I have been having problems with "FSX not responing".  I have gone through Nick's setting up FSX, reinstallation, etc.  FSX has quit responding on three occasions (after installing an add on aircraft, after installing a scenery and while flying) after which I have removed what I just installed.  Removal of the most recently installed item has not corrected the problem.  I have rebooted and still, upon attempting to restart FSX I get the opening splash screen which never goes away.  Each time when I attempt to close using task manager it indicates FSX is not responding.

Last night as part of the trouble shooting process, I updated my graphics driver to the 9.4 version.  As part of this process, I went into the ATI setup/diagnostics. It indicated a temperature of 53 deg., fan speed of 0.0 and GPU activity of 0.0.  When I attempted to manually increase fan speed with the slider there was no response.  When I tried the diagnostic feature I would get a momentary spike in GPU activity then back to 0.0.

In any other program or on the desktop I have not experienced any display issues.  With my questions I expect I will demonstrate my lack of knowledge of graphic issues and cards but:
1.  Does the graphics card only operate on demand by software such as FSX or does it run constantly?
2.  Should I be able to, if the GPU fan is still functioning, be able to make the fan operate by increasing the fan speed slider?
3.  If the fan has not been operating, have I fried the GPU?
4.  Since I can still see the desktop, is that an indication that I have not fried the GPU?
5.  Are these symptoms consistent with a loose plug from the power supply?  I added memory about a month ago and made certain the GPU was firmly seated in the slot but I am not sure I checked the power supply cable.
6.  Is a 500w power supply adequate for this GPU?
7.  Will FSX hang up due to a GPU problem?

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.  Thank you.

I ran 3DMark06 and got a rating of 12691.  The fan on the graphics unit is operating.  I also ran chkdsk.  My system was up waiting for me to log in this morning.  I did not have the opportunity to try FSX prior to work this morning but will do so this evening.  I have suspected a hardware issue for a couple of reasons.  The failures seem to occur after random events and are not corrected by undoing what I have just done.  Secondly, I have operated successfully on a previous computer (Vista 32, core 2, 9600GTX) as opposed to my current Vista 64, i7 920, ATI HD 4850.  Both computers were equiped with a 500 w power supply.  Should I continue to suspect a hardware issue or direct my thoughts toward setup issues?

I have the exact same setup i7 920, 64 bit Vista, 500 watt PS, ATI HD4850 and have no problems with FSX, FS9, or CFS3 running. I have added a lot of addon a/c to FSX. But I haven't applied any tweaks as of yet. That's how I screwed up my last PC messing with what I wasn't familiar enough with. I should say however that I did apply the tweaks to my Gate FX gaming Laptop and everything works fine in all my flight sim apps. My desktop is a Gateway FX also BTW.

Keni

    I have a simular set up (Gateway i7 920 @ 2.67 GHz, 3Gs memory, 700w power supply and a ATI 4870) and had the same exact problem. I had used the ATI Catalyst Control Center the auto-tune option which overclocked itself to about 92% of its capability. Nick had suggested that I return to the default vid card settings and see what happened. I did so and, viola, all the "FSX not responding", "FSX stopped working" and "FSX has closed" errors stopped along with FSX not starting (eternal intro FSX page).

   Also, on the ATI Catalyst Control Center page, there is a red square with gold lock in it. If you click the lock in the red square, it should allow the settings to be clicked including the option to enable manual fan settings without having to adjust anything else. I keep my fan on 100% when "flying", then drop it down to 50% when web surfing.

   Oh, and, by the way, I use FSX/Acc, UTUSA/Can, GEX(Nh), FEX(SHD), REX, Sound Environment X, Trees X, My Traffic X, Traffic 2005, HTAI Cessna Pack along with most freeware AI traffic for North America on ultra high settings with no problems now.  Hope this helps...

Blue Sky Wishes,

Dave

On the ATI Overdrive page I have selected defaults, unlocked the gold lock and deselected the "Enable ATI Overdrive".  Is that correct?

Again, I appreciate the info.  I have googled everything I can think of but have not found anything like Nick's setup for the ATI controls.  Have you found anything?

Nick - I appreciate your input.  I have a 9600 GTX which is not being used and from your comments & my experience with FSX not responding I think my best option is to remove the preinstalled ATI and install the 9600.  Are there any particular steps for uninstallation I neet to follow?