Pete Dowson

Yes, provided your potentiometers interface correctly into Windows looking like a set of joystick axes. You can get 6 on one joystick device even with FSUIPC still using the old Windows joystick API -- the axes are called X Y Z R U and V. In FSUIPC's joystick calibrations pages there's a siingle Reverser for all engines and, separately, a page for up to 4 independent reversers. Regards Pete

This shouldn't be needed if you tell Windows to trust software specifically signed by me -- it's an option in the dropdown on the security warning. It places my certificate into the IE repostiory as a "trusted publisher". The only other possibility is that the Manual.Load entry in the DLL.XML file is for some reason set to "True" instead of "False" -- the FSUIPC4 Installer sets it to False. In the current interim releases (we are up to 4.026 now, in the FSX downloads above) this odd error number is shown in hex too, as it seems to lok more sensible then. It is 0x80004005. Unfortunately this does not appear to be any standard error number and I've not managed (yet) to get an answer on it from MS, but it does seem pretty certain that it is a fiewall permissions problem. I know you say you have these things turned off, but could you follow the link in the firewalls announcement above anyway, and see what MS themselves say? Please asl report this to tell_fs@microsoft.com with as much info about your system as possible. Thanks. Pete

Okay. In that case the puzzle remains as to why Windows XP's mailslot system isn't working on your Network. Not worth pursuing now you have a work-around, but it might help others if we could find out. Not sure how to though. Regards Pete

You need to re-register on each computer you install it on. There are no restrictions on how many provided they are all for your use. You also would need to re-register if you re-installed Windows. Regards Pete

I'd love to help but I'm afriad I don't know what the question is yet. Can you amplify please? Regards Pete

Is it? Oh, sorry. The fix must have missed that one then. It will be okay in 3.71 which has been imminent now for a couple of weeks. I do hope to get to that in the coming week. Regards Pete

Hmmm. Weird though. Thanks for letting us know. Regards Pete

No, the only thing I know that may cause that is something trying to change the time by more than a minute or so. The only facility in FSUIPC for time changing is the clock sync option in "miscellaneous", but that only changes the seconds in any case, which doesn't cause AI traffic reloads. FSRealTime changes the time and can cause those reloads, but it is usually set to something rather long so you wouldn't see it often if at all. But maybe you have it operating every five minutes and with too stringent a stipulation? Otherwise see what other external programs you have running and try eliminating them one by one. Regards Pete

No point. If you've registered WideFS andyour WideServer is enabled, then the FS title bar always had the information telling you so. When clients connect it shows you how many are connected. It has been doing that now for 7 years or more. Regards Pete

Thanks for the Log, It shows the reason clearly and it isn't complicated. I'm sure you would have seen it for yourself if you'd used the Logging before: Everytime you write to the throttle offsets you write the same value to the high word of the spoiler offset. Here: 2659000 WRITEex 088C, 2 bytes: C2 02 .. 2659000 WRITEex 0924, 2 bytes: C2 02 .. 2659000 WRITEex 0BCC, 4 bytes: 00 00 00 00 .... 2659000 WRITEex 0BD0, 4 bytes: 00 00 C2 02 .... 2659046 WRITEex 088C, 2 bytes: C2 02 .. 2659046 WRITEex 0924, 2 bytes: C2 02 .. 2659046 WRITEex 0BCC, 4 bytes: 00 00 00 00 .... 2659046 WRITEex 0BD0, 4 bytes: 00 00 C2 02 .... 2659109 WRITEex 088C, 2 bytes: 86 06 .. 2659109 WRITEex 0924, 2 bytes: 86 06 .. 2659109 WRITEex 0BCC, 4 bytes: 00 00 00 00 .... 2659109 WRITEex 0BD0, 4 bytes: 00 00 86 06 .... etc etc throughtout the log. Those are HUGE values of course (0x06860000). Maybe, in FS9 and before, FS ignored values over the maximum (16383, or 03FFF), or only used the low bits -- but evidently FSX treats this as maximum deployment instead. Really it is an error in your program. Obviously you don't really want to set the two high bytes of the spoiler as you do. However, since FS9 and before ignored it, for compatibility I will change FSUIPC4 to filter those bytes off, in the next release. Regards Pete

These are new FS controls, fully supported through FSUIPC4 (e.g. via the button and key assignments, or by sending the controls via offset 3110. If you men to read the state of the switches, I'll just check to see if they are among the new ones supplied by Simconnect ... .... right -- I can obtain the Hydraulic, Smoking and SeatBelt settings. I'll add them soon, maybe in the next build if I find time. The cross feed is actually currently supported already (as it always has been) via the fuel selector switches -- 3880 etc (one for each engine), but I see there's a separate single indication too now. I'll add that but it would be interesting to find out how that relates to the othershmmm. It should do -- are you meaning when reading or when writing? It's more sophisticated than in FS2004 as it should be showing separate bits for each exit (I cater for exits 1-8 but I think FSX only deals with 1-4). Please can you clarify what you are observing, with IPC read/write logging to show? Regards Pete

