Strange GTN750 Configuration Panel Problem (resolved)

[ark 1,288]

In P3Dv4.4, I see the following:

1. I load the default Baron58, open the GTN750 popup, and then open the GTN Configuration Panel, make a change, save the panel, close the GTN750.

2. Select a new a/c like the Carenado Commander 114, open the GTN750, then open the Configuration Panel, but the panel is still labeled as the Baron58 panel, and if I make a change it is in fact the Baron50 GTN ini file that gets changed.

If after restarting the sim I reverse the above sequence and start with the Carenado Commander 114 and then switch to the Baron 58, when I open the Baron's Configuration Panel what I get is the Commander 114's configuration panel, so the same type of problem.

Is anyone else seeing this or do I perhaps have a system problem of some type?

Thx,

Al

Edited March 9, 2019 by ark

[RXP 2,336]

Hi,

I'll cross check this right now, I was about to release the next update... We've changed a number of things around the 'settings' for the update which might also fix this.

[ark 1,288]

10 minutes ago, RXP said:

Hi,

I'll cross check this right now, I was about to release the next update... We've changed a number of things around the 'settings' for the update which might also fix this.

OK, thanks very much for looking into it. It seems to be a general problem not related to particular aircraft, at least on my system.

Al

[RXP 2,336]

Hi,

v2.5.14 is just released and we weren't able to repro. However the new update also solves a more general problem related to some settings not 'reset' when changing aircraft, which may be related to the issue you are reporting in the end.

[ark 1,288]

1 hour ago, RXP said:

Hi,

v2.5.14 is just released and we weren't able to repro. However the new update also solves a more general problem related to some settings not 'reset' when changing aircraft, which may be related to the issue you are reporting in the end.

Installed v2.5.14 but unfortunately still have the same problem. If I use the 2D configuration popup, then close it and immediately load a different plane (without restarting the sim), then when I open the 2D configuration popup for the new plane it is still the 'old' plane's configuration panel.

I don't see this problem in FSX, only P3D4.4.

If no one else is seeing this I assume it is some strange problem on my system.  I do appreciate you having looked into it.

Al

Edited March 10, 2019 by ark

[RXP 2,336]

This is most peculiar. What is the hint on the panel which tells you it is other aircraft config being still edited?

[ark 1,288]

10 minutes ago, RXP said:

This is most peculiar. What is the hint on the panel which tells you it is other aircraft config being still edited?

At the top of the 2D configuration panel window it gives the path to the RXP ini file which includes the aircraft folder. And if I make a change, that is in fact the ini file that gets changed. I checked this in FSX and it worked correctly, so it seems to just be a P3Dv4.4 problem on my computer. It would seem something is not getting updated when changing the aircraft using the P3D drop down Vehicle\Select... menu option.

Al

[RXP 2,336]

Which is weird: when changing aircraft, FltSim completely unloads all the gauges (they are DLL), then loads all the new gauges even though both panels are using the same gauges. In other words: once our GTN unloads it just unloads. When the GTN re-loads, it starts anew.

Are you talking actually about the Configuration Panel ( Device Options, Gauge Options etc..) or the Panel Assistant (Add/Remove GTN to the panel) ?

[ark 1,288]

After loading the Baron58 and opening and closing the 2D GTN configuration popup, and then selecting the AC11Commander114 using the P3D Vehicle Selection menu as described above, here is what I see when I try to open the AC11Commander114 2D configuration popup:

Click on the picture to enlarge it and note it says beech_baron_58 as part of the file path at the top of the configuration window.

Al

Edited March 11, 2019 by ark

[ark 1,288]

I also sometimes have problems which might be related to the one above.

I make a change with the 2D configuration popup, but it does not take effect. That is,  I make a change with the GTN configuration popup, close the 2D window (save the change) and then immediately reopen the 2D popup and find that the change did not take effect. If I then check the RealityXP.GTN.ini file I can see the change did not happen there either.

So if the 2D configuration popup reads the RealityXP.GTN.ini file each time when opened (popped up) I can see why it shows no change -- the ini file never got updated. So it seems that for some reason the ini file in the aircraft folder is not getting updated when the 2D popup is closed.

