Cannot open the GSX menu from Add-ons in P3D v5.3 (Windows 10) **SOLVED**

[jsmcwilliam]

I have been struggling with this problem for some time now and have not been able to resolve it. I have reinstalled using the latetest setup file and with my virus protection off. Nothing helps! I enclose the logs in the hopes that this may help to isolate the problem

[virtuali]

Your .err file is from February, so it's not relevant.

You .LOG file doesn't indicate any problems, just you exited the sim without doing anything. Are you sure the log is made on a session in which you tried to use GSX and didn't work ?

If you get an error and restart it, the log will be overwritten, so the one containing the error will be gone, so if you are prompted to restart and you need to send a log, always choose No, exit the sim, and send the log for that session.

[jsmcwilliam]

I never get an error but cannot open the GSX menu using Ctr/Shft/F12 or by clicking on the addon list. At present my Add-ons list contains: FSUIPC, Addon-Manager, Couatl settings, Couatl Live Update and GSX. (No SODE installed). Nothing happens other than I get a black window which I can right click on to close.

To create the logs I went into Settings-Troubleshooting and chose the debug option. Then I tried to open the menu and closed the sim. The files had the days date and time so I presume that they were written then.

Today I assume that debug function is still working:
- openned sim and placed my Q400 at the ramp, EKCH (Fly Tampa scenery).
- restarted Couatle and rebuilt airport cache.
- GSX-Settings to check that the log function is on.
- Ctr/Shft/F12 produced the black window. If I leave it it disappears after about 10 secs. (Clicking on the menu produces the same
  result.
- Exit P3D v5.3

I omitt the Couatl.err file because it was not overwritten and contained the data from yesterday.

[virtuali]

Again, you .LOG file doesn't indicate any problems, just you exited the sim without doing anything. Are you sure the log is made on a session in which you tried to use GSX and didn't work ?

If you get an error and restart it, the log will be overwritten, so the one containing the error will be gone, so if you are prompted to restart and you need to send a log, always choose No, exit the sim, and send the log for that session.

Also, it's strange both your logs are showing the regeneration of the airport cache. This is not normal, the airport cache will be recreated only if something changed in the Scenery Library ( removing/adding a scenery ) OR just after a Live Update, but not always.

When the cache is recreated, it will take longer before GSX is ready to start and, if during this time you press the menu key, it won't respond to it. But again, this will only happen when something changes in a scenery, surely not every time. Are you continuing to trigger a cache rebuild ? There's no need to do that.

[jsmcwilliam]

"Are you sure the log is made on a session in which you tried to use GSX and didn't work ?"

-Yes. The steps I performed are as given above.

"If you get an error...."

I never get an error, just exit the sim to save the log file. The .err file does not seem to be overwritten.

" regeneration of the airport cache....."

This was done once manually at my own choice just to check and also to perform some action during the session. After trying to open the GSX Window I went to Exit the sim. I understand that the shortcut Ctr/Shft/F12 could have been taken by another program but I have checked this and cannot find any conflict. It should still be possible to open the GSX Window by clicking on the Add-ons list.

[virtuali]

I have checked this and cannot find any conflict. It should still be possible to open the GSX Window by clicking on the Add-ons list.

Sure, but not if the program is still regenerating the airport cache.

Please do it again without regenerating the cache, because if you do that, it will only confuse my troubleshooting, because seeing it in all of your logs looked as a problem, since the program is not supposed to do that every time, and it's not needed for normal operation, it's only needed when you *know* you added a scenery, but the change cannot be detected by GSX, but you would see an error message about not finding the AFCAD in that case. That's the only case in which you need to regenerate the cache manually.

[jsmcwilliam]

These are my actions:
- openned sim and placed my Q400 at the ramp, EKCH (Fly Tampa scenery).
- GSX-Settings to check that the log function is on.
- Ctr/Shft/F12 produced the black window. If I leave it it disappears after about 10 secs. (Clicking on the menu produces the same
  result.
- Exit P3D v5.3

I include screen shots of my settings for troublshooting,  the black window and my Add-ons list

[virtuali]

Can you try another airport, one without a GSX custom profile ? Maybe the problem is the GSX profile itself because, other than that, your log and your screenshots are showing GSX is working fine.

[jsmcwilliam]

I have earlier tried ESSA, ENGM, ENBR. I enclose the log from my Orbx version of ESSA. I have placed my Q400 at ramp 147 and tried to open the GSX menu from the Add-ons list and then using Ctr/Shft/F12 (Couatl.log1.txt). This time no black window was generated.
I installed SODE 1.7 and ran a new test at ESSA (Couatl.log2.txt). The restult was the same!

