RUNTIME ERROR issue

[lineman55]

Hi Alyn,
I have updated to ver 309 with XP sp2 and everything runs great...for awhile anyway.
Out of the blue Phidgets pops up a window displaying this:

RUNTIME ERROR -2147418113(8000FFFFY)
METHOD ~ OF OBJECT ~ FAILED

I then have to restart Phidgets and everything's ok again ..could be 30 min or never again.
I did find that my inner and middle markers were "DISABLED" (outer marker ok) and I would then ENABLE " them and save and things will work ok ,even the LED test light would show all lights ok.Values 0=off 1=on

I had a problem with the Phidgets .dll in my modules folder because FS would pop up a screen asking to load this object or aircraft everytime the splash screen presented itself.Its seemed like it didnt like it during bootup.
I removed it from FS FOR THE TIME BEING and it stopped complaining.


My original issue with the RUNTIME ERROR did this before I moved the DLL file and even after I moved it.
I thought I would mention it

So any ideas?

Regards
James

[alandyer]

James,

Definitely is a problem.
You should really update to 3.1.0, or better yet, 3.1.1
This version has Microsoft patch applied that takes care of some known VB6 bugs.
Hopefully this will help.

You don't want to install phidgets.dll in your modules folder.
Always a safe bet installing software in its default folder.
Keeps everything ship-shape.
Any compelling reason why you want phidgets.dll in FS modules folder ?

Regards,
Alan.

[lineman55]

To be honest with you..I dont know how it ended there.. :o I had been having trouble after the upgrade ver and then found out I needed to get XP SP2 to make it work..which it did.I had been moving some files around and inadvertantly
moved this one and forgot where it was supposed to go..seeing the modual folder
held so many anyway..you can guess the rest.
I will upgrade my version..and where should this .dll file go? :)

Thanks Alyn
By the way..the version I have now is soo much better to work with!! Thanks for the excellent software support!

[alandyer]

James,

Here's what I would recommend.
Uninstall phidgets.dll using phidgets.msi you currently have.
You may need to manually delete phidgets.dll

Download latest phidgets.msi and re-install using default folders.

Regards,
Alan.

[lineman55]

Alyn,If I do that It wont destroy my settings will they?
Just delete the Phidgets.dll file (no problem..its on my desktop )
Download the the Phidgets.msi
Download the the latest vers311 and overwrite?

Im sorry If I sound a bit confused here..my setup us working perfect now and I dont want to disrupt it.
What file should I be the most carefull with or protect when deleting or overwriting ..?

Thanks again
James

[alandyer]

I agree, if its all working then why touch it, right ?

[lineman55]

Ok Alyn,
I reinstalled with the default folders and I still get the Runtime error " just out of the blue" when in flight and then I have to restart Phidgets.
Im my variables list I have the following:
Phidgets.ini
FS2PHUIPC.INI
FS2PHUIPC311.INI
pm systems.ini

I did get an error "0" once.

Regards
James

[alandyer]

James,

What version are you running now ?

Regards,
Alan.

[alandyer]

Are you running FS2Phidgets on same PC as Flight Sim ?

[lineman55]

Yes, it is on the same PC as FS2004... The variable that works is the FS2PHUIPC.INI
This has all of my existing assignments.Is there one too many?

I did read on your PDF manual that it is recemended to run on its own PC.Is this mandatory or just suggested because of CPU usage with FS?
tHANKS
James

[alandyer]

James,

Most sims run FS, PM products and FS2Phidgets on seperate boxes.
You may notice that Project Magenta makes same recommendation even though their processes do not eat many CPU cycles or require much memory.

Bear in mind there is also FSUIPC thrown into mix.

I have run on single PC, but not for any great length of time.

How much run time are we talking about before you have to re-start ?

Alan.

[alandyer]

I didn't address your question.
No, it not mandatory. Only recommended.

