community, official, and World Updates) you’re going to need for your next flight.
Here are the steps I used to create a dedicated Windows 10 partition: How to Dual Boot Windows (techadvisor.com)
Details:
One thing I learned after Sim Update 5 is that not only is MSFS temperamental with regard to drivers, peripherals, hardware, and add-ons, but also COMPLETELY UNRELATED SOFTWARE INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER CAN TRIGGER CTDs.
If you search the forums, you’ll find a thread where MSFS was loading a DLL from the Capture One image editing software. That was my issue last fall. After renaming the Capture One DLLs, MSFS was rock solid until Jan 2022.
Knowing this, I realized we’re often just chasing our tail when trying to alleviate CTDs - who would think completely unrelated image editing software would have anything whatsoever to do with MSFS stability.
The moral is this, until this game becomes FAR more stable, I recommend creating an entirely separate boot partition for MSFS and the software that must run while in game (e.g. Navigraph Simlink, OnAir Company, Flight Events, etc.). Only install the required drivers on your dedicated partition - a clean Windows 10 install should have fewer than 70 background processes running once you eliminate the fluff (my “normal” Windows partition with all of my other apps has ~120 background processes running).
Additionally, I use the Addon Linker (link below) to only load the essential addons I’m going to need during my next flight. This goes for Asobo’s World Updates and official content as well. The goal is to eliminate anything and everything possible because this sim is extremely fragile.
MSFS Addons Linker » Microsoft Flight Simulator
Even third-party content installers (e.g. Orbix Central, Contrail, FSDT Live Update, Aerosoft, etc.) are to be excluded from your dedicated partition. Since you still have a copy of MSFS on your main partition, you can use this as your environment to evaluate new software and add-ons. When you’re confident it is safe, use the Addon linker on your dedicated partition to link in the newly purchased content.
It takes a few hours to setup and get everything configured, but this has worked for me where everything else has failed. Should the CTDs return at some point in the future, at least you’ll know you have eliminated all possible variables.
Note that MSFS stores your joystick configuration in the cloud, so thankfully you don’t have to remap all of your joystick bindings.
Once you go through this work, use your dedicated partition for flying only. Web browsing, shopping, other gaming, etc. should be restricted to your main (non MSFS) partition.
Best of luck!