FSDreamTeam forum
Products Support => GSX Support FSX/P3D => Topic started by: Sandbag01 on February 16, 2022, 09:47:35 am
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Hi Group,
This morning I got an error starting up P3D with this message on the screen.
Is there someone in the group who can assist me solving this problem?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Best Regards,
Harry
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I have the same problem.
I even did a fresh install of gsx while anti virus deactivated.
Nothing I did solved the problem
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Which OS you use ?
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I use Windows 7 professional.
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windows 7 home premium
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I'm sorry but, since Windows 7 reached its complete End of life in January 2020, that is 2+ years ago, we warned users we couldn't guaranteed compatibility with it forever, because ANY update released by Microsoft which we MUST use in our compilers to release versions that works with the currently supported OS, might possibly result in the software not working on Windows 7.
See some threads about this in the recent past:
http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,25935.msg170379.html#msg170379
http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,24899.msg164540.html#msg164540
http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,24736.msg163771.html#msg163771
http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,20913.msg162829.html#msg162829
Note that, I'm not saying we are INTENTIONALLY dropping Windows 7 support, or did anything that, to the best of our knowledge, resulted in that. I'm not even saying there's no solution, a rapid search on the Internet about that error message about a problem with that .DLL, indicates that usually it's caused by a missing/corrupted/wrong version of a Windows System library so, MAYBE, the program might still run on Windows 7, after you fix that problem.
It's just that we don't know, and we can't test it, and since we removed Windows 7 from the minimum supported OS in the product requirements the moment it went completely out of support from Microsoft ( Jan. 2020 ), we are no longer bound to guarantee compatibility with the legacy OS.
It happened a few years ago in the EXACT same way: when Windows XP went completely out of support, some users initially complained, saying Windows XP was the best and most stable Windows version ever, that they would never, ever, switch to Windows 7 over their dead body, and such. Of course, in a few years, everybody switched to Windows 7 and nobody is really missing XP anymore...
So, right now, you have 3 options:
- Try to find a solution for that error, if you search online, you'll find several suggestions how to do that, like repairing system files, etc.
- Update to Windows 10
- Install GSX from a previous installer you still have, WITH THE NETWORK DISCONNECTED, so it won't update. Of course, won't be able to update GSX anymore, exactly like you are not able to update Windows 7 anymore.
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Hello,
I understand the logic here...you won't support Windows 7 any longer and that's been the "industry standard", however, the point that I'm upset about is that when we run the updater, it should then say "You have the latest update for the version of Windows that you are running" and shouldn't "break" our computers in the process.
I hope that you can resolve this issue either by sending a GSX Windows 7 patch that rolls back to the last stable configuration, or sending everyone instructions to fix it instead of throwing the masses to Google to "figure it out".
I feel that I shouldn't be able to run a routine update only to find out that it broke the system and then have to "hunt down" the answer in a forum.
Thank you.
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Okay, but how do they know an update is going to break something in Windows 7 if they never tested it in Windows 7.
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Excellent question, Kevin.
In SOFTDEV, if the installer isn't tested for a particular OS, then you exclude it from an update.
--EDIT--
Would it be possible to provide us with the last installer that was good for Windows 7 so we can, at least, have a working system?
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Same problem here, Win 7 Pro: GetErrorInfo in api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll not found.
The dll itself exists in C:\Windows\System32 and C:\Windows\SysWOW64.
The protocol of FSDT Live Update doesn't show any error message:
Start checking for FSX/P3D updates
Checking hosts file
Fixing sim compatibility settings
Fixing sim compatibility settings
Checking if Visual Studio 2008 Runtimes x64 is required (don't worry, if it's already installed or you already have a new version, it won't be reinstalled or downgraded).