Hmmmstrange. I wonder how that happened. Certainly it isn't anything in my installer changing your entire file system. Anyway, I am making some changes to try to IMPOSE the attributes I want on the files my installer installs. Those changes will be in the next update, whenever, so please be sure to let me know how they work on your setup. Thanks, Pete

Strange. I think the "graying out" actually means that the attributes are being imposed by virtue of attributes for the folders above being inherited. If so, it could all be some strange result of how FSX itself is installed on your system. Have you checked the attributes of other FSX folders to see? Regards Pete

Yes, it sounds like you are getting something wrong. The name, email and Key must match EXACTLY to that which you'll find on the receipt. Use cut-and-paste if you are not sure. Please also make sure you are NOT using version 4.00 of FSUIPC4, though that is unlikely as it was only available for a few hours. If you still get a problem, write to me at petedowson@btconnect.com. Tell me exactly what you are entering and show me the receipt. I can cross-check it here. But I can tell you that all such incidents for the last three years and more have been simply down to the fact that folks were entering their name differently. Regards Pete

Does their driver use FSUIPC? What is the name of their program? Is your FSUIPC user registered? If you'd like me to check, try again, then close FS2004 and show me the FSUIPC.LOG file (you'll find it in the FS Modules folder). Regards Pete

Very strange. The folder is created by FSUIPC's installer with default properties. I'll check to see if I can deliberately "unhide" the folder in case it is getting the property from its parent, though that seems unlikely too. Yes, that's correct. Access denied? Even stranger. Why were you trying to reinstall the same version again, by the way? And howw long (how many seconds) after closing FSX did you try this. I have noticed that FSX closed its Wndow and seems to disappear quite quickly, but, presumably because of the sheer amount of clearing upit has to do, the process itself doesn't finish for anything up to 20 or so seconds later. If that was the case, and for some reason you tried to re-install FSUIPC4 then the "Access Denied" error may have simply been because the module was effectively still loaded in tthe closing down FSX process. I don't know how Windows is doing this, because even if the file does get marked "read only" the installer deliberately unmarks it before trying to replace it. I have a fgeeling that this may be an indirect result of trying to re-install it whilst it was still running. Why are you repeatedly trying to install the same version? This is not a general problem, it is somehow very specific to your system. Can you please tell me what version of Windows it is? Are any of the folders in FSX already marked hiddeb or read-only? I am grateful for the report, but I am still puzzled as to why you are installing FSUIPC 4.026 three or more times when the first time worked okay? It may simply be this which is somehow causing the problem, though it wouldn't explain the hidden files in the first attempt. Anyway, I'm making changes so that the attributes like Hidden and Read Only are removed by the installer before it tries anything. Regards Pete

Everything interfacing to FSUIPC is related to FSX. FSUIPC is forging that relationship -- that is what it is for! ;-) SimConnect can also be used directly by other programs, so that is forging relationships as well. Pete

It doesn't sound like the same, but certainly it is worth reporting this to tell_fs@microsoft.com please. There are no important changes I'm making to FSUIPC which are not SimConnect problem avoidance related -- work-arounds where we've found them. Nothing I know of or can do would change FS's abilities to redraw itself on changes of process or mode. I haven't had exactly the same problem that you describe but certainly I've had FSX disappearing to the task bar without warning and just never restoring. And I've had completely black screns, with everything otherwise appearing to be running, when switching from windowed to full screen mode or vice versa. Most of these sorts of problems I know about do seem to be associated with full screen mode, and I think for stability it is currently best to run instead in maximised Widowed mode if possible. (Oddly, I remember problems like this in the early days of FS2004). I can only hope that MS will be able to address these things sooner rather than later. One of the whole points of making FSUIPC almost exclusively a SimConnect-using client is that it means there's no complex invasive code in it, so nothing to go wrong -- at least on my side of the interface. Except for the button, key and joystick scanning (which are still independent and use standard Windows facilities) everything it does is via SimConnect. And 99% of the time it is doing nothing but waiting for information to arrive from simconnect as, unlike previous methods I had to use, the simconnect data access is passive -- FSUIPC files a request for information with SimConnect during initialisation, and then it merely sits back and waits for it to arrive. Admittedly, whilst flying, that's a lot of data which is changing fairly frequently, but on the whole is it no more often than in FS2004 and it is tied to the frame rate. Regards Pete

