FSX is hanging after a few minutes of flight

[BigT-65]

For the last week or so my FSX has been hanging after a few minutes of flight. I can still hear the engines and see what was on the screen when it froze but nothing is moving and the only thing I can do is CTRL-Alt-Del and shut down. Please help. I have cleaned registry and defragmented.

[Cpt. D. Striker Metcalf]

I had that problem and noticed it was timed with just about the time my screen saver was coming on, I set my screen saver to none and it stopped, so cut off anything running in the background like IM's, email notices etc if you have a slower processor, try that and see what happens. 8-)

[U4EA]

If it's anything like mine, and I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, then your hard drive is about to have an epic fail! :-/

One thing I didn't do though, even though I suspected HD problems, was do a complete and full backup at the first sign of trouble.   Lost a lot of pics and music.

[Strategic Retreat]

As a third, less catastrophic possibility than the second and a little more annoying than the first, possibility, make sure your graphic card's GPU's radiator and fan are in tip top working order... you know, with the fan spinning freely and the radiator's fins clean and NOT clogged by dust. Especially in the summer (that is ending, but it's still hot), this can be such an nuisance...

[Capt.Propwash]

also try deleteing your FSX.CFG (not found in your Microsoft Games / FSX folder, but burried deep in your computer in hidden files.)  Delete the FSX.CFG {or at least just move it to your desktop so FSX has to rebuild a new one...} and after it builds a new one, see if the problem still exists. 

If it does, and your Heat Sink and fan are all in working order, start looking around for a new harddrive and start backing up your Pictures and Music before you wish you had more time.

[BigT-65]

This is the computer I am using with FSX
Motherboard Asus P6T Deluxe V2
Processor Intel Core i7-940
Memory 12 GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3
CPU Cooler Zalman CNPS 9900
Power Supply Corsair TX850 W
Graphics EVGA GeForce GTX 285
In the summer I also run an external fan on the machine.
I have had this problem before when I was running Windows Xp Pro 64 bit. When I changed to Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit the problem stopped for over a year. It just started up again 2 weeks ago. I am going to look inside to see if I have a dirt problem, but dirt was not the problem when I was using Xp. FSX is the only program that this freezing happens with. I tend to think it might be my graphics card. I do have the latest driver. It is hard to find a lot of information about many graphics cards from people using flight sims. Most of them are into Call of Duty, Halo and such. For information I did turn off my screen saver and for a while I thought that was it but it did freeze again after about 20 minutes.
Your thoughts?

[jetprop]

it is probably your graphics card then,i have the same problem and i know mine is rubbish.

[Capt.Propwash]

what is the clock speed of your processor? have you tried overclocking it? If you did, you might have it set too high.

[Squackie]

Honest truth, (though strangely as of yet unmentioned) this kind of problem, with any software, can be the result of file corruption from a bad add on, an error while the game was running, or a conflict with new hardware. try reinstalling FSX. also, there are both reports of extreme heating on the 280.26 drivers, unrelated to FSX, and also, conversely, errors with FSX, even when overheating isn't the problem. roll back your drivers, and see what happens.

[BigT-65]

Currently my CPU is set up at stock. I have tweaked it in the past but not since switching to win 7. I thought about reinstalling but I don't want to lose my log book or add ons. If there is corruption from add ons it could be some F-16s I was having trouble with. Flying one of these was when it first started freezing after a few minutes of flying. I can get rid of these. it now freezes on all planes but runs longer with some than others. Can I uninstall FSX and keep all my settings and add ons? Besides several military planes other add ons I have installed are Abacus Extreme Landscapes and Flight Deck 4 for FSX. My FSX is running SP2.

[BigT-65]

Here's something else. I also logged on to my computer as another user and had the same problem. I believe this would involve a different FSX.cfg file, so that is probably an indication it's not that file causing the problem.

[Capt.Propwash]

try deleting the FSX.CFG that is burried in your computers C: in some hidden files, and restart FSX (you will have to reset your settings and Key Assignments, but that is just a drop in a bucket compared to having to reinstall everything all over again)

[BigT-65]

I tried to find FSX.cfg when you mentioned it befoe but I could not find it.

[Capt.Propwash]

in Windows 7 (you will need to turn on "show hidden files and folders")

it is located in:
C:/users/(user name)/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/FSX/FSX.CFG


i forget the path for XP, so if someone would be so kind as to post it, it would be appreciated. thanks.

[BigT-65]

Thanks, I will let you know how it turns out after Labor Day.