Waiting for Couatl Scripting Engine to start (MSFS2024)

[alirayzaw]

Greetings to all,

As the title indicates, I am currently grappling with a persistent issue. Despite trying all suggested solutions, I have yet to find a resolution.

I'd like to express my gratitude once again to Umberto for his generous assistance in both the Microsoft forum and this one, where he reviewed my log file and found no apparent problems. However, I felt it necessary to create a separate thread to seek a satisfactory conclusion to my predicament.

In addition to the log file I previously submitted for review, I have uploaded a few other files that seem irregular, or at least that is my impression. One file references a restart of the couatle_MSFS2024.exe code, which precisely mirrors the problem I am encountering. This is not merely a simple restart; it occurs repeatedly once i'm in any airport. I am also facing the "obtaining processname:Access is denied' error.

When I run the couatle.exefile in the Windows 11 environment, it behaves normally and remains in the taskbar. However, upon entering the simulator—especially during the aircraft loading—it crashes precisely at that moment. It then reopens, and this cycle continues incessantly.

I am curious about why the couatl.exe operates normally in Windows, yet repeatedly opens and closes in the simulator environment.

Additionally, I have thoroughly read the entire PDF guide and double-checked everything with care. I should also mention that I emptied my community folder, retaining only two GSX files, but noticed no significant difference.

[virtuali]

This error in your restarter log is very suspicious:

3/18/2025 8:36:13 PM: Error obtaining processname: Access is denied

Looks like typical antivirus interference, that is blocking access to the couatl engine by the restarter. Be sure you follow the suggestion in the manual (Page 95) to add the whole FSDT Addon Manager installation folder to the Antivirus EXCLUSION and try another Live Update, to be sure you have the latest version of everything.

If that doesn't work:

- Uninstall GSX from the installer

- Uninstall the FSDT Installer *itself* from the Windows Control Panel ( it's called FSDT Universal Installer )

- REMOVE the "Addon Manager" folder entirely

- Check your Community folder and be absolutely sure you have no GSX packages there. If you have, remove them manually.

- Reinstall the FSDT Installer again, start it and Install GSX.

Activation is NOT affected (unless you reinstall Windows), so don't bother with deactivation or reactivation. You can uninstall/reinstall GSX an unlimited amount of times on the same PC.

[alirayzaw]

-erased everything related to GSX and downloaded them from scratch.
-unistalled nvidia app, having read that it can sometimes cause issues.
-removed steam as well.
-discarded memory-cleaning program.
-wiped the entire MSFS2024 and reinstalled it anew.
-updated all microsoft visual c++ packages.
-executed following commands to check for any issues from windows, but everything seems normal :

dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth
dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup
sfc /scannow

-gave admin access to all exe files in the "Addon Manager' folder but it did not make any diff, so i put them back.
-updated everything multiple times through fsdt installer, but haven't seen a bit of change.
-cleared out the entire contents of the "virtuali" folder several times to make it rebuild itself, but it didn't make any diff.

the couatl64_MSFS2024,exe is really messing with me ,playing cat-and-mouse game.it doesn't look like it's going to give up anytime soon,it keeps restarting on its own and won't settle down ( it only starts rebooting itself when i've picked a plane and the airport is loading in )

