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Message started by Markoz on Dec 12th, 2012 at 2:35am

Title: FSX and Windows 8
Post by Markoz on Dec 12th, 2012 at 2:35am
I have a problem! :o

FSX is showing to be downright awful in Windows 8! I keep getting CTD's! I can't seem to fly for more than 30-60 minutes and then BAM!, it freezes on me and down she goes.

Here are the settings I'm using:

Windows 8 is installed in F:\Windows, in a dual boot setting, with Windows 7 (C:\Windows) drive)
FSX is installed on F:\FlightSimX
FSX and Acceleration with FSUIPC (registered) and Captain Sim FSX products are the ONLY add-ons installed. No mods are being used for the Captain Sim products either. I'll try them later IF I can!
Hopefully this will change tomorrow when I buy a new, bigger HDD (2TB) so I can use 2 Partitions for Windows 8 and FSX.

I'm testing all the Captain Sim FSX products in Windows 8 (but it isn't looking too bright at the moment though).

I intend to give a full report on my findings for each product to let you all know what my findings are, once I have been able to test them all. I might even disconnect all my other drives, except the new drive with Windows 8 on it so it is a nice and clean install of everything.

On a personal note. I really hate the look and feel of Windows 8! But ya neva know. I might get used to it. :o

Edit: I forgot to ask. Is anyone else having problems with Windows 8 and FSX?

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by LOU on Dec 12th, 2012 at 4:10am
Being on the leading edge has it's problems...

I always wait a while and let others figure out the nasty parts.

Lou

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by rservice on Dec 12th, 2012 at 5:06am
Markoz,you might try the AVSIM forums,they have a subforum for operating system issues.I had some similar problems when upgrading from Vista 64 bit to Windows 7. :'(
Ron

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by CoolP on Dec 12th, 2012 at 8:44am
Do you already run the uiautomationcore.dll fix, Mark? That one is still needed in Win8 and may solve the issues. Just place the dll in the FSX folder. http://forum.avsim.net/topic/392353-fsx-ctds-in-win-8-64-bit/#entry2530020

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by Aviator101 on Dec 12th, 2012 at 9:12am
Eish - you are confirming my worst suspicions about Win 8. I also suspect that they
are not going to put too much emphasis on fixing this now that they have stopped development on FSX and FS in general.
I have a nasty feeling that Win 7 might be the end of the line or a move over
to Prepar3d.
I have absolutely no plans to go to Win8. Win7 and XP seem to fit my needs fine.

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by Markoz on Dec 12th, 2012 at 10:27am
OK. Putting the UIAutomationCore.dll in the FSX root folder seems to have fixed the problem of the CTD's.

Now to test the Captain Sim products. First up is the 707-300/300C/E-3/VC137 (because it is at the top of the list in FSX). :D ;D

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by CoolP on Dec 12th, 2012 at 10:56am

Markoz wrote on Dec 12th, 2012 at 10:27am:
First up is the 707-300/300C/E-3/VC137 (because it is at the top of the list in FSX). :D ;D

I like that priority list.  :D Good news on the darn dll. A FSX heritage, lol.

Mark, I think your account was hacked. Somebody has replaced the picture of the friendly guy with a picture of another friendly guy. Just be cautious.  :o

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by Markoz on Dec 12th, 2012 at 1:17pm

Quote:

Markoz wrote on Dec 12th, 2012 at 10:27am:
First up is the 707-300/300C/E-3/VC137 (because it is at the top of the list in FSX). :D ;D

I like that priority list.  :D Good news on the darn dll. A FSX heritage, lol.

Yeah. I did a search for UIAutomationCore.dll and came up with four (4) instances of it in my Windows folder (Windows\System32, Windows\SysWOW64 and two of them in Windows\WinSxS). Weird! :o
But I downloaded and added the Vista 64bit UIAutamationCore.dll to the FSX root folder.


