FSX "event tracker" ?

[PRB]

Shipmates,

I've heard there used to be a tool for FS9 that would track "events" or i/o issues, something that might be helpful in determining what's causing FS to lock up after an hour or so, sometimes. The Windows event log is of no use. It says "FSX.exe hang". "Like duh", I knew that already! :icon_lol:

Is there any such application out there for FSX?

- Paul

[strikehawk]

I do know that when my sim does crash and it always does, the window in Win7 that tells me that the program has choked itself has a little down arrow near the bottom. If you click that it will most times tell you what :censored:'ed up this time andit seems to always be a .dll problem.

Sorry for the smart comments and :censored: language, long night with a toothache and I could not find the proper sized pliers or a safety wire tool.

[hschuit]

Doug Dawson has created a gauge that traces key events flooding in FS9 and FSX ( fsx_event_logger.gau ). It can be found here:

http://www.douglassdawson.ca/

event_logger, v2.1.2 (http://www.douglassdawson.ca/files/event_logger_fsx_v212.zip). This is version 2 of a diagnostic gauge, targeted primarily at gauge and panel authors. It writes all Key_Events issued in FSX or FS9 to a log file, thus allowing the detection of repeating Key_Events which interfere with normal panel operation. It will not identify the gauge issuing the repeating Key_Events, but by identifying the Key_Events themselves, it should make the gauge issuing them somewhat easier to locate. If you have a panel which does not allow the selection of a second engine or exit, or which exhibits improper autopilot operation, this gauge may help you discover why. Updates include a displayed count of the number of Key_Events issued by the sim, along with a tooltip display of the most recently issued Key_Event. Code signed for use in FSX.

[Milton Shupe]

The File Open Monitor I had suggested to PRB is called Filemon.

It is from http://www.sysinternals.com

I used it back in the early FS9 days to debug a problem.

It records to a file all the files opened when monitored.
It may be useful to find a bad bgl or dll when you are having system problems.

The Filemon I have is for early Windows OPS through XP. There is now a newer version at the site Processmon.

Filemon is no longer available and is replaced by ProcessMon here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645

[PRB]

Thanks hschuit, and thanks Milton. I found the gauge event logger by Doug Dawson, but haven't installed it yet. Since it reports only gauge events, I thought I'd hold off on it, since I don't believe this is related to gauges. In my googling, I found a couple of things I hadn't tried. First, I checked the “run this program as administrator” check box in the FSX.exe properties. I also set the compatibility to “XP, SP 3” (I'm running Win7 64bit). I'm currently in the middle of a long flight from Guadalcanal to New Britain, in the FS Addon Lockheed Hudson. Been at it for almost two hours now, so far so good. If somebody could be standing by with a PBY to fish me out of the drink if FS crashes again, I'll buy the first round at the bar! :icon_lol:

[Milton Shupe]

If that works for you then I would run again without the XP SP3 compatibility to see if running as admin does the trick.

If that fails, you could then run the ProcessMon application for the test.

I still use Filemon and it is amazing to watch all the files as they are opened as you approach new scenery, cloud formations, traffic, etc.

[PRB]

Just downloaded Process Monitor. Will install after this flight is complete, and do more flight testing. Since this crashing issue does not happen on every flight, it's hard to conclude with certainty that's it's been resolved, but Process Monitor may help track down the problem if it happens again.

- Paul