B-25J FSX compatable fix

[Guest pbt63]

I installed my B-25J Mitchell "Brifing Time" in my FSX program per instructions from file bt_fsxu1.zip with no problems. I am on the Windows Vista opering system. After starting FSX from the opening screen I changed aircraft to the B-25 and the FSX program shut down. The next time I started the program I went to one of my pre recorded flights and than changed aircraft to the B-25J and it went over good. However when I clicked on the "CP" icon, the FSX shut down again. The gauges and aircraft are in their proper palces. I have a NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX video adapter.What could be the problem.Pete

[rambow 0]

I don't know, Pete, but it's worrying because yours is the second such report we have had from a Vista owner. It's particularly problematic because none of us have Vista yet, so the patch has not been tested in the new OS. It sounds like another version of the update will be required, once we are equipped for it. The rest of the bad news is I can't tell you when that will be as we are in the final push to get the TBM out on schedule.There is one thing you can check - make sure the MAAM_B25.gau version in the FSXGauges folder is 3.0.0.7. The other sufferer reported two gauge copies in the folder for both the R4D and B-25.Bill RambowMAAM-SIM http://www.fssupport.com/maam/hgrsm_blkani.gif

[Guest SimJack]

Bill,Ditto for me on Vista crashes. If you guys don't have Vista to test on, the TBM may have simular results (unless the FSX version is later).This is the only aircraft I have that will not run on Vista. The FS9 B-25 on the outside looks and flies great without the patch, just the instruments are missing.Love the aircraft, please address this when you can. Also want the TBM for FSX (and Vista), she's a beauty.Thanks

[rambow 0]

Yes, the TBM FSX version will be later. I plan on upgrading my system this summer and we may recruit a few more experienced FS flyers for the beta team who have Vista.Tell me, have you tried the R4D in Vista? Any problems there? I think perhaps not, since all of the reports (four with yours) have been about BT, so far.Bill RambowMAAM-SIMhttp://www.fssupport.com/maam/hgrsm_blkani.gif

[Guest SimJack]

>Yes, the TBM FSX version will be later. I plan on upgrading>my system this summer and we may recruit a few more>experienced FS flyers for the beta team who have Vista.>>Tell me, have you tried the R4D in Vista? Any problems there?> I think perhaps not, since all of the reports (four with>yours) have been about BT, so far.>>Bill Rambow>MAAM-SIM>>http://www.fssupport.com/maam/hgrsm_blkani.gifBill,Unfortunately I do not have the R4D. Just some advice about installing Vista (took me 4 times). Run the Vista compatibility program. If your system meets the minimum specs,it will run Vista Basic. You may need some upgrades to run Vista Home or Ultimate.Then prior to installation, run the software compatibilty program. If it says that you "may" have compatibility issues, trust me you will.Uninstall potential problem programs and look for Vista updates from the software vendors.I have been waiting on a Vista printer driver from Dell for over three months. Never dreamed a printer driver could cause so many problems!jackvarner@comcast.net (SimJack)

[Guest dreddhk]

Hi guys, just to give you the heads up, my Briefing Time does exactly the same thing in Vista, it crash's FSX back to the desk top everytime I try to select the "Shift + Number" views. If I start FSX with BT, it won't load the sim, but crash back to the desk top. I noticed that my installation of BT was only 54MB's (in the simobjects/aircraft folder) and was wondering if this was the problem. I'm sure it was a lot larger within FS9, but can not be 100% sure as that PC is now gone. Anyway, it doesn't work as it should, and since it's such a buetiful plane, I'd like to get it flying once more. Cheers in advance, and for all the hard work to date ...

[Guest SimJack]

Another Vista problem. I reloaded FS9 and "Briefing Time" in to my PC running Vista and the gauge file does not work in it either.Vista has issues with either FS version and the MAAM gau. file. I just ordered the RD-4 before I discovered the FS9/Vista issue.....hope it works.

