Increased crashes/freezes/CTDs since the last days?

[StingFinity]

I've wanted to fly since launch, and after a few days, I was able to get into the game and fly a bit in career mode.

Then came Patch 3 (version 1.2.7.0). Strangely enough, the problems didn’t start immediately, but as of December 14th/15th, about 9 out of 10 flights result in a CTD.

Previously, it was more like 1 in 5, and those crashes used to freeze my computer so severely that a full reset was required. As of yesterday, I installed the 24.12.1 AMD driver for my GPU. Now, instead of freezing and demanding a hard reset, it often just CTDs. So I guess that’s an improvement? :P

However, these freezes and CTDs occurred even before the GPU driver update, and they didn’t start immediately after Patch 1.2.7.0 either. Right now, though, the game is just completely unplayable. I’m starting to think this could be a server-side issue that began a few days ago, or perhaps the game is somehow sabotaging itself over time.

I verified all the game files via Steam. No luck. I’m not going to flash the BIOS, tweak RAM profiles, or mess with my system settings. The problem clearly lies with the game, not my computer. Everything else works perfectly fine at all times.

System Specs:
CPU: Ryzen 9 7950X3D
RAM: 64GB DDR5
GPU: RX 7900 XT (20GB GDDR6 VRAM)

This is a brand-new build with a clean OS, no overclocking. I have no MSFS2020 heritage, no mods, just the game as it came out of the box. So this is a clean MSFS2024 install done three days after release. All other software runs flawlessly.

PS1: Passive income never worked for me. But neither was I billed inssurance ever.

PS2: Very many other bugs too, but the problem at the top is absolutely game-breaking without any chance of getting around it, in contradiction to many other bugs that I'm willing to overlook for now. Despite this product being the most broken I've ever received after paying.

[StingFinity]

In case it matters:
- This is using any plane in career, even when using the 172
- 10% of the time it is when you line up and increase throttle to take off
- 90% of the time it is when you configure for landing at the destination
- Recently I unlocked certificates that enabled live weather, but the increase from 1 in 5 to 9 in 10 CTD's feels like it happened a few days later.
- Game also hangs 99/100 times when closing. It minimizes and the desktop is visible, but the game still runs, and I have to use steam to forcefully quit the process.

[Eva]

You say the problem clearly lies on their side. And then you proceed to give evidence that very much sounds like the problem is on your side. I would suggest turning your graphics down to potato range (medium or even low), turn off all ray-tracing, and see what happens.

[StingFinity]

Thank you for your suggestion. As said, it worked better between launch and a few days ago. Nothing changed on my end but their software, and as of yesterday, my driver. But this increase started before that. So I'm just reporting this and will wait for them to fix some stuff. Hope it helps them.

[entreplume]

Hello, when i want to fly with the Cesna172 G1000 passenger the game crash, so it's the plane of the career. So career grash the game too.
The only Cesna 172 whitch doesnt crash the game is the cargo version.
I see that i have another Cesna 172 link to the career ?

[SSV670]

my game always crashes during freelancer missions

[Taftcon]

Same issue with an i7-14700k and 4080 Super FE. No real issues on launch and first few weeks. Last update seemed to do me in. Now its CTD after about 10 min or so in free flight.

[jefalder]

Dec 12th game is still a mess, constantly crashing my amply desktop. I vote it's their problem

[StingFinity]

Since I was looking forward to flying some more, I was hoping there was something I could do about the crashes, which had increased significantly, as mentioned above. I knew it had worked better before, so I figured it was worth trying something. There are obviously still many other bugs in this game.

Anyway, I decided to delete the rolling cache file:

C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024\ROLLINGCACHE.CCC

I assumed the game might have sabotaged itself, as the problems seemed to get worse over time. Deleting the rolling cache seemed logical since it may have accumulated some errors over time. And lo and behold, after deleting it, the game created a fresh cache file and repopulated it.

Since then, I have successfully completed two consecutive flights in a single session without any crashes. So, fingers crossed! But this might have been a case of a self-sabotaged rolling cache by the game.

