"Simulator's Install Folder is Undefined" problem

[jrw4 624]

Well, I feel kind of dumb, but I had no luck trying to install the demo version, as I got stuck on the first step.

 

--Read the FAQ and getting started guide

--OpusFSX folder on C drive

--FSX on the K drive in the "FSX Program" folder

--Windows 7

--Set sharing and security to "Everyone"

 

Usual error on attempting to start FSXSERVER.EXE.

 

One possible anomaly: when I run FSXCLIENT, I can set the Installation folder with no problem. The Mode of Operation is set to NETWORKED CLIENT even though I'm running this on the same machine as FSX. Not clear to me how to change this....

 

Thanks for any insights in advance.

 

John

[Opus Software 84]

No need to run the FSXCLIENT program, its not needed.

 

As far as the error is concerned, its nothing more than a warning as stated in the dialog. So without running the sim, run FSXSERVER, close the warning dialog, wait for the FSXSERVER program form to appear on the screen, open its Configure Dialog, specify the FSX sim type, browse and identify your FSX install folder, then close the dialog and restart the FSXSERVER program.

 

I assume you have set the sharing on both C and K with share names C and K. Also set the sharing permissions AND security permissions on both drives and checked your FSX folder. The usual Everyone group added with full control.

 

Then you should be ok.

 

Stephen :-)

 

Simulator's Installation Folder, Unable to access the installation folder...

 

Opus tries to copy the OpusWeather.WT weather file into the FSX\Weather\themes (or Prepar3D\Weather\themes) folder and will display this error message if it cannot do this.

 

If you see the above error message then it is essential that you check your installation folder is specified correctly in the Configuration dialog. Try reconfiguring the sim location again.

 

Also check your sharing and permissions, it is important to set permissions as well as sharing as described in the OpusFSI Getting Started guide or OpusFSX Getting Started guide.

 

Make sure you are not running an AV program or have anything else that will block the FSXSERVERs program's access to the sims folder and sub folders.

 

Stephen

[jrw4 624]

Thank you. I prefer not to run my Windows machine with no anti-virus protection, and with security settings that allow everyone access to all drives.

 

Best wishes,

 

John

[Opus Software 84]

It makes absolutely no difference and the security is totally irrelevant !

 

So fine. But with Windows Firewall your computer is perfectly safe. The Everyone Full Control matters Not, not a jot, it makes NO difference to your Internet security whilst simming, nor does stopping the AV whilst using the sim ... It does nothing !

 

In fact you should never run an AV with the sim as all it does is drain resources and CPU time. Remember you are NOT browsing or answering emails etc. so what's the problem. I do it almost 24/7 and my dev system is important from a business point of view. We also install hundreds of RTUs all around the UK with nothing more than Windows Firewall and they are on line 24/7 all year round. Same set up as OpusFSX, never any problems of course. Everyone in the know would know that.

 

But if you think it matters then so be it.

 

Stephen

 

You must realise you are not, or should not be doing, anything that warrants running an AV program whilst you are running Opus or simming. Firewall is all you need and I would strongly advise you shutdown the AV as it will be draining your precious resources, blocking essential access, and generally interfering with you sim experience.

 

Stephen

[Opus Software 84]

One other idea, if you do have a networked system then you must have FSX installed on each PC, when configuring the opus server do not try to identify a copy of FSX on another networked computer.

 

Cheryl

Another consideration, if FSX is installed in Program Files the operating system sets permissions for this folder which creates problems with sharing. Far better to have FSX in its own folder.

 

Cheryl

[jrw4 624]

Cheryl,

 

Thanks for your suggestions. This is a non-networked system. FSX is installed on its own partition, not in Program Files.

 

Just for the record and in the interest of comparing notes, I run Bitdefender as my AV. It makes specific provision for running games like FSX in Game Mode, which it automatically starts when FSX is opened. I also exclude AV protection when any files are executed out of the FSX folder. I cannot discern any difference between running in this way and when running with AV turned off using an extensive set of aircraft, scenery, weather, and scenery add-ons.

 

As it turns out, I do access the web for a variety of reasons while sim flying to access maps and charts, for example, The extent to which this might or might not make one vulnerable to attack is beyond my limited expertise. 

 

Thanks to you both for your responses.

 

John

[Opus Software 84]

Firewall is the main protection you need when only accessing known sites and no emails.

 

Have you followed my advice above regarding configuring your FSXSERVER program.

 

Can you show me or confirm to me what you have configured into the FSXSERVER for your FSX folders location, assuming FSX sim type is selected.

 

If you have configured the correct location for your FSX sim then there is obviously something blocking the FSXSERVER program from copying its file into the FSX folder. This is most likely your AV program.