[Guest Leonard]

I recently installed Vista 32 bit Home Premium and have had the same problem with crashes after installing the B-25 FSX compatibility fix. I have found that the problem is with FSX being not yet compatible with Vista. Microsoft say they will be releasing a patch later this year to rectify that. Meanwhile to make Briefing Time ( and the DC3 and other third party aeroplanes} work in FSX and Vista complete with gauges etc. FSX needs to be set as compatible with Windows XP as follows:-1)Using Windows Explorer locate the file fsx.exe in C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesMicrosoft Flight Simulator X2)With the mouse right click on fsx.exe and select 'Properties'3)Select the Compatibility tab4)Tick the box against 'Run this program in compatibilty mode for' Windows XP (Service Pack 2)5)Click 'Apply' then 'OK'6)Again right click on fsx.exe and select 'Properties'7)Select the Compatibility tab8)This time select 'Show settings for all users' at the bottom of the dialog box9)Tick the box against 'Run this program in compatibilty mode for' Windows XP (Service Pack 2)10)Click 'Apply' then 'OK'Briefing Time should now work ok with no more crashes.It would be futile for Bill Rambow and his MAAM-Sim team to even consider Vista until the Microsoft patch is available.I hope this is helpful to you all, it certainly works for me.

[rambow 0]

Thanks for the tip, Leonard. We really appreciate when our customers give us a hand this way.Bill RambowMAAM-SIM http://www.fssupport.com/maam/hgrsm_blkani.gif

[Guest Leonard]

I've discovered more about FSX and Vista, all good news. I'm also sure that I have found the solution to the FSX crashes, yes I have experienced more crashes since my last post which determined me to find the answer. I now have the B-25J and the DC3 and all their variants flying and behaving better than ever. Pity though that FSX doesn't allow switching between virtual and 2d cockpits during flight, it has to be one or the other. FSX Service Pack 1 is now available for download from www.fsinsider.com and, among other things, makes FSX fully compatable with Vista. XP SP2 users should also instal this update. A second download is on the way (August 07?) to enable FSX to take full advantage of DirectX 10 which comes only with Vista. Vista is very security conscious and by default limits access to folders and files for all users including administrators. This is fine for networks but not for individual flight simmers. I have found that if a file, say panel.cfg, is altered after installation Vista won't allow the original file to be overwritten but instead silently writes the amended copy to a 'Virtual Store' folder deep in Appdata. The only message that appears on screen is 'Windows is unable to create the file'. The result is two different versions of the same file which confuse FSX and it crashes. The solution is to set the 'Permissions' to folders and files in FSX to 'Full Control'. To do this locate the main FSX folder in windows Explorer (default C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesFlight Simulator X). Right click the folder and select 'Properties'. Select the 'Securities' tab then click the 'Advanced' button. Select 'Users' then click the 'Edit' button. Make sure 'Apply to' reads 'this folder and all subfolders and files'. Check the 'Allow' box against 'Full Control' then click 'Apply'. Windows will then apply full control to all folders and files in FSX. Finally click 'OK' until back in Explorer. Everything will now work as it should. If the file fsx.exe was previously set for compatability with Windows XP this can now be cleared. It is advisable to re-instal B-25J and all its updates to ensure a clean installation. I am confident that Bill Rambow and his team should have no concerns over Vista. All their headaches will be with FSX. Happy flying.

[Dark Moment 0]

This is all very, very useful input, and thanks for taking the time to write down all your findings.Don't you just love Microsoft, and how they work in mysterious ways? This has been a tough progression for FS developers, for sure.That said, FSX with Vista and DirectX10 promises to be awesome, when we can all afford the gear to run it with sliders wound up.VC and 2D... you can change in flight, no problem. I have a switch configured on my quadrant for that, as I frequently fly from VC but prefer to revert to 2D for radio and instrument alterations; turbulence and head latency in the VC, not to mention the likes of TrackIR, making this very hard work otherwise! I am sure those who say they fly from the VC all the time never fly VFR in multiplayer; they are probably all sitting back letting their FMC do all the work! Anyway I ramble... the keyboard command for 2D > VC is F9 and VC > 2D is F10.MarkMark "Dark Moment" BeaumontVP Fleet, DC-3 AirwaysTeam Member, MAAM-SIM[a href=http://www.swiremariners.com/cx.html" target="_blank]http://www.paxship.com/avsimlogo.jpg[/a]

[Guest Leonard]

Many thanks for the tip, F9 and F10 works wonderfully - instant switch from one to the other, now I'm truly happy.So glad to be of help - there's life in the old dog yet!My real name, by the way, is Reg (reginald hence Dlaniger) Leonard Gray, age 76, in the UK. I have flown your planes through FS2002, 2004 and now X and love every minute. Keep up the good work.

