I’ve been facing a really frustrating issue with MSFS, and I’m at my wit’s end. I’m hoping some of you might have some insights or suggestions on how to resolve this.
MSFS keeps crashing to desktop after about 1-2 hours of flying time. It’s super frustrating because it disrupts my flights and the whole experience. I’ve tried just about everything I can think of to fix it, but nothing seems to work.
Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
Uninstalling and Reinstalling: I’ve tried this several times to ensure that the installation isn’t corrupted in any way. No luck here.
Upgrading to a more powerful computer: Thinking it might be a hardware issue, I even invested in a brand-new, more powerful computer. While it improved the overall performance, the crashes still persist.
Updating Drivers and Software: I’ve made sure all my graphics drivers, Windows updates, and the game itself are up-to-date.
Adjusting Graphics Settings: I’ve experimented with lowering the graphics settings to see if it’s related to system resource usage, but it hasn’t made a significant difference.
SafeMode: I’ve also tried running the simulator in safe mode, but it didn’t resolve the issue.
Removing All Mods: I’ve already tried removing all mods to rule out any conflicts, and this problem still occurs.
Reporting via Zendesk: I’ve submitted a support ticket via Zendesk, but unfortunately, I received a generic response that didn’t address my specific issue.
I want to emphasize that my PC specs are quite high, and all of my other games run perfectly without any crashes. It’s baffling that this issue persists only with MSFS.
I’m running out of ideas, and it’s so frustrating to be unable to enjoy the simulator without these desktop crashes. Has anyone else experienced this issue or does anyone have suggestions on what I could try next? I’m open to any ideas.
As soon as you get your next CTD, go to Windows Search (start menu) and search for Event Viewer (just start typing that and it’ll come up).
Load it and go down to Windows Logs on the left sidebar. Then click onto Applications. Scroll down until you see a red Error (check the times to the second that your CTD happened) and pick the first (earliest) one.
Ah the good old accurately described 0xc0000005 that really helps us to know what went wrong… memory handling exceptions in this sim are terribly handled. We really really REALLY need a log of what the game was trying to do or process when it trips over with this… like, just a TEENY TINY clue would help a lot. Please Asobo?
Have you manually overclocked either the CPU or GPU? MSFS can be very sensitive to this. If you have overclocked anything, try reverting to stock speeds and see if it recurs.
I ask because the two fault codes you reported are different - one relates to the GPU, one to a memory exception, which is harder to track down and solve.
Secondly, I’d recommend you run HWMonitor or similar in the background while using MSFS. If you get a crash, check the monitor to see if there have been any temperature or current draw spikes, which might be the cause of the CTD.
If your GPU or CPU are reporting temps of 90-100 degrees or more this could be the cause of crashes, and you should consider a cooling upgrade, plus checking that thermal paste is properly applied, etc.
If there is a current draw spike, it may be that your PSU is either failing or is not up to the job of running the new PC - did you replace it or at least check it was suitable when building the new, more powerful PC?
If you bought a ready-built PC instead of making it yourself, have you approached the vendors and explained the issue?
Another option to consider for improving cooling performance is the excellent, free and open-source FanControl app. This allows you control over every fan in the machine including those on the GPU, which can be linked together to avoid hot spots. Jay2Cents did a helpful video on it: Everyone NEEDS this FREE piece of software… You will thank me! - YouTube
There is the crash_report (can’t remember the exact name right now) file in the sim root which will usually have a dump of info in it when you get a CTD. Not sure if it’s human-readable. IIRC Asobo put it in so you could send it in with Zendesk tickets.
Error 05 is a generic error code (Access Violation) which covers a multitude of sins including various memory errors. It can be caused by a program trying to access memory which was freed, or a ‘dangling pointer’ or a host of other programming errors.
(Co-incidentally, this is why a lot of app development has moved to managed languages like Java and C#, but for something like MSFS you can’t get away without using good old C++ which requires careful manual memory management. Hence these are the most common errors you will see for a CTD).
Your original error was 0x80000003 which is ‘The Exception Breakpoint Has Been Reached’ which can be triggered by several things including, again, memory errors. But neither of these are likely to indicate a problem with your computer’s RAM. They are far more likely to indicate a problem with add-ons, configuration or other hardware that happens to cause the code to run down a path that eventually ends in a memory access error of some kind.
Debugging problems from the Event Viewer is an art, not a science. Hence the need for detailed crash logs.
The CTDs I have been having recently when zooming the world map are all 0xc0000005, but I’m reasonably certain these are down to server problems rather than anything on my machine. Frustrating, isn’t it?
It’s just happened again. It always seems to be on approach. I’m pulling what little hair I have left out on this…
Just before it crashed I took a screenshot of my Task Manager as I was flying over London in the FBW A320NX. Doesn’t look like there’s anything too concerning here (this was about 2 mins before CTD):
Yeah, I can see why the crash dump isn’t much use here. The table of values at the end is probably useful for Asobo but not so much for us.
Question: have you tried DX12? Given you have a 4000 series GPU I think it might offer you some advantages; and at least it’s worth a try.
Otherwise, you have a lot of add-ons and a lot of external programs running. I would suggest paring it down to the absolute minimum that you need to try to replicate the issue. Ideally, do some testing without add-ons at all.
If you can fly successfully with add-ons removed then you can start putting things back one at a time until it breaks again.
Nothing else obvious is jumping out at me. Although, just to be safe, it might be useful to run Memtest86 over your RAM. I had RAM read errors running mine at top speed, which would cause CTDs mid-flight. I turned the RAM speed down to stock and they went away.
But if your crashes usually happen on approach, that implies it’s got something to do with when the sim loads the detailed scenery for your destination airport. Try removing just that airport and flying into stock instead (assuming it was a third-party airport you were using). Any crash you can reliably reproduce is good, because it points me in the right direction and you can test it by excluding things.
Ah, hadn’t realised you also needed to set it in the sim options. I’ll update that.
I’ve just tried flying, and had another CTD on approach. Approx 8000 ft over Frankfurt flying the stable FBW A320NX. I’ve got no scenery mods in my community folder (crash report attached).
I wonder if it’s this aircraft, or something like FSUIPC7?
The game keeps crashing no matter what!! I have looked is all forums, and everyone is in agreement that the issue of crashing, at hitting FLY, or when flying, which is is all the time now for a few days is due to the game SERVERS, not our equipment or setup nor mods!!! So please Asobo/Microsoft or whom ever, please fix it ASAP. It is getting very annoying and not professional not even to acknowledge the issue in hand. PLEASE FIX ASAP. we are all paying customers!!!
