Memory Leak..? Hard drive thrashing - graphics textures disappearing

[ViRGE]

Ok, I now have 12 ships, of which 11 of them are running universe trader. Since getting this amount of ships I notice that after a few hours (4-6) I get to a stage where the game is doing a lot of hard disk thrashing constantly. I also notice that at this point the game has allocated about 1.6GB of private memory (as per Windows task manager), which is about the limit for a 32-bit process, up from 1.1GB immediately after starting X3TC and loading a game. Version of the game is 1.2.1.

If I continue to play by for instance leaving the game overnight while docked to a station (i.e. without SETA), then the game will first start missing textures/graphics - and will ultimately crash, i.e. become completely unresponsive and I have to kill the process.

I have 4GB of memory, running on Vista 64-bit. Obviously, the game is only 32-bit and so only has access to a 2GB address space (1.6 or thereabouts in Windows).

And no, I don't have Microsoft Search activated - nor any scheduled antivirus or malware scans kicking off to generate the hard drive activity - or interfere with the game.

While there's a fair amount of occassional hard disk activity even from the onset of the game even when flying in-system and not just when moving from sector to sector (which I'm still convinced is excessive - see previous mails from me) - it's nothing compared to a few hours of gameplay later, which the light is on constantly.

This definitely has the stench of memory leak and likely other issues such as over-eager in-system I/O for whatever indeterminate X3TC purposes - and is the source of great nuisance - especially given that leaving the game overnight almost guarantees it crashing, which means that I've lost all the money generated overnight by my universe traders.

Egosoft, please get this fixed as a matter of urgency (also refer to my previous mails on subject) - the game is virtually unplayable - and I hate to think that I've spent £30 on a waste of time (and memory) + my new PC that I pieced together solely for this game after realising that my old system wasn't up-to-spec - not that this one is either, given the issues I'm experiencing - although the specs are the latest and greatest.

Egosoft, I can provide you with a save game that will demonstrate the issue if you let it run in normal mode overnight while docked to a station.

I'm hereby (yet again) including my dxdiag report:

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 11/1/2008, 10:39:22
Machine name: ANTEC
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.080917-1612)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: P5Q3 DELUXE
BIOS: BIOS Date: 10/02/08 15:21:16 Ver: 08.00.14
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~3.6GHz
Memory: 4094MB RAM
Page File: 1183MB used, 7177MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x9442)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_9442&SUBSYS_E810174B&REV_00
Display Memory: 2297 MB
Dedicated Memory: 506 MB
Shared Memory: 1791 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Driver Name: atidxx32,atidxx64.dll,atiumdag,atiumdva,atiumd64.dll,atiumd6a.cap,atitmm64.dll
Driver Version: 7.15.0010.0149 (English)
DDI Version: 10.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 9/24/2008 02:08:17, 2201088 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-D702-11CF-9176-1AC8A1C2CA35}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x9442
SubSys ID: 0xE810174B
Revision ID: 0x0000
Revision ID: 0x0000
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C
Deinterlace Caps: {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled

-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
Description: SPDIF Interface (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_11D4&DEV_989B&SUBSYS_10438311&REV_1003
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: ADIHdAud.sys
Driver Version: 6.10.0002.6480 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
Date and Size: 3/20/2008 00:44:34, 467456 bytes
Other Files:
Driver Provider: AnalogDevices
HW Accel Level: Basic
Cap Flags: 0x0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 0, 0
Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
HW Memory: 0
Voice Management: No
EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No

---------------------
Sound Capture Devices
---------------------
Description: Microphone (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)
Default Sound Capture: Yes
Default Voice Capture: Yes
Driver Name: ADIHdAud.sys
Driver Version: 6.10.0002.6480 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Date and Size: 3/20/2008 00:44:34, 467456 bytes
Cap Flags: 0x0
Format Flags: 0x0

Description: Line In (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)
Default Sound Capture: No
Default Voice Capture: No
Driver Name: ADIHdAud.sys
Driver Version: 6.10.0002.6480 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Date and Size: 3/20/2008 00:44:34, 467456 bytes
Cap Flags: 0x0
Format Flags: 0x0

-------------------
DirectInput Devices
-------------------
Device Name: Mouse
Attached: 1
Controller ID: n/a
Vendor/Product ID: n/a
FF Driver: n/a