DOWNLOADING Visual Studio 2008 Runtimes x64 files
DOWNLOADING file C:\Users\Achmed\AppData\Local\Temp\vcredist_x64_2008.zip.001
CREATING Visual Studio 2008 Runtimes x64 .ZIP archive
Removing temp file C:\Users\Achmed\AppData\Local\Temp\vcredist_x64_2008.zip.001
EXTRACTING Visual Studio 2008 Runtimes x64 .ZIP archive in C:\Users\Achmed\AppData\Local\Temp\
Checking if Visual Studio 2015-2019 Universal Runtimes x64 is required (don't worry, if it's already installed or you already have a new version, it won't be reinstalled or downgraded).
DOWNLOADING Visual Studio 2015-2019 Universal Runtimes x64 files
DOWNLOADING file C:\Users\Achmed\AppData\Local\Temp\vc_redist.zip.001
CREATING Visual Studio 2015-2019 Universal Runtimes x64 .ZIP archive
Removing temp file C:\Users\Achmed\AppData\Local\Temp\vc_redist.zip.001
EXTRACTING Visual Studio 2015-2019 Universal Runtimes x64 .ZIP archive in C:\Users\Achmed\AppData\Local\Temp\
GSX updated.
GSX Level 2 Expansion updated.
XPOI updated.
Stopping P3D, it comes down then "Windows has detected a problem..."
No chance for a work around ?
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Excellent question, Kevin.
In SOFTDEV, if the installer isn't tested for a particular OS, then you exclude it from an update.
Valid point, but I'm not sure if the installer even takes into consideration Windows operating systems. That said, then you have to field the complaints from people who want new features who now won't be able to use them when they get implemented.
Would it be possible to provide us with the last installer that was good for Windows 7 so we can, at least, have a working system?
I don't know if the installers themselves are even updated, and even then, that would require them to know which version of the Add-on Manager was the last one to work. Given the number of updates that were pushed out recently and everybody having different versions based on if the Cloudflare server near them updated fast or not, I don't know how they would know this.
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In SOFTDEV, if the installer isn't tested for a particular OS, then you exclude it from an update.
Considering we are not sure your problem is not fixable, why denying the ability to install an update you might be able to fix it ?
That's what "untested" and "unsupported" means. It means:
- We can't possibly know if something will work or not, and *because* we don't know, we won't take any decision about intentionally *blocking* out Windows 7 users, who might be able to find a way to fix the problem.
- We can't help you fixing it, other than giving generic suggestions. That's what "unsupported" means.
Would it be possible to provide us with the last installer that was good for Windows 7 so we can, at least, have a working system?
That would imply we know which installer to provide. That's another consequence of being "untested".
And, it would mean we should assume on ourselves extra monthly bandwidth costs (GSX is our largest installer ) JUST to provide the needs of users who decided to use an OS that has been declared officially dead 2 years ago. That's what it means using something that is "unsupported".
If you followed sane backup procedures, and have a fairly recent copy of the installer, installing it without a network connection should get you a version that was current at the time you made the backup. If I decided to say with Windows 7 for some reason, I would started doing backups of everything I bought 2 years ago.
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That's easy. Give us the installer you last provided BEFORE the update of people walking into the building. We know it worked fine then.
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As I do regular full image backups, I did an easy fallback by restoring the fsdt folder from sunday's backup.
Before restoring, I renamend and kept the non-working folder and can easily compare the files.
The problem arose yesterday after updating, the backup was from last sunday, the FSDT files with date 6 feb version work.
If I can help further, please tell me
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That's easy. Give us the installer you last provided BEFORE the update of people walking into the building. We know it worked fine then.
It's not a question of "easy", you missed the other part of the explanation:
It would mean we should assume on ourselves extra monthly bandwidth costs (GSX is our largest installer ) JUST to provide the needs of users who decided to use an OS that has been declared officially dead 2 years ago. That's what it means using something that is "unsupported".
Which isn't any different that when Microsoft stopped releasing updates for Windows 7.
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The problem arose yesterday after updating, the backup was from last sunday, the FSDT files with date 6 feb version work. If I can help further, please tell me
Maybe you missed my explanation. We know what file likely broke compatibility with Windows 7, it surely is the latest versions (32 and 64 bit ) of the two Couatl executables, which are required by the update.
