FS2004 and Black Window Problems when switching

[Dave Balicki]

Pete.

Tried the following:

It seems that, here at least, I can eliminate the problem by ensuring that the window subclassing in my DLLs is performed as early as possible. This can already be done in FSUIPC simply by adding the parameter:

InitDelay=0

to the [General] section of the FSUIPC.INI file. Please, those of you with black screen problems on mode switching, try this and let me know if it works for you too. Sorry, but this can only be tested by Registered users (as the InitDelay is a user option at present). However, if it does seem like the correct solution, I will default this parameter in the next version of FSUIPC (but only when it is run in FS2004).

Thought it worked it first, but then setting up to run SBox on Vatsim using the new SBRelay12, I started to get the lock ups.

After fiddling for a while I noted:

The lock ups only seem to occur when switching from window mode back to full screen mode after some other interaction while in window mode. Such as opening Explorer or setting up the various SBox screens, if you dont do that then your fix seems to work OK regardless of how many times I switch between window mode/full screen.

Hope this means something?

Cheers Dave.

[Pete Dowson]

The lock ups only seem to occur when switching from window mode back to full screen mode after some other interaction while in window mode. Such as opening Explorer or setting up the various SBox screens, if you dont do that then your fix seems to work OK regardless of how many times I switch between window mode/full screen.

I only ever managed to make it happen if I changed focus away from FS, as I thought I mentioned originally. Just switching back and forth never created the black screen for me in any case.

Are you sure they are truly lock-ups, by the way? Every single time, for me, pressing ALT wuold get me to the menu, and using the Options-Settings-Display Hardware dialogue to change some display setting always got things going again. These black screens are evidently some quirk in the video driver, DX9 or FS, not actually displaying things, whilst elsewhere in FS it thinks things are okay.

In your test did you ensure that the "InitDelay=0" line was truly in the [General] section of the FSUIPC.INI, not merely added to the end of the file, and that your FSUIPC is registered? Did you remove AdvDisplay, PFC, ViMaCore2004, if you have them? Were there any other add-in DLLs present?

So far, the majority of responses have shown a definite advantage for the earlier subclassing, so I'll probably make it default this way in 3.07. I have already released versions of AdvDisplay and PFC with this changed in any case. There's no way I can truly eliminate the problem, as I have proven here -- even if FSUIPC does nothing at all, the error can still occur. It can even occur with no add-ins. All I can do is try to make it less probable.

Regards,

Pete

[Bozo]

The Alt Enter problem was temporarily cured for me when I added InitDelay=0 to [General] and was using SBRelay11.

Since upgrading to SBRelay12 the problem has come back.

[Pete Dowson]

The Alt Enter problem was temporarily cured for me when I added InitDelay=0 to [General] and was using SBRelay11.

Since upgrading to SBRelay12 the problem has come back.

Yes. It's all in the timing somehow. The change was not a cure, it just lowers the probability a little.

Regards,

Pete

[Dave Balicki]

Pete.

Thanks for the reply, more info on the problem and how I've seemed to get round it!

1st. I'm getting the problem described in you description, Its exactly the same.

2nd. The InitDelay=0 to [General] did not cure the problem.

3rd. Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 813712, explains in some detail the problem and how other games are affected and some fixs to help resolve it.

4th. I elected to try 3 of the suggestions:

Method 2: Lower Sound Acceleration

Click Start, and then click Run.

In the Open box, type DXDIAG, and then click OK.

On the Sound tab, in the DirectX Features section, change the Hardware Sound Acceleration Level to Basic acceleration.

Click Exit.

Method 3: Disable AGP Texturing in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool

Click Start, and then click Run.

In the Open box, type DXDIAG, and then click OK.

Click the Display tab.

Under DirectX Features, next to AGP Texture Acceleration, click Disable.

When you receive the following warning, click OK:

This will disable usage of AGP (Acceleration Graphics Port) for all display devices on your system which support it.

Click Exit.

Method 4: Adjust Graphics Hardware Acceleration

To adjust graphics hardware acceleration, use the following method that is described for your operating system:

Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP 1

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click Display.

On the Settings tab, click Advanced.

Click the Troubleshoot tab.

Move the Hardware Acceleration slider two notches to the left of Full (the Disable all cursor and advanced drawing accelerations setting).

Click OK, and then click OK again.

=================

Then low and behold the problems gone, I can switch in and out of window mode start other apps...But which one did the trick?

Don’t know, cos I made the change on all three at once, more interestingly I backed out the changes to see which one cured the problem and with all three back to how they were originally, the problem has still not come back!

I can only assume that some information has been written in to directX or some other such data exchange has happened. Well I'm happy cos I can now fly on line in full screen mode with no worries.

I'll repost if things go pear shaped again.

Thanks Dave.

[Pete Dowson]

Thanks for the reply, more info on the problem and how I've seemed to get round it!

Hey, thanks! Can I pinch some of this for my Announcements, and maybe my documentation?

Didn't those changes hit your frame rates in FS rather hard? I think disabling AGP really knocks mine for six.

I backed out the changes to see which one cured the problem and with all three back to how they were originally, the problem has still not come back!

Hmmm. Well, that, then, would be a brilliant solution! I wonder if that'll work for others.

Thanks again!

Pete