Device Name: Keyboard
Attached: 1
Controller ID: n/a
Vendor/Product ID: n/a
FF Driver: n/a

Device Name: USB Receiver
Attached: 1
Controller ID: 0x0
Vendor/Product ID: 0x046D, 0xC517
FF Driver: n/a

Device Name: USB Receiver
Attached: 1
Controller ID: 0x0
Vendor/Product ID: 0x046D, 0xC517
FF Driver: n/a

Device Name: USB Receiver
Attached: 1
Controller ID: 0x0
Vendor/Product ID: 0x046D, 0xC517
FF Driver: n/a

Device Name: USB Receiver
Attached: 1
Controller ID: 0x0
Vendor/Product ID: 0x046D, 0xC517
FF Driver: n/a

Poll w/ Interrupt: No

-----------
USB Devices
-----------
+ USB Root Hub
| Vendor/Product ID: 0x8086, 0x3A36
| Matching Device ID: usb\root_hub
| Service: usbhub

----------------
Gameport Devices
----------------

------------
PS/2 Devices
------------
+ HID Keyboard Device
| Vendor/Product ID: 0x046D, 0xC517
| Matching Device ID: hid_device_system_keyboard
| Service: kbdhid
|
+ Terminal Server Keyboard Driver
| Matching Device ID: root\rdp_kbd
| Upper Filters: kbdclass
| Service: TermDD
|
+ HID-compliant mouse
| Vendor/Product ID: 0x046D, 0xC517
| Matching Device ID: hid_device_system_mouse
| Service: mouhid
|
+ Terminal Server Mouse Driver
| Matching Device ID: root\rdp_mou
| Upper Filters: mouclass
| Service: TermDD

------------------------
Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
------------------------
Drive: C:
Free Space: 86.6 GB
Total Space: 152.5 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Maxtor 6Y160M0 ATA Device

Drive: D:
Model: SONY DVD RW DW-U10A SCSI CdRom Device
Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 6.00.6001.18000 (English), , 0 bytes

--------------
System Devices
--------------
Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family PCI Express Root Port 6 - 3A4A
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A4A&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&E5
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family PCI Express Root Port 5 - 3A48
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A48&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&E4
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 3A40
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A40&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&E0
Driver: n/a

Name: High Definition Audio Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A3E&SUBSYS_83111043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&D8
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3C
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A3C&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&D7
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3A
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A3A&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&EF
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A39
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A39&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&D2
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A38
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A38&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&D1
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A37
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A37&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&D0
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A36
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A36&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&EA
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A35
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A35&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&E9
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A34
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A34&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&E8
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family SMBus Controller - 3A30
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A30&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&FB
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 2 - 3A26
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A26&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&FD
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10 Family 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 1 - 3A20
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A20&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&FA
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) ICH10R LPC Interface Controller - 3A16
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A16&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_00\3&11583659&0&F8
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) 4 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port - 2E21
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E21&SUBSYS_82D31043&REV_02\3&11583659&0&08
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) 4 Series Chipset Processor to I/O Controller - 2E20
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E20&SUBSYS_82D31043&REV_02\3&11583659&0&00
Driver: n/a

Name: Intel(R) 82801 PCI Bridge - 244E
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_244E&SUBSYS_82D41043&REV_90\3&11583659&0&F0
Driver: n/a

Name: Marvell 61xx RAID Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_11AB&DEV_6121&SUBSYS_82121043&REV_B1\4&116B1340&0&00E4
Driver: n/a

Name: Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_11AB&DEV_4364&SUBSYS_81F81043&REV_12\4&8372D40&0&00E5
Driver: n/a

Name: Marvell Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_11AB&DEV_4320&SUBSYS_811A1043&REV_14\4&1B359D48&0&10F0
Driver: n/a

Name: High Definition Audio Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_AA30&SUBSYS_AA30174B&REV_00\4&239521B6&0&0108
Driver: n/a

Name: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_9442&SUBSYS_E810174B&REV_00\4&239521B6&0&0008
Driver: n/a

------------------
DirectShow Filters
------------------

Nero Digital:
Nero Digital Renderer,0x00100000,1,0,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Digital MP4 Muxer,0x00100000,1,1,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Digital AAC Encoder,0x00100000,1,1,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009
Subpic Encoder,0x00100000,1,3,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009
Watermark,0x00200000,1,1,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009
AMR Encoder,0x00100000,1,1,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Digital AVC Encoder,0x00100000,1,1,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009
Media Type Adjustment,0x00200000,1,1,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Digital DMO Wrapper,0x00200000,1,1,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Digital SP/ASP Encoder,0x00100000,1,1,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009
VideoTee,0x00200000,1,2,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009
PreviewRenderer,0x00400000,1,0,NeroDigital.dll,5.05.0009.0009