It's not as if we flipped a switch saying "kill Windows 7 compatibility" when we compiled it. It's just that, in order to compile an .exe which includes all the latest security fixes from Microsoft that comes down automatically as Visual C++ libraries updates that matches the same security updates that are released to users, which are not coming anymore for Windows 7.
And we MUST do this, to have a product that works reliably on the *supported* OS, because these regular fixes are usually to patch security problems, like exploits that might be dangerous if hackers found a vulnerability in our .exe JUST because we were guilty of NOT having kept our compiler up to date, just to be sure we could continue supporting legacy OS.
Any of these updates would cause to release a version of the executables that might have broke compatibility with Windows 7, it could have happened at any time, you have just been lucky it never happened earlier, but sooner or later it would have happened, and the only reason for this is your assumption that you could continue to use an unsupported OS years after its official EOL without any consequences to software that is still supported, so it's updated very often.
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Thanks for the " not support" for windows 7 users, till thuesday it was fine working, what was the reason for change of the installer. (and no warning before) and not "for 2 years"
Is would be better to make different versions of the installer
You are the maker of the software and not Microsoft, look to NVidia they make different versions for the OS.
Well you force me to change to Windows 10, I hope that you realize what you saying.
Grt. from a very disapointed (win 7) user.
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Thanks for the " not support" for windows 7 users, till thuesday it was fine working, what was the reason for change of the installer. (and no warning before) and not "for 2 years"
It doesn't seem you understand my explanation.
Is not that we made this on purpose so no, there's no "reason" on our part, it might have happened because we MUST keep all our compilers updated so, whenever we release a new version of the executable, it will benefit from all the updated libraries that will make the application more reliable with today's OS.
Is would be better to make different versions of the installer
No, because that would imply some kind of "support" on our part, something we HAVE alerted users since January 2020, when Windows 7 went completely out of support. To do a separate release for Windows 7 would imply being able to TEST the software and being able to SUPPORT Windows 7 users, and actually carry over extra development costs, higher monthly bandwidth costs to keep a separate installers, which in our view is not worth to support an handful of users that WILL eventually upgrade to a new OS.
We already saw these kind of arguments some years ago, when sometime, one of the Windows 7 updates broke compatibility with our software, so we had the complains by Windows XP users saying they will "never" upgrade. Of course, nobody is still asking to keep a "different installer" for XP anymore.
You are the maker of the software and not Microsoft, look to NVidia they make different versions for the OS.
I never said it's "impossible" to make a Windows 7 version of a software. nVidia surely has the resources to afford the cost to support a legacy OS, the Flight sim market is just too small to do that.
Well you force me to change to Windows 10, I hope that you realize what you saying.
You should have switched to Windows 10 2 years ago, not now. And we have been saying this to Windows 7 users over and over since then, you seem to have assumed that, if it worked so far, it would work forever, but that's a risky assumption to make, when the developer is telling you Windows 7 is no longer supported.
And no, we are not forcing you to update to Windows 10, you can still stay with the previous version, provided you kept the previous installer, something you should do for all your current applications, because it's very likely a Windows 7-compatible version of any of your other apps might disappear sooner or later.
As I've said already, if you run an older installer with the network disconnected, it will work with that version, just you won't be able to UPDATE again so, you would be exactly in the same situation MICROSOFT has already put you 2 years ago: no more Windows Updates for Windows 7 and no more support.
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I understand you cannot keep a Windows 7 for testing at your site and with P3D 4.5 HF2, I will remain unsupported too some day, not only from FSDT...
But at the moment, I have a rock solid simulator environment without crashes, without re-installing any application (not only the simulator environment),
without spending most of the time in fiddling on the system instead of flying - so I hope, you understand my displeasure to upgrade my "simulator rig" to Windows 10.
For me, the fallback was easy as I take always (good old) Ghost image backups before I start bigger changes on my systems.
So I will not update GSX further, that's also easy for me as I fly mostly small GA.
But I would expect that you look at the error message, as you're an experienced person, maybe there's an easy fix.
