Pete Dowson

I'm afraid I just can't fix FSX install problems. If a complete uninstall and re-install won't fix FSX I'm afraid you will have to call upon MS Tech Support. Regards Pete

You need to get Goflight onto this. Regards Pete

I don't know. Show me the WideServer and Wideclient Logs, and the [WideServer] part of the FSUIPC4.INI file and the WideClient.INI file. Pete

Please get version 4.04 which I should have available for download here within the next two hours. Regards Pete

Okaythis is completely different from all of the other problems with Simconnect so far. The SimConnect_Open succeeds, but then nothing else happens. this means that FSUIPC never actually sees the "SimStart" message from Simconnect, and it isn't till then that the Menu entry is added. Now we need to get some information on what Simconnect is doing. We need a Simconnect Log. to get one of these, please do the following: 1. Create a simple text file containing just these lines: [simConnect] level=Verbose console=No file=\Modules\SimConnect%01u.Log file_max_index=9 where of course you need to put your FS path in where shown. 2. Save this as "Simconnect.ini" in your "My Documents\flight simulator X files" folder. 3. Run FSX as before, reproduce the problem. Close FSX, Zip up the Simconnect log and send it to me at petedowson@btconnect.com. If it needs Microsoft attention I will report it direct, but I will also ask you to submit it through the normal channels as well. [LATER] Oh, one other thing. Later tonight I shall be releasing version 4.04 here, and it will be the official release on the Schiratti site tomorrow I hope. Please, download that and install it. Test again, just to be sure it is the same, but then try it with: StartImmediately=Yes added to the [General] section of the FSUIPC4.INI file. This makes FSUIPC4 do what it originally did -- start everything as soon as the Open is successful, without waiting for a 2simStart" message. Whether that works or not, I'd still like the FSUIPC4 and SimConnect Logs from that too, for comparison. Thanks, Regards Pete

But according to the INI file settings, none of your controls are calibrated correctly in FSUIPC. Simply mapping them isn't any good, you need to go through the process of calibration! Follow the steps in the documentation. Look at your "calibrations": Aileron=-5150,0,0,5150 Elevator=-5150,0,0,5150 Rudder=-5150,0,0,5150 LeftBrake=-5150,5150 RightBrake=-5150,5150 Throttle1=-5150,0,0,5150 They are too uniform. There are no neutral centre zones for any of the three main flight controls, zones absolutely essential for ensuring a neutral hands-off setting, there are no end zones on the brakes to ensure the brakes are off till pressed, and no neutral centre "idle" zone on the throttle to ensure a proper idle. The difference between 4.023 and 4.026 is that, due to an error, 4.023 didn't process any of the axes by default. When this was fixed in 4.026 your lack of any sort of sensible calibration in FSUIPC led to the results you are now experiencing. Show me the INI file calibration section settings for your FS9 setup. It doesn't look like you copied them over. There's no sign that you've calibrated anything in this file. As far as I can see, the problem is 100% down to a total lack of any real calibration in FSUIPC. Please try to do that properly first -- even copy the section across from your FS9 installation if they work properly. If you still have problems, come back, but currently there's no other explanation, and that INI file explains all your symptoms. Regards Pete

No. WideFs is for FSUIPC client programs. Maybe you are mixing up WidevieW, which links FS installations? That's a totally different program by a different author. ;-) Regards, Pete

Sorry, I've no idea. I don't use Squawkbox, but this is not a WideFS issue. Sounds like it needs some data files you've not installed? I think you need to check in with SB support. Regards Pete

Backwards compatible to what? The Concorde you installed is evidently not a good piece of work, as it has installed a very old version of FSUIPC, dating from BEFORE the FS9.1 update for FS2004 came out. The original FS9 was 9.00.30612. No, you have it completely backwards. You are using a very old version of FSUIPC, from before the FS9.1 release -- so it is at least 2 years old! Your bad (old?) Concorde installer must be dated from before FS9.1, and, worse, presumably it doesn't even check! There is no way a version of my program dated before FS9.1 could work with FS9.1, surely you must see that. "Backwards compatibility" means that LATER versions work on OLDER software, not vice versa, as you seem to think! :-( Download a later version of FSUIPC. The only supported version at present is 3.71 in any case. Pete

Strange. I don't know anything with such a period. Did you check the Active Sky settings to see if that was adjusting something every 5 minutes? I don't know of any settings which would be relevant to a 5 minute cycle. What settings have you made in any case? By all means enable FSUIPC's weather logging (in the Logging tab), and check the log to see if you can spot anything with such a cycle. Be warned, though, with Active Sky running the weather log can get quite big. If you've enabled the option on the Miscellaneous page to change FS's own weather, I would advise you to uncheck that for now. It can have some odd effects -- I'm waiting for the FSX weather facilities to be fixed. Regards Pete

