Severe freezes every 2-3 minutes

[Reflected]

I'm curious if I'm the only one with this.

 

Every 2-3 minutes I'm getting freezes. 5-6 in a row, lasting 5-10 seconds. GPU usage drops to 0, Disk usage goes to 100%. If I pause the freezes stop, then restart as I unpause. Sound continues, inputs don't register during the freeze.

 

I have an RTX2060, 32G RAM and an i-7-10750, and a 500 GB SSD with ONLY DCS on it and 200 gigs to spare (That's the disk that peaks in usage, not the Windows disk)

 

It only happens over the Channel, and sometimes over Nevada, when I'm close to Vegas. It seems to be happening when I zoom in on, or approach populated areas where I haven't been yet. Kinda like back in 1.5, when you had to look around after spawning, suffer the stutters until everything loaded, then it ran smoothly. Only here it repeats every 2-3 minutes. Needless to say the game is nearly unplayable like this.

 

Now please note that it started after an update in June. I reverted to a previous version, then it was gone. I also tried to fiddle with every windows and DCS and antivirus and BIOS setting I found on the web, to no avail. I even bought a brand new PC. The stutters stayed. I would like to know if I'm alone with this, or if anyone else is experiencing the same.

 

Thanks!

[Flappie]

Hi. Do you have MSI Dragon Center installed? And what is your antivirus? Do you own a WinWing HOTAS?

Last but not least, can you please attach both your dcs.log and Export.lua files?

[Reflected]

Hi. Do you have MSI Dragon Center installed? And what is your antivirus? Do you own a WinWing HOTAS?

Last but not least, can you please attach both your dcs.log and Export.lua files?

 

 

Yes to Dragon center, but not on my previous PC where I had the same stutters. Antivirus: the basic one that came with Win 10. Saved games and DCS folders are exceptions. No WinWing HOTAS.

 

As I said, it was introduced with an update. Nothing like this before, not for a year.

[Flappie]

Just in case, please read this bit about a conflict between MSI Dragon Center and DCS.

 

I won't be able to help much if you don't send log files. In the meantime, you can try to lower preload radius in DCS parameters.

[Reflected]

Gaming mode is OFF in Dragon center, no games are added to the list. I attached both files. Preload was set to 70k, now I lowered it to 35k and check. Thanks!

dcs.log

Export.lua

Edited October 8, 2020 by Reflected

[Flappie]

Thank you. I should have been more precise about the Export.lua file: I need the one in "Saved Games\DCS\Scripts\".

 

I see nothing wrong in your dcs.log, but your Windows pagefile is quite small (5 GB). If you keep having stutters with a 35k preload radius, try manually setting your pagefile size like this:

 

• min size = 24 GB
  
• max size = 32 GB
  

[Reflected]

Thanks, I changed my page file. I have no scripts folder in my saved games/ DCS

[Flappie]

OK. Please let us know whether the stutters persist or not.

[Reflected]

I set the page file to 24-32 GB, and decreased the preload radius to 35k. Now it happens slightly less frequently and the length of the freezes is a bit shorter.

[Flappie]

Good. You can try a min=32GB / max=32GB pagefile if you want (mine is automatically set to 32GB all the time, so...).

 

Can you share a more recent dcs.log showing a bit of flying? Stutters rarely show up in the log, but you never know.

[Reflected]

Here you go. This was after a mission full of stutters and freezes.

dcs.log

[Reflected]

And an actual crash after some freezes:

dcs.log-20201016-155839.zip

[Flappie]

Here you go. This was after a mission full of stutters and freezes.

Thank you. I see symptoms of freezes but still no cause:

2020-10-16 14:45:37.218 ERROR SOUND: render time = 0.014743s exceeded allowed slice of 0.010000s

2020-10-16 14:45:49.944 ERROR SOUND: render time = 0.020451s exceeded allowed slice of 0.010000s

2020-10-16 14:45:56.946 ERROR SOUND: render time = 0.012766s exceeded allowed slice of 0.010000s

Some user has put an end to his stutters today by changing the way his Ryzen CPU is overclocked in BIOS. Can you take a picture of your CPU BIOS settings?