 

Stephen :-)

 

Of course I am assuming you have stepped through the GS Guide and set the sharing, sharing permissions, and security permissions for your FSX install drive and folder. It will not work without you allowing access by these steps. The AV or your Firewall can of course still block access. But the sharing and permissions with the Everyone user group added are needed. All you are telling the computer is you are happy and want yourself and any of your software to be able to access the FSX folder. That gives permission to the FSXSERVER program within Windows, it has no effect in Internet security.

 

I access the web many times during the day and still with no AV active. I only run the AV to undertake a virus scan every couple of weeks and any time I'm generally browsing the web for information or goods. I only use web mail as well and bin all dodgy emails and emails asking me to navigate anywhere. I have always worked this way since Windows 7 and I've never had a virus even with the computer online all day long.

 

Stephen

 

You may of course need to turn the AV off even if its just to make sure its not blocking access. I am assuming again you have configured the FSXSERVER correctly and performed all sharing and permissions actions.

[jrw4 624]

Thank you Stephen. I got as far as setting the sharing and security on my FSX partition as indicated in the quickstart guide. That's when I got confused and posted here. I did not configure the FSXSERVER because it immediately issued the error message referred to in my original posting and then died. I did run FSXCLIENT, but your response indicated that this wasn't necessary.

 

Thanks,too, for the excellent response. I was hoping that OPUSFSX would simplify my FSX experience (which involves ASN and EZDOC, the latter being particularly annoying), but I'm not sufficiently competent or comfortable with Windows sharing or security to feel confident making the required changes and modifications. Perhaps one day either I will get smarter or the installation process less complex and we'll try again.

 

I have uninstalled the demo version. Many thanks for making it available for testing. 

 

John

[Opus Software 84]

You can usually get up and running within a few seconds, just select the radio button for the sim type and browse to the sim installation folder, most of the time there is no need to do anything else. On some systems it is necessary to set sharing and security on the FSX\Weather\themes (or Prepar3D\Weather\themes) folder, and on certain systems it is necessary to set sharing and security on the whole drive.

 

Also check the sharing name for drive K where you have the sim installed and make sure it is shared as K and not any other name such as 'drive K'.

 

You could also delete the sim installation path you have entered and rebrowse in case there is a funny character in there or it has been corrupted somehow.

 

If you could post a screenshot perhaps we would spot what the problem is.

 

Might be worth another try...

 

Cheryl :smile:

[levada 1]

You must realise you are not, or should not be doing, anything that warrants running an AV program whilst you are running Opus or simming. Firewall is all you need and I would strongly advise you shutdown the AV as it will be draining your precious resources, blocking essential access, and generally interfering with you sim experience.

 

Stephen

 

One should never shut down the AV, but just use an "Exclude" to ignore the FSX folder and a good AV never blocks essential access, if it does then you should seriously consider a better AV and your common suggestion to turn off UAC is also not needed if you truly understand how Windows works and how to deal with UAC issues, but heck... what do I know as an IT guy for 26 years for the world's second largest company in their market.

[Opus Software 84]

All AV programs can generally reduce the performance of the sim which as we all know is something we are all trying to improve in our endless search to squeeze every last drop of performance out of our flight sim software and systems.

 

26 years of IT, quite a newbie then :-) ... 36+ years of software and systems design and development, and still counting ... Also for large companies :-)

 

Stephen :-)

[Opus Software 84]

AV Software ...

 

"Antivirus software is important on Windows, but it can slow down your computer. The on-access scanning that protects you from malware means your antivirus has to scan every file you access before it actually opens."

 

Unless you know how to configure your AV software so that it suspends all such scanning and background processing, processes which won't be serving any purpose when simply flying the sim, then I recommend to disable the AV program when running the sim. By all means re-enable it before checking and answering emails, surfing the web, shopping etc.. Again this is only my personal advice, you should do what you feel is best whilst running the flight simulator. :-)

 

Windows UAC ...

 

"User Account Control (UAC) is a feature in Windows that can help you stay in control of your computer by informing you when a program makes a change that requires administrator-level permission. UAC works by adjusting the permission level of your user account. If you’re doing tasks that can be done as a standard user, such as reading e‑mail, listening to music, or creating documents, you have the permissions of a standard user—even if you’re logged on as an administrator."

 

"Despite being an important innovation, whomever developed UAC has not considered “the other side of the coin” since UAC blocks lots of other software that we install on our machines. It will also block apps we know to be secure and trustworthy, which gets annoying quickly, specially if those apps are used often."

 

Again, my personal opinion ... But you do not need UAC active whilst flight simming. Personally I've always found the Windows Firewall to be perfectly adequate and always disable UAC on every system, but that's only my personal choice. If you feel you need such supervision and safeguards then by all means use it.

 

Stephen :-)

 

P.S.

 

If you choose to use UAC and leave your AV software active then it's up to you to configure your system to ensure such security features do not have any adverse effect on your sim or Addon software. If it's blocking file or Internet access and downloads, or slowing down your sim then you should configure it to prevent this. In such cases, there's nothing I can do to help or offer advice on.

 

Stephen :-)