Also, I use a single GTN750 and often find that for some reason it is no longer listed as the Master Device in the GTN ini file (MasterDevice = false). If I try to edit the ini file directly (because the 2D configuration popup doesn't work) I find the change I made does not work (stick) unless I make the change when the subject aircraft is NOT loaded into the sim.

I wonder if when an aircraft is loaded into the sim if perhaps the sim loads and uses a working copy of the ini file rather then directly using and updating the ini file in the aircraft folder? So any text editor ini file changes do not take effect until the next time the aircraft is loaded into the sim? 

I'm reporting all this just in case something might be a clue to what is causing these problems. I'm using Reality XP version 2.5.14.

Al

 

 

Edited March 11, 2019 by ark

[RXP 2,336]

Let's try to find out what is causing this.

Can you please review both panel.cfg files and make sure there isn't any other GTN gauge configured but not visible (whether a popup window left hidden/closed or a VC gauge set somewhere) which might account for the 'Master Device' setting reseting somehow? (although I fail to see why this would do this).

Can you also try the same but using just stock aircraft, B58 and Mooney for example?

Otherwise, the only reason this could happen is the gauge DLL isn't unloaded when changing aircraft on your system, and for some reasons, P3D4 would just be fine finding out the DLL is still loaded and it would just re-use the existing one (although I doubt it). Could it be the gauge DLL file (rxpGTN.dll) was added to the P4D4 DLL.xml file and gets loaded with the simulator instead of with the aircraft?

You can cross check whether it gets unloaded 'easily':

1. Load a GTN aircraft
2. Open the settings panel (just for the sake of reproducing)
3. Close the panel and load a non-GTN aircraft
4. Open Process Explorer (link below)
5. Locate P3D4 process and select it in the list (not double clicking, just selecting)
6. In Process Explorer menus select View Lower pane - Show DLLs
7. See if there is any rxpGTN.dll still loaded in the process (there should be only rxpGTN_menu.dll which is the one behind the add-on menu and expected)

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

 

[ark 1,288]

6 hours ago, RXP said:

Let's try to find out what is causing this.

I loaded the Baron 58 and opened and closed the GTN 2D configuration window. I then used the P3D Vehicle select menu to load the Alabeo Extra which does not have any GPS at all. I then ran Process Explorer.  Since I'm not familiar with this program I thought it best to just show what I found below. If I used the program correctly, it does appear there is a rxpGTn.dll loaded. If I did something wrong just point me in the right direction and I will try again.

Al

[RXP 2,336]

Indeed there is and it shouldn't, this might explain why it is behaving like you describe: when loading another aircraft, P3D4 will find the gauge already loaded in memory and use it.

The only reason I see this happening for now is your DLL.xml file is referencing the rxpGTN.dll gauge file, as-if it were a 'module' you'd load with the sim.

If you load the sim with the Alabeo Extra directly, is the DLL still showing?

If it does, this means it gets loaded with P3D4 automatically regardless of the aircraft panel.

If it doesn't this means there is something preventing the gauge DLL to unload with the aircraft and this is usually because of anti-virus keeping a lock on the files.

Edited March 11, 2019 by RXP

[ark 1,288]

50 minutes ago, RXP said:

Indeed there is and it shouldn't, this might explain why it is behaving like you describe: when loading another aircraft, P3D4 will find the gauge already loaded in memory and use it.

The only reason I see this happening for now is your DLL.xml file is referencing the rxpGTN.dll gauge file, as-if it were a 'module' you'd load with the sim.

If you load the sim with the Alabeo Extra directly, is the DLL still showing?

If it does, this means it gets loaded with P3D4 automatically regardless of the aircraft panel.

If it doesn't this means there is something preventing the gauge DLL to unload with the aircraft and this is usually because of anti-virus keeping a lock on the files.

If I load the Alabeo Extra directly after starting the sim, the rxpGTN.dll is not loaded according to Process Explorer.

Next I turned off Windows Defender (my only antivirus), restarted the sim and went through the same Beech Baron 58 - Mooney Bravo experiment as above, and unfortunately the problem still persists -- still had the wrong 2D GTN configuration popup when I switched planes.

Al

 

Edited March 11, 2019 by ark

[RXP 2,336]

Thank you, this would confirm something makes it stuck in memory.

Can you please then download this application and let me know whether there is any entry which might explain this:

https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/app_crash_view.html