FSX Not Responding

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MXMiles
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 6:38 pm
Location: Athens, GA

FSX Not Responding

Post by MXMiles »

It has been hit or miss for me when connecting to the ATC server. What's happening is that FSX will "crash" or go to "Not Responding" after I try to connect using Squawkbox. It typically runs fine when not using Squawkbox. This happens with VATSIM as well. So I believe it is a problem between Squawkbox and FSX and not the server. After I set up my flight and have the plane sitting on the tarmac with engines off I will load squawkbox from my computer's Start Menu and start the connection process. Sqauwkbox will then appear to be connected to the ATC but when I go back to FSX, FSX is non-responsive and upon running task manager by pressing ctrl-alt-delete is shows FSX to be "Not Responding". I have had success connecting when outside the covered area and by turing down the visual range as suggested before but even this is still spotty success rate. I have uninstalled Squawkbox and reinstalled it to be sure I did not make a mistake in the installation process. I have searched this forum as well as the Squawkbox forum and the VATSIM forum for my specific problem. Most of the answers seem to be for people who have a better understanding of computers and coding. Please explain to me in layman's terms how to fix this issue. I would love to use this program and VATSIM as aide to my real world piloting skills (working on my private pilot) but have run into computer issues. I am running FSX on Windows 7. I honestly don't remember the exact specs of my computer ( I am currently typing this from work and away from my home computer). I will post them when I get home this afternoon (4:00e) if that will help. Thanks in advance. I am on the brink of declaring emergency. I will be squawking 7700 soon before I pull the remainder of the hair out of my head!
MXMiles
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 6:38 pm
Location: Athens, GA

Re: FSX Not Responding

Post by MXMiles »

To answer part of my own question...I have found that one person found success by running Squawkbox 4 as administrator. I'm not sure how to do this but will check this option out when I get home. Does this sound like a likely solution?
Keith Smith
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Re: FSX Not Responding

Post by Keith Smith »

It hasn't been determined what is causing FSX to crash in these cases. Squawkbox_PE communicates with FSX, sending directives to create/move planes on a per-frame basis (ie, each time FSX goes to draw a frame). Under certain conditions, FSX will lock up, but we don't know why. It's not our code, so it's very difficult to track down, unfortunately. There does appear to be a correlation with the crashes and the number of aircraft in the vicinity (or perhaps the type, we're just not sure yet). For now, simply cut your Squawkbox_PE visibility down to a lower number than you're currently using (even if that means going to 2-3 miles).

That will effectively reduce the number of aircraft that your sim knows about, and should reduce the occurrences of that crash.

Alternatively, and I know this is extreme, you could move to the X-Plane platform, which does not exhibit this issue. If you're working on your PPL, I would argue for this even more. X-Plane, when configure correctly, delivers a flight experience that can't be touched by other sims, to the best of my knowledge.

That said, we'll do what we can to find the cause of this crash doing some isolated system testing using a steadily increasing volume of aircraft to see if we can find the trigger point.
MXMiles
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 6:38 pm
Location: Athens, GA

Re: FSX Not Responding

Post by MXMiles »

I actually have considered purchasing XP9. But when I downloaded the Demo my framerates were atrocious. I tried adjusting the graphics options but found little to no success. I mean it was completely unusable even at the lowest settings. I'm sure there must have been some issue with the download or installation because I can't imagine it running as badly as it was with all the settings at the lowest possible. I will grant you that my computer is not a gaming machine but would think that if I turned everything down it would at least be a usable program. If I remember correctly I have a dual core processor at 3.0 GHz with 4 GB RAM. The graphics card I'm sure is the bottleneck. I believe it is an onboard card that uses integrated memory if that makes sense. However, I can run FSX with relatively high settings and still get an average of 20 fps.
Keith Smith
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Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:38 pm
Location: Pompton Plains, NJ
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Re: FSX Not Responding

Post by Keith Smith »

That's interesting about XP9 frame rates. XP uses OpenGL whereas FS9/X use DirectX. It could be that the OpenGL drivers for your video card are dodgy (often the case with integrated graphics cards). Given a reasonable video subsystem, XP can run smooth as silk with the right video settings. Without a reasonable video subsystem, though, you're in a world of pain (as you saw).

Sorry to hear that. Any chance of getting a standard, modern-day vid card in that machine?
MXMiles
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 6:38 pm
Location: Athens, GA

Re: FSX Not Responding

Post by MXMiles »

I would love to upgrade my graphics card but I am on a very limited budget and will likely have to make due with what I have. My wife and I are currently both going to school and I'm trying to save every penny I can for flight lessons. I saw Pilotedge as a great supplemental tool for my lessons. I'm afraid I'm stuck with what I got for now.
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