DirectShow Filters:
WMAudio Decoder DMO,0x00800800,1,1,,
WMAPro over S/PDIF DMO,0x00600800,1,1,,
WMSpeech Decoder DMO,0x00600800,1,1,,
MP3 Decoder DMO,0x00600800,1,1,,
Mpeg4s Decoder DMO,0x00800001,1,1,,
WMV Screen decoder DMO,0x00600800,1,1,,
WMVideo Decoder DMO,0x00800001,1,1,,
Mpeg43 Decoder DMO,0x00800001,1,1,,
Mpeg4 Decoder DMO,0x00800001,1,1,,
Nero Digital Audio Encoder 8,0x00200000,1,2,NeNDAud.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Digital Muxer 8,0x00200000,2,1,NeNDMux.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Digital File Writer 8,0x00200000,1,0,NeNDMux.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Digital Null Renderer 8,0x00200000,1,0,NeNDMux.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Digital Subpicture Enc 8,0x00200000,1,0,NeNDMux.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Digital Video Enc 8,0x00200000,1,2,NeNDVid.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Sound Switcher,0x00200000,1,1,NeSoundSwitch.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero QuickTime(tm) Audio Decoder,0x00400000,1,1,NeQTDec.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero File Source (Async.),0x00400000,0,1,NeFileSourceAsync.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Subpicture Decoder,0x00200000,1,1,NeSubpicture.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Full Screen Renderer,0x00200000,1,0,,6.06.6001.18063
Nero Audio Decoder 2,0x00600000,1,1,NeAudio2.ax,5.05.0009.0009
ATI Ticker,0x00200000,0,1,Ticker.ax,
Nero AV Synchronizer,0x00200000,1,1,NeAVSync.ax,5.05.0009.0009
DV Muxer,0x00400000,0,0,,6.06.6001.18000
Nero Frame Capture,0x00200000,1,1,NeCapture.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Color Space Converter,0x00400001,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
WM ASF Reader,0x00400000,0,0,,11.00.6001.7000
Screen Capture filter,0x00200000,0,1,wmpsrcwp.dll,11.00.6001.7000
Nero Splitter,0x00600000,1,3,NeSplitter.ax,5.05.0009.0009
AVI Splitter,0x00600000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
VGA 16 Color Ditherer,0x00400000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
Microsoft MPEG-2 Video Decoder,0x005fffff,2,4,msmpeg2vdec.dll,11.00.6001.7000
Nero Vobu Generator,0x00200000,1,0,NeroVobuGenerator.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Audio Renderer,0x00200000,1,0,NeAudioRender.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Subtitle,0x00200000,1,1,NeSubtitle.ax,5.05.0009.0009
AC3 Parser Filter,0x00600000,1,1,mpg2splt.ax,6.06.6001.18115
StreamBufferSink,0x00200000,0,0,sbe.dll,6.06.6001.18000
Nero Teletext Decoder,0x00200000,1,1,NeTeletext.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Video Processor,0x00200000,1,1,NeroVideoProc.ax,5.05.0009.0009
MJPEG Decompressor,0x00600000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
MPEG-I Stream Splitter,0x00600000,1,2,,6.06.6001.18063
SAMI (CC) Parser,0x00400000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
Nero DVD Navigator,0x00600000,0,14,NeDVD.ax,5.05.0009.0009
VBI Codec,0x00600000,1,4,VBICodec.ax,6.06.6001.18000
DV Scenes,0x00200000,1,1,NVDV.dll,3.00.0007.0001
MPEG-2 Splitter,0x005fffff,1,0,mpg2splt.ax,6.06.6001.18115
Nero Resize,0x00400000,1,1,NeResize.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Microsoft MPEG-2 Video Encoder,0x00200000,2,0,msmpeg2enc.dll,11.00.6001.7000
DV Source Filter,0x00400000,0,1,NVDV.dll,3.00.0007.0001
Nero Colorspace Converter,0x00200000,1,1,NeColorspace.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Video Analyzer,0x00200000,2,0,NeVideoAnalyzer.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Internal Script Command Renderer,0x00800001,1,0,,6.06.6001.18063
MPEG Audio Decoder,0x03680001,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
MMACE ProcAmp,0x00200000,0,2,MMACEFilters.dll,
Nero Audio CD Navigator,0x00200000,0,1,NeAudCD.ax,5.05.0009.0009
DV Splitter,0x00600000,1,2,,6.06.6001.18000
Nero Video Renderer,0x00200000,1,0,NeVideoRenderer.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Video Mixing Renderer 9,0x00200000,1,0,,6.06.6001.18063
Nero Scene Detector 2,0x00200000,2,0,NeSceneDetector.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero FLV Splitter,0x00600000,1,1,NeFLVSplitter.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Stream Buffer Sink,0x00200000,0,0,NeSBE.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero PresentationGraphics Decoder,0x00600000,2,1,NeBDGraphic.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero MP2 Audio Encoder,0x00200000,1,1,NeMP2AudioEnc.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Microsoft MPEG-2 Encoder,0x00200000,2,1,msmpeg2enc.dll,11.00.6001.7000
