Constant CTD every flight now (ntdll.dll)

[Stardrifter2232]

Can anyone confirm, does verifying Steam files for MSFS still delete the entire contents of the game? Really hoping to avoid a redownload.

[BubbaBlitz7348]

I can verify that sometimes it does and other times it only replaces a few broken files here and there or just the launcher. Your odds are probably 40/60 that it will just replace a few files.

[hobanagerik]

Yes, it does, as far as I know.

[hobanagerik]

@geloxo

I understand that they have to say something but giving as a result of hundreds of posts such a generic solution like the check for updates one is what is not good at all for their image because it seems as if they really had no idea at all of the reason for the error and specially when the error still happened with a fully updated Windows during the weekend.

You missed the most important bit, which was the restart. If you find no updates, you still need to restart.

[TheDuck8643]

I am also experiencing CTDs, but how do I know that my problem is related to the (ntdll.dll) file?

Here is what the Windows Logs told me on the Computer Managment program.

---

Fault bucket 1193770685813505020, type 4
Event Name: APPCRASH
Response: Not available
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: FlightSimulator.exe
P2: 1.26.5.0
P3: 00000000
P4: FlightSimulator.exe
P5: 1.26.5.0
P6: 00000000
P7: c0000096
P8: 0000000002234dce
P9:
P10:

Attached files:
\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER58F0.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml

These files may be available here:
\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive\AppCrash_FlightSimulator._c24815cb575faf1cb7f6f59559d7816c3479ee_6dcb16b3_d00b65c7-67a7-414a-83a7-aaf33c6c0e74

Analysis symbol:
Rechecking for solution: 0
Report Id: 3f433fe0-8905-47dd-bf4a-ae73c5c59bf3
Report Status: 268435456
Hashed bucket: 5df293dc273fa6bb9091201d27303bfc
Cab Guid: 0

---

Fault bucket 2269984780824208581, type 5
Event Name: RADAR_PRE_LEAK_64
Response: Not available
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: FlightSimulator.exe
P2: 1.26.5.0
P3: 10.0.19044.2.0.0
P4:
P5:
P6:
P7:
P8:
P9:
P10:

Attached files:
\?\C:\Users\Komputer\AppData\Local\Temp\RDR4299.tmp\empty.txt
\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER429A.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER42CA.tmp.xml
\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER42F7.tmp.csv
\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER4317.tmp.txt

These files may be available here:

Analysis symbol:
Rechecking for solution: 0
Report Id: 466c8b07-6a6f-43ee-adc2-dd3fee4eb21d
Report Status: 268435456
Hashed bucket: 1c4cc1595b19ccbbef809b219a91e4c5
Cab Guid: 0

---

This has been happening since December, and I do not know how to fix the CTDs. I have my NVIDIA driver fully updated (31.0.15.1694) for my RTX 2070SUPER GPU. The problem is that I cannot play this simulator since these crashes occur five minutes into flying. Luckily the flight loads and I am flying, but for a very short time. I also believe I have the latest windows update installed. Any help appreciated.

I am also running my flight simulator on safe mode, I dont have any mod installed anyway since I have removed them since they have been outdated.

[geloxo]

Steam never deletes game contents during verification process on any game if they are complete according to the current game build. In case any files/updates are missing or they failed to download correctly during the update they will be downloaded again.

Steam normally runs its own verification after each game update as well anyway. Doing a whole game verification manually does not harm at all.

Cheers

[Stardrifter2232]

Unfortunately, it still does delete everything sometimes. All Steam knows about is the game itself which is very small. The content of the game however can get deleted. The entire Packages folder. There are posts about it from as recently as last month. I’ve had it happen twice personally. Asobo even acknowledges it happens. I thankfully didn’t need to try it tonight, I ended up getting my sim working again after running DISM and fixing something wrong with the drive.

[geloxo]

The packages folder is not part of Steam and it’s not part of MS Store either. That’s downloaded by MSFS itself once you execute it and by the content manager and it’s MSFS who checks file consistency of those contents. Both Steam and MS Store only download and check consistency of the exe package and the digital ownership package.

Cheers

[Stardrifter2232]

My apologies and thanks for moving my thread

[geloxo]

Replied there

Cheers

[hobanagerik]

@geloxo

Steam never deletes game contents during verification process on any game if they are complete according to the current game build.

The reason why Steam deletes the majority of the MSFS content is Steambdoesn’t download it. The only but steam downloads is the client, not the content.

The MS Store equivalent is the protected launcher folder, typically on C, and the sim content separate to that, which in my case is on D.

Steam stores the game content that the launcher downloads in the same folder structure I believe. So when you verify it finds the launcher, but then finds all these other folders with planes, airports etc. so it removes them.

The equivalent would be me deleting my “D:\FlightSimulator” folder, then running the launcher, and having to download it all again.

[geloxo]

This is what I wrote in the Steam bug thread. For Steam and MS Store the game is just the launcher and the digital ownership, and nothing else than that. It verifies that and it never deletes that. The other files, including all configs, are handled by MSFS and the content manager.

Cheers

[DensestSnail693]

@geloxo

During the weekend not only the tiles but the complete scenery data was not sent by servers. You faced a completely flat area (no textures, no buildings and no terrain mesh). That was confirmed by several users. However connection to server was still alive.

Turning online services off and back on fixed this for me instantly so ironically I doubt it’s the servers themselves but rather a (possibly streamed) trigger to how the data gets treated in memory. (beta)

[dustNinja7871]

It deletes the file that tells the sim where the official/community folders go. Thats why you are redownloading it when you do that. Its still there on your pc, but the sim isnt aware until you tell it.

[hobanagerik]

Ah, I hadn’t read that. Interesting. But still it appears to be the same cause. The verify process removes any files it is not aware of, and that it did not download.

[Hoth987716]

Where’s the fix… smh sheesh

[hobanagerik]

Have you restarted your computer? Not shutdown, specifically a restart. Also, when was the last time you ran a manual “Check for Updates”? You may want to do that first, then restart.

Something I just thought of, and I’m not sure why it didn’t come to me until now, the post I respond to above prompted it I guess.

For those that don’t believe a simple restart is fixing this, and Asobo must have fixed something on the server side, and are just keeping schtum, why is it some people are still affected by this? If it was server side, it would be fixed for everyone.

Assuming for a moment that the one reported is relevant, of course.

[musefan12345]

@SeedyL3205

As mentioned previously, nothing was changed server-side. If the CTD was fixed for you before we posted the resolution steps, it’s likely because you completed the steps while we were still diagnosing the issue and verifying if the suggested procedure actually solved it.

While this is certainly very possible, it doesn’t explain why everyone suddenly started getting CTDs last Friday.

[geloxo]

I have restarted computer several times since friday, yes, and I was already using an updated Windows 11 even on friday itself. Indeed the first thing I did, before CM wrote it here, was to check for updates on both Windows and MS Store (that one in case gaming services or Xbox app were causing the error). This does not solve the issue.

Cheers

[hobanagerik]

Is your issue specifically the “ntdll.dll” as the faulting module though? If not then it should be reported somewhere other than this thread. You will see this in the Applications Event Log. Look for Event ID 1000.

If you are instead getting the more generic “Flightsimulator.exe” one, with “0xc0000005” as the exception, that is indeed nothing to do with this thread.