XP10 demo hangs up on loading

[Jean-Jacques 120]

Ted,Thanks for the tip. I double-clicked the exe file about 15 minutes ago and the Task Manager confirms that 4 of the 8 cores (4 real, 4 virtual) are still active. At the bottom left of X-System's window just above the progress bar (which shows no progress!) I can read the following message: 'Will init world rendering'. Whether that's an indication that something's going on, I don't know, but I'll let it run for some time and report back.JJ

[TedG 1]

JJ.....did it load?

[Jean-Jacques 120]

Ted,Decided to let it run until I finished other work around the house this morning (I'm on Eastern Standard Time here). Just got back to the computer after 4 hours + ! . . . and it hadn't moved a tiny bit! So I gave it a fair chance and now will put together a short note on XP's forum if the system will let me do so considering I haven't bought anything yet. Thanks again Ted for your suggestions and in the meantime I welcome any other ideas I could try. If I can leave a comment on XP's forum and do get a response, I'll share it here with you and others.Regards,JJ

Edited January 15, 2012 by JJM

[eSimmer 10]

Ted,Decided to let it run until I finished other work around the house this morning (I'm on Eastern Standard Time here). Just got back to the computer after 4 hours + ! . . . and it hadn't moved a tiny bit! So I gave it a fair chance and now will put together a short note on XP's forum if the system will let me do so considering I haven't bought anything yet. Thanks again Ted for your suggestions and in the meantime I welcome any other ideas I could try. If I can leave a comment on XP's forum and do get a response, I'll share it here with you and others.Regards,JJ

The one thing you did not state is where - DRIVE C-D..-- you have it installed. If you placed it in the Program files Program files(86) folder,You may need to change the "permissions" for the X-Plane folder. In other words there may be a UAC problem.

[eSimmer 10]

I'm waiting on some parts coming on a slow boat from china...I know EXACTLY what you mean

Hi Aaron,has that slow boat docked yet? And if it has how are things proceeding?

[TedG 1]

I'm sorry my little experience didn't help you out.Perhaps try asking at the .org site? They can be quite helpful and you may get more exposure.Also a direct query to LR...make sure you include full details of your system etc.

[Jean-Jacques 120]

The one thing you did not state is where - DRIVE C-D..-- you have it installed. If you placed it in the Program files Program files(86) folder,You may need to change the "permissions" for the X-Plane folder. In other words there may be a UAC problem.

Hi,I installed the demo on drive D, same drive as MS FSX, and despite having UAC off, I did check the permissions. The folder and files are shared. As a follow-up to my last post, I did contact info@x-plane.com and did get a response, in fact more than one. As promised, I'm sharing my exchange with X-Plane Customer Support in another post.Many thanks,JJ

[Jean-Jacques 120]

I'm sorry my little experience didn't help you out.Perhaps try asking at the .org site? They can be quite helpful and you may get more exposure.Also a direct query to LR...make sure you include full details of your system etc.

Thank you Ted for attempting to help me out. I did contact Support and got a few responses which I want to share with everyone as promised:JJ to SupportHi,On three separate occasions, I downloaded the XP10 demo and on all three occasions I couldn't get it to run. After executing the application, it just hangs forever! Here are a few facts and steps taken by me to try to remedy the situation:1 The progress bar in the lower left corner of the application screen does not move even after several hours;2 Just above the progress bar, I can read the following: Will init world rendering;3 I tried updating the demo (using the proper tool) which reported that all files were up-to-date;4 The last download of the Demo was done with both Norton's firewall and antivirus OFF;5 Advice sought on AVSIM's forum dedicated to X Plane suggested to check, using the Task Manager, that the cores are in use while launching the demo and that if they were, then let the application run. My last try lasted for 4 hours then gave up.As suggested on your web site, I've reviewed the User Manual for any tips, I checked to ensure that the Demo was up-to-date and I updated my graphics card driver to the latest release for the card. I'm at a loss as what to do next. Do you have advice for me? If specs help, I run W7 Ultimate 64, i7 965 @ 3.20 (Turbo at 3.46 I believe), GTX 260 with latest driver (285.62), and 12GB RAM.Thank you,Reply from SupportJean-Jacques, looks like you have done your homework. The only other things I can think of is your being in Administrator mode, you are trying to install to the Desktop or Volumes or an external drive, you are connected to broadband internet of course (the Demo is 3.3 gb and took me over an hour on a 21 mbit broadband to download), you have security settings low enough to allow a "program" to be installed outside the Program Files folder and that it writes back into itself. Please attach to each email the log.txt file from the Installer folder when the crash/hang happens. See the X-Plane 10 user manual at http://www.x-plane.com/files/manuals/X-Plane_10_Desktop_manual.pdf and also the latest user manual supplemental tips attached.Jack OliphantX-Plane Customer SupportJJ to SupportThanks for your prompt response.I’m responding to your note with additional information in the hope that you could identify something which I haven’t tried:(1) UAC is off;(2) I hadn’t mentioned this in my note but Matrox’s PowerDesk is in triple-monitor mode at 5040 x1050 but I tried the Demo at a single-monitor mode at 1680 x 1050 which didn’t make any difference;(3) XP Demo is installed on disk D alongside MS FSX. So there shouldn’t be any write-back issue.I’ve attached the log file which might reveal something that might help. Also I’ve checked the XPlane User Manual for any tips and the supplemental tips attached to your reply.Regards,Reply from SupportLooks like about the only thing not tried is make sure your video driver is updated to the latest version. Then, if that does not improve things go back one or two revisions of the video card driver from nVidia to see if that solves the problem. We are seeing numerous failures from the current set of nVidia drivers due to bugs.Please continue to attach to each email the log.txt files from the main X-Plane folder.See the X-Plane 10 user manual at http://www.x-plane.com/files/manuals/X-Plane_10_Desktop_manual.pdf and also the latest user manual supplemental tips attached.Jack OliphantX-Plane Customer Support913 269-0976________________________________________________End of exchange with Support_____________________________________________Regarding going back to previous graphic card drivers, I did go back to the one previous to the present driver and this made no difference. I don't think I will persue trying to go back further. If X-Plane's demo won't work with what I've got, then I'll wait until what needs fixing is fixed and once I've tried the demo, then and only then will I consider purchasing.Thank you all for your help.Regards,JJ

