So I’ve made multiple posts describing and complaining about CTDs. I was very vocal then, and I must be continue to be vocal now that my situation has changed. I have finally reached a point where for the last two weeks I have had ZERO CTDs. This streak started after the second Hotfix, in combination with some stuff I had to do. I know that CTDs are still very much a thing, but I also know that they are almost all caused by addons and outside influences (Asobo I’m still looking at you!). Here’s what I had to do to get here.
ADDONS ADDONS ADDONS:
Yes this sucks, but you ABSOLUTELY need to get rid of all addons (*THIS INCLUDES ADDONS FROM THE MSFS MARKETPLACE), at least for the short term. For me I ran into two issues which were quietly causing crashes.
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1. Because I was using an addon file linker. For whatever reason, the symbolic links themselves were being treated as hidden files. So every time I was clearing my whole Community folder, I did not know that the “symbolic links” remained. So any addons which were indeed causing crashes were secretly still being loaded. Once I discovered this I deleted them and this helped.
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2. The second issue related to addons was a file that MSFS keeps which has a running list of all addons you’ve added. I found that even when you delete addons from your community folder, these addons stay listed in this file and it may be causing issues. This file is (C:\Users[USER]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator\Content.xml) So if you clear your Community folder, be sure to delete this too.
Negative interactions with Windows & Windows settings
Another issue was the “Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling” option in windows. THIS MUST BE TURNED OFF. In order to find it, search for “Graphic Settings” in your windows search bar.
Windows itself might be an issue, Having tried the latest builds there were some issues I know were caused by using a BETA version of Windows 11. I have two similarly built PCs (Both new) and on the Win11 PC I ran into an issue where resources seemed to not be managed well which resulted in repeated BSODs while flying. I confirmed the issue by reverting my second pc to Win 10 and the issue never occurred again. I should be clear this could also be caused by the way Win11 was interacting with Nvidia’s drivers or any other component for that matter and might not be Win11’s direct fault. Side note of course update all your drivers!
Outside software interactions
It has be reported that multiple outside apps like Spotify,various anti viruses, and things like Discord can cause crashes. For now I highly recommend that you severely reduce applications that are running in the background. This is good advice in general, but for now, if you are getting CTDs, make sure to do this.
A320NX
For a while there the A320NX was causing crashes. Whats worse is that the store downloaded version was guilty as well. They have since fixed this issue and the current version (0.6.3) available through the FBW downloader is crash free. But if you are not sure about version numbers, you can just steer clear until its back up in the MSFS marketplace.
Peripheral and related plugin
While I can not say for sure if these are directly causing crashes. Removing plugins that are used to make specialized configurations for your peripherals in sim might be a good idea to try if you are experiencing CTDs. Think axis and ohs.
Extra side note on addons
People new to flight sim should also take note that even airplane liveries can cause negative interactions with the sim as well as the airplanes which use them. There are many documented cases where, say, a livery can cause an airplane to not function normally. When dealing with addon aircraft or systems, be sure to take note of any instructions which need to be followed in order to avoid conflict.
A combination of all these things has gotten me to the point where I have seen no CTDs, not one. And I was one of the ones who literally could not make 1 flight without getting a CTD. Remember NO ADDONS, absolutely NONE. Once you get to a point where you can do 3-4 flights with no CTDs, then is when you can consider bringing them back. And I would only do so 1-3 at a time so if I do start to CTD again I can narrow it down way easier.
To Asobo:
Since SU5 you have made good progress. The performance upgrade is no doubt AMAZING, to put it lightly. But you guys gotta fix how prone this game is to CTDs. I know you guys are already on it so I won’t go on and on. But something definitely has to be done about how easily addons can cause CTDs. I understand that is hard bc of the sandboxing which might be required, but I have confidence that you guys can get there! Also, thank you, and Microsoft so deeply for giving SO MANY ppl who otherwise would never have the opportunity to fly in real life, a chance to do so in such an immersive way, truly.
My specs:
EVGA FTW 3 Ultra 3080
i9 9900k
64GB of memory
Game on NVMe SSD drive
Win 10
. In fact I haven’t even seen complaints about it in the community.