P3Dv5 does not start WideServer (automatically), only after deactivating/reactivating

[PeterJCVO]

Hello, and a good day to you. I have an awkward problem with P3Dv5 and FSUIPC6, and more specifically the WideServer part of it (note FSUIPC and WiedeServer are registered).

I have 3 WideClient-computers, connecting happily to a server with P3Dv3, and -under normal circumstances- with P3Dv5. Since a few days the WideClient-computers do not connect to FSUIPC v6.1.9 (or the WideServer). The log-file of these clients say they are waiting for a connectionWideClient.log. If I go and look to the "Add-ons"-tab while running P3Dv5 I see the FSUIPC-line and when selecting this all the usual tabs are present, and the window says that FSUIPC and Wideserver are registered, with an option to "Disable WideFS" (which presumes WideFS is running). The FSUIPC6.ini-file FSUIPC6.iniunder the heading [WideServer] seems to indicate the same thing "WideFSenabled=Yes". But WideServer is not active (in the Windows-label I used to see "...Wideserver with X clients connected" or "...WideServer is waiting for clients". This is not the case.

I then choose to "Disable WideFS" in the FSUIPC-options screen, and choose "OK". The FSUIPC-options screen disappears, and a message "Saving or reloading FSUIPC settings. Please wait...". After some hours of waiting, the message is still there.

I then force P3Dv5 to stop (via Windows and not via P3Dv5, which does not give me the hand to make a choice). I then see in the FSUIPC6.ini-file that the line "WideFSenabled=Yes" has been changed to "...=No". I restart P3Dv5 again, only this time when looking in the FSUIPC-parameters from within P3Dv5, I can choose to "Enable WideFS" (logic because of the change in the FSUIPC6.ini-file), which I do, and after a few seconds, all the WideClient-computers connect (no restarting of P3Dv5 necessary)...

I do not find a WideServer.log-file, only a FSUIPC6.log-file FSUIPC6.log.

Any ideas as to what may cause this problem ?

Thank you very much for your help.

Regards, Peter

FSUIPC6.ini WideClient.log

[John Dowson]

6 hours ago, PeterJCVO said:

Since a few days the WideClient-computers do not connect to FSUIPC v6.1.9 (or the WideServer).

What has changed in this timeframe (or just before), if anything?

As you are using UDP on the server, you could try specifying this in the clients by adding
     Protocol=UDP
to the [Config] section of your WideClient.ini files.

6 hours ago, PeterJCVO said:

I then choose to "Disable WideFS" in the FSUIPC-options screen, and choose "OK". The FSUIPC-options screen disappears, and a message "Saving or reloading FSUIPC settings. Please wait...". After some hours of waiting, the message is still there.

This is strange...I may look into this but we will see....

6 hours ago, PeterJCVO said:

I then force P3Dv5 to stop (via Windows and not via P3Dv5, which does not give me the hand to make a choice). I then see in the FSUIPC6.ini-file that the line "WideFSenabled=Yes" has been changed to "...=No". I restart P3Dv5 again, only this time when looking in the FSUIPC-parameters from within P3Dv5, I can choose to "Enable WideFS" (logic because of the change in the FSUIPC6.ini-file), which I do, and after a few seconds, all the WideClient-computers connect (no restarting of P3Dv5 necessary)...

Ok, so it works when disabled and you enable. What happens on the next run - does it come back to the initial issue (WideClients not connecting, no 'Waiting for...' message in the FS window)?

6 hours ago, PeterJCVO said:

I do not find a WideServer.log-file, only a FSUIPC6.log-file 

Not finding a WideServer.log file is very strange...and it is difficult to diagnose issues without this file. The FSUIPC.log file does show that WideServer is started, but it is not clear from which test scenario this is from - and it is also not complete, i.e. FSUIPC seemed to be running when this was attached (no close).