Quote:
Mark, I think your account was hacked. Somebody has replaced the picture of the friendly guy with a picture of another friendly guy. Just be cautious.  :o
Ah. Yep. I hacked my User CP and added a photo taken today, to replace the one taken in early 2009.
So I look older in the new one, so my grey hair stands out a bit more in the new pic. :'(

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by Nick Cooper on Dec 13th, 2012 at 1:54pm

Aviator101 wrote on Dec 12th, 2012 at 9:12am:
Eish - you are confirming my worst suspicions about Win 8. I also suspect that they
are not going to put too much emphasis on fixing this now that they have stopped development on FSX and FS in general.
I have a nasty feeling that Win 7 might be the end of the line or a move over
to Prepar3d.



Hello Mark,

I too have upgraded to Windows 8.
The more I use it, the more I like it.

I had only two problems with FSX, one was the uiautomationcore.dll and the other, the intermittent "disappearance" of my joystick.

The first problem was as yours, occasional CTDs, these have gone with the addition of the file to the main FSX folder, though the correct version is VITAL.
I have attached the properties page of the one I am using.
There is no need to remove or modify in any way the other instances included in Windows 8.

The second problem has been much reduced by disabling the "allow the computer to turn this device off to save power" entry in the device manager\properties\Power Management window for the joystick and USB device controlling it.

As to Windows 8 and the comments quoted, Windows 8 is built on Windows 7, the most obvious difference being the new user interface.
I have not yet come across a device driver for Windows 7 that doesn't work in Windows 8.

It helps no one to randomly condemn anything without at the very least trying it.
I have upgraded all three PCs in our house to a full version of Windows 8 pro from two OEM Windows 7 and one OEM Vista.
Until January 2013 the cost of each licence is only £24.99 (US$39.99) which makes three operating systems for under £75 (US$121), Microsoft have never done this before and they may not do it again.

The rest of my PC operates much more quickly, my "Windows Experience" has gone up from 7.2 to 7.8 and overall I am delighted with the new OS.

I should add, finally, for those doubters, that it is perfectly possible to operate it from the conventional desktop if the new tiles are not to one's taste.

Sorry to go on,but there are two sides to every story.

Regards,
Nick.


Vista_file.jpg (Attachment deleted)

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by Markoz on Dec 13th, 2012 at 2:25pm
I have had my joystick being disabled numerous times, sometimes only partially (the buttons, but not the axes), I checked the power saving setting for my joystick and it is greyed out (not allowed to turn it off to save power?), but it still drops off sometimes (see attached image). :(

I am giving Window 8 a go, but I still don't like it. ;)

I have encountered another strange thing in FSX. The mouse stops being able to click on buttons on some 2D panels. It is like it loses focus within FSX. I prefer using FSX in Window Mode rather than Full Screen because allows for switching to other tasks in Windows more easily, but this seems to happen a bit in Full Screen mode. This might just be Captain Sim aircraft, but I don't know yet.
joystick_power_management.PNG (Attachment deleted)

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by FAC257 on Dec 13th, 2012 at 10:08pm
Just throwing in my 2 cents worth of experience with W8.

I've been testing FSX with Windows 8 since September. First with the Release Candidate and then when released the full Windows 8 Pro Media Center Edition.

Logged right at 275 flight hours so far in W8, and with very few exceptions that I have run into, FSX runs like a champ on Windows 8.

In those flight hours I've logged full start-up to full shut down good distance flights in the CS 707, 727 and the C-130. All of them have flown exactly like they did in W7, with out a single problem in those aircraft. It may be just my imagination but the C-130 actually seems to work a little better during the full cold start-up procedures.

The sudden loss of controllers issue was a pretty frequent and known event in the Release Candidate days, but after upgrading to the full W8 version, I have only encountered a single instance. That one instance, I cured by simply unplugging the control wire that plugs into the back of my X-52 joystick and it kicked it back into gear.

I'm running a full system all hard disks format with a fresh copy of W8, it's not W8 on top of W7. FSX is on it's own HD and the only FSX related system tweak I use is Nvidia Inspector.

FAC257




Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by CoastalDriver on Dec 14th, 2012 at 10:57am
MarkOz. Mate your a glutton for punishment. I'm  with Lou on this at the moment, had enough at the moment of always sorting out Microsoft bugs and issues and their never ending patches and fixes, used to enjoy the challenge once but not now, just want the bugger to work as advertised. No help at all I am afraid re Windows 8, not for a long time at this rate.