If not, I have to accept and stay with the actual GSX level - and maybe someone else find a solution and posts it here.
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Same disappointment to can't continue to use GSX ! we don't ask here to have always a supported version even on old OS. We just want to stay with the last availlable working version. P3D switch to a V5. No problem we still fly with a working version of P3DV4.5 HF3. FSX continue also to work with the SP2. We know now versions after january 2022 are ko for the windows 7 users. it's probably simple to have a fix (last version for windows 7) in order to let the users having a simple choice : to continue to have updates with a supported OS or to fly with a final version for win7. my point.
C.M.
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Just what I did the last hours:
I updated the Visual C++ Redist x86 and x64 to 2015-2022 redist according to website https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170 (support from Vista onwards !).
After the first update (x64), the desktop icons disappeared, so I started the task manager by Ctrl-Alt-Del, started "cmd" from there and rebooted by shutdown /r, all icons were back.
Then I renamed the FSDT folder from yesterday's update and run the FSDT Live Update again.
Now, the error message appears again, but P3D (4.5 HF2) starts, XPOI shows it's arrows and I can order a GSX ground vehicle.
I'm not sure if the Visual C++ Redist update was necessary...
BTW: I have no knowledge of MS Visual, but I checked the library "api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32...dll" with dependency walker.
This dll never had an entry point "GetErrorInfo.". In Win 10, I couldn't find this dll by searching at all, so I think this dll isn't the reason for the error message but just some kind of last resort while searching for the entry point.
I found this entry in the MS documentation for oleauto.h that points to library OleAut32.dll (and other libraries, but the library mentioned in the error message is also related to OLE).
Now OleAut32.dll offers this entry point (Win 7 + 10). OleAut32.dll is further related to Ole32.dll, in tis lib I found the same entry point "GetErrorInfo". So the problem of the missing entry point must go deeper (as the official Win 7 OLE lib offers this entrypoint, assuming GSX is using this one).
Then I found information about similar error messages related to program linkage modes.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/build/linking-an-executable-to-a-dll?view=msvc-170
I found hints that "entry point not found" could result from a wrong linkage mode.
So just a thougt that one of the GSX updates of the last two weeks brought such a wrong linkage,
maybe with a fixed dll name of Win 10 that is not the same as in Win 7 ?
Just an assumption...
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BTW: I have no knowledge of MS Visual, but I checked the library "api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32...dll" with dependency walker. This dll never had an entry point "GetErrorInfo.".
I made some research too and, it's entirely normal YOUR version of that dll won't include it. All of your with that error have the api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll listed of missing that function but, according to this Microsoft page, which specifically discusses Legacy Desktop OS, indicates the GetErrorInfo is supposed to be included in the api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/desktop/legacy/mt588480(v=vs.85)#api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1dll
As you can see, GetErrorInfo is there. I don't know when this updated version came out and how to obtain it but, as you did, I also checked my whole \Windows folder in Windows 10, and while there is a "Downlevel" subfolder ( both 32 and 64 versions of it ), which contains several .dlls with similar names, THAT specific one isn't there, in any version so, it seems that .DLL is specific to OS older than Windows 10.
Now, it's possible it might belong to Windows 8 or perhaps 8.1, but since when these came out, Windows 7 was STILL fully supported, I would guess it should have been available for Windows 7 as well, during one of the Windows updates, when they were still up.
Today, I can't see how you could possibly get it, other than with a redistributable runtime, which you did and seemed to have improved the situation.
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As I've said already, if you run an older installer with the network disconnected, it will work with that version, just you won't be able to UPDATE again so, you would be exactly in the same situation MICROSOFT has already put you 2 years ago: no more Windows Updates for Windows 7 and no more support.
Where would we find these older installers cached on our machine? I have the original from when I purchased it, but having a "live update" software pretty much negates the ability for me to go out to your website to download it. Nice feature, don't get me wrong, but eliminates the ability to "roll back" when something goes wrong.