One thing that does strike me as slightly dodgy is your FSUIPC6 installation location - you have installed under the windows Documents folder. It is always better to choose a non-windows protected folder (e.g. C:\FSUIPC6 or C:\Prepar3D Add-ons\FSUIPC6) as windows seems to be changing access rights on windows-defined folders. So I suggest you first re-install FSUIPC6 into a different non-windows protected folder - you can skip registration and copy across your FSUIPC6.key and FSUIPC6.ini files, together with any other files you may use (e.g. *.lua, *.mcro, *.dll) from your old installation location to the new one. The Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\ folder should just be used for your add-on.xml file that allows the FSUIPC6.dll to be loaded when P3D is started.

John

[PeterJCVO]

28 minutes ago, John Dowson said:

What has changed in this timeframe (or just before), if anything?

as it is my P3D-computer, I try not to touch it. If I have to install something, I do this on one of my non-fs computers

28 minutes ago, John Dowson said:

As you are using UDP on the server, you could try specifying this in the clients by adding
     Protocol=UDP
to the [Config] section of your WideClient.ini files.

tried all protocols, and I change on clients if I change on server

28 minutes ago, John Dowson said:

This is strange...I may look into this but we will see....

Ok, so it works when disabled and you enable. What happens on the next run - does it come back to the initial issue (WideClients not connecting, no 'Waiting for...' message in the FS window)?

yes, next run is exactly same problem all over again

28 minutes ago, John Dowson said:

Not finding a WideServer.log file is very strange...and it is difficult to diagnose issues without this file. The FSUIPC.log file does show that WideServer is started, but it is not clear from which test scenario this is from - and it is also not complete, i.e. FSUIPC seemed to be running when this was attached (no close).

Well, FSUIPC does create a log file (WideServer.log) when WideServer is working (i.e. when I restart P3D AND enable WideFS), but NOT when starting first time (i.e. when WideFS is supposed to start)

28 minutes ago, John Dowson said:

One thing that does strike me as slightly dodgy is your FSUIPC6 installation location - you have installed under the windows Documents folder. It is always better to choose a non-windows protected folder (e.g. C:\FSUIPC6 or C:\Prepar3D Add-ons\FSUIPC6) as windows seems to be changing access rights on windows-defined folders. So I suggest you first re-install FSUIPC6 into a different non-windows protected folder - you can skip registration and copy across your FSUIPC6.key and FSUIPC6.ini files, together with any other files you may use (e.g. *.lua, *.mcro, *.dll) from your old installation location to the new one. The Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\ folder should just be used for your add-on.xml file that allows the FSUIPC6.dll to be loaded when P3D is started.

John

Thank You John for this feedback. I never had my documents-folder protected, but as you say, one never knows what exactly windows is up to... I will have a try and give update.

 

Thanks,

Regards,

Peter

[John Dowson]

8 minutes ago, PeterJCVO said:

Well, FSUIPC does create a log file (WideServer.log) when WideServer is working (i.e. when I restart P3D AND enable WideFS), but NOT when starting first time (i.e. when WideFS is supposed to start)

Ok - then please show me the WideServer.log file when you get the issue and WideServer is enabled at start-up.

9 minutes ago, PeterJCVO said:

I never had my documents-folder protected, but as you say, one never knows what exactly windows is up to...

Especially now that OneDrive is installed and difficult to remove, even if not used.

10 minutes ago, PeterJCVO said:

tried all protocols, and I change on clients if I change on server

Ok - put your first WideClient.log has this:

Quote

      266 Trying to locate server: Protocol not yet decided

which implies that the protocol was not set.

It is difficult to tell your actual set-up for each test - always better to include all 5 files (FSUIPC6.log, WideServer.log, FSUIPC6.ini, WideClient.ini, WideClient.log) from each run, generated at the same time and after everything has been stopped (i.e. at the end of the test run).

14 minutes ago, PeterJCVO said:

I will have a try and give update.

Ok...

