FSUIPC4 4.40 FSX Install issue

[Ted Au]

Sir,

I downloaded and installed the above in order to allow an FLogger bit of software to connect to FSX.

Install went as expected per your guide.

Final screen displayed as advertised.

I declined registration as this is simply for submitting automated PIREPS.

I then rebooted system and launched FSX.

I accepted Pete Dowson as advised (for being a trusted publisher).

FSX then hung on splash screen and would proceed no further.

After rebooting a few more times (with associated Task Manager-forced shutdowns of FSX) I removed the .dll per your instructions.

This did NOT fix the issue.

I hunted through the MS FSX/MS WIN files/folders for duplicate .exe's and .dll's and found none.

WIN SxS files were as expected each containing the expected single .dll described in another thread here with a similar issue.

I could find nothing obviously wonky in the registry.

Rather than fool about further I have completely uninstalled FSX Gold and am in the process of re-installing. Hopefully I get my sim back!

Here is system info and add-ons for your follow-up if you wish to do so (all has been working flawlessly prior to installing 4.40):

WINXP SP3

FSX Gold

World Of AI Installer+30-something packages

3 add-on aircraft (SU-80/SAAB 2000/ATR-72)

Core2 DUO E4400@2.GHz

2GHz RAM

NVidia GeForce 8600 GT

System is used only for gaming.

Cheers

p.s. On a happy note the full re-installation of FSX Gold has me up and flying again. It would be nice to know what happened so I can use your module though.

[Pete Dowson]

Sir

I am not a "Sir", just Pete will do.

FSX then hung on splash screen and would proceed no further.

After rebooting a few more times (with associated Task Manager-forced shutdowns of FSX) I removed the .dll per your instructions.

This did NOT fix the issue.

In that case it is nothing to do with FSUIPC, as without FSUIPC4.DLL loading there is no other change occurring. It is completely self-contained.

Here is system info and add-ons for your follow-up if you wish to do so (all has been working flawlessly prior to installing 4.40)

You are evidently missing something -- it cannot possibly be down to FSUIPC4, as you still had the problem without it. You need to think what else you have done which could have caused your problem.

There is nothing in anything I've ever done in FSUIPC4 which has ever caused such symptoms in any case, even when it is allowed to run. In fact FSUIPC doesn't get loaded by SimConnect for some seconds AFTER the splash screen, so anything which causes a hang so early is likely to be related to one of FSX's own files. By reports I've seen a common culprit is the Logbook file, which is now in some binary format, and if it does get corrupted can cause FSX to hang very early in its initialisation.

On a happy note the full re-installation of FSX Gold has me up and flying again. It would be nice to know what happened so I can use your module though.

You'll need to work out what else you changed.

Regards

Pete

[Ted Au]

Hi Pete,

To clarify further....I had done absolutely nothing prior to installing FSUIPC4 4.40.

Nothing was changed. Zero. Zip. Nada. Zilch.

It will remain a mystery I suppose as I am in no mood to replicate the issue. I can only report what I observed.

Regards

Ted

p.s. After full re-install of FSX Gold and reloading of World Of AI (plus packages) and my 3 add-on aircraft all is normal. Should you happen to think of anything that may have caused this to occur please let me know. I should mention I do run KAV (only the AV segment); however, I could see no issue there as it allowed the install along with the FSX prompt for allowing the module to install itself as "trusted".

Damn gremlins.

[Pete Dowson]

To clarify further....I had done absolutely nothing prior to installing FSUIPC4 4.40.

Nothing was changed. Zero. Zip. Nada. Zilch.

In that case I suspect something else in your system is corrupted, possibly in the security part of Windows. This might be indicated by this:

I accepted Pete Dowson as advised (for being a trusted publisher).

FSX then hung on splash screen and would proceed no further.

Actually, there was a bug in the original edition of SimConnect where the trust mechanism it uses in Windows caused a serious crash, but this only occurred when other SimConnect users where trying to operate at the same time -- and according to Microsoft, the bug was fixed by SP1. I'm pretty sure they would not have re-introduced the same bug in "Gold" (which includes SP1 and SP2/Acceleration doesn't it?).

Do you have other SimConnect-using add-ons. All I saw in your list was

World Of AI Installer+30-something packages

3 add-on aircraft (SU-80/SAAB 2000/ATR-72)

I don't know about the aircraft, and in any case they probably don't link to SimConnect until loaded. Maybe the original bug in SimConnect is being triggered if one of the aircraft is a SimConnect user and you have it loading by default, instead of one of the default aircraft?

I could see no issue there as it allowed the install along with the FSX prompt for allowing the module to install itself as "trusted".

Once I, as its publisher, am listed in Internet Explorer as trusted, as I should be now, the same glitch in SimConnect shouldn't occur in any case. The original problem was down to something calling SimConnect whilst it was waiting for the reply to the dialogue. When the dialogue does not appear, the problem, if it is truly the same one, doesn't apply.

Possibly the problem whereby FSX wouldn't load again after the original crash was due to a corrupt logbook.bin file. If you get such a problem gain, try deleting it. It'll probably be in your documents\Flight Simulator X Files folder, or maybe in the Applications Data part of Document and Settings, alongside the FSX.CFG file.