Nero Mpeg2 Encoder,0x00200000,2,1,NeVCR.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero HD Audio Mixer,0x00200000,3,1,NeHDAudioMixer.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero PS Muxer,0x00200000,1,1,NePSMuxer.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Scene Detector,0x00200000,1,0,NeSceneDetector.ax,5.05.0009.0009
ACM Wrapper,0x00600000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
Video Renderer,0x00800001,1,0,,6.06.6001.18063
Nero Elementary Stream Parser,0x00200000,1,1,NeESParser.ax,5.05.0009.0009
MPEG-2 Video Stream Analyzer,0x00200000,0,0,sbe.dll,6.06.6001.18000
Line 21 Decoder,0x00600000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18000
Video Port Manager,0x00600000,2,1,,6.06.6001.18063
Video Renderer,0x00400000,1,0,,6.06.6001.18063
Nero Audio Transcoder,0x00200000,1,1,NeTranscoder.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Vcd Navigator,0x00600000,0,2,NeVCD.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Deinterlace,0x00200000,1,1,NeDeinterlace.ax,5.05.0009.0009
WM ASF Writer,0x00400000,0,0,,11.00.6001.7000
Nero TS Muxer,0x00200000,1,1,NeTSMuxer.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Framerate Converter,0x00200000,1,1,NeFramerate.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero DVD Decoder,0x00600000,2,1,NeVideo.ax,5.05.0009.0009
VBI Surface Allocator,0x00600000,1,1,vbisurf.ax,6.00.6001.18000
Nero Mpeg Video Encoder,0x00200000,1,1,NeMpegVideoEnc.ax,5.05.0009.0009
MMACE SoftEmu,0x00200000,0,2,MMACEFilters.dll,
File writer,0x00200000,1,0,,6.06.6001.18000
Nero Video Decoder HD,0x00200000,1,2,NeVideoHD.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero QuickTime(tm) Video Decoder,0x00400000,1,1,NeQTDec.ax,5.05.0009.0009
DVD Navigator,0x00200000,0,3,,6.06.6001.18000
Nero Stream Buffer Source,0x00200000,0,0,NeSBE.ax,5.05.0009.0009
MMACE DeInterlace,0x00200000,0,2,MMACEFilters.dll,
Overlay Mixer2,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18000
Nero Audio CD Filter,0x00200000,0,1,NeAudCD.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero MP3 Encoder,0x00200000,1,1,NeMp3Encoder.ax,5.05.0009.0009
AVI Draw,0x00600064,9,1,,6.06.6001.18063
Nero Audible Decoder,0x00200000,1,1,NeAudible.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Microsoft MPEG-2 Audio Encoder,0x00200000,2,0,msmpeg2enc.dll,11.00.6001.7000
WST Pager,0x00800000,1,1,WSTPager.ax,6.06.6001.18000
MPEG-2 Demultiplexer,0x00600000,1,1,mpg2splt.ax,6.06.6001.18115
DV Video Decoder,0x00800000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18000
SampleGrabber,0x00200000,1,1,qedit.dll,6.06.6001.18000
Null Renderer,0x00200000,1,0,qedit.dll,6.06.6001.18000
MPEG-2 Sections and Tables,0x005fffff,1,0,Mpeg2Data.ax,6.06.6001.18000
Microsoft AC3 Encoder,0x00200000,1,1,msac3enc.dll,11.00.6001.7000
Nero VMR Modules Filter,0x00200000,1,0,NeroVMRModules.dll,5.05.0009.0009
StreamBufferSource,0x00200000,0,0,sbe.dll,6.06.6001.18000
Smart Tee,0x00200000,1,2,,6.06.6001.18000
Overlay Mixer,0x00200000,0,0,,6.06.6001.18000
AVI Decompressor,0x00600000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
AVI/WAV File Source,0x00400000,0,2,,6.06.6001.18063
Nero InteractiveGraphics Decoder,0x00600000,1,1,NeBDGraphic.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Wave Parser,0x00400000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
MIDI Parser,0x00400000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
Multi-file Parser,0x00400000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
File stream renderer,0x00400000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
Nero Photo Source,0x00200000,0,1,NePhotoSource.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Thumbnail Decoder,0x00600000,1,1,NeBDThumbnail.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Microsoft MPEG-1/DD Audio Decoder,0x005fffff,1,1,msmpeg2adec.dll,11.00.6001.7000
AVI Mux,0x00200000,1,0,,6.06.6001.18000
Line 21 Decoder 2,0x00600002,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
File Source (Async.),0x00400000,0,1,,6.06.6001.18063
File Source (URL),0x00400000,0,1,,6.06.6001.18063
Nero Ogg Splitter,0x00400000,1,1,NeOggSplitter.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero MP4 Splitter,0x00600000,1,1,NeMP4Splitter.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Nero Sound Processor,0x00200000,1,1,NeSoundProc.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Infinite Pin Tee Filter,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18000
Nero Video Decoder,0x00600000,2,1,NeVideo.ax,5.05.0009.0009
Enhanced Video Renderer,0x00200000,1,0,evr.dll,6.00.6001.18000
BDA MPEG2 Transport Information Filter,0x00200000,2,0,psisrndr.ax,6.06.6001.18115
Nero DV Splitter,0x00200000,1,2,NeDVSplitter.ax,5.05.0009.0009
MPEG Video Decoder,0x40000001,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063

