I don't believe this problem is related to FS9. It's something to do with Windows, maybe specifically Windows 7. Not sure if anyone has had this issue on other operating systems, I've only skimmed this thread. I run many games and found this same problem occurs on a very small portion of them. This change of behavior occurred at the same time to FS9 and the other games. Majority open fine, all programs open fine but FS along with a few games hang on launch. The first attempt does eventually get FS to the splash screen if you leave it long enough in my situation. Other games are the same, they simply launch much slower than they should. If you do a second click of the FS9.exe it'll open up the splash right away and then you will simply get an error message FS is already running once the first click you made actually launches. Obviously if you are closing the first launch attempt in task manager this message won't occur for you.

Game Explorer as mentioned by 32XX doesn't appear to be the problem, I already explored that avenue.

Have found no solution. I reinstalled some of the other games and found the problem games continue to hang, the behavior doesn't change with a new install.

 

Only one thing I haven't explored, Logitech software. Possibly at the same time I installed new Logitech software the problem surfaced. I haven't uninstalled the Logitech software to test because I use it and if it is causing the issue, I'd rather put up with the problem then lose the Logitech software.

I don't believe this problem is related to FS9. It's something to do with Windows, maybe specifically Windows 7.

 

Skywatcher, I agree. I gave the Game Explorer as an example of a known program which can commonly cause this issue, but there are many others. Please read the thread below which explains the issue and shows you how to troubleshoot your system and find the program which is causing your issue:

http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/ultimate-troubleshooting-guide-for-windows-7-hanging-issues/

Skywatcher, I agree. I gave the Game Explorer as an example of a known program which can commonly cause this issue, but there are many others. Please read the thread below which explains the issue and shows you how to troubleshoot your system and find the program which is causing your issue:

http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/ultimate-troubleshooting-guide-for-windows-7-hanging-issues/

Ok, thanks, I'll take a good look.

Found the issue! For whatever really odd reason, the Win10 upgrade notification update in the taskbar was causing the game hang. Initially, when it was first installed months ago through Windows Update the games ran fine. A while ago there was another update to the Win10 notification and that's when my games started to hang. I uninstalled the update which installed the Win10 upgrade notification in the taskbar and games are now opening as they should.

the Win10 upgrade notification update in the taskbar was causing the game hang

 

Thanks for the update Skywatcher, and great detective work! Can you tell us which windows update you deleted please?

Thanks for the update Skywatcher, and great detective work! Can you tell us which windows update you deleted please?

 

It's KB3035583

 

Dijvid

Found the issue! For whatever really odd reason, the Win10 upgrade notification update in the taskbar was causing the game hang. Initially, when it was first installed months ago through Windows Update the games ran fine. A while ago there was another update to the Win10 notification and that's when my games started to hang. I uninstalled the update which installed the Win10 upgrade notification in the taskbar and games are now opening as they should.

 

Sorry to rain on your parade but I don't think this is the definitive answer.

 

I have just checked my hard drive and there is no reference to the Win10 upgrade on it.  Also, I have checked my Windows updates and KB3035583, which is the Win10 update notification, is not installed.

 

As I said in an earlier post here I have SmartClose installed now.  If I run SmartClose then I get the double FS9.EXE start problem.  If I don't run it then I don't get the problem.  This only started when I installed SmartClose a couple of weeks ago.  I have no idea why this should be and I have no wish to become a Windows guru just to find out why.  It's just much easier and quicker to delete the first occurence of FS9.EXE and then go flying.

 

Dijvid

I have just checked my hard drive and there is no reference to the Win10 upgrade on it. Also, I have checked my Windows updates and KB3035583, which is the Win10 update notification, is not installed.

 

KB3035583 is the second update which replaces KB2952664, for WIN 8 it's KB2976978. But this is only one example of a program which can interrupt FS9.exe when launching, as you say on your system it is SmartClose, for others it is Windows Game Explorer. There will be more as everyone's set up is different in some way or other. The best way to check is to follow the steps in the guide here:

 

http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/ultimate-troubleshooting-guide-for-windows-7-hanging-issues/

KB3035583 is the second update which replaces KB2952664, for WIN 8 it's KB2976978. But this is only one example of a program which can interrupt FS9.exe when launching, as you say on your system it is SmartClose, for others it is Windows Game Explorer. There will be more as everyone's set up is different in some way or other. The best way to check is to follow the steps in the guide here:

 

http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/ultimate-troubleshooting-guide-for-windows-7-hanging-issues/

 

Many thanks for the info.  The link you quote seems to be all about Windows freezing which is not happening for me.

 

Dijvid

 

KB3035583 is the second update which replaces KB2952664, for WIN 8 it's KB2976978. But this is only one example of a program which can interrupt FS9.exe

 

Yes, exactly. It was the source of the problem on my system but certainly may not be the issue across all systems. I am completely certain it was the issue on my system. I looked at the link supplied by A32xx and I had already previously run through many of the selective startup options. To find the issue I ended up having to really narrow down all possible changes to my system the time the problem arose. The KB3035583 update was one possibility.

To find the problem I started my PC, ran the problem games, hang was there. I then did nothing other than uninstall the KB3035583 update and immediately test the games again. Hang gone!

Many thanks for the info.  The link you quote seems to be all about Windows freezing which is not happening for me.

 

Dijvid

 

Dijvid, A32xx's link I only had a quick look at but I know it does show how to do a selective startup in the first section. This can completely rule out certain software that may be causing problems. It's not just for Windows freezing and certainly may help find a game hang issue. Not sure what Smartclose is but assume it closes not required applications or something along those lines. Makes me think even more you should try the selective startup because your hang issue appears may be related to a program you have on your system.