[Reflected]

Sure, this is what I got :

[Svsmokey]

Isn't it the consensus that hyperthreading should be disabled ?

[Flappie]

It's not a consensus but some have fixed DCS issues by disabling hyperthreading, yes.

But I would rather test setting Intel Speed Shift off first.

 

 

Anyway, Reflected, before messing with the BIOS settings (plus you said you've been there already), I propose you test DCS in safe mode. Here's how to do it:

 

1. Press Windows key, type "msconfig" and press Enter.
   
2. In the General tab, tick "Diagnostic startup" and click "Apply" (you will see some other boxes get ticked, it's OK).
   
3. Click OK and choose to restart your computer.
   
4. Log into Windows as usual, then launch DCS. You will get several error messages since your PC network is disabled. Just click OK until you see DCS main menu.
   
5. Fly the Su-25T in an instant action mission and watch for stutters.
   

Once you're done with testing, just open "msconfig", tick "Normal startup", click OK and restart your system, then everything will be back to normal.

Edited October 16, 2020 by Flappie

[Reflected]

I tried to disable Speed Shift, same stutters.

 

I really appreciate your help trying to nail down the root cause, however, let me please emphasize what I wrote in the OP: I started having these on my old Dell laptop after an update in June. I reverted, the freezes were gone. I updated again, they were back. Now I have them on a brand new laptop, an MSI GP65. I really suspect that something went South in DCS with an update, and it's not my PC. Some sort of memory leak? I don't know...

[Flappie]

I hear you, but other users with stutters usually end these by changing their PC settings, uninstalling external program or even sometimes by trying the safe mode method (it's supposed to be a simple diagnostic procedure, but some user got his issue fixed!).

 

This safe mode test takes 10 minutes, you should give it a go. If you don't get stutters in safe mode, it means an external program is messing with DCS.

[Reflected]

Thanks, will try.

[Reflected]

I tried diagnostic mode and now I can’t access windows at all. No other sign in options either.

Every option in the troubleshooter requires my windows password which I do not have. I’m seriously screwed.

Edited October 18, 2020 by Reflected

[Reflected]

I can’t even reses my pc and reinstall windows as it doesn’t accept my password.

[Flappie]

I'm terribly sorry this happened to you. It happened once before to another user, and this is how he sorted it out:

I followed the advice to run safe mode using the 'msconfig' - Long story short, this didn't work and some strange Windows 10 bug led me to being unable to log back in (something about the PIN not working and it wasn't giving me the option to log in with my usual password) so I had to run a recovery (thankfully had a snapshot from just 2 days ago).

 

Lo and behold, I am back to running at full GPU/CPU usage & 100FPS+ with the SU-25T start up scenario.

 

Thanks for the help all - I would have liked to have had a more conclusive reason as to why / what caused the issue in the first place but I am not sure I am going to figure that one out, unless the issue sprouts up again in 2 days.

[Reflected]

I can’t run any recovery, reset, or anything, because it doesn’t accept my miscrosoft account password

[Flappie]

Wait, there seems to be a simpler solution here: https://www.tenforums.com/general-support/67397-stuck-diagnostic-startup.html

 

Please check you have the exact same symptoms before proceeding.

 

EDIT: to access recovery, you need to shut down your PC several times in a row. Windows should then prompt you with Recovery mode.

 

To activate the windows 10 "windows recovery mode", you must interrupt the windows startup sequence using the computer power button. You do this by pressing and holding the computer power button when you first see the windows logo. Wait for the computer to power off and then release the button. Then, press the power button again to restart. You repeat this until you see a screen indication that the recovery mode has initiated, or (it has been reported) at least 3 times.

Edited October 18, 2020 by Flappie

[Flappie]

Once in Recovery mode: try Startup Settings, then Enable safe mode with networking.

 

(you're in Diagnostic mode, which has no access to network)

Edited October 18, 2020 by Flappie