[Guest pbt63]

I tried your compatable fix but it did not work. Toward the end of your instructions I found two boxes that say the following 1)Type-"Allow", Name-"System",Permission-"Full Control", Apply to-"Th1s folder and subfolders and files" 2) Name-"Aministrator (Peter-PC)Aministrator",Permission-"Full Control", Apply to- "This folder,subfolders and files". 2) I chose the 2 option and pressed "Ok" until back to in Explorer. Reinstalled the B-25 CD and upgrade. opened FSX, selected the B-25 and Fly now. the program crashed again. I will wait for your new computer and the new CD.Peter Tikoian

[Guest Leonard]

Hi PeterIt really does work, believe me, I have had no problems at all since changing the user permission to full control. Without this change I have found that even amendments to FSX default aircraft files cause FSX to crash.I am using Vista 32bit Home Premium edition and assume that this permissions business is the same for all editions, it doesn't make sense otherwise. Reading your post it seems that no change at all has resulted on your system from what you have done. I shall attempt to go through the stages I took step by step for you and hope you end up happy. In Windows Explorer find C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesFlight Simulator X Right click this folder and select Properties Select the Security tab 'Object name' at the top of the box should read C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesFlight Simulator X Under 'Group or User names' Should be a scrollable list as follows: (Peter-PC must be your computer name) CREATOR OWNER SYSTEM Administrator (Peter-PC/Administrator) Users (Peter-PC/Users) Trusted Installers the list will not necessarily be in that order There are 2 options here, both with the same end result:Option 1) Click the 'Edit' button immediately below. In the new 'Security' box that appears select 'Users (Peter-PC/Users)' from the list so that it is highlighted and then check the 'Allow' box against 'Full Control' so that it is ticked. All other 'Allow' boxes will also be ticked automatically.orOption 2) Click on the 'Advanced' button at the bottom of the box (I did this because only in the advanced box does it show whether it will be applied to 'This folder, subfolders and Files') then select 'Users (Peter-PC/Users)' from the list so that it is highlighted and click the 'Edit' button and check the 'Allow' box against 'Full Control' so that it is ticked. All other 'Allow' boxes will also be ticked automatically. The following is the same for both options:Click 'Apply' Wait while the system sets all FSX folders and files to full control - a progress box on screen shows that this is happening. When finished click 'OK' until back to Windows explorer. If you know your way around Explorer the culprit files in 'Virtual Store' can be deleted if only to recover disk space. To do this find C:Usersyour own user nameAppdataLocalVirtual StoreProgram FilesMicrosoft GamesMicrosoft Flight Simulator X. Right click this Microsoft Flight Simulator X folder and select 'Delete' Confirm that the folder and all its subfolders are to be deleted.They will then go to the Recycle Bin. When back to the Desktop right click the Recycle Bin Icon and empty it. Once again completely re-instal the B-25J and its updates.It should now be ready to fly. I do hope that this will now work for you too. Please let me know one way or the other or if anything behaves differently to the layout above. It all seems rather complicated but that's Microsoft for you.Happy flyingReg Gray

[Guest Leonard]

Hi PeterI have been having further thoughts since my last post and wonder if your user account has administrator status or is it standard?Although Vista gives administrators only limited access to folders and files an administrator account is needed to change the permissions to full control for all users including themselves.If you do have a standard user account yourself then you need the administrator, whoever that may be, to make the permissions changes for you under their logon.This is new to Windows and I can see it fooling a lot of people and causing a lot of frustration. I discovered what was happening to cause the FSX crashes while configuring Just Flight's FStraffic 2005 for FSX. This creates a new data file which was not where it should have been and the program was therefore ignoring it. I eventually traced it to the 'Virtual Store' in 'Appdata' and, lo and behold, there were all the updated files for the B-25J which I previously had no knowledge of.So you see not only FSX is affected if the user permissions are not changed but, I should imagine, any game where data files can be changed by the user.I hope this is of further help to you and to anybody else who may be reading it.Reg Gray