3/19/2025 4:56:53 PM: Couatl64_boot Log started
3/19/2025 4:56:53 PM: Working folder set to D:\MSFS2024\Addon Manager\couatl64 according to FSDT registry root key
3/19/2025 4:56:53 PM: Thread "couatl64_MSFS2024.exe"  added to monitoring
3/19/2025 4:56:53 PM: Starting couatl64_MSFS2024.exe
3/19/2025 4:56:53 PM: Process Couatl64_MSFS2024 started successfully with ID 6660
3/19/2025 4:56:54 PM: Connected to Couatl64 shared memory
3/19/2025 4:57:08 PM: No processes found for couatl64_MSFS2024.exe during update
3/19/2025 4:57:08 PM: Process is null or has exited. Attempting to restart.
3/19/2025 4:57:08 PM: RESTARTING couatl64_MSFS2024.exe
3/19/2025 4:57:08 PM: Process Couatl64_MSFS2024 started successfully with ID 6448
3/19/2025 4:57:23 PM: No processes found for couatl64_MSFS2024.exe during update
3/19/2025 4:57:23 PM: Process is null or has exited. Attempting to restart.
3/19/2025 4:57:23 PM: RESTARTING couatl64_MSFS2024.exe
3/19/2025 4:57:23 PM: Process Couatl64_MSFS2024 started successfully with ID 16392
3/19/2025 4:57:38 PM: Error obtaining processname: Access is denied
3/19/2025 4:57:38 PM: EXCEPTION Access is denied
3/19/2025 5:06:03 PM: MSFS has exited
3/19/2025 5:06:05 PM: KillCouatlRunning()
3/19/2025 5:06:05 PM: Trying to close Couatl64_MSFS2024 gracefully.
3/19/2025 5:06:07 PM: EXCEPTION Cannot process request because the process (9320) has exited.
3/19/2025 5:06:07 PM: KillCouatlRunning()
3/19/2025 5:06:07 PM: Trying to close Couatl64_MSFS2024 gracefully.
3/19/2025 5:06:09 PM: EXCEPTION Cannot process request because the process (12240) has exited.

[virtuali]

Don't check just the restarter log. Always check the Couatl.LOG too, because it might have stopped because of an error there.

[alirayzaw]

do you see any diff between yesterday's logfile i sent you,which you said was fine, and todays' one?
it seems like the end of these lines looks a bit suspicious.

[virtuali]

Please don't post logs as a message, always use the Attach function of the forum. Both because it's a bit annoying forcing everybody to load and read a wall of text, but also because the quoted text might be changed by the forum software, doing weird things like turning 8s into emoticons, etc. That's why you should always Attach the actual file instead of quoting.

In any case, your last log doesn't show any errors so, assuming it matches the same session of the restarter, it doesn't show any issues or reason for the program to restart. However, the log is not complete, but since you haven't Attached it, we don't know if it's not complete because the program crashed in the middle of it, or because you quoted it partially. Yet another good reason for always Attaching files instead of quoting.

[alirayzaw]

thank you.

[virtuali]

Your log still doesn't show any errors and it's still not complete, so it's very likely something external has stopped the Couatl engine, possibly the antivirus so, be sure you have the whole Addon Manager folder added to the Antivirus EXCLUSIONS and try again.

[alirayzaw]

thanks a lot.
could you please take a quick look at these three too ? appreciate it.

[alirayzaw]

just updated gsx to the latest version and attached two files.
one before couatl restart and the other after.
could you please check if there are any issues?
it hasn't worked for me even once in the past few days, and it seems i'm not the only one dealing with these frustrating issues.

[virtuali]

it hasn't worked for me even once in the past few days, and it seems i'm not the only one dealing with these frustrating issues.

Your problem doesn't have anything to do with the errors with ULD loaders reported in the other thread (which of course is fixed), which came with a clear error. Your problem, as I've said, is caused by something external blocking or making crash the couatl engine and both the before and after logs show no errors in GSX.

[alirayzaw]

i didn't just mean within the forum;i've seen as many similar issues on reddit as there fingers on my hand.
i'm really stuck and can't think of anything else.i've tried everything, but not a single thing has changed.

one recent similar case :

https://www.reddit.com/r/MicrosoftFlightSim/comments/1jg5n5e/never_had_this_happen_before_issue_with_gsx_pro/

honestly, it's hard to say if the issue is on your end or not, since win 11 has it's fair share of bugs and problems that have popped up with updates;i'd rather wait and see how things unfold, but i'm definitely not the only one dealing with this issue.

[virtuali]

i didn't just mean within the forum;i've seen as many similar issues on reddit as there fingers on my hand.

Which is why there's a chapter on the manual about it, we know it can happen, and the most common cause is MSFS just slow starting Simconnect. It's always fixed by either waiting, or restart and don't restart again too quickly, but give it enough time to start.