[Jean-Jacques 120]

If anyone has been following this thread, here's an update.JJ to Support (Jack Oliphant)Thank you for your last note. I have reviewed the two documents you provided (Video Card Questions and V10 X-Plane Installation) and couldn’t find anything in them that would cause the Demo to fail to start. My video card seems to be acceptable and I’ve applied the recommended setting to the XP 10 executable to run with ‘Disable desktop composition’ activated (box checked). Since your last note, I’ve also tried to update the Demo using X-Plane10UpdaterWindows with negative results. As a second option, I deleted the Demo file and downloaded a copy of X-Plane 10.04 Beta using X-Plane10DemoInstallerWindows. The Demo continues to fail to start. For what it’s worth, I run FSX with such addons as REX, GEX, PNW, UTX and reasonable complex aircraft at an FPS rate above 25. Based on that fact, I doubt that the Demo’s refusal to start is connected with insufficient computer capacity. Do you have other ideas for me to try? I’ve attached a copy of the log.txt file.Support (Randy Witt) to JJThanks for writing back in, Sir. I agree with you, your machine is just fine. You're running into a known bug w/ the drivers for that video card and n'Videa is supposedly working on this. We're also working to develop a work-around on our end and I think we might beat them to it. In any case, unfortunately your only real option here is to wait for us or them to fix this, thus try updated video drivers when they come out and manually go to 'x-plane.com' periodically and run the updater to see if anything is new on our end. I wish I had something better for you, Sir. Please let me know if you need anything else and I'll be happy to assist.Regards,JJ

[wb5okj 26]

For what its worth JJ I run an nVidia GTX 560 using drivers WHQL 285.62 and runs excellent. i just don't use the high end shadows, only go as high as the 3d on aircraft, although I usually run overlay or even static, as shadows aren't that important to me anyway. If I get up into the really high end global shadows,(melt our gpu type), then I get artifacts.

[TedG 1]

The trouble for JJ is that it will not actually load the sim completely to where he can adjust those settings.On the plus side LR has at least acknowledged the issue and appear to be working towards a solution.I am still waiting for the next 32b nVidia drivers for my GTX550 Ti. But at least I can get XPX loaded and running.

[Jean-Jacques 120]

Don,I'm also using 285.62 and with FSX, runs just fine. I continue to be hopeful that either LR or nVidia will find a solution but I think the issue may be related to the fact that my card is 'old' in computer terms (GTX 260) and newer drivers probably tend to focus on 'newer' technology (and upgrading to the latest card also means installing a more powerful powerpack which to me is not a financial issue but rather a lack-of-knowledge issue - I suspect there's more to it than simply removing the card and powerpack and inserting the new hardware!).JJ

[wb5okj 26]

Don,I'm also using 285.62 and with FSX, runs just fine. I continue to be hopeful that either LR or nVidia will find a solution but I think the issue may be related to the fact that my card is 'old' in computer terms (GTX 260) and newer drivers probably tend to focus on 'newer' technology (and upgrading to the latest card also means installing a more powerful powerpack which to me is not a financial issue but rather a lack-of-knowledge issue - I suspect there's more to it than simply removing the card and powerpack and inserting the new hardware!).JJ

I understand your dilemma. I upgraded from a GTS250 to this GTX 560 and it takes two 12 volt connectors. Fortunately i had a spare 12 volt connection available, but I was a bit anxious at first. I thought I might have to buy a multimeter to find the extra 12 volts, but things turned out ok.My 250 was running XPlane ok though, I didn't have any trouble downloading with it.