I tried the trick presented by achmedfsx. I still get the error on startup and the GSX application is not loading (no jetways at any "default" airport either which I presume is a function of GSX).
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Where would we find these older installers cached on our machine?
When you download the installer, at the end of the installation it will ASK YOU if you want to KEEP the installer you just downloaded in the Documents\GSX_Installer folder. The Document folder has been chosen under the assumption ANY user SHOULD do REGULAR Backups of his own Documents folder.
In never had a regular backup strategy, not even for your own Documents folder, that's even more reckless than still using Window 7 in 2022.
I tried the trick presented by achmedfsx. I still get the error on startup and the GSX application is not loading (no jetways at any "default" airport either which I presume is a function of GSX).
You must fix the startup error and, as far as I know, the only way to fix it is getting hold of the updated api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll, because the function we use must have been moved there, so it's not present anymore in the api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll you have. This .dll is NOT present in Windows 10, so it must have appeared somewhere as an update to Windows 7.
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I made some research too and, it's entirely normal YOUR version of that dll won't include it. All of your with that error have the api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll
Sorry, I don't have much knowledge of the MS Visual environment. But I ask myself if the call has to be done to ms-win-downlevel-ole32 directly. What I understand: you want to get the error object from COM, so you call GetErrorInfo.
But shouldn't this call be done through ole32.dll (this dll contains an entry GetErrorInfo in Win 7: http://www.win7dll.info/oleaut32_dll.html (http://www.win7dll.info/oleaut32_dll.html)) ? Isn't this the function we talk about: https://docs.microsoft.com/de-de/windows/win32/api/oleauto/nf-oleauto-geterrorinfo?redirectedfrom=MSDN (https://docs.microsoft.com/de-de/windows/win32/api/oleauto/nf-oleauto-geterrorinfo?redirectedfrom=MSDN) ?
Now, it's possible it might belong to Windows 8 or perhaps 8.1, but since when these came out, Windows 7 was STILL fully supported, I would guess it should have been available for Windows 7 as well, during one of the Windows updates, when they were still up.
If I understand it right (excuse my dumbness), according to https://www.nirsoft.net/dll_information/windows8/combase_dll.html (https://www.nirsoft.net/dll_information/windows8/combase_dll.html), in Windows 8 the oleaut32.dll exposes GetErrorInfo (too), and imports CoGetErrorInfo from combase.dll.
In my understanding, one has to call oleaut32.dll, from there it goes to combase.dll (Win8).
Is my assumption total nonsense ?
If no, I ask myself why the resolution doesn't find the entry in oleaut32.dll after the update(s) of the last two weeks in Win 7.
Maybe I have to set some kind of a LIBPATH (as in UNIX) ?
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By the way: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/topic/kompatibilit%C3%A4tsupdate-um-windows-7-auf-dem-neuesten-stand-zu-halten-5fe4a218-adf1-9074-9522-bea956cf149b (https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/topic/kompatibilit%C3%A4tsupdate-um-windows-7-auf-dem-neuesten-stand-zu-halten-5fe4a218-adf1-9074-9522-bea956cf149b) mentions Api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll 10.0.14393.0 from 22-Jan-2018. Not sure if I get it (maybe for enhanced support - entrprise customers - only ?).
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Have you tried downloading from the Catalog link ?
https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/search.aspx?q=kb2952664
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You must fix the startup error and, as far as I know, the only way to fix it is getting hold of the updated api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll, because the function we use must have been moved there, so it's not present anymore in the api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll you have. This .dll is NOT present in Windows 10, so it must have appeared somewhere as an update to Windows 7.
I tried that as well. I plugged the 1-1-1 version into Windows and it was still calling the 1-1-0 version. I even went a step further renaming 1-1-1 to 1-1-0 to see what would happen. The error went away, but GSX wasn't loaded properly in FS (showed that I needed to activate it, Coautl not running, etc).
I'll hunt for the older installers now that I know where to seek.
Have you tried downloading from the Catalog link ?
https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/search.aspx?q=kb2952664
I'll try that as well and report back.
