CTDs and freezes (August 2021) Seeking error code explanation

MSFS CTDs and Freezes over August. I have been working through crashes all August and every time I think I solved the problem they continue.

I have done everything I could think of and followed many guides. Updated BIOS, updated GPU and drivers, updated windows, checked every driver in device manager. But they seem to continue.

Crashes seem to be random occurring anytime, at airport, flying, in cockpit, in world map. System hangs and does not reboot after these crashes. Have to turn the power off at power supply, wait a while, then power on power supply then turn power on. Sometimes it takes multiple tries to restart the pc and load windows. Occasionally a crash occurs outside msfs but only after msfs has crashed that day.

Below is the latest information in reliability history. This problem has repeated itself multiple times. Could someone explain what it means.

Notes:

  1. MSFS folder and Steam folder exceptions in Windows Defender to determine if real time protection was an issue.
  2. BIOS fully updated except for a beta update (really dont want to try a beta update).
  3. GPU fully updated except for an optional update (not microsoft certified yet).

Windows 10 Home 21H1
MSFS 2020 Steam edition on 1TB SSD.
MSI x570 Tomahawk motherboard
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core Processor 3.60 GHz
GPU AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
RAM 64 GB (4x16 3200 running at 3000)*
2x1TB m2 SSD, 1TB sata SSD, 4TB hard drive*
Power Supply 750w 80+ Gold Corsair
Be quiet! Pure Base 500DX ATX Case (5 fans)
Thrustmaster T16000m HOTAS (joystick and throttle)*

[*updated Dec 11 2021]

Will continue to work the issue. Thank you for all your help, Rick.

No. (there is a suggestion later on as to what it might be, but this is about your dump)

All it really tells you that is useful is that Flight Simulator crashed (which you know) and it was ntdll.dll which contains the basic functions of the system - things like reading and writing to the disk and screen and reading the keyboard and the mouse.

The Exception code (c0000409) is the reason. This is a “stack corruption error” which could be literally anything. This covers things like (say) the computer trying to store the string “Hello” in a space which only has 4 characters. The fifth overwrites something it shouldn’t, and it breaks.

I’m assuming you’ve removed things in Community, unplugged as many USB peripherals as possible.

One thing worth checking - I made this mistake - is the Power supply capacity. I notice you have a hefty graphics card there, like me, you may have upgraded it for MSFS - not much else needs that much graphics clout or 32Mb of RAM. What I forgot was the power supply was the original one, which was 650W or something, and that wasn’t enough power - my system would randomly reboot. If you put a big graphics card in your machine it often requires more power to work - that’s why some graphics cards have two power connectors.

It didn’t do it for anything else, because nothing else I did flogged the graphics card as much - I’m not a gamer, and X-Plane is much lighter on graphics. MSFS bullies your system and this can cause errors.

This might explain why your system does not restart. This suggests a hardware problem. I presume you mean literally, it doesn’t start at all. If the computer is overheating then it will protect itself by refusing to start until it is cooler.

There are freeware apps that allow you to monitor the temperatures. These are quite high, but should be stable, and you can find suggested temperatures on line.

I’ve updated my post based on your response. I have a 750w power supply. Think I should have has used the term re-boot. System has power and hangs on re-booting after a crash but won’t load up like it is stuck somewhere.

I don’t think overheating is an issue as msfs will crash less than 15 minutes into it while on the world map and the system is pretty cool. But I’m paranoid about overheating potential.

Thanks for the response.

AMD recommend 700W so your RX5700 should be okay, there’s nothing else on the face of it drawing a lot of current. The fans are okay, I presume. Could be the thermal connection.

Reboot and Freeze sounds like hardware, it shouldn’t reboot reboot or seize up regularly. Most MSFS problems of this type are crash to desktop.

I tried this https://openhardwaremonitor.org/ when I replaced my PSU (also 750W but my Nvidia card isn’t as hefty as your Radeon) and it might be worth trying it with that just to eliminate it or to pick up another problem.

If the temperature is static then you could try a soak test of the RAM. I’ve not tried that myself but there are programs which do extensive tests of it over a long period.

Hello @NightHawk1867,

I had a PC with very similar specs. The hardware components themselves, if fully operational, should therefore be fine e.g. PSU if you did not do anything special. Running into windows/re-booting issues is not a common issue of MSFS. Therefore I suspect a hardware/software problem that is not directly related to MSFS. I do not have a solution for you, but if it were my PC, I would ensure, that not to many devices are plugged into the same poweroutlet. E.g. when I use a force feedback steering wheel, my motherboards inconsistent power feature gets triggered immediately killing my PC. Furthermore I would run prime95 and AMDs GPU stress test simultaneously for 15-30 min. If this does not crash windows, MSFS should not either. Also make sure there is enough storage available on your harddrives for the pagefile. Last, I would potentially run a memtest and only check for further windows software issues if MSFS unrelated programs show similar symptoms, even though all these hardware tests have passed. Again, these are things I would personally try, at my own risk.

I would agree with former posts and I think also this points more to a “hardware issue”
 may be not direct faulty hardware, it can also be lose cables, or cards which not sit correct in the slot. Of course a overheat - issue can be also possible ( there is not only a gpu which can be ‘hot’ ).

As example the latest case I remember was a user where the CPU cooler not fit correctly and touched the RAM ( I guessed a memory issue, because it’s PC booted several times after such a crash before windows started ).

Thank you @PaulRobson8096 @ITDreamFly @MichaMMA your replies and input. They helped a lot.

Wednesday: Ran the prime95 and amd gpu stress test for 25 min and the system crashed. So I unplugged the whole system and relocated it. Cleaned the case. Plugged the case directly into an outlet with the entire system and only the system running from that outlet. Carefully made sure all connections were firm and secure. I had already run several memory tests and WD ssd utilities.

Thursday: Finished setting up system and progressed slowly. Ran heaven benchmark 4, cinebench and msi kombuster at 2k and 4k without any problems. Ran the AMD gpu stress test for 35 minutes no problem. Later ran prime95 and amd gpu stress for 25 minutes without any problems. These tests were run with speakers and joystick disconnected. Also ran multiple different virus scans claiming system was clean. Used msi center to set the system to ‘standard’ re cpu and fan controls plus set amd gpu to ‘gaming’ performance. The system seems to be running cooler too.

Friday update: Have been on msfs for over 3 hours without a crash or a hiccup. Flew in multiple aircraft and multiple locations including test flights with the a320 and fby a32nx with no problems at all.

Thanks for all your help guys.
:sunglasses:

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Friday update: Have been on msfs for over 3 hours without a crash or a hiccup. Flew in multiple aircraft and multiple locations including test flights with the a320 and fby a32nx with no problems at all.

Thanks for all your help guys.
:sunglasses:

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