WDM Streaming Tee/Splitter Devices:
Tee/Sink-to-Sink Converter,0x00200000,1,1,,6.00.6001.18000

Video Compressors:
WMVideo8 Encoder DMO,0x00600800,1,1,,
WMVideo9 Encoder DMO,0x00600800,1,1,,
MSScreen 9 encoder DMO,0x00600800,1,1,,
DV Video Encoder,0x00200000,0,0,,6.06.6001.18000
MJPEG Compressor,0x00200000,0,0,,6.06.6001.18063
Cinepak Codec by Radius,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18000
Intel IYUV codec,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18000
Intel IYUV codec,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18000
Microsoft RLE,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18000
Microsoft Video 1,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18000

Audio Compressors:
WM Speech Encoder DMO,0x00600800,1,1,,
WMAudio Encoder DMO,0x00600800,1,1,,
IMA ADPCM,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
PCM,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
Microsoft ADPCM,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
GSM 6.10,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
CCITT A-Law,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
CCITT u-Law,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063
MPEG Layer-3,0x00200000,1,1,,6.06.6001.18063

Audio Capture Sources:
Microphone (SoundMAX Integrated,0x00200000,0,0,,6.06.6001.18000
Line In (SoundMAX Integrated Di,0x00200000,0,0,,6.06.6001.18000

Midi Renderers:
Default MidiOut Device,0x00800000,1,0,,6.06.6001.18063
Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth,0x00200000,1,0,,6.06.6001.18063

WDM Streaming Capture Devices:
SoundMAX HD Audio I,0x00200000,1,1,,6.00.6001.18000

WDM Streaming Rendering Devices:
HD Audio HDMI out,0x00200000,1,1,,6.00.6001.18000
HD Audio digital out,0x00200000,1,1,,6.00.6001.18000
HD Audio digital out 2,0x00200000,1,1,,6.00.6001.18000
SoundMAX HD Audio O,0x00200000,1,1,,6.00.6001.18000