Actually, I think you are adding to the wrong thread -- but I can see why. The right one is http://forums.simflight.com/viewtopic.php?t=57105. It sounds like another possible symprom of the bug reported and hopefully now "worked-around" (at least in my code, update to be released here later tonight) -- it needs changes I expect to all SimConnect client programs until MS can fix it. Actually only removing it from the Modules folder, or renaming it would be enough. And if you told Windows to trust all software from me (via the option in the dropdown) the "trusted status" is nothing to do with FSX but is recorded someplace else, in a repository you can access via IE's Options. Aha more usual symptom. Please make sure all this interesting information gets to MS, tell_fs@microsoft.com. I've tried to promote this as the most urgent SimConnect problem to resolve, even before firewalls, weather and performance! Regards, Pete

Hmmm. Can't detect any connection at all here. Can you reproduce that with FSInterrogate? Please enable FSUIPC4's IPC read and write logging, and also Monitor those offsets (to the Log) and run such a test. Show me the results -- or if the log is large, Zip it and send it to petedowson@btconnect.com. Make sure, please, that you use the latest version (4.023 here at present, or 4.026 later tonight), and a default aircraft. Regards Pete

A member of the Microsoft FS Team has posted a message on the FSX forum about this. See viewtopic.php?p=353243. However, please also note that Firewalls should no longer present any sort of problem for local SimConnect clients such as FSUIPC4, provided that you either apply the FSX Acceleration add-on, or apply the free SP2 update when it becomes available, and use a revised version of any add-ons which are designed to take advantage of the new SimConnect features. Version 4.20 of FSUIPC4 is available now and, whilst still running okay on FSX original and FSX+SP1, this is ready to take advantage of the improvements in SimConnect in Acceleration / SP2. Regards Pete

Same PSS airbus, or a different aircraft? I'm in the midst of preparing a proper revised interim release, 4.026, which will include that fix. I'll put it up into the FSX downloads announcement later tonight -- I'm just out for a couple of hours. Please check there either later (certainly after 00:00Z, or more reliably in the morning). Thanks. Regards Pete

Good. Seems that the mailslot broadcasts just aren't getting through then. That's odd. Ah, so they were different? Is it possible that after changing that and re-testing you still had AdvertiseService=No (or 0) in the [WideServer] section of the FSUIPC4.INI file? Regards Pete

Ahin that case it isn't related to the initialisation issues we are investigating. There is a small chance that it could be a Simconnect problem, but I'm afraid the address is actually in a general library routine so it could be due to anything. The only answer is to tell MS I'm afraid. With it not being reproducible its going to be difficult for anyone to pin down in any case, so we just have to hope that they do get sufficient information over a period. In that case FSUIPC4 isn't actually doing anything except being the recipient of messages from Simconnect, with which FSUIPC simply updates its oinformation in case any application needs it. If the crash is down to an add-on, then the Traffic changes are more likely. There have been many subtle changes in the AI traffic system and no one is really very sure how compatible it is with files made for previous versions of FS. However, if you have only had it happen once so far there's not a lot of point, at present, in trying to eliminate anything by uninstalling. Regards Pete

Well, I would expect WideFS to make a small dent due to its parallel use of the Network -- usually that would be hidden by limiting the frame rate to suit the client PCs, to get a nice even update rate all round. Until FSX can match the sort of rates you are likely to want to limit it to (20 fps or more, minimum) then I'm afraid that's going to be a fact of life. But I am very disappointed in the performance of the user release of FSX compared to the Betas, on which I could barely measure any impact of FSUIPC4. I am in conversation about this with the guys in MS working on SimConnect. Incidentally, I was pleasantly surprised that, in fact, I got much more of a boost from updating my nVidia video drivers to 91.47 (October release) that the hit from FSUIPC4. Also, there are many tweaks which all told can substantially increase your frame rate and make it very flyable. Check places like http://www.fox-fam.com/wordpress/?page_id=41 and http://www.fsstation.com/articles/flighweaks.html. Yes, that's a bug in the weather setting facilities, and was bugged before release but the MS team wasn't able to fix it in time. It isn't noticeable if you can get the frame rates high enough. Don't you also get the sky flashing as weather is updated? That happens here even using MS's downloaded weather with auto-updates, and it happens quite frequently then as the previous settings supposedly smoothly "morph" into the new ones. Don't you also get bad stutters when autogen pops up? For smoothest flying you need the autogen turned well down (though some of the tweaks above do save having to turn it off completely). I'm not sure, but with WideFS running you may be better re-enabling HT. Also, FSX does make a bit of use of dual processing -- it is multithreaded -- just not enough in most folks opinion. Try it and see. Ahmy slowest FSX macine is running an ATI XT800. I've changed the ones I really fly on to nVidia 7900 or 7950 cards. Even a 7800 card would be faster, unless you stay with ATI but move to their current generation (1900? Not sure of ATI numbers I'm afraid). And the 256mb you have on that card is about the minimum which FSX seems to need. It is looking like video memory is one of the main bottlenecks now. Looks for 512mb. Anyway, on the software front, we are all hoping that there will be an update from MS, but we have no confirmation of this and there's nothing known about timescales. I just hope it won't take a year like the FS9.1 bug fix took! Regards Pete