[lineman55]

It could be as much as 15min..or sometimes 30 and without warning until you realize you no longer have throttle control.flaps, leds. :)
sometimes you get the dreaded DONG! sound letting you know it crashed or no sound at all (with no control of course)

Regards
James

[alandyer]

I would recommend packing a parachute for your next flight.

Does MS-FS continue operating after "the dreaded dong" ?

[lineman55]

parachutes packed...:) ;)

Yes FS does continue to operate perfectly except for loss of throttle..and such connected to phidgets

[JBaymore]

I'd suggest that you also declare an emergency to ATC and change to the appropriate squak code. :)


best,

..................john

[lineman55]

Did we run out of suggestions on this issue?

[alandyer]

What version are you on now ?

[lineman55]

Hi Alan.
I have version 3.1.1

Listed in the library I have:
Phidgets20.DLL
Phidgets com library 207

I took a flight tonight from KJFK TO KBOS and it crashed 3 times.
The first error was the usual error listed in the beginning of this thread then
"error 0"
and then bac"k to the first error again.

Sometimes I find that my Outer Marker is listed as "disabled" when I go in to view how things are.When I do the TEST all lights fine.I then have to "enable" and save .
Sometimes if I go back to check..its disabled again! Yhought I might mention this also.

Can I get to you any more needed info?
Appreciate your support
James

[alandyer]

James,

Do your marker beacon lights work on some approaches ?

Not sure if problem is unique to your set-up or if others are experiencing same thing.

Alan.

[lineman55]

Yes Alan they do work...when all is ok.

[alandyer]

James,

Could you monitor mem usage for fs2phidget.exe and fs2004.exe ?
May eliminate memory as an issue.

Regards,
Alan.

[lineman55]

Are you asking for memory usage figures when both are running together?
PC INFO/ I have 1gig memory/ram DDR ,939socket MB /AMD64
I will monitor usage and report back this weekend....sometime inbetween work :cool:

Thanks Alan

[alandyer]

Yes, when both a running together.
As you would normally run.

[alandyer]

James,

Zip up your ini files in both folders.
email zipped files to lineman55@coconutair.com

Want to test using your configuration.

When you checked mem usage was that right up to freeze ?

Regards,
Alan.

[lineman55]

Yes Alan.
I tooK a flight last night and flew around trying to catch what might cause this error to happen and it lasted a good 45min until I applied the speed brakes fully and thats when it crashed with the ERROR 0 .
I doubt that really caused it...mabe my timimg was coincidental on that .
here is what I read for the memory usage
FSPHIDGETS 2,888
FS9 334,224 cpu 100%
PM MCP 13,224
When the error occured Phidgets no longer appeared in the memory window.
No reading available to report.
I id find that my throttle 1 was not active/enabled when I first started Phidgets.
I do check all 3 boards prior to flight in the program to make sure all are enabled that should be and have found a few that do not enable when started.
THROTTLE 1 (newest found not enabled)
OUTER MARKER...(been ok lately)
FLAPS ...(needed recalibrating a few times but ok)

I will send you the the ini files .
Kind regards
James

[alandyer]

James,

You're also running PM MCP on same machine ?

Alan.

[lineman55]

Yes I am,
All three on this machine.Handles it very well I must say.I did have the PM MCP
on one of my clients but it created problems and found this to be the solution that never had problems .I have been running it for 2 yrs. :)

Remember Alan that I had to upgrade to XP SP2 to install your update?
Just a reminder.... Never had the errors until now.
Did you need anymore info?

Regards
James

[alandyer]

James,

Actually is really YOUR update.
Most of this stuff I do is for benefit of you guys out there.
I ask these questions so I can diagnose problem.

Regards,
Alan.

[lineman55]

Your right,
I stand corrected... ;)
Just trying to stay updated to benefit from the excellent features now available


Regards
James

[alandyer]

James,

Let me give you an udate.
Another user has reported similiar issue to yours.
Avenues that I am exploring:
- subtle bug in FS2Phidget.
- FSUIPC issue.
- Phidget driver issue.

Regards,
Alan.