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by CoolP on Dec 17th, 2012 at 7:24pm
They are discussing the Win8 related joystick problems here. http://forum.avsim.net/topic/393486-windows-8-joystick-megathread-problem/ Seems like it hits some folks.  :-/

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by Concorde1996 on Dec 18th, 2012 at 4:17am
From everything I have read online FSX and Windows 8 will probably never work properly together. When i saw what windows 8 looked like at a store, I went out and bought a 2nd copy of windows 7 the next day. I think most fs users will probably have to have a computer using windows 7 for a very long time to come.

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by CoolP on Dec 19th, 2012 at 4:14pm
From the above linked thread, it seems like Win8 currently incorporates some joystick problems. Not only with FSX, but a guy stated that X-Plane also suffers. So maybe there's something in need for a patch on that gaming interface in general. It doesn't seem to affect all systems though. Makes it harder.  :-/

I don't run any games on my Win8 thingy. And if I do, expect them to be in the jump&run category.  :D

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by Markoz on Dec 20th, 2012 at 2:05am
I can't see any difference in performance with Far Cry 3 in Windows 8 compared to Windows 7. But my new gaming mouse (bought in August), is not Windows 8 compatible. If I had bought the same gaming mouse (G300) AFTER Windows 8 was released, it would be. Go figure? That's when Logitech really ticks me off! Why can't the earlier ones be compatible, Windows 8 RC was out months before I bought my gaming mouse.

The G300 mouse works fine in Windows 8, but I can't program the 6 extra buttons that it has, which is important for me when you consider my "disability". I install the software for Windows 8, but it says it finds no compatible hardware! What a pain in the ****!!! These things are keeping me away from Windows 8 to a big degree.

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by CoolP on Dec 20th, 2012 at 11:29am

Quote:
If I had bought the same gaming mouse (G300) AFTER Windows 8 was released, it would be.
What?  >:(

Can you write them? I've found their support to be really good, maybe they can clear up that mess. Would be a shame if a new device stops working in full.

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by VulcanB2 on Dec 20th, 2012 at 7:07pm

Markoz wrote on Dec 12th, 2012 at 1:17pm:

Yeah. I did a search for UIAutomationCore.dll and came up with four (4) instances of it in my Windows folder (Windows\System32, Windows\SysWOW64 and two of them in Windows\WinSxS). Weird! :o
But I downloaded and added the Vista 64bit UIAutamationCore.dll to the FSX root folder.

Not weird - they are slightly different versions.

Putting UIAutomationCore.DLL does not completely fix the problem. After much testing here I get a crash due to this anyway, regardless of file location and version.

The bug is NOT in UIAutomationCore but in FSX!

If the file:

1) exists
2) is accessible (can be read)

then eventually FSX will crash REGARDLESS.

Just keep hitting the right button on your mouse, or going into the menus repeatedly (about 30 times for me) - FSX will crash in less than 5 minutes doing this.

UIAutomationCore is invoked EVERY time a menu is displayed, as it hooks the menu, and makes the elements accessible to screen readers.

The bug in FSX occurs after it successfully loaded the file. It seems FSX is not freeing memory, and it eventually crashes the sim (an example of the many memory leaks present in FSX).

Using ACLs (Access Control Lists) I completely blocked ANYTHING from reading this file so the OS or another program can't load it before I start FSX. Doing this completely avoids this crash.

If you want a step-by-step I'll provide one, but note that it will break some programs completely, and others in limited ways, due to the ways they invoke UIAutomationCore.

If you don't understand what I'm on about, this fix is not for you.

Best regards,
Robin.

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by legitmv7 on Jan 14th, 2013 at 9:03pm
I'm also on Windows 8 and I too had those random CTD from FSX. The .dll file was able to fix the problem. Everything works perfectly now.

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by Markoz on Jan 15th, 2013 at 1:15am
Sadly. I have given up on FSX in Windows 8. It started crashing often again, so I just gave up. This was after the UIAutomationCore.dll fix, which seemed to fix it for a while. :(

I haven't gone into Win8 for more than a week now. :-/

Title: Re: FSX and Windows 8
Post by legitmv7 on Jan 15th, 2013 at 8:22pm
Aw man that blows, it's been running fine now ever since I used your method with the .dll file so thanks! Will let you know if it starts acting up again

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