AIAE.net stopped working

[kevgos]

Hi!
Is there an error log or something that I can use to troubleshoot where the problem might be by any chance? I had version 3.2.14 initially installed, and at some point I tried updating (it's been a while since this is happening, so don't remember all the details anymore about versions or what I had working most recently, sorry). Anyway, ever since that point, any time I uninstall, reinstall, and ultimately run (any version, including even back to .14), I get the loading screen (radar) and it looks like it's loading - but after the initial install, it disappears and then, on subsequent loading attempts, an error message appears about "it looks like AIAE has crashed - please apologize! We will now delete the saved AIAE settings. The reason is to avoid pointing to an aircraft that has caused the crash and to allow the update check to work."

I have run regedit and cleaned out all the entries that I could find relating to AIAE; cleaned the appdata folder; updated my .NET framework (Microsoft); and nothing changes. Any ideas about what I can try to look at next?

Thank you very much!
-Kevin

[Firebird]

That version is well out of date. It is no longer supported. You need to download Ai Aircraft Editor.NET .
Try downloading the latest version which is 3.3.52.0.

[raclim]

I had the exact same problem 2 weeks ago after getting a new pc.

It is a firewall issue, make sure your anti-virus doesn't block the program.

Cheers,
Randy

[kevgos]

I understand and agree that (14) is an old version, correct. I have tried updating beyond, and sometime after that is when it had completely stopped working - I reverted to 14 because I know it "had" (previously) worked - and now even that no longer works.

I checked my firewall and antivirus - nothing specifically popped up blocking it that I could see; where did you find it listed in yours?

Thanks again!
-Kevin

[Firebird]

I can see why you might go back to the old version. I shall wait for Randy to reply about the Firewall issue, I have never has that myself.

When you say it stops working what exactly happens?

The only time I have had issues is when it just constantly sits with the loading message. This is normally due to a corrupt config file and deleting it fixes that. Admittedly it means setting up your options again but I cheat and have the file saved elsewhere so I can simply copy over the top and go again. The config generally doesn't change much from version to version.

If you have a look in C:\Users\xxxxx\AppData\Roaming\AI-Aircraft Editor you will find the AI-Aircraft-Editor.log which may give some clue as to the issue.
In the case of the .NET version the config file is stored in C:\Users\xxxxx\AppData\Local\The_Owls_Nest_Tools\AI-Aircraft_Editor.exe_Url_tiilfttfz4rong0b445syrehopsqru1u.
Inside there you will find a folder for each version that you have installed, so for me the latest folder is called 3.3.52.0, and inside that there is one file - user.config and that stores your setup in xml format.
If all else fails you could try renaming it and start the app agin and it should create a clean config file.

[kevgos]

I just get a "radar screen" (initial loading AIAE), then it pops up "error occurred - deleting config file" and then it all disappears, nothing happens any further.

I don't have anything from AIAE in Appdata/Roaming - just the config files in Appdata/Local.

Even with a clean install (or deleting the folder) I ultimately get the same results every time.

