We need [more] official help with CTD problems

Bug Reporting Hub Crashes (CTDs)
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1

Like many others here, I’ve been having lots of crashes to desktop of MSFS2020, starting with SU5. I had zero crashes before SU5, and now I’ve had dozens (every other flight, basically). Lots of Xbox players are getting CTD’s like this as well. But not all. Does that mean Microsoft has to recall / repair potentially thousands of consoles? I hope not.

I don’t think the CTD issues are due to a system fault. I have several other intensive programs (DCS World, Train Sim World, Rise of Flight, Stranded Deep, etc) and have had no issues with any program except for MSFS2020. These issues might be a certain combination of hardware / software causing issues. But remember, most of us did not have issues prior to SU5.

-----> The Problem:

Here’s the problem: I’m in flight, and suddenly the screen freezes for a second, my GPU monitor shows the CPU load drops off, and then I’m looking at my desktop. This can happen at any time, any location, any aircraft, community mods or not.

NTDLL.DLL seems to be a common offender (looking at Event Logs) but not always. The CTD issues are truly random.

-----> System:

i7-10750 6-core CPU, 32 GB DDR4 ram, and Nvidia RTX 2060 GPU with 6bg of memory. Two 1TB M.2 NVMe SSDs.

GPU / CPU are factory default clock speeds. Have never enabled overclocking. I’ve tried all of the applicable CTD guide’s suggestions:

Checklist - https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015893879-All-versions-Crashing-CTDs-issues-Checklist
Basic - https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4406280399250-All-versions-Crashing-CTDs-issues-Basic-Troubleshooting
Advanced - https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4406280653202-All-versions-Crashing-CTDs-issues-Advanced-Troubleshooting

-----> What I’ve tried:

-Community folder empty
-Rolling Cache cleared / off
-Steam verify integrity of game files
-Game mode on / off
-Tried re-installing MSFS2020 from scratch
-I’ve also used tools to scan my memory, SSD’s, and processor for errors
-Clean install of Nvidia drivers - 471.96 version
-BIOS is up to date
-All other drivers are up to date
-C++ libraries uninstalled / reinstalled
-Windows is up to date - 21H1 version
-Microsoft store apps are up to date
-Tried logging out / in to MS store
-Checked language pack is installed
-Checked that SSD is NTFS formatted
-Pagefile has been tested set at both 1.5x memory / system managed
-Tried a system restore to before crashing started
-Zendesk is great at helping with basic issues, but for more specific / difficult cases, they only parrot the same suggestions back. That is not helpful.

They say in their Advanced CTD guide to check the forums for help. But, these forums are getting pretty convoluted with (good-intentioned, but sometimes dubious) suggestions from users, because we’re not getting helpful information from you.

One person says “Install latest GPU drivers,” then another thread says “Roll back your drivers.” Another person claims its 100% in Asobo’s domain to fix the issues, then another person says the problems are 100% hardware problems with the local machine.

We need more help us get to the bottom of this, provide updates so we know that it’s being worked on. Otherwise, we are to assume we no longer can use this software. They need to figure out what changed with SU5, causing this propensity for instability, and fix it.

It may be the minority of people having issues, but its still a very significant number of people who cannot use the software they purchased, going on for over a month through numerous hotfixes and updates.

[Oops…now edited to attempt to comply with community guidelines, and still have a purpose]

3

Xbox series X user here. Many XBox simmers have had CTDs on xbox s/x. I’d divide them into two categories

  • long flights over 2hrs (running out of system resources perhaps)
  • random CTDs for no reason whatsoever

I fall into second category. I always do a clean boot into FS2020 as opposed to resuming a suspended one.
Prior to WU6 I reduced CTDs to the point of near extinction by switching AI traffic off as the ‘known issues’ guide suggested. I also ensured my flights were shorter than 2 hrs.

