Nellis AFB CTD's support thread

[MIKE JG]

We have decided to split the original Nellis AFB package support thread into two dedicated threads.

This one will be used for those users who are experiencing hard crash to desktop (CTD) as a result of trying to load the Scenery at Nellis AFB.

If you are experiencing issues not related to this specific problem, please use the other dedicated support forum to ask for help.

Third party addon software that has been tested and determined NOT to cause any interference or CTD's when used in combination with this package:

Blue Sky Scenery-Las Vegas photoreal
Maccarran Intl Scenery-by Mach1 Design Group

[MIKE JG]

For those of you experiencing the CTD from the Nellis scenery, as part of our effort to isolate a cause, can you please post answers to the following questions so that we might link common elements between different FS9 setups.

1. Version of OS
2. Version of FS
3. Nellis and Easter Egg installed or Nellis only.
4. Time of day that CTD occurs.
5. UT USA installed or not.
6. Third party mesh installed and if so which one.
7. Was the package installed manually or using the installer.


Please answer those 7 questions for us in your reply.

Additionally it would be extremely helpful if you are experiencing a hard CTD to utilize the Process Monitor software to note the last file called by FS9 before the crash. This info is very useful in the search for a cause and ultimately a cure.

To use Process Monitor, please read this:

[MIKE JG]

If you don't have it already, download this utility: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysi ... 96645.aspx

Install it and boot up FS9 to the selection screen. Once there, start ProcessMonitor and you should see a screen like this:


If you've never used it before, ProcessMonitor (used to be called FileMon) will essentially show you exactly what your computer is doing at the moment. In this case we want to see what the last process that is called for FS9 before you experience the CTD. In the shot above, I have purposely removed one of the required ground texture files to make the sim crash. The highlighted line shows that at 1208, fs9.exe, executed a Read file with the location as you see in the highlight bar and shows the exact file that was read right before the crash. We know this is the last file because the fs9.exe commands cease after that moment. So in this case I can see that it tried to call the "maiw_nellis_afb_vtpp.BGL" file before the crash.

[MIKE JG]

Armed with this information from each user and the information from Process Monitor, we might be able to establish a link between users experiencing CTD. Thanks for your cooperation.

[MIKE JG]

I have now tested the package as follows:

1. Version of OS=XP
2. Version of FS=FS9.0
3. Only Nellis Scnery Installed.
4. Time of day that CTD occurs.-NA
5. UT USA installed or not.-NO
6. Third party mesh installed and if so which one.-NONE
7. Was the package installed manually or using the installer.-Automatically with installer

The above config was tested with one additional addon, the freeware Las Vegas photoreal scenery from BlueSky. After installing and activating the BlueSky scenery, and placing it at the top and bottom of my scenery layers, the sim remained stable during all times of the day.

So I think we can rule out the BlueSky photoreal scenery as a possible conflicting software.

I will continue to test install various Las Vegas related freeware addons, only a single one at a time to see if I can produce a CTD.

[Joseph29]

For those of you experiencing the CTD from the Nellis scenery, as part of our effort to isolate a cause, can you please post answers to the following questions so that we might link common elements between different FS9 setups.

1. Version of OS
2. Version of FS
3. Nellis and Easter Egg installed or Nellis only.
4. Time of day that CTD occurs.
5. UT USA installed or not.
6. Third party mesh installed and if so which one.
7. Was the package installed manually or using the installer.


Please answer those 7 questions for us in your reply.

Additionally it would be extremely helpful if you are experiencing a hard CTD to utilize the Process Monitor software to note the last file called by FS9 before the crash. This info is very useful in the search for a cause and ultimately a cure.

To use Process Monitor, please read this:

1. Right now XP, but tomorrow when I set up the new computer it will Windows 7
2. FS9 with the FS9 SP1 installed
3. Just the Neils airport scenery (I actually don't know what the easter eggs are)
4. dawn (haven't tried it at dusk)
5. No UT
6. default mesh. I do have FS Genesis mesh for Nevada but it is not installed
7. manually installed

The only things I have installed for the Las Vegas area is FSDreamTeam's Las Vegas airport scenery and the city of Las Vegas found here http://fsx.o.oo7.jp/

[VulcanDriver]

1. Vista
2. FS9.1
3. Nellis and Easter Egg installed BOTH
4. Time of day that CTD occurs. Dawn
5. UT USA installed or not. No
6. Third party mesh installed and if so which one. No
7. Was the package installed manually or using the installer. Installer

My Las Vegas set up is the default FS9 version.

