Hi,

I recently downloaded the Pilot2ATC v2.6.2.0_x64 Update from the web site.  I installed it over the top of the previous version per the instructions.

Since when, I'm finding Pilot2ATC very slow.  In particular, the load time from initial start to a map showing is 6.5 minutes - this is repeatable.  Once loaded, the responsiveness is also considerably slower than with previous versions.

I'm running Pilto2ATC on a Windows 10 64-bit machine with 32GB RAM.  CPU not the fastest (Intel Core i7 5820K @ 3.30GHz, 6 cores), but the graphics card is better (GeForce RTX 2060 Super).  X-Plane 11.51 runs fine for the most part.

Previous versions of Pilot2ATC loaded in about a minute so I feel there is something amiss in my installation of the latest.  Any tips to get it  back to fighting fit form will be much appreciated.

Thank you.

You should try downloading the full version of the program, including the data.  Then delete the current installation folder....DO NOT UNINSTALL.  Then install the full version.  That will give you a fresh start with both code and data.

Dave

Thank you.  I'll give that a go.

By not uninstalling, will my Configuration settings be available once I point to the newly downloaded instance?  Things like Voices for each stage, PTT button assignment etc?  If not, can I export those first and import to the new?

Thanks

Your settings will be available as long as you install on the same PC while you are logged in as the same PC User.

Dave

I've done as you suggested.  I'm afraid the load time is about the same: 6 minutes 25 seconds from double-click (to start) to having the full UI displayed.

As you promised, the settings have been retained.

I notice the previous version, which is in the Recycle Bin) weighs in at nearly 3 GB.  The new installation is only 492 MB.  Perhaps this is due to Navigraph updates and me having Pilot2ATC update taxiways and stands at custom airports that I've added.

Still, the problem of a long load time remains.  If required, I could give you timings at 20%, 40% etc.

I also notice it takes about 30 seconds to load a flight plan with 8 entries in it, including departure and destination end points.  Is this about what you'd expect?

I hope we can get this resolved.  Do say what I could do to test the start-up process.  I would attach the recent logs and settings files but can't see an option to do that. So here's the most recent log, after starting P2A the second time after the fresh installation.

Many thanks

Program StartedPilot 2 ATC (P2A) - version 2.6.2.0_x64  02/09/2021 18:03:23
Trying to create DB_Dyno.
DB_Dyno created successfully.
Init 15% done.
Trying to create DB_Base.
DB_Base created successfully.
Application frmP2AMain starting 02/09/2021 18:09:29
Loading Joystick Devices - 2 devices loaded.
Loading Form
Main form opened: Pilot2ATC 2020 v. 2.6.2.0_x64      Navigraph - AIRAC cycle: 1801
Loading Joystick Devices - 2 devices loaded.
Loading Joystick Devices - 2 devices loaded.
Loading Joystick Devices - 2 devices loaded.
Loading Joystick Devices - 2 devices loaded.
Joystick Device number 0 successfully activated.
Loading Map Control
LoadMapControl: panel 1
Creating ucMap1
SQLiteVersion: 3.8.11.1 | 2015-07-29 20:00:57 cf538e2783e468bbc25e7cb2a9ee64d3e0e80b2f | INTEROP_CODEC INTEROP_EXTENSION_FUNCTIONS INTEROP_VIRTUAL_TABLE NET_40 PRELOAD_NATIVE_LIBRARY THROW_ON_DISPOSED TRACE TRACE_PRELOAD TRACE_SHARED TRACE_WARNING USE_PREPARE_V2 WINDOWS
ucMap1 Created
ucMap DockFill set.
Setting Map Mode
Done Loading Map Control
Loading FPL Control
FPL Control Loaded
Retrieving weather from web successful at 02/09/2021 18:09:38
Retrieving TAF from web successful at 02/09/2021 18:09:39
 GPS FlightPlan Changed - 02/09/2021 18:10:48
NewGPSWpt: MCT DME-2
NewGPSWpt: MCT DME-2
Retrieving weather from web successful at 02/09/2021 18:24:43
Retrieving TAF from web successful at 02/09/2021 18:24:44
 

I can see it's taking 6 min and 26 sec to load.  That is all disk intensive work pulling data into memory and normally would take at most about a minute.  So I would check the Disk usage in Windows Task Mgr before, during and after loading and see if it's hitting and staying near 100%.  

Also, note CPU and Memory Usage.  If Memory is pegging and staying high after loaded, then you may need more memory.

Dave

Hi,

Loading P2A from scratch and monitoring Task Manager before, during and after the load doesn't shed any light.  The only user programs running were P2A and Chrome browser.

For the whole system, CPU stayed at about 13%, memory at 25% and Disk at 1% (mostly at 0%).  The P2A contributions were around 7% for the CPU, about 1.8GB of memory and disk usage of 0.3%. Slight variations during the load but nothing dramatic.

I do have 32GB of RAM on this system (and a further 8GB on the graphics card) so I can't imagine there's a slowdown due to memory.  The disk usage figures reported by Task Manager don't suggest to me that that is the bottleneck either.

Meanwhile X-Plane itself (v11.51) is working well, even with several add-ons and custom scenery loaded.  Reasonable FPS, though I can see my CPU needs an upgrade at some point.

I appreciate that you can't diagnose the problems introduced by each user's PC.  But as far as I can see, mine is working as expected.  I've had P2A installed for a while; didn't have problems with performance until this latest version.

Anything else you can suggest to troubleshoot?  Many thanks

The only thing I can think of to try is to uninstall P2A and start totally fresh.  The only thing that happens during load is the reading of the data to get it into memory from multiple databases.

If you want to save changes to taxiways, then backup the P2ABaseData.mdf file along with the P2ABaseData_log.ldf file.

To save settings, backup the AppConfig.xml file located at 

c:\users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\P2A_200\Settings\AppConfig.xml

where <UserName> is your PC user name.  

Dave

 

I tried turning off protection in Acronis True Image 2021.  Then launched P2A and the UI loaded in under a minute.  So the blame lies with ATI, despite having set an exclusion for the P2A folder.

How annoying; I'll have to revert back to using Bitdefender or something.  So sorry to have wasted your time on this.  I think I'll stick with the fresh database and redo the taxiways etc as the need arises.

Thank you