This morning I booted FS and did landing challenges for 30 mins, had one FS2020 freeze (no response, frozen screen) so I quit to dashboard of XBox and quit FS2020. I rebooted FS2020 to triy again and loading another landing challenge led to a CTD. I switched off at this point and gave up.

Came back this afternoon and managed to do several landing challenges and a 40min flight with no issues whatsoever. FS2020 is Jekyll and Hyde like. I wish they’d install a CTD monitor/auto reporter as we all have our own non scientific story based evidence, making it hard for anyone to replicate/debug, and that is a major issue.

2 Likes
4

what i found: these add-ons show an error.
if you don’t understand, translate it

chyba c0000005/při vypnutí simu druh scenery
GAIST_MSFS_V1 AI lodě z flightsim.to
coastline-scenery-coastline-italy-v1-1-4 Italie pobřeží
redwingssimulation-airport-lfly-lyon-bron-v0-1-4 není to pěkná scenerka-SMAZANO
scenery-CH-bern-belp-lszb z flightsim.to
sdr-himalaya-pack z flightsim.to
pyreegue-airport-lytv-tivat
seafront-livingworld-vessels-ai-v1-1-7 lodě
seafront-livingworld-vessels-globalshipping-v1-2-6 lodě
aerosoft-airport-edny-friedrichshafen-v1-0-6-0 100pro problém po vypnutí 0xc0000005
digitaldesign-lows 100pro problém po vypnutí 0xc0000005
bmw-airport-lipz-venice-marco-polo-v1-0-0 100pro problém po vypnutí 0xc0000005
bmw-airport-lipb-bolzano-v2-1-0 100pro problém po vypnutí 0xc0000005
flylogic-airport-lsza-lugano-v1-0-0 100pro problém po vypnutí 0xc0000005
flylogic-airport-lszf-birrfeld-v1-0-0 100pro problém po vypnutí 0xc0000005
flylogic-airport-lszq-bressaucourt-v1-0-3 100pro problém po vypnutí 0xc0000005
aerosoft-eddk 100pro problém po vypnutí 0xc0000005
aerosoft-paderborn 100pro problém po vypnutí 0xc0000005
5

Thanks for that listing, but I have issues with CTD whether or not I have any addons (community or official).

6

I read your post, and I just wanted to pass something along. I have an i9-10850k with an RTX 3070, and starting a few weeks ago, I began to get CTDs just as you did. Flying along, all is well, then boom, back to desktop or unexpected reboot. Another time I simply tried to move one of my MSFS screens and the same happened. I looked around the NVidia site and found that the latest NVidia driver (471.96) was causing problems with the 3070 with the same symptom – all was fine, then crash and sometimes reboot.

I backed off to 471.41 and have had not a single CTD or spontaneous boot since. When I installed 471.41 I also left all the 3D settings at default, because I wasn’t sure if one of those might have caused the problem. I’m not saying this will solve your problem, and could be completely unrelated since you have a 2060, but it’s worth a shot. Clearly you’ve tried just about everything else you could have.

Regardless though, you’re absolutely correct that we need some tool from MSAsobo that will either create a log file or an automatic debug reporter or something. Anything.

3 Likes
7

Thanks for the suggestion! Ive been thinking about trying 471.41.

I’ll do this next and see what happens.

8

While it is clearly possible that some add-ons (official or community) can trigger a CTD … the actual problem always remains to be in the game engine.

Assets are run (interpreted) by the game … so it is always the game engine that crashes.

I would agree that the CTD issue has become more prominent since SU5. I can offer this for example:

… and I think that in general we and Asobo (at least on the PC side of the sim) could benefit from:

9

All I can say is with all of that absolutely brilliantly thorough elimination of software error it may be some amount of hardware error? Or maybe some internet connection issue?

Bad memory sticks, power supplies and in some cases dirty power in can be issues, not suggesting these are any type of shortfall but if it can be somehow investigated?

Also, as a community member thank you for you time. If half my friends provided me with a quarter of that when they look me up for a problem LOL :smiley:

1 Like
10

Yep! Just trying to help. Not sure how much it does, but it’s gotta help eliminate things.