What is so odd is that this was a known FSX bug some two years ago, affecting a log of add-on Simconnect applications, but which has not been reported ever since it was supposed to be fixed. I've not had any reports from an FSX Gold user before, though, so maybe FSX Gold is not really the same as FSX + Acceleration after all?

Regards

Pete

[Ted Au]

Hello Pete,

1-FSX Gold is simply FSX Deluxe (on 2 DVD's) and a third DVD containing FSX-Acceleration. So in summary: FSX+SP1/SP2/Acceleration in one neat little install.

2-Interestingly after re-installating FSX, World of AI packages, and a single SU-70 from http://www.fly-euroharmony.com/site/mainfleetpage.html (the SU-80) all is back to normal EXCEPT for the pilot logbook which now displays totals with no details visible. Granted I only flew a quick tutorial and did the solo checkride as a test.....I will see if the full logbook entry shows up in free-flight mode. If it does not I will delete the logbook.bin file which is in "My Documents---->FSX" or something like that and see if it sorts itself out (presuming the .bin file is replaced again by FSX).

I don't think the add-on aircraft would be the issue. After all..they were working fine (as was FSX) before this happened and a search of the EH forums showed no similar complaints. I also do not have the SU-80 loading by default.

Again....I run no other add-ons. I was hoping to use Flight Logger and eventually Pro Pilot (http://www.fly-euroharmony.com/site/sugdownload.php) which require the use of FSUIPC...beyond that my only future add-ons were IVAO/VATSIM.

There are no other MS FS's loaded on this machine. Only IL-2:1946 (vanilla), Bioshock, The Witcher, and Fallout 3 reside on this machine (outside of KAV and Adobe Elements for screenshot editing).

3-I understand and can accept what you are saying regarding possible corruption. The issue I have is that all worked as NORMAL prior to installing FSUIPC4 4.40. Unless FSX-Gold has re-introduced a 2 year-old bug (hardly shocking if true) I can see no other reason for such corruption to occur UNLESS caused by some interaction between the FSUIPC install and FSX.

I am not overly willing to attempt to recreate the issue as it took a second use of the license to sort out (I did not know to try the .bin delete....and no guarantee that would fix the issue) and a couple hours of uninstall/defrag/reinstall/defrag blah blah blah :).

If there might be a log thrown somewhere you would like me to look for I am happy to do so to help resolve this. Ditto any further detail I can provide.

I appreciate your responses despite my not even being a paying customer at this time!

Regards

Ted

[Pete Dowson]

I don't think the add-on aircraft would be the issue. After all..they were working fine (as was FSX) before this happened and a search of the EH forums showed no similar complaints. I also do not have the SU-80 loading by default.

It isn't that an existing SimConnect application would cause that error on its own. The original bug I was describing was one which occurred, inconsistently, when a NEWLY installed SimConnect client was held at the "do you trust this program" type dialogue whilst another, already loaded SimConnect user, was accessing SimConnect. I did think I had explained that -- evidently not well enough.

I can see no other reason for such corruption to occur UNLESS caused by some interaction between the FSUIPC install and FSX.

Okay. Choose to believe that if you wish. All I can say is that to my knowledge your experience is unique, and there are many thousands of FSUIPC4 users.

If there might be a log thrown somewhere you would like me to look for I am happy to do so to help resolve this.

Unfortunately, if none of my software is running it cannot actually provide a Log of why it isn't there! ;-). You can, if you wish, enable SimConnect logging (instructions are in the FSX Help Announcement above). If FSUIPC does get to run it will produce a L?OG and INI file in the FSX Modules folder created by the installer. If it doesn't, then the SimConnect log may show why. Furthermore, the Simconnect log may show whether there are any other SimConnect clients loading -- something which you don't seem to believe is the case, but at least it would prove it one way or the other. I'll check a Simconnect log for you if you wish.

However, when it gets down to it, if you are unwilling to even risk trying again there won't be any point in looking at anything. Maybe you'll want to do more when you try the next SimConnect add-on and get problems?

Regards

Pete

[Ted Au]

Hi Pete,

I agree with your statement that I am having a unique issue. I did take a long look and search through these and other forums and could not find anything similar. And as you say thousands of satisfied FSUIPC4 users cannot be wrong :).

However....

It's not that I "choose to believe" in anything. When something works fine and a new variable is introduced which suddenly causes abnormal behavior (i.e. not working fine) the obvious choice is to point the finger at the new variable and ask "why"! Thats simple engineering. Yes it is possible something on my end decided to bork itself....but that seems a bit coincidental (or highly unlucky...or an issue specific to UK FSX Gold release...or Xmas elves).

I am going to take a break from add-ons for the time being and just carry on submitting manual PIREPS. I will re-attempt the install after the holidays when I have time to troubleshoot as needed as I like the look of some of the fee-based add-ons your software supports.

Cheers for the help.

Ted

[Pete Dowson]

I am going to take a break from add-ons for the time being and just carry on submitting manual PIREPS. I will re-attempt the install after the holidays when I have time to troubleshoot as needed as I like the look of some of the fee-based add-ons your software supports.

Okay. But before that, before you attempt to reinstall, please do obtain a SimConnect log as described in than FSX Help file. This is without FSUIPC. If you have no Simconnect clients installed then that will produce a pretty empty log, if it produces one at all. At least it will eliminate my worry about this older bug I've been describingor not.

Regards

Pete