Couatl disappears when restarting service **SOLVED**

[virtuali]

I only get a green/red message from GSX when i enter a flight from the start menu. After clicking "restart couatl" i don't get any message at all. all entries in the add-ons menu just diappear, only the addon manager remains.

So what's the Couatl.LOG says JUST after this failed restart ?

[Chrjs]

I only get a green/red message from GSX when i enter a flight from the start menu. After clicking "restart couatl" i don't get any message at all. all entries in the add-ons menu just diappear, only the addon manager remains.

So what's the Couatl.LOG says JUST after this failed restart ?

I have posted this log already 3 Times in this thread. It is always the same. Please see reply 1, 14 or 21

[virtuali]

I have posted this log already 3 Times in this thread. It is always the same. Please see reply 1, 14 or 21

Yes, but you also said you only seen the "airport cache loaded successfully", which is NOT what you are supposed to see when the regeneration is logged. When the regeneration is logged, you will always see the red text regenerating the cache.

Now, assuming it was so fast that you didn't see it, it's NOT normal is regenerating the cache at each restart, surely it doesn't happen here, and nobody else is reporting this. We had an older version of the software that used to do that, but it was online for a short period, until we found a cause which prevented the restart, which has been fixed a while ago.

Check the properties of this file:

G:\Addon Manager\bglmanx65.dll

and read the version number in the Details tab.

[Chrjs]

I have posted this log already 3 Times in this thread. It is always the same. Please see reply 1, 14 or 21

Yes, but you also said you only seen the "airport cache loaded successfully", which is NOT what you are supposed to see when the regeneration is logged. When the regeneration is logged, you will always see the red text regenerating the cache.

Now, assuming it was so fast that you didn't see it, it's NOT normal is regenerating the cache at each restart, surely it doesn't happen here, and nobody else is reporting this. We had an older version of the software that used to do that, but it was online for a short period, until we found a cause which prevented the restart, which has been fixed a while ago.

Check the properties of this file:

G:\Addon Manager\bglmanx65.dll

and read the version number in the Details tab.

bglmanx65.dll File version: 5.0.0.2

[virtuali]

bglmanx65.dll File version: 5.0.0.2

Ok, and just to be sure, the date of the Digital Signature ?

[Chrjs]

bglmanx65.dll File version: 5.0.0.2

Ok, and just to be sure, the date of the Digital Signature ?

‎Saturday, ‎December ‎18, ‎2021 4:04:15 AM

[virtuali]

Saturday, ‎December ‎18, ‎2021 4:04:15 AM

You have the correct version, the one that doesn't force a cache rebuild after each restart so now, I'm officially outside of explanations, because what you are looking at shouldn't simply happen.

The only thing I can suggest, is a complete reinstall:

- Uninstall GSX from the Windows Control Panel. Reply YES to the question "Do you want to remove the Addon Manager ?"

- Uninstall any other FSDT product you might have, including any for MSFS.

- If the Addon Manager folder is still there after all the uninstalls, remove it.

- Remove all these folders:

Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\Fsdreamteam Addon Manager\

%PROGRAMDATA%\Virtuali\

%APPDATA%\Virtuali\

Be careful about the last one in %APPDATA%, because it contains all GSX profiles you might have made for airports or airplanes. I suggest making a backup of this folder somewhere else.

- Download the full GSX installer again, and install it. Check if it works before doing anything else. Don't do anything else and report back.

[Chrjs]

Hi,
sorry for the late replay, a very busy week at work.
So I followed your guide 100%, not changing the installer path, not installing via the universal installer but as you said the full gsx installer., not inserting a sepcific exclusion in the default defender. Unfortunately, gsx does not even appear in the menu at all, just the addonmanager. Looks like the couatl engine does not start.
kind regards
chris

[virtuali]

So I followed your guide 100%, not changing the installer path, not installing via the universal installer

That's not what I said.

There's no doubt you can't "install via the universal installer", since the universal installer cannot install an FSX/P3D product so, this should have been obvious because, if you tried to do that, it would have told you installation is not yet available for FSX/P3D products.

What I said it, instead:

- Install GSX using the Full GSX installer, which is the only way you can install GSX with.

- Install the Universal Installer AND use that one TO UPDATE GSX! AFTER you reinstalled it with the regular installer.

not inserting a sepcific exclusion in the default defender.

I'm not sure what do you mean with this. You DO have to add an Exclusion, and it must be the WHOLE Addon Manager folder.

Unfortunately, gsx does not even appear in the menu at all, just the addonmanager. Looks like the couatl engine does not start.