The WideFS frame rate should match the FS frame rate. Anything around or above 20 fps should be okay -- even less does actually seem smoother in FSX than you'd think, and getting as much as 20 in FSX is not easy at present in any case! Choppy? I thought PM's display software smoothed things anyway? What's the FS frame rate? What does Wideclient show as the average frame rate? They should match within reason. The WideFs ones can be more if there is a lot of data, suffucent to warrant more than one data frame transfer for every FS frame. Run the system, see the choppiness, close FS and the clients down, then look at the WideClinet and wideServer log files. They should be clean of erros (except possibly initial connection and final disconnections), and there will be a performance summary at the end. If there are no errors, but the performance is erratic, if may be that FS isn't leaving enough time for other things to process. You'd need to limit frame rates a tad. Regards Pete

Then I didn't know it did autostart -- but as CyberAvia says above, it will be because it adds itself to the EXE.XML file in the same folder as your FSX.CFG file. Just change the relevant entry in that to show True for now. Or simply rename the file so it won't even be used. When/if MS fixes the problems of two or more Simconnect clients loading together you can change it back. Regards, Pete

Hopefully MS will fix this problem soon so such work-arounds won't be needed. Regards Pete

That's among the facilities I hope to offer when FSX's weather facilities are working correctly. As it is even the options I do provide are rather, er, unreliable or even unpredictable in their results in FSX. I am hoping that there will be a SimConnect update with the weather access sorted out, after which I will be hard at work on making all the weather options work properly. Regards Pete

I'm working on making the FSUIPC4 installer check for a Simconnect.XML file, and correcting it automatically if the "local" section is missing! ;-) Regards Pete

Seems you misread my last reply. I said "Seems that SimConnect assumes the local connection by default if you omit the file, but if you are explicitly listing connections you need to list the local one (on 127.0.0.1 I think) as well, else you won't get one." You can have multiple server ports and addresses listed. You are simply replacing one with another by only having the one entry. There was another thread showing a working XML file. didn't you look? I'm sure this was all dealt with in the Beta newsgroups as well -- didn't I see you there? Obviously MS really needs to get the documentation sorted on this one. Found the other thread now (searched on "XML". See this one http://forums.simflight.com/viewtopic.php?t=57373 Regards Pete

Thanks. But of course for the real problem (MP killing data from SimConnect) it's only a work-around. The solution needs to come from MS. Regards Pete

It does seem to, but as far as I know only if one of them (at least) comes up with the Security warning which you have to respond to. The folks who reproduced this said it was okay once the product(s) were approved. If you tell Windows that programs from me are trusted then it won't ask again about FSUIPC, even after an upgrade. That's why I purchased a proper software publisher's Certificate and sign my code. Also, we found that if the initialisation of the SimConnect data infterface is delayed until SimConnect signals that the Sim has "Started", the crashes don't occur. This is why I changed FSUIPC to do just that. The original reporters said that fixed it with FSUIPC plus their program, but whether it is the same with all systems and all programs is another matter. What two programs are you having trouble with? Microsoft have been told, and they know of the work-around I implemented. They've not acknowledged any of the bugs we reported yet, except the one where Multiplayer kills the data being supplied by SimConnect. I think they are rather overloaded with it all at present. Regards Pete

No, not yetbut does it actually stop there? If so then there certainly will be no FSUIPC entry in the 'Extra' menu. Can you show me a complete Log please, including FS closing? Oh, before you do that please get version 4.03 so we are talking about the same thing. Regards Pete

Okay. Thank you. I think I've found the reasonthere's one little flag which is actually uninitialised. I've fixed that. I will email 4.032 for you to try. Regards Pete

No, sorry. It was never easily accessible, and I'm not going to start hacking into FS2004 now. Regards Pete

Well done! I like to see folks solving things quicker than me! Regards Pete

If there is no Log file and no INI file then FSUIPC isn't actually being run -- FS is crashing before it gets that far. In your re-install did you again install the 9.1 update? If so try just the base 9.1 first. Also when uninstalling do you delete all the ancillary files -- the Flight files from My Documents/Flight simulator file ad the CFG file in your Documents & Settings? It may just be something wrong hungover from a previous install. Regards Pete

If you've never deleted the INI file since you changed the name, it would still be listed. It does no harm. WideFS keeps track of things so it can number buttons, as I said. Really? WideServer cannot guess at such a name -- it must actually see the connection and LOG it for it to be added. Check the Log. Might you have more than one Network connection? Anyway, back on performance, you can experiment with the "AutoUpdateTime" parameter in WideServer.INI to change the performance of the WideFS operation. Smaller number = faster scan, larger = slower. Try different values, like 4, 8, 20, 30, 50. Regards Pete

Strange. It works perfectly here. Can you show me an FSUIPC4.LOG and the INI file please? Pete