[jimrodger]

Could someone please tell me what the Easter Eggs are, so I would know which version I've installed

Merry Christmas to one and all

Jim

[Priller]

Merry Christmas to you......and....Hip Hip Hurray...it now works ,

the reason for trouble ( well...on my PC ) seemed to be the Fallon NAS Scenery fom Alphasim. And maybe nice to know....for test purposes I`ve reactivated Groom Lake ( Area 51 ) again..and that has no effect on the MAIW Nellis / Tonopah Scenery. It still works.

So.. no more crashes entering the TNX area and Aprons, RWYs and TWYs at KLSV are visible now.


Best Regards

Klaus

[MIKE JG]

Jim,

Easter Egg according to Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg_(media)

[MIKE JG]

We can't stress this enough. The AlphaSim sceneries for NAS Fallon, Tonopah, Nellis and Area 51 should all be disabled if you are having CTD's. Get the MAIW Nellis scenery stable first, then one at a time, reactivate the various AlphaSim sceneries to see which ones, if any you can run in parallel to the MAIW sceneries.

[jimrodger]

Mike, cheers for that, I understand the concept of easter eggs, however what the actual egg is in the package I can't discover. Some assistance would be appreciated.

Jim

[MIKE JG]

All you need to do is find it, it will do the rest. That's half the fun!

[Firebird]

To Jim and Joseph and other people not aware. I would recommend doing an manual install, i.e. running the installer and pointing the destination to temp folder.
Then search through all the folders that are created there, when you find it it will be obvious that it is the Easter Egg. When you run it you will get a nice surprise. Again, if you don't trust us manually install to a different temp folder, first, to see what it contains. You will not regret it.

[Firebird]

To give you an example of my config:-
I have now tested the package as follows:

1. Version of OS=XP
2. Version of FS=FS9.1
3. Nellis and Easter Egg installed
4. Time of day that CTD occurs.-N/A
5. UT USA installed or not.-YES
6. Third party mesh installed and if so which one.-FSGENESIS
7. Was the package installed manually or using the installer.-Manually

I also have the BlueSky LV scenery installed and a well known third party freeware KLAS, so you can see that it is fairly tolerant. Those locked and CTD at a certain percentage are indicative of a texture problem, what we have to do is find it/them.

Now we have identified so far two types of crashes with this scenery, one is that two textures from the Egg are not copied across to the Scenery\World\Texure folder and cause a crash at Nellis, day and dawn. Copying those two desert road files, attached in the original thread, fixes that issue.
The second is the Alphasim Fallon, at least, being activated causes crashes. Thanks for that Klaus. We would also like to know that you have tried to see if either of these causes/fixes applies to you and it has not been successful.

[MIKE JG]

Just for clarification, when Steve says that the two road textures included with the egg are not copied across, he means that users who are installing the egg MANUALLY are failing to copy these textures across to the correct folder. All required easter egg files are placed correctly by the auto installer.

[Trim_tab]

To give you an example of my config:-
I have now tested the package as follows:

1. Version of OS=XP
2. Version of FS=FS9.1
3. Nellis and Easter Egg installed
4. Time of day that CTD occurs.-N/A
5. UT USA installed or not.-YES
6. Third party mesh installed and if so which one.-FSGENESIS
7. Was the package installed manually or using the installer.-Manually

I also have the BlueSky LV scenery installed and a well known third party freeware KLAS, so you can see that it is fairly tolerant. Those locked and CTD at a certain percentage are indicative of a texture problem, what we have to do is find it/them.

Now we have identified so far two types of crashes with this scenery, one is that two textures from the Egg are not copied across to the Scenery\World\Texure folder and cause a crash at Nellis, day and dawn. Copying those two desert road files, attached in the original thread, fixes that issue.
The second is the Alphasim Fallon, at least, being activated causes crashes. Thanks for that Klaus. We would also like to know that you have tried to see if either of these causes/fixes applies to you and it has not been successful.

Pauls Nellis had the same issue with Alphasim's sceneries installed... it's alphasims "exclude" files that are causing the crashes in those paticular cases... http://www.militaryaiworks.com/newforum ... 990#p63990

[Firebird]

It would be lovely to find that an activated Alphasim scenery caused all the remaining CTDs, but I am not so sure that it covers everything. I guess that we wait for those still with the problem to report whether they have any or not.

[jimrodger]

Manual installation complete - happy little bear now....cheers

[Firebird]

So you found it, installed it. Did it fix your CTD problems?