Here is my most recent config file contents:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<configSections>
<sectionGroup name="userSettings">
<section name="ASToFra.ObjectReader.ObjectReaderSetting" type="System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection, System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" allowExeDefinition="MachineToLocalUser" requirePermission="false" />
<section name="ASToFra.TextureObject.TextureSetting" type="System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection, System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" allowExeDefinition="MachineToLocalUser" requirePermission="false" />
<section name="ASToFra.FSUtils.FSSettings" type="System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection, System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" allowExeDefinition="MachineToLocalUser" requirePermission="false" />
<section name="ASToFra.ObjectRenderer.Renderer3DSetting" type="System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection, System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" allowExeDefinition="MachineToLocalUser" requirePermission="false" />
</sectionGroup>
</configSections>
<userSettings>
<AI_Aircraft_Editor.My.MySettings>
<setting name="AIAE_AppAutoUpdate" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_CFGAutoBackup" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_CFGConfirmChanges" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_ShowTooltips" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_RememberPath" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_CurrentFolderPath" serializeAs="String">
<value />
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_model" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_texture" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_sim" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_prop_anim_ratio" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_atc_parking_types" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_atc_parking_codes" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_atc_model" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_atc_id" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_atc_airline" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_atc_flight_number" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_atc_heavy" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_ui_createdby" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_ui_typerole" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_ui_manufacturer" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_ui_type" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_ui_variation" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_grid_description" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_MCX_Init" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_WindowState" serializeAs="String">
<value>Normal</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_CurrentDrive" serializeAs="String">
<value>C:\</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_ViewerInit" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_ViewerWindowState" serializeAs="String">
<value>Normal</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_WindowBounds" serializeAs="String">
<value>10, 10, 1280, 1024</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_NoDeleteKeys" serializeAs="String">
<value>atc_parking_types¦atc_parking_codes</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_AppExternalViewer" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_SettingsImported" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_ViewerToolbar" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_AppGraphicsName" serializeAs="String">
<value />
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_AppGraphicsPath" serializeAs="String">
<value />
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_TextureDeleteConfirmation" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_AppCommentSeparator" serializeAs="String">
<value>//</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_AppCommentColumn" serializeAs="String">
<value>140</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_AppRemoveEmptyKey" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_TextureTransparency" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_ReportSettings" serializeAs="String">
<value>0</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_SplitterDistance" serializeAs="String">
<value>0</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_AutoSelectLastFltsim" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_ViewerWindowBounds" serializeAs="String">
<value>10, 10, 800, 600</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_1" serializeAs="String">
<value>title</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_2" serializeAs="String">
<value>model</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_3" serializeAs="String">
<value>texture</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_4" serializeAs="String">
<value>sim</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_5" serializeAs="String">
<value>prop_anim_ratio</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_6" serializeAs="String">
<value>atc_parking_types</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_7" serializeAs="String">
<value>atc_parking_codes</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_8" serializeAs="String">
<value>atc_model</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_9" serializeAs="String">
<value>atc_airline</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_10" serializeAs="String">
<value>atc_heavy</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_11" serializeAs="String">
<value>atc_flight_number</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_12" serializeAs="String">
<value>atc_id</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_13" serializeAs="String">
<value>atc_id_color</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_14" serializeAs="String">
<value>ui_createdby</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_15" serializeAs="String">
<value>ui_typerole</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_16" serializeAs="String">
<value>ui_manufacturer</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_17" serializeAs="String">
<value>ui_type</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_18" serializeAs="String">
<value>ui_variation</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_19" serializeAs="String">
<value>description</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_20" serializeAs="String">
<value>panel</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_21" serializeAs="String">
<value>sound</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_22" serializeAs="String">
<value>kb_checklists</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_23" serializeAs="String">
<value>kb_reference</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_KeySort_24" serializeAs="String">
<value>visual_damage</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_Viewer_BackgroundColor" serializeAs="String">
<value>RoyalBlue</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_Viewer_ShowGrid" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIA_Viewer_ViewMode" serializeAs="String">
<value>0</value>
</setting>
<setting name="AIAE_RadiosAutoUpdate" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
</AI_Aircraft_Editor.My.MySettings>
<ASToFra.ObjectReader.ObjectReaderSetting>
<setting name="useCondition" serializeAs="String">
<value>DefaultValues</value>
</setting>
</ASToFra.ObjectReader.ObjectReaderSetting>
<ASToFra.TextureObject.TextureSetting>
<setting name="TextureSearchPath" serializeAs="String">
<value>[MCXTEMP];[FSXPATH]\texture;[FS2004PATH]\texture;[P3Dv2PATH]\texture;[P3Dv3PATH]\texture;[P3Dv4PATH]\texture;texture;..\texture;..\..\texture;..\..\..\texture;..\..\..\..\texture;..\texture.default;..\..\texture.default;..\texture.common;..\..\texture.common;</value>
</setting>
</ASToFra.TextureObject.TextureSetting>
<ASToFra.FSUtils.FSSettings>
<setting name="FSXPath" serializeAs="String">
<value>F:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX</value>
</setting>
<setting name="FS2004Path" serializeAs="String">
<value>F:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX</value>
</setting>
</ASToFra.FSUtils.FSSettings>
<ASToFra.ObjectRenderer.Renderer3DSetting>
<setting name="LightAzimuth" serializeAs="String">
<value>45</value>
</setting>
<setting name="LightElevation" serializeAs="String">
<value>45</value>
</setting>
<setting name="BackgroundColorDay" serializeAs="String">
<value>0, 64, 128</value>
</setting>
<setting name="ShowGrid" serializeAs="String">
<value>False</value>
</setting>
<setting name="ViewMode" serializeAs="String">
<value>FreeRotate</value>
</setting>
</ASToFra.ObjectRenderer.Renderer3DSetting>
</userSettings>
</configuration>