BDA Network Providers:
Microsoft ATSC Network Provider,0x00200000,0,1,MSDvbNP.ax,6.06.6001.18061
Microsoft DVBC Network Provider,0x00200000,0,1,MSDvbNP.ax,6.06.6001.18061
Microsoft DVBS Network Provider,0x00200000,0,1,MSDvbNP.ax,6.06.6001.18061
Microsoft DVBT Network Provider,0x00200000,0,1,MSDvbNP.ax,6.06.6001.18061
Microsoft Network Provider,0x00200000,0,1,MSNP.ax,6.06.6001.18115

Multi-Instance Capable VBI Codecs:
VBI Codec,0x00600000,1,4,VBICodec.ax,6.06.6001.18000

BDA Transport Information Renderers:
BDA MPEG2 Transport Information Filter,0x00600000,2,0,psisrndr.ax,6.06.6001.18115
MPEG-2 Sections and Tables,0x00600000,1,0,Mpeg2Data.ax,6.06.6001.18000

BDA CP/CA Filters:
Decrypt/Tag,0x00600000,1,0,EncDec.dll,6.06.6001.18115
Encrypt/Tag,0x00200000,0,0,EncDec.dll,6.06.6001.18115
XDS Codec,0x00200000,0,0,EncDec.dll,6.06.6001.18115

WDM Streaming Communication Transforms:
Tee/Sink-to-Sink Converter,0x00200000,1,1,,6.00.6001.18000

Audio Renderers:
SPDIF Interface (SoundMAX Integ,0x00200000,1,0,,6.06.6001.18063
Default DirectSound Device,0x00800000,1,0,,6.06.6001.18063
Default WaveOut Device,0x00200000,1,0,,6.06.6001.18063
DirectSound: SPDIF Interface (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio),0x00200000,1,0,,6.06.6001.18063

[Thygrrr]

I have these issues as well. I have some 20ish ships and just welded nerly all my (six) stations together into a big complex.

I have spent about 5 days of actual in-game time.

X³TC, English, Steam Version 1.2.1

[fredmxm354]

@ ViRGE
Your dedicated graphics memory is 512MB I assume, yet your DX Diag shows it as 506MB, this typically means there is a flaw in your graphics memory, or it could be a quirk of your card. I've had it happen to me before.

Do other graphic intensive games have issues similar or is it just X³TC ?

Also, your page file is a bit fuller than a clean windows boot, I would suggest rebooting, (with the 'clear page file on shutdown' option enabled, you can google for how to enable it)

That should clear your pagefile then try the game again, sounds silly or unlikely but again, worked for me for a couple of issues with other games...

I would suggest the same to Thygrrr as well, but without a DXDiag not much can be said.

[frymaster]

why do you say it is allowed 1.6 and not 2?

anyway, if it was a true memory leak then that figure would go up to 2 gigs, and then the program would crash

over time, as you see more sectors and more ships, x3 will have more of the game's assets in memory, until it gets to the point where it considers itself to be in danger of an out of memory error, and it'll drop some of these in-memory assets. I've never had an out-of-memory error on vanilla x3:tc

by contrast, if I alter the exe to allow it to use more than 2 gigs of memory, and leave it running long enough, I've had it use up to just over 3 gigs of memory. (this may be worth a try on your system, though of course you'd not get much support if you ran into issues afterwards)

given the size of the game install, this isn't suprising.


2 things I'd try are defragmenting steam cache files, and then doing an os-level defrag

[ViRGE]

frymaster, thanks for your response.

I say 1.6GB because that is the private memory allocated (physical memory) - but it allocates 2GB of virtual memory. In fact it does run out of virtual memory because it ends up allocating 2GB of it and after this that's when things start going awry; textures start missing and the hard disk starts thrashing.

The likely reason for why my hard disk is thrashing is to make up for the gap of 400MB memory between the physical memory allocated and the virtual size, i.e. paging in and out memory as it becomes "inactive" and active.

Even if I could hack the executable and increase its virtual memory size to 3GB this would just make the issue even worse - because the gap between the allocatable physical memory and that of the virtual memory means that even more paging is required to remove "inactive" pages and load in pages that all of a sudden need to be used, as the memory leak develops over time.

I don't think you will ever see any Windows process allocating more than 1.6GB or thereabouts of physical memory - and the reason for this is likely to be the stack and other process/thread related areas that need to be mapped to physical memory.

You will be able to see this development if you use Process Explorer to extract the numbers.

Hope this helps explain what I meant by the 1.6GB memory and not 2GB.

[ViRGE]

frymaster, I forgot to tell you that I don't use steam - also my hard disk is already defragged.

