Performance issues

[gw]

Since you're running XP you could try running FS in a window and resize it so you can run Task Manager along side it.  If you select the Processes tab on Task Manager you can watch cpu and memory usage while you fly.  If some other process is interfering you might see it.

The F16 I mentioned affected fps by using a lot of cpu.  Weather can do that too.  But so can a lot of disk activity.  I have noticed a drop in fps when fs9 is doing a lot of disk work.  Reading in new scenery, for example.  Do you hear the disk rattling around when the fps drops off?

I guess you could try a process of ellimination.  First, disconnect your PC from the network, shutdown your virus checker, firewall and anything else you can do without for a while.  Try a flight and see what happens.

And when was the last time you defragged your hard drive?  If files are scattered all over the place then Windows is going work harder to find them.

You say it happens evey 5-10 minutes.  Are you flying with real-world weather over a dial-up line?  FS updates it's weather every 15 minutes.

As you can see there are probably a lot of possibilities and it might be a combination of things.

gw

[Ivan]

First thing to look at with the new nVidia drivers... FSAA settings. With the new ones it won't blackout the menus anymore if you select something else than 4xFSAA

Other possible causes
1: The virus scanner
A possible leak in loading of BMP files was discovered a while ago... it involves a special byte sequence.
result: ALL BMP files are now being scanned regardless of the filetype settings of the scanner (at least McAfee seems to do that)

2: Online weather
There are some problems with the Seattle area at the moment. A better choice is to stop using the Microsoft weather and go for FSMetar instead.

3: File fragmentation
Defrag your harddisk, this will put the caching in one block instead of spreading it over the gaps between the files. Excessive head movements are the main reason for slow file loading.

4: Motherboard and other hardware drivers
Motherboard drivers will improve both AGP and HD data rate, resulting in more FPS.
If you use dialup, get the latest drivers for your modem.


For the FPS hits by GW... what are your FSAA settings? On non-DX9 cards, the smoke effects from the wheels are a big FPS hog, as are the clouds, especially at high FSAA settings.

[BFMF]

I use the default weather updater, and i've been staying clear of the Seattle area, unless it's set to a default weather scheme.

I tried using FSMetar for the Seattle weather, but it wasn't coinciding with real Metar reports

I've tried defragging my hard drive, but it's almost full, and the utility says that there needs to be 15% of harddrive space free for it to work properly. I'm slowly working on transferring some files off, but since my CD burner doesn't work on my computer, it's slow going.

[VPA_KTPA]

Well that sounds like that may be your trouble then if your running low on space on the hard drive then there may not be enough space for the virtual memory to function.whitch i think you have to have 1536MB free space for the virtual memory to work.

[Ivan]

I have Virtual memory min and max at 2x system RAM, is a little faster than autosize mode.

Oh and performance issues happen with me too... even with a AMD2400XP, 1024MB DDR2100 and a GeForce 4 it still won't go over 20FPS in clear sky condions

[VPA_KTPA]

I have Virtual memory min and max at 2x system RAM, is a little faster than autosize mode.

Oh and performance issues happen with me too... even with a AMD2400XP, 1024MB DDR2100 and a GeForce 4 it still won't go over 20FPS in clear sky condions

Ivan i have about the same system as you.do that system justis and get you a ATI 9600xt.and watch the FPS hit the 40 mark with settings maxed.but i still have mine locked at 25 FPS cause i am running a high performance sound card.

[BFMF]

I'm still having problems...

I've tried turning my Firewall & Antivirus off, defragging my hard drive, deleting spyware on system, installing latest video card drivers, turning my settings in FS2004 on low, and the performance still drops every few minutes

It's annoying the hell outta me

Any more ideas?

[Delta_]

If you have the time, you may want to consider doing a total format of your HDD to clean out any errors that won't go away.  It may not solve the problem though.

[BFMF]

I did a fresh install of FS2004 and it runs smoothly

Now I just need to transfer all my favorite addons