[Patpat]

I started to get freezes inflight & also while quitting the game.
I did a fresh reinstall (all settings were kept), deleted rolling cache and created it again. Since then ok.

[StingFinity]

Glad to hear. And it seems you also deleted the rolling cache in the process.

So since I already verified the game files, I did not do a full re-install. I just wiped the rolling cache file only. Via Windows. While the game was not running. And so I kept all other files and settings. I just deleted the one file only:

C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024\ROLLINGCACHE.CCC

Perhaps this is a (temporary) fix for others too, if they run into this, until Microsoft patches some more next year. At least now, we can perhaps somewhat get around the dead-end this was, and play the game over the holidays, despite the other bugs in there.

Thanks for confirming Patpat!

[StingFinity]

Well, nope. Today, I deleted the rolling cache before starting a session. I did a 5-and-a-half-hour medium cargo flight right off the bat. And just before the destination, the game still crashed.

So, since it worked for me yesterday, I'm thinking its either one of two things:

1. This might still be a server-side issue, not a rolling cache issue. Maybe I was lucky.
2. Or, what did I do differently yesterday when it worked?

So, I deleted the rolling cache again, started the game again, and then I did what I did yesterday: the first flight in a Cessna 172, a short ferry flight.

Yesterday, I did it just as a small test, but today, I'm starting to think it matters. After deleting the rolling cache again following today's game crash, I did a Cessna 172 ferry flight first, and that worked. And within the same session, I did some other flights too.

It almost seems like some of the stuff the game needs, and other planes need, are included with the Cessna 172 only. Perhaps something like the G1000 Garmin stuff. Even the broken PC-12 can be somewhat flown after using the Cessna first, using the same AP button binds.

Anyway, this was all before patch 1.2.8.0. I haven’t tested patch 1.2.8.0 yet, which claims to have fixed some game crashes. To be honest, it's all still Russian roulette. What a shame.

[BattlePhenom]

Is any of your components overclocked like the GPU? I would check Event Logs to see if you have any GPU driver crashes. This game is very sensitive to overclocks. Your system needs to be completely stable if overclocking, which most aren't.

edit: nvm I see "no overclocking". I'd still check your event logs to see what is going on before the application hang. You may need to use DDU(Display Driver Uninstaller) to completely wipe your driver and registries in safe mode and install the latest AMD driver for your GPU.

[StingFinity]

Yeah, no OC. And nothing in the Windows event logging either.

But before my AMD GPU driver update it froze and the computer required a full reset. Now its a CTD, and when it does, it ends with a AMD message offering to send a report to AMD. So it looks like a GPU crash.

I am just not sure why. Since it is very random. Sometimes it works well for a few hours. Others, it crashes a lot. And it is only MSFS2024 that does that. All other apps, even very demanding apps, do perfectly fine all the time.

Maybe it's some (AMD related) VRAM memory leak? Whatever it is, it is frustrating.

Today I am going to test out 1.2.8.0 and see what happens. Wish me luck.

[BattlePhenom]

Originally posted by StingFinity:

Yeah, no OC. And nothing in the Windows event logging either.

But before my AMD GPU driver update it froze and the computer required a full reset. Now its a CTD, and when it does, it ends with a AMD message offering to send a report to AMD. So it looks like a GPU crash.

I am just not sure why. Since it is very random. Sometimes it works well for a few hours. Others, it crashes a lot. And it is only MSFS2024 that does that. All other apps, even very demanding apps, do perfectly fine all the time.

Maybe it's some (AMD related) VRAM memory leak? Whatever it is, it is frustrating.

Today I am going to test out 1.2.8.0 and see what happens. Wish me luck.

If you suspect it could be an issue with your GPU or just want to rule it out you could try using OCCT's GPU benchmark. More specifically use the "3D Adaptive test" and try both the "Variable" and "Steady" with "Extreme" option for ~10 minutes. This will sniff out any instability with your GPU.