So it seams something changed, although for the worse. Before, you said it disappeared ONLY when restarting, now you say it doesn't even appear on the first start ? Again, that can only be caused by:

- Not having added the Exclusion to the antivirus

OR

- Not having installed the Univeral installer and used that one to UPDATE GSX following the install.

[Chrjs]

I'm sorry, but this is just wrong. I DID 100% what you said, here is your "guide":


"You have the correct version, the one that doesn't force a cache rebuild after each restart so now, I'm officially outside of explanations, because what you are looking at shouldn't simply happen.

The only thing I can suggest, is a complete reinstall:

- Uninstall GSX from the Windows Control Panel. Reply YES to the question "Do you want to remove the Addon Manager ?"

- Uninstall any other FSDT product you might have, including any for MSFS.

- If the Addon Manager folder is still there after all the uninstalls, remove it.

- Remove all these folders:

Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\Fsdreamteam Addon Manager\

%PROGRAMDATA%\Virtuali\

%APPDATA%\Virtuali\

Be careful about the last one in %APPDATA%, because it contains all GSX profiles you might have made for airports or airplanes. I suggest making a backup of this folder somewhere else.

- Download the full GSX installer again, and install it. Check if it works before doing anything else. Don't do anything else and report back."


It nowhere says anything about the universal installer or about exclusions. So I didn't do it and reported back, just as you said in your last sentence.
So, yes NOW I updated GSX2 via the Universal Installer AND added the AddonManager folder to the Defender exclusion list. After doing that Couatl seems to start again, regenerating cache after startring a flight, however, the original problem is still the same. As soon as I restart couatl it completely disappears. So no progress here at all.

[virtuali]

It nowhere says anything about the universal installer or about exclusions. So I didn't do it and reported back, just as you said in your last sentence.

Because that was JUST a guide to do a clean reinstall because, according to YOUR report, your problem at that time was JUST the restart.

Now, in your last message, you seems to have a NEW problem, that is Couatl not starting AT ALL ( not "just" not restarting ). And that's a different problem altogether, which has a separate sticky thread, which seem to have solved THAT particular problem for most users:

http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,25999.0.html

And the first post contained the solution, which is installing the Universal Instraller after the main GSX installer.

So, yes NOW I updated GSX2 via the Universal Installer AND added the AddonManager folder to the Defender exclusion list. After doing that Couatl seems to start again

So, it seems you NOW fixed the "not starting" problem, in exactly the way I said it would.

regenerating cache after startring a flight, however, the original problem is still the same. As soon as I restart couatl it completely disappears. So no progress here at all.

So I can only repeat and confirm my last post about this, that I'm officially out of explanations, because what you are looking at shouldn't simply happen. Nobody is reporting it, you are the one and only with this specific Restart problem.

You might try adding this folder to the antivirus Exclusions too:

%PROGRAMDATA%\Virtuali

ANOTHER possible explanation might be one of your sceneries .BGL files corrupted, which will both force a cache rebuild and, if it's corrupted, will likely made the program crash. That might explain why nobody else is reporting this, since a local corruption of a .BGL is something unique to your installation.

[Chrjs]

Good news, I might have found the cause of my problem. Since your last reply I kept on checking everything I could on my computer by trial and error. And today I stopped any background process running one after the other and there it was: a small program called "Display Pilot", which was installed with my latest main monitor ( I have several) from Benq already more than 1,5 years ago. Disabling this process and finally I can restart the couatl service and it does not disappear but does what it is suppossed to do! So I guess anybody having problems with a disappearing couatl service might try to stop any unnecessary background tasks in the task manager, maybe there is some unexplainable incompatibility....
I will now test the new "soltution" if it lasting.... I hope so
thank you very much for your work
kind regards
chris

[virtuali]

a small program called "Display Pilot", which was installed with my latest main monitor ( I have several) from Benq already more than 1,5 years ago.

Does this software use some global hotkeys which you could use even if it's not in focus ? Those sometimes cause this kind of troubles, because what is called a "global hook", is considered an intrusive behavior, that might cause other software to fail. We had issues in the past with some Instant messaging software, which hooked keys so you could take a call even if you are in another app.

[Chrjs]

a small program called "Display Pilot", which was installed with my latest main monitor ( I have several) from Benq already more than 1,5 years ago.

Does this software use some global hotkeys which you could use even if it's not in focus ? Those sometimes cause this kind of troubles, because what is called a "global hook", is considered an intrusive behavior, that might cause other software to fail. We had issues in the past with some Instant messaging software, which hooked keys so you could take a call even if you are in another app.

I have unfortunately no idea, I have never used it but I noticed it in my task manager. It seems as with it you are somehow controlling the monitor. I don't see any negative impact disabling it. Maybe it uses some global hotkeys, but i really don't know.