[virtuali]

Both of your logs are made on an airport that does have a custom GSX profile, while I asked to try on one that doesn't have one, because I'm trying to understand if the profile itself is the problem so, please, try to do what I asked, and go to an airport that hasn't been customized.

Or, just remove (or move away in a different folder ) your custom GSX profile, and try without one.

Other than that, now your logs still don't show any errors on GSX part, but they show the simulator crashed on its own for some reason, and GSX was able to detect that crash and logged it, likely before it was brought down by the crashing sim as well, because of the abrupt disconnection.

[jsmcwilliam]

" custom GSX profile"
I am unsure whate you mean by the above term. Previously I had exclusion files for both EKCH and ESSA but since I reinstalled GSX they no longer exist - I think. See Couatl1.jpg. I know that no such file was created for ENBR so I repeated the above test with my Q400 at this airport (Couatl.log3.txt). Please let me know if I have misunderstood your instructions

"simulator crashed"
Again I am unsure as to the meaning of this. For me the sim does not crash and I can go ahead and fly as planned. I just am unable to gain access to the GSX menu.

[virtuali]

I am unsure whate you mean by the above term

A custom profile is created in your %APPDATA%\Virtuali\GSX folder each time you change something using the GSX editor, like a custom pushback route, or a change in the vehicles starting positions, or a change in the preferred operator. Have a look at your log, it shows the name and the path of your customization file.

Again I am unsure as to the meaning of this. For me the sim does not crash and I can go ahead and fly as planned. I just am unable to gain access to the GSX menu

Well, if you are sure the sim didn't crash on that session, it means that for some reason the connection between GSX and the sim was interrupted. Strictly speaking, GSX is not trying to understand if the sim *really* crashed, but only if the communication with it stopped, which from its point of view is the same, is the sim stopped talking to us, it might as well crashed, the end result it's the same: GSX cannot work with a sim that stopped talking to it. That's why there's a question mark on the log message:

"Connection with Prepar3D v5 lost (has it crashed?)"

So, perhaps it didn't crash, but it surely had an issue with communication. This might be a DIFFERENT issue to the one I'm still waiting for a report with a log made without a custom profile, the Simconnect communication might be interrupted for one of these reasons:

- The sim crashed. Ok, you said it hasn't, so we might skip this

- The antivirus/firewall is blocking communication between the sim and the app, because it might be seen as potentially dangerous ( it obviously isn't, but there's no end of how bugged antivirus are. In some cases, they are seen as internal networking activity, because it can run on TCP/IP as well, depending on the configuration )

- Another add-on is doing something wrong with Simconnect, causing to fail, for example spamming it with too many commands in too few time, so the sim cannot keep up with all the requests, and it drops communication with GSX, which detects it as a possible crash, even if it isn't. We have seen this with 3rd party weather engines, camera utilities, etc.

You keep mentioning the Q400. Does this mean you have these issues with only that airplane, or it's the only one you tested ? Is it any different with another airplane ?

[jsmcwilliam]

You must be patient with a user who has limited understanding of the software we are trying to run. Since reinstalling GSX I have not used the editor. The files in the GSX folder mentioned above are shown in Couatl2.jpg My previous log was generated when at ENBR and as far as I can see there is no custom profile (? *.ini).

On the subject of crashes I did the following:
- turned virus protection off.
-started the sim and placed the Mooney Bravo at the default KRND -active runway.
-did not start EZCA since you seem suspicious of it's affect on things.
-tried to open the GSX menu using both methods but did not get any responce (not even the black window).
- Exit sim.

My SimConnection is v 10.0.61259

[virtuali]

Since reinstalling GSX I have not used the editor.

That doesn't matter, uninstalling/reinstalling GSX will never remove your stuff!

My SimConnection is v 10.0.61259

How did you check for this version ? This is the FSX version, which we don't use and it this is the only Simconnect you have in P3D, it explains why GSX doesn't work, since it requires the P3D version of Simconnect, and won't work without it. The P3D version should be 5.3.0.0 and it's supposed to be installed in the sim.

[jsmcwilliam]

The plot thickens! I was asked some time ago by HiFi to install a simconnect.msi file on both my server and remote. Examination of the properties gave this version and it matched my EZCA equivalent. Since networking ASP3D and EFB work fine I assumed that this was the correct version. I ran a search for the simconnect.dll on my C and D drives (P3D v5.3 is on the D drive). As you can see there are a number of versions including some which are very old. Should I delete all but the LockheedMartin.Prepar3D.SimConnect.dll I don't know of coarse which of these are active but the FsIPanel probably is and I think EZCA has it's own version.