I think these “commandments” should be permanently engraved for posterity.
Here are the verbatim instructions from @Janov on the X-Plane.org forum who has been forced to produce countless variations every few weeks or so.
On 6/28/2025 at 6:28 AM, Janov said:
This is a guideline on how to cure your X-Plane problems of crashing or device loss errors (DLE):
1.) Make sure your operating system is in prime shape. No overclocking. Latest drivers. Default graphic settings (no esoteric Nvidia settings, etc.), no paranoid anti-virus, no “I got this on a cool reddit forum with Windows tips” stuff.
2.) Remove all third party content from your X-Plane installation. Physically move them somewhere else, disabling them in X-Plane is not enough. This includes plugins, aircraft, scenery. If you are not sure you can do this reliably, just delete everything and install X-Plane fresh.
3.) Fly a default aircraft for a very long time. Let it go on autopilot if you don`t have the time, but fly a default aircraft in a default (“vanilla”) simulator setup until it crashes or you are sure that it is stable. The longer the better, I personally recommend to use it in this state for several long flights until you declare it stable.
4.) If the simulator crashed or you suffer a device loss error, file a bug with Laminar Research (google X-Plane bug reporter). Wait for LR to fix the problem. You can now post here and let us know about your problem, maybe someone can spot something wrong with your system that you missed.
5.) If you completed the long testing run with no problem, you can install your FIRST add-on. ONLY ONE! Repeat the long duration testing run. If XP crashes or has a DLE, you have found the offending third-party item. Do not use it anymore. Contact the developer of said item to fix it.
6.) Add your NEXT add-on. Repeat testing, discarding all add-ons that cause crashes or DLE´s.
Remember, there are no “must have” add-ons. There are only compatible or incompatible add-ons. It is the developer´s responsibility to make his add-on compatible or take it up with LR if the problem is not on his side.