[Firebird]

OK I am working a bit blind here but here goes.
The fact that you are not seeing anything in Appdata suggests to me that the program is trying to initialize.
Also the user.config is different to mine which suggests that this is for the 3.2 version.

Can I suggest that you uninstall that and install 3.3 again. Then check to see if there is a log and what the user.config looks like.

Now there is one other thing I would check that you have the latest versions of .Net installed. The reason is that with nothing in the error log suggest that it didn't get far enough to create anything which could indicate an initialization issue which could be .Net related.

[kevgos]

Reinstalled 3.3.52; rechecked that all .NET versions seem to be installed and updated; even installed some new ones (noticed 4.8.1, 6.0.12 and 7.0.1 were released recently), still no change.

[Firebird]

OK what does the AI-Aircraft-Editor.log file show now?
Also what version of Windows are you running?
Finally, at the moment, where did you install it?

[kevgos]

I still don't have a log file

My config file is now basically empty - it's just
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<userSettings>
<AI_Aircraft_Editor.My.MySettings>
<setting name="AIAE_TextureTransparency" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
</AI_Aircraft_Editor.My.MySettings>
</userSettings>
</configuration>

I am running Windows 10, 21H2

It's "officially" installed in F:\Program Files (x86)\AI-Aircraft Editor.NET - but when I try to reinstall I will occasionally try a different folder, same results every time again.

[Firebird]

That would definitely indicate that it is not initialising.
What is causing that problem is beyond my knowledge.

You OS is a supported one and you are not installing to a folder that is restricted.

This would indicate to me that either the app is having issues finding any versions of FS on your computer or that your installation(s) are in some way non-standard.

The fact that neither version loads says that there is some issue on your computer. The trouble is without any diags the developer, Martin, won't be able to help either.

The only thing that I can contribute is that I remember that once it took well over an hour to load up due to it going through a non-active folder and checking each entry.

I guess the other info I would need is how long you have left it working before you chopped it?
Also how large an installation do you have. I have 1500+ folders and therefore several thousand individual entries.
I know that some people, like me, like to consolidate folders for the same models, whereas others like to separate according to units or air arms.

Have you tried running another checker tool like ACA2017 Light to see if it has problems reading the folders?

I think other than testing your installations by running other checkers is to set it going and just leaving it to run for several hours, maybe monitoring your system to see if it is processing a lot or hanging. It might be that you have a lot of aircraft to check and it is finding a lot of errors and that is what is taking the time.
I guess the ultimate test would be set it going before going to bed and seeing what it is like in the morning.

[hgschnell]

...

It's "officially" installed in F:\Program Files (x86)\AI-Aircraft Editor.NET - but when I try to reinstall I will occasionally try a different folder, same results every time again.

The "Program Files(x86)" could be a problem.

my path "C:\FS-Tools\AI-Aircraft Editor.NET" works fine with Win10 (all updates).

[kevgos]

Not sure how to actually describe the allowed running "up-time" length, other than to say that I start it and then notice it will drop out of the task manager "running programs" list after a few minutes - but in any case, I let it run as long as it likes (which is only a few minutes usually).

My total Flight Sim folder is 58 gigs (scenery and everything), airplanes alone are about 40 gigs (flyable and AI). SimObjects has 11,000 folders it says.