[ViRGE]

fredmxm354, thanks for your reply. Unfortunately your recommendation doesn't work. Also, I have no issues at all with other games - it is only X3TC causing issues.
I'm not sure why the memory of the graphics card is reported as 506MB but I doubt it's to do with any bugs (after all everything else works) - perhaps the area is allocated for "other stuff", probably a graphics driver area or something
But thanks for your reply - I am however 100% certain that all my issues come down to one thing: a (very) buggy X3TC - I would even go as far as to claim that all us suckers that were out early to purchase the game are currently running paid-for beta testing on behalf of Egosoft (and it's not Egosoft paying for our frustrations and time, mind you).

Perhaps I should just give up and leave the game on the shelf for a few months and hope for the best - or go back to the shop and demand a refund (unfortunately I can't do the same for the PC I bought) - after all I could always buy the game again later if Egosoft get around to fixing all the innumerable issues that have been logged (another reason why I haven't bothered going further than the first part of the Terran missions - people's experiences just leave me to think it's too buggy to enjoy).

I wonder what happened to QA...? And for any Egosofters reading and wondering, it means "Quality Assurance" - I happen to know of a few books you might want to read on the subject...

Thanks.

[frymaster]

I confess I haven't explicitly checked using process explorer (I will do so) but I am 100% certain windows can put more than 1,6gigs of the game's virtual memory into physical RAM at any one time, from the way the disk cache figure decreases, although I'll try to get hard figures on that.

Regardless, my inital point stands: You cannot point to an increase in memory usage over time and claim that is evidence of memory leak issues, and I have personally kept it running for several days with no ill effect. Some people have noticed a performance improvement by setting LAA on the process, though it runs well for me regardless (my system, even overclocked, lags behind yours by quite a margin)

[ViRGE]

frymaster, thanks for your response. Please have a look at: http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdo ... i=3034&p=4. It somewhat collaborates my point on the 1.6GB (or thereabout) physical size limit give or take a couple of hundred MB, but who's counting...

While I'm glad to hear that you're able to play your games for days at end this isn't unfortunately what I'm experiencing here - I've not let the game completely crash - I've simply started seeing textures disappearing & white screens (yes, strange) after playing over "prolonged" intervals (4-6 hours of active play), performance slowing down to a crawl, hard disk thrashing (!).

At that point I've exit the game and started it up again (no reboot necessary - Vista 64-bit rock-solid) - problems go away for a while but ultimately return. Also, I cannot leave the game running overnight for maybe more than 12-15 hours before I loose the ability to use the game at all (textures missing, menu not working etc) and thereby save at a crucial point when I've generated lots of cash from my merchant fleet. Frustrating, as I'm sure you can imagine.

[ViRGE]

Oh, and just one more point: version 1.2.1 was meant to fix some memory leaks - who's to say that there aren't more than the ones they already fixed? I for one will give 1.3 a chance and after that if there's no improvement X3TC will get archived (jury's still out as to whether that means "binned" or on the shelf)...

[DDM_Reaper20]

@ ViRGE

It may have nothing to do with your particular problem, but it says that your rig is overclocked. Not a hefty one (3.6GHz isn't much for an 8400, after all), but some games don't like overclocked CPUs.

Have you manually put the PCI-E frequency to 100 or similar?

506MB for a graphics card sounds rather screwy. (AFAIK, there is no stuff "allocated"), so maybe you might want to check into this one, as well.

Go into the BIOS and look for PCI-E frequency. Hell, it's almost certainly not the cause, but, heck, sometimes, a shot in the dark hits something.

[Zerg]

I got the game 2 days ago, from install on all versions I was having what at first appeared to be lockups. Took me about a day to realise that it wasn't actually locking up but was thrashing the disks and if I left the game running after a while it would unlock. The game was totally unplayable with the apparent lockups occuring from 5 - 10 minutes appart. After a night of trying to resolve this and a fresh install of Vista 64, which made no difference, I stumbled on a thread on the net about the windows service "superfetch". Turned this off, rebooted and I have now been playing for around 6 hours with no issues. Not saying this is the fix but it certainly has made the game much more stable for me.


Hope this helps someone.

[CBJ]

The thread you've posted in is over 3 months old and I doubt anyone in it is still waiting around for an answer. Add to that the fact that there have been a couple of new patches since then, it really isn't helpful to dredge it up.