Just recently, using FS2020, my PC will completely shut down (not CTD but power down) after 2 or 3 hours. It never happened with FSX and it may have been OK for my first month of flying with this sim. (I only made the change from FSX a couple of months ago.)
I can restart the computer and comntinue using the sim.
The only recent changes have been several scenery downloads in my Community folder, and installing Little Navmap as well as Simbrief Dispatch.
It occurs even at a smaill regional airport (although a addon) and a default Cessna 172. It has also occured while cruising. The PC feels pretty warm but I’ve got plenty of fan power and ventilation.
Any ideas?
Gosh, there are so many things that it could be. But going off the PC being warm after running for a few hours you might try some temperature monitoring of your CPU and GPU. If you have had the computer for a while it is entirely credible that the filters or cooling vanes for the CPU/GPU fans are caked in dust. That is where I would start - a good clean up. If that does not work then you can explore other options.
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System specs would be helpful, but my immediate suspicion is a faulty PSU or that MSFS24 is overloading your PSU.
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If the PC is just shutting off completely, I would suggest looking at Heat, and Power.
System is either overheating or your PSU is failing.
Have you checked the Windows Event Logs to see what it’s sayin at time of shutdown?
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Hello @Roadspider
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Have you changed anything related to the hardware recently? Like upgraded the memory, changed fans, moved the PC to a different spot etc.
The HWinfo64 utility can keep a log with temperatures and other critical pieces of info.
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I have not changed anything or moved the computer. Today I used an app called Core Temp. The temps of the CPU looked normal but today it didn’t shut down even though I spent a few hours simming. So it is obviously intermittent. I’ll try to keep track of which aircraft, scenery area, etc next time it happens. i’ll also look at the fans for dust buildup, etc.
As I recall, mid-spec, correct?
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 3.6 Ghz
Radeon RX6500 GPU
32GB RAM
Never happens with other programs/Sims etc. so far.
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If this was me, I’d take a look at two things: first, the obvious (so obvious it’s easy to forget). Check your system’s power settings (in Windows Settings) and be 100% sure it didn’t get accidentally set to turn off after a few hours of user inactivity.
Second, hit WIN+X on you keyboard and select Windows Event Viewer. Look for any system events in the second or two before the system shut itself down and see if you have an intermittent hardware or driver fault that is getting logged and triggering the PC to shut down.
Most importantly, how many watts is your power supply?
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For me too. Not every flight, but 2 crashes to black screen in 2 days of use MSFS2024. Screen is Black, but PC is on Power. Only Hard Reset helps do bring the PC alive.
RX 7900 XT
Ryzen 7 9800x3D
Make and model as well (if possible.)
If this is a pre-built computer that info might be hard to find.
OP… as WingWarper1 suggested, HWinfo64 is the most comprehensive monitoring software out there. I have it and use it when I want to take a deep dive into the system (or as he also said, log things over time.)
I also use Open Hardware Monitor. It’s more basic and has an easy to setup and pretty unobtrusive gadget that can display a few chosen parameters and can be set to always display on top of other windows. I use it to monitor CPU package temp, GPU core temp, and GPU load while I play the game.
This pic shows it on top of a CapFrameX window, but it can run in the corner of your sim if you want.
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It could also be that the CPU 's heat sink is not attached well to the CPU chip or that the paste has dried up or was not properly done and now with the new FS2024 it is drawing more and the chip is heating up and going into thermal shutdown. You could also be having problems with your power supply shutting down due to thermal overload if it is caked with dust or is underrated for what you currently have installed in your computer. Best of luck in getting this problem resolved.
A client was having problems with his video switcher powering off (actually, it would run for about 15 minutes under load, then cycle On-Off-On-Off, continuously.
He thought it was a bad PSU, and bought an OEM replacement. That didn’t fix it, so he sent it to me.
I figured it was most likely a thermal issue, but monitoring the CPU and GPU temps showed nothing out of the ordinary.
I found the problem when I touched the VRM heatsink, which immediately blistered my finger. I’m in the process of trying to find a replacement motherboard. It’s no longer made, and I may have to get a pre-owned one.
It’s a $15,000 piece of video gear, so I’ll do whatever is necessary to get it working again.
Thanks to all for the suggestions.
I am using FS2020, not FS2024.
Since someone asked, here are complete specs-
Cyberpower Desktop
3.60 gigahertz AMD Ryzen 5 5500
384 kilobyte primary memory cache
3 megabyte secondary memory cache
16 megabyte tertiary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (6 total)
Hyper-threaded (12 total)
GPU Radeon 6500XT
600W Power supply
It only exhibits this problem with this one software and I do a lot of audio andf video editing on the same PC, also lots of previous hours on FSX with tons of addons included.
As I stated, I did monitor the CPU temperasture and it was normal. I also used Event Viewer, which is a bit confusing, and I do see a couple of “Warnings” righ before the shutdown. Clicking on it shows “The Secure Boot update failed to update a Secure Boot variable with error Secure Boot is not enabled on this machine”
I have no idea what that means or if it is relevant.
Another one- “The previous system shutdown at 11:36:47 AM on ‎2/‎15/‎2025 was unexpected.”
Nothing I can see that specifies the problem.
I do agree it seems heat related, not system / specs related.
I will open it up today and look for visual signs.
I would look at the Power Supply PSU
I did also run without any problems on my PC until MSFS2024
Then suddently when running MSFS2024 the computer sometimes rebooted.
After some investigation i found out that i hit maximum power usage just before reboot.
After installing a larger PSU the problem is gone.
I do not have the same specs. as you but same symptoms.
MSFS is very demanding on system resources, particularly GPU.
You monitor CPU temps, but I don’t see anything indicating that you’re monitoring GPU temps or wattage.
Have you tried any stress testing software?
For CPU, Cinebench or Prime95.
For GPU, MSI Kombuster.
Every time I look for MSI Kombuster I see lots of posts saying the link is sketchy…malware etc.
Per MSI:
“Lately, we heard about many phishing Afterburner sites that will steal your data for improper purposes. Please be noted that the correct Afterburner site only exists on msi.com and guru3d.com, any other is a fake site. Be careful and stay away from those sites to protect your digital assets.”