I can run the "original" (pre-.NET) AIAE without any problems, so I'm wondering if it might be a problem with my .net installs somehow.

As to Prog Files (x86), as a former computer geek I can absolutely see where that "could be" the case - but I've always had it there (even before it quit) and it was fine - and, again, even when I try "moving" (reinstalling it just at like the "root" (F:\FSTools)) I still have the same issue.

I will likely have a LOT of time this weekend to play around with everything more (maybe even start over with .NET itself also (as in complete uninstall and reinstall)) since we are expected to get a major snowstorm here.

Thanks again!

[Firebird]

I think that your .Net installs may well be the issue here, as the new version absolutely requires them.
I would start by trying the Microsoft .NET Framework Repair Tool. This repairs 2.0, 3.0, 3.5 and all of 4. I think that Martin only requires v4 for the tool.
Hopefully that should do it. The thing that still niggles me is why it should fail now using 3.2. This still leaves me with a lingering doubt as to whether something in your aircraft folders is causing this. Maybe it is getting stuck on one folder.
I would still try ACA2017 Light as it checks aircraft.cfg files. It might show up something.

[hgschnell]

Some years ago I had a conversation with Martin because of unexpected aircraft folder structure in my FS2004.

He solved them all. I cannot say anything for FSX, but I suppuse like Steve here could be the problem.
You could copy your aircraft folder (no, simobjects in FSX?) and beginn with fewer aircrafts.

[kevgos]

Sorry it took so long to reply; lots of activity lately in life (as well as my reinstalls and repairs of everything, which is what leads to the return of the thread) - still no improvement.

Also moved most of my aircraft around (tried different folders and even drives) to no avail either.

Cheked out ACA2017 - didn't really see anything specific that looked like an error? (Then again, I'm admittedly not sure what I was looking for either - maybe I should rerun it and post a log?)

[Firebird]

That is not a bad idea although what you are looking for is something like an unreadable folder. That would stop the program in its tracks, much like you say you have.

A simple test.
Rename your Aircraft folder to Aircraft_original, or something like that.
Create a new Aircraft folder.
Copy one folder across to the new folder, would suggest the first one alphabetically for ease of transfer.
Run AIAE.net

That should work perfectly fine. If not either that folder is one of the ones with an error, or you have something wrong with your installation.

It is the best I can suggest w/o you zipping up your entire aircraft folder so that I can check it.

[kevgos]

Finally back! Been a very hectic month for me but hopefully things are back to normal now.

Anyway, just got done rescanning and creating new folders and following the suggestions - same spot as before.

Made a temporary folder, moved one plane into it, and rescanned with ACA2017 - "no errors found" - however, AIAE.net still fails to load. Not sure what my next steps should be at this point. Thanks again!

[Firebird]

Well that seems to prove that there is a problem with your installation of AIAE.
This leads us to one of two possibilities. Firstly your .Net installations are not up to date. I have to say that I would have thought that you would have had some other proggies have errors.

The second is that there is an issue with the AIAE itself. Now I have had on quite a few frequent occasions an issue where AIAE does not close down properly and it causes an error with the user.config. The simple answer is to rename/delete the user.config and it will reload with default settings.

So what I would suggest is to uninstall AIAE, completely, then ensure that there are no 'AI-Aircraft Editor' folders left on your system. You can use Windows search but a quicker tool is Everything from VoidTools. Use the portable version so that you can delete easily afterwards if you so desire.

Once your system is completely clear then run 'chkdsk' against all your system drives then reinstall again and try on that one aircraft folder again.

Now if that fails to work then my guess would be your .Net installation is corrupted somewhere.
The reason being that AIAE and AIAE.Net versions use different libs. They save their cfg files in a different location. For both to fail to work this says that it is an issue on your system as nobody else has ever had this issue, at least not reported.

One final check. I hope that you have not got your FSX installation in the default C: drive location. It could be an admin rights thing as AIAE rights to files so it can't be stopped.
If it is in the default location then ensure that AIAE is set to run in admin mode.