ERROR

[yvesamuel]

Hi,

I get suddenly this error after uprgrade to V5 HF2.
What can I do to be able to load the sceneries and GSX?

thank's
Yves

[Captain Kevin]

Follow the instructions that's in the error box?

[yvesamuel]

I did, but there is nothingthere.
Just a precision, that happened after a normal flight. I wanted to make a new one.
The onlything I did was to install last Nvidia drivers.
Yves

[virtuali]

The error can also caused by the program finding Couatl.exe hasn't been digitally signed, which of course is not normal, since we surely sign it. If the digital signature cannot be verified, it's usually because the executable has been corrupted, most likely by your antivirus.

- Configure the antivirus to Addon Manager folder to its Exclusions list.

- Run the FSDT Live Update again.

[yvesamuel]

I have uninstalled and reinstall all my FSDT bellongings.
No change.

The problem occured after a flight without problem I did yesterday, suddenly.
The only changement is upgrading NVIDIA drivers.

Very strange!

[virtuali]

Nowhere I said to uninstall and reinstrall, which is not required. I said to:

- Configure the antivirus to Addon Manager folder to its Exclusions list.

- Run the FSDT Live Update again.

You can verify if this is in fact a problem caused by the antivirus corrupting the Couatl.exe file, if you check its Digital signature. The file is located here:

Addon Manager\couatl\Couatl.exe  ( Addon Manager, by default, it's installed under C:\Program Files (x86), but can be anywhere it you changed it on install )

Right-click the Couatl.exe file, select "Properties", select "Digital Signature" and verify if it's valid. If it's not, you can be 100% sure the file has been corrupted locally by the antivirus. The whole point of having a digital signature is precisely to make sure your local file is not corrupted.

[yvesamuel]

The all folder is excluded of my AV scanning.
I did a fresh install 2 hours ago...

[virtuali]

You haven't said anything about the result of the test about the digital signature, which I asked to perform.

[yvesamuel]

I do not find "digital signature" or something like this in french.

[virtuali]

I do not find "digital signature" or something like this in french.

Assuming you don't have any tabs that reads like the french version of "Digital Signature", no tab clearly mean what I suspected: your antivirus has corrupted the file, so not only the digital signature is invalid, it's *gone*

[yvesamuel]

+1

[yvesamuel]

I have looked on others exe files, even on Prepar3d.exe, no sign of digital signature... but found 1 on acrobat reader which is on prgram files

[virtuali]

I have looked on others exe files, even on Prepar3d.exe, no sign of digital signature... but found 1 on acrobat reader which is on prgram files

Not all developers sign their files with an authenticode Digital Signature. Prepar3d.exe, for example, is not signed. We do, because Microsoft and many other antivirus vendors suggest  to do that, precisely for the reason to prevent mistakes and false positives by antivirus.

Check the details page, is Couatl.exe version 3.2.0.4376 ( latest version as of today ) ?

[yvesamuel]

Yes it is the last version.
Just tried to uninstall and reinstall P3D. No change.

I shall now try with ESET uninstalled.

The problem is the same WITH ESET uninstalled, so it is not ESET.

[virtuali]

The problem is the same WITH ESET uninstalled, so it is not ESET.

As I've said, our file is digitally signed so, if the signature is lost on your system, the only possible reason for this is something on your system has altered it.

That's the main reason to have a digital signature to begin with: to be sure the file on your system hasn't been altered. Since yours is, you can be 100% sure the alteration happened on your system, whatever the cause might be. Almost invariably is the antivirus, that's the most common cause.

But of course, you cannot exclude the chance it might be a real virus, instead. Fact is, your file is not the one we are providing, the lack of its Digital Signature is 100% proof of that.