I get such issues with WideServer/WideClient connections every other week, and these seem to appear and then go away at random. There has been no change in the WideClient/WideServer code for many years, and such issues are extremely difficult to diagnose,,, and usually go away for no reason that I can find, as they appear,,,

John

[PeterJCVO]

Well, problem still there (even after putting FSUIPC6 in another directory).

If the issue/problem occurs, there is NO WideServer.log, and clients can not connect (logic because WideServer not started).

If WideServer starts (after I go through the procedure I explained), the log-file is very normal.WideServer.log.FSUIPC6.log I have included as well as this one FSUIPC6.ini.WideClient.iniand WideClient.logon the client side (note I shut down fs before client).

Thanks for your help John.

Regards,

Peter

 

[John Dowson]

Are those the files from when you go through the procedure? I want to see them when wideserver is already enabled and you start P3D and load an aircraft and be ready-to-fly. After that, wait a minute or so and then exit.

Your log file is quite strange as it shows no devices:

Quote

      110 ---------------------- Joystick Device Scan -----------------------
      188 -------------------------------------------------------------------
 

and there is no log line indicating that everything has been started, such as the following:

Quote

   125937 -------------------- Starting everything now ----------------------

Nothing will connect until that is logged.

Maybe also try re-installing the P3D client - this has been known to get corrupted on occasion and can give strange issues when this occurs.

John

[PeterJCVO]

Yes, those files were when I enabled WideServer.

 

There is NO joystick connected (so no axes or buttons) to the FS-computer. So the scan CAN NOT give anything...

Already tried re-installing...grrr

All my additional hardware add-ons are connected through SPAD.Next using SimConnect (and works every time) on the computer -still- named FSVIEW (names will be changed in near future to reflect new setup-configuration with more meaningful names)

FSUIPC6.logFSUIPC6.iniWideClient.iniWideClient.log

Please note (as I said earlier), in this case, NO WideServer.log because WideWerver not running and not even started (I think so as I see on the Windows-header where normally I should see something like "Prepar3d with Wideserver: x clients connected" or "...waiting for clients to connect"  )

WideClient.log: this one comes from the FSVIEW-client to show SPAD has been detected (this log-file was NOT created while P3D was running, just to show exact same setup on other WideFS-client)

[John Dowson]

14 hours ago, PeterJCVO said:

There is NO joystick connected (so no axes or buttons) to the FS-computer. So the scan CAN NOT give anything...

Ok, that makes sense then.

The problem is in FSUIPC not WideClient, so i don't need to see the WideClient files for the time being.

Can you add the following to the [General] section of your FSUIPC6.ini file please and show me the log generated with this:
    Debug=Please
    TestOptions=x800

[PeterJCVO]

57 minutes ago, John Dowson said:

Ok, that makes sense then.

The problem is in FSUIPC not WideClient, so i don't need to see the WideClient files for the time being.

Can you add the following to the [General] section of your FSUIPC6.ini file please and show me the log generated with this:
    Debug=Please
    TestOptions=x800

Thanks John for spending time on this...

 

Made the change, result being FSUIPC6.log

No WideServer.log

[John Dowson]

Definitely something strange in the sim events being received (or, those not being received). Can you also add the following log directive (keep the others!):
    LogExtras=x400
This will log all simconnect data received and the log file will be large and will probably need compressing/zipping before attaching.

BTW, did you re-install the P3D client?

Your P3D version is also out-of-date:
    Prepar3D.exe version = 5.3.17.28160
Can you update to the latest version:
    Prepar3D.exe version = 5.3.18.28350
?

John

[Luke Kolin]

1 hour ago, John Dowson said:

Your P3D version is also out-of-date:
    Prepar3D.exe version = 5.3.17.28160
Can you update to the latest version:
    Prepar3D.exe version = 5.3.18.28350

Where does one download that version? It doesn't appear to be available on prepar3d.com.

Cheers

Luke

[PeterJCVO]

10 minutes ago, Luke Kolin said:

Where does one download that version? It doesn't appear to be available on prepar3d.com.

