PFC .dll crashes FS9

[jclay13]

Hi Peter,

I seem to have a problem with any version of PFC .dll higher than 1.63.

I was running FSUIPC v3.11 with PFC v1.63 and had no problems. If I change the PFC .dll to v1.70 or 1.71, FS9 crashes the instant I touch my Mooney Yoke, rudder pedals, or throttle quadrant. Change back to v1.63 and all is well. Any idea?

Brief system specs:

Windows 98 SE

AMD Athlon 1.33 Ghz

512 MB RAM

GeForce 4 Ti 4200

Mooney Yoke

Rudder Pedals

Digital Throttle Quadrant

[Pete Dowson]

I seem to have a problem with any version of PFC .dll higher than 1.63.

I was running FSUIPC v3.11 with PFC v1.63 and had no problems. If I change the PFC .dll to v1.70 or 1.71, FS9 crashes the instant I touch my Mooney Yoke, rudder pedals, or throttle quadrant. Change back to v1.63 and all is well. Any idea?

Sorry, none at all at present. :(

Can you try changing some of the recently introduced options, as a process of elimination? For example, in the [Connection] section of the PFC.INI file try:

SyncInit=No

AutoRestartTime=0

You could also enter the PFC "Test" page and see if you get the crash when operating the axes then. This could separate the area of code. Additionally, on that test page enable the

Also, as you are running Win98 the DrWatson dump would likely tell me everything I need to know, so could you check the section "If FS crashes ..." in the FSUIPC User Guide and get me a DrWatson -- ZIP it and send it to me at petedowson@btconnect.com. Please also include your FSUIPC.INI file and your PFC.INI file.

Thanks,

Pete

[Pete Dowson]

I was running FSUIPC v3.11 with PFC v1.63 and had no problems. If I change the PFC .dll to v1.70 or 1.71, FS9 crashes the instant I ...

I've reproduced this now, under Win98SE. It is related to the automatic restart, so for now please set SyncInit=No, and AutoRestartTime=0 as I suggested.

I am trying to track down the reason for the problem, but so far it looks like the sort of thread and comms restart I am attempting is not possible on Win98. It works fine, 100%, on Windows XP. I may just have to make it automatically omit those facilities on Win98.

Regards,

Pete

[Pete Dowson]

Two things I've now discovered:

1) Setting "SyncInit=No" won't help, sorry. The facility was originally designed defaulted off, and the parameter checked is SyncInit=Yes. Ooops! :oops:

2) I cannot make the restart sequence work at all on Windows 98. I've narrowed it down to the SetCommState API call. If seems to always crash the process when used for the second time on the same port, even with exactly the same data. It works completely on Windows XP. :cry:

For now I will test for Windows 98/Me and switch these new facilities off if those operating systems are detected. Look out for PFC version 1.72 later this week.

Apologies for the hassle.

Regards,

Pete

[jclay13]

Thanks for looking into that Peter. Sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner and help debug the problem. It was around 3 AM my time when I wrote the post and I had to get some sleep before I had to be at work 5 hours later. I'm at work now and it looks like you figured it out. I will stick with 1.63 for now and look for your update. I need to get off Windows 98. Thanks again.