[lineman55]

Thankyou for the update on this issue Alan,

Kind regards
James :)

[alandyer]

James,

Latest version has a flashing function.
Handy for your marker beacon annunciators.

Alan.

[lineman55]

Sounds like a great feature!
Did my setup files look ok to you that I sent?
I will try the new version this weekend.
Im stuck in the"grind" at this moment...and about to make my brake for freedom for 4 days.
Talk soon
James

[alandyer]

The setup files are OK.
Alan.

[lineman55]

Good morning Alan,
I installed the latest ver3.1.2 and took a fight from KJFK TO kBOS and about 5min
into the flight I got the
RUNTIME ERROR -2147418113(8000FFFFY)
METHOD ~ OF OBJECT ~ FAILED error.

also the "FLASH","PULSE options would not allow me to assign to anything.Is this still in the making?

Just a note just in case
Would this have anything to do with a "keyboard switch" unit?(allows one keyboard to run on all clients/pc)
Just asking
because I had this "ERROR"issue with my older keyboard switch and now I use a wireless keyboard unit for all of my clients and main pc operations.

Kind regards
James :cool:

[alandyer]

James,

Keyboard should not make any difference.
I'm using 4-port KVMs on my set up.

With regard to PULSE and FLASH.
You would first assign and then check PULSE and/or FLASH.
Bear in mind you can only configure PULSE and/or flash for digital output.

I'm hoping someone else will report run time error.
Might help us pin down where problem lies.
Have a hunch this could be memory related.
Have to admit I have not done a lot of testing with all software components installed on a single PC.

I follow philosophy Enrico (Project Magenta) expoused in a 2003 New York Times article - distributed processing is way to go with flight simulation.
http://www.temple.edu/ispr/examples/ex03_09_26.html

[lineman55]

Thanks Alyn,
Very interesting article... I think I might consider another PC and run Phidgets on that one only.
Would running Phidgets on one of my clients with lets say with PM ECIAS ONLY and Phidgets be sufficient or mabe eliminate this problem? or am I looking for trouble..

Regards
James

[alandyer]

Until we know sure I wouldn't woory yet.
Would hate you to go get another PC and problem turns out to be:
(a) bug in FS2Phidgets
(b) networking or OS problem

Another PC won't fix any of the above.
Maybe one of our other builders might come up with smart suggestion.

[alandyer]

With regard to running Pidgets with EICAS - cannot say for sure.

What would happen if you ran EICAS, with say PFD/ND, on same PC ?

[lineman55]

Hello Alyn,
Last night I decided to connect up a spare PC I had and introduced to my network of PC'S and installed Phidgets on it.I transferred my file over and connected all my Phidgets over with its own dedicated USB hub.
So far,so good Alyn...with all the playing around in the Phidgets software it didnt crash once..almost 2 hrs worth.

Just trying to get my slider pots adjusted now for my throttle.For some reason I can either get a low idle and max 80% or high idle and 100% max ...cant seem to get my 0% to 100% with a limited slider pot travel.
Will work on it this weekend some more..but so far so good on the error issue.
Fingers x 'ed
Regards
James :cool:

[alandyer]

Airspeed active
V1
Fingers crossed.

[lineman55]

Hi Alan,
Well, I ran the system all weekend with the new pc added and Phidgets components
on it and it eliminated the "error messages" all together.
Im not sure what it was that corrected it but I suspect it to be a possible loose usb plug.Being I could not narrow it down to when or what caused the error to occur.
It was so randomly occurring. Mabe something created enough vibration to cause it to break contact so subtle like..who knows.
It works great now though!

Thanks for your help on this issue..your time involved also.
Mabe this thread can be put to rest..finally

Kind regards
James ;)

[alandyer]

James,

Your simulator is so realistic even your maintenance is intermittent and hard to trace.

My cockpit is based on a real Boeing 737.
Spoke with few pilots that flew aircraft.
They told me captain's push-to-talk button had intermittent fault that
ground crew was never able to fix.

I had same problem with yoke.
Only resolved problem when I totally re-wired and replaced switch.

Regards,
Alan.