Cheers

Luke

Thanks Luke, I was searching for a third pair of glasses... since I did not find the version John mentioned

 

@John: In the meanwhile, this is the logfile FSUIPC6.log.

Note1: I did not start the (SPAD.Next) WideFS-client, computer named FSVIEW, with the SimConnect connection (as a matter of fact I did, but I am programming Arduino-inputs on that one)

Note2: in the beginning of the log-file, FSUIPC claims to be on a Windows 8-computer, however it is a Windows 11 version I am running. 

[John Dowson]

5 hours ago, Luke Kolin said:

6 hours ago, John Dowson said:

Your P3D version is also out-of-date:
    Prepar3D.exe version = 5.3.17.28160
Can you update to the latest version:
    Prepar3D.exe version = 5.3.18.28350

Where does one download that version? It doesn't appear to be available on prepar3d.com.

Ok, sorry - think the difference maybe between the Academic and Professional plus versions, although I thought this was only the license and not related to the versions.

5 hours ago, PeterJCVO said:

Note1: I did not start the (SPAD.Next) WideFS-client, computer named FSVIEW, with the SimConnect connection (as a matter of fact I did, but I am programming Arduino-inputs on that one)

I don't think this matters. The issue seems to be related to the simconnect events FSUIPC6 is not receiving, and so not switchung to the correct state to start wideserver and other related threads. I will know more once I have examined your latest log file.

5 hours ago, PeterJCVO said:

Note2: in the beginning of the log-file, FSUIPC claims to be on a Windows 8-computer, however it is a Windows 11 version I am running. 

That is strange, but the build number seems to be correct. I am also on Windows 11 and this is what my log file reports:

Quote

Windows 10 Home 64 Bit reported as Build 22621, Release ID: 2009 (OS 10.0)

This information is just taken from the registry and is for informational purposes only. Its a known issue that windows 11 reports the incorrect version, but not sure why yours is reporting windows 8 though, but it will be from your registry.

I will take a look at your issue and the new log over the weekend, when time permits. For now continue with the workaround you have found, i.e. disable WideServer and then re-enable.

Confusing as your system was working and nothing seems to have changed. These issues are very frustrating and take a long time to investigate...

John

[PeterJCVO]

OK, thanks John.

These kind of issues are the most awkward to solve...

It takes about 5 minutes to restart, so not a very big problem...but it remains strange.

Nevertheless, have a nice weekend

[PeterJCVO]

Hello John (and anybody else),

I tried to use my little grey cells (like another Belgian used to say), but no reasonable explanation...

So I not only did a reinstall of P3Dv5 but of the entire computer (installed W11Pro from clean download on reformatted HD)...probably used a canon to kill a mosquito, but everything is now working like it should

Note: in the PSUIPC.log my Windows-version is still known as W8Pro Build 22621 and my system says W11Pro Build 22621.14 😉

Thanks for your time, I hope the weather is better than here in Brussels 💦

[John Dowson]

3 minutes ago, PeterJCVO said:

So I not only did a reinstall of P3Dv5 but of the entire computer (installed W11Pro from clean download on reformatted HD)...probably used a canon to kill a mosquito, but everything is now working like it should

Ah, ok. I was just looking at your log file but it didn't help much...it looks like it was something to do with an offset/simvar not having the correct value to enable some threads to be started. I was going to add some additional logging to narrow this down - I will still add this for the next version of FSUIPC6 anyway, so that I have more info to track this issue down if it happens again.

Anyway, I'm happy this is now solved (saved me some time!) but it would be nice to know the root cause of this issue.

11 minutes ago, PeterJCVO said:

Thanks for your time, I hope the weather is better than here in Brussels 💦

No problem. Quite nice here today - sun and clouds, but a little cold (14C). Off into the garden to prepare my outside vegetable beds to start planting later this week...

Cheers - enjoy the rest of your weekend,

John