I too have wondered if its a hardware issue, but I’ve run exhaustive tests on my GPU, CPU and memory and all have come back with no problems found.

11

Sorry, just got a sad chuckle at your name, fits the issue … in reddit terms name checks out

12

I had a couple more CDTs today too. Strange that 80% of the CDTs I’ve had in 11 months of using MSFS have been in the past two days.

I’m in the mood for a rant: Reading through what players/simmers go through to solve issues with this program is incredible. Imagine buying a new vehicle, home appliance or other product and the customers have to try to figure out why the product doesn’t work. Then, when enough customers complain about a problem, the manufacturer may throw out a couple more fixes while countless others await their attention.

2 Likes
13

who use xmp memory watch io and sa voltages in bios, you can found info about undervolt in internet, same as cpu, in my case i had problem after 3 years with it, untill undervolt sa and io voltages, and this problem wasn’t about just ctd, this was very hardcore black monitor problem without possibility to open bios with reassemble ram inside slots one by one with check all sticks first one then two of them then three then for, and only after that i could open bios, first symptom it works only without xmp, second after start xmp again rig was dead till ram was removed then set sticks back, and then i undervolted sa and io, and then everything back ok… all you buy was tested maximum mounth, and only tested exemplares, any other tested much less time, so it is possible something will wrong after year - two - three… so if you can found maximum info about your components and use only so volts as your system really need for cpu, and specially for memory controller in there, you can found really overkill voltages for cpu and sa/io(with xmp enabled) and this is can harm system or kick it very strong as was with mine

15

Thanks for the tipp, but my technical english
is not that good. Do you mean as “end of the story” we probably have to lower the voltage of CPU and GPU?

Regards,

Scotty

16

Clearly those aspects can be an issue … but IMHO the increase in CTD events comes form the software and not from people having more unstable hardware.

I never touched any of the default settings (voltage, freq. etc.) on my machine … and since SU5 the CTD events increased very noticeably for me.

1 Like
17

Yes, but a lot of people, who use RTX 3000 video cards, have problems with black screens. If these could be eliminated by decreasing or increasing the voltage, that would be great.

18

I agree, it “would” be great … but still a software bug seems more likely to me, especially if it affects many (all?) people; as you say.

“We”, for example, on the “AMD Vega” side suffer since SU5 from other bugs … and this clearly is not hardware related … but more hardware-driver-sim related.

19

In some cases it can be hardware issue, but if I can run any game on max settings with high fps without any issues, I think I can say that this is a software issue. I can play high CPU load racing sims without any issues (Assetto Corsa with a lot of AI opponents), I can play ray tracing games without any issues (Control, CP2077). I’ve tried monitoring every hardware component and none of them had any outstanding values. Even I can run CPU, RAM and GPU stress tests at the same time, so my PSU is capable of keeping my system up (650W PSU for about 400W power consumption from the socket). Even though I can’t fly constantly since SU5.

Please let us to downgrade/roll back to the previous non-crashing state.

20

We can’t. Diagnosis is pretty much impossible. You can try all the sorts of things above but beyond that there’s nothing much anyone can do. The “advanced” install is really just more of the same. About the only thing you can do is look for some commonality in the crashes.

Or install FSX, X-Plane, P3D or Flightgear and wait, or put up with it.

21

Have you tried booting your PC in a ‘clean boot state’ prior to running sim?
I don’t simply means closing tasks down when the system boots, but disabling them from loadin in the first place?

Secondly, have you research potential issues with NTDLL.DLL, and/or investigated how to replace it to ensure it is not to blame?

22

you have nothing to be sorry, is my english terrible, you know it:) , i doesn’t talking about gpu voltage, only about cpu, it can be and some time have to become just a bit lower, than bios set in auto, but this is not so important as two another voltage sa and io, both set too high values in some system if memory use xmp, so better than read my round dance of drunk letters… just open google “xmp” "sa " “io” voltage