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Before downloading KB2952664, I did a "wmic qfe list > qfelist.txt" and opened qfelist.txt with notepad.
-> http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2952664 AH3 Update KB2952664 NT-AUTORITÄT\SYSTEM 7/12/2018
It was an update for Win 7 telemetry, the libraries are in folder C:\Windows\System32\CompatTel.
The last minutes, I tried some steps similar to olseric's :
- put C:\Windows\System32\CompatTel at the end of my PATH environment variable (system properties - advanced system settings - environment variables)
- put the library api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll into folder C:\Games\FSDT\Addon Manager\couatl64 (where couatl64_P3D.exe resides here)
- renamed it there to api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll
but it will not be taken.
- I didn't copy it to windows\system32 as I feared to destroy my system completely.
- I didn't try to "register" this dll (regsvr), may
Dependency Walker shows the entry point GetErrorInfo in api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll,
the question is how this library is searched.
I suppose that GetErrorInfo isn't called directly in api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32...dll but from another library.
I searched the registry for api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll : no luck, so it may not be searched by "dll registration".
I searched the dll's in windows\system32 and found the text "api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll" in some dll's,
e.g. wininet.dll or jscript9.dll (dependency walker shows them connected to the mentioned ole32.dll).
That may be the reason why replacing api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll in system32 by 1-1-1.dll may lead to other errors:
all these api-ms-... and the other (important) dll's seem to reference each other in a hardcoded way inside each dll.
If this is true, we will not solve the problem without replacing a whole bunch of system32 libs (destroying Windows ?).
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Sorry for spaming this thread, but I gave it a last try.
I searched couatl64_P3D.exe for the library name - bingo !
I changed the lib name from ...1-1-0.dll to ...1-1-1.dll in couatl64_P3D.exe
with a hex editor (see the attached image)
while C:\Windows\System32\CompatTel was still at the end of my PATH envvar.
After P3D started, I got a message that couatl64_P3D has been changed,
I clicked OK and was on Eglin's runway.
I pressed Ctrl+Shift+F12, ordered a car to a gate, the car came.
As it's late here, I have to exit (= go to bed).
No visible error at P3D shutdown (have to look in Win event manager tomorrow).
But why is a hardcoded reference to api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32...1-1-0.dll in couatl64_P3D
as this lib doesn't contain GetErrorInfo as you stated before ?!? Strange !
What makes me wonder:
after I removed C:\Windows\System32\CompatTel from the PATH,
P3D start leads to "Couatl64_P3D cannot be started as api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll is missing on this computer".
But in P3D, I see the addon menus of GSX and XPOI.
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After reading some hours about umbrella libs and API sets, my picture of the problem is as follows:
- the program Couatl64_P3D.exe references Windows libs as kernel32.dll, user32.dll, oleaut32dll, ole32.dll...
- it references also the API set libraries api-ms-...dll, including the problem dll "api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll"
- KB2952664 delivers a newer "api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll" that contains the missing error GetErrorInfo
but installs it to C:\Windows\System32\CompatTel (only for telemetry, not in the Windows default search paths).
- Lib 1.1.0 is a subset of 1.1.1
- Tthe newer lib 1.1.1.dll isn't t referred as the higher level libs and also Couatl64_P3D.exe refer to the older 1-1-0.dll
What worked for me (Win 7-64 Pro with last fixes, P3D 4.5 HF2) - revised 23.2.22:
- Don't touch anything below C:\Windows !
- Check C:\Windows\System32\CompatTel\api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll
if it's missing: download KB2952664 from MS Update Catalog (https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB2952664)
- Copy C:\Windows\System32\CompatTel\api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll to the folder where your couatl64_P3D.exe lies.
- Copy couatl64_P3D.exe as backup
- Search in the original couatl64_P3D.exe with a Hex-Editor (e.g. HxD (https://mh-nexus.de/en/downloads.php?product=HxD20) for the unicode string "api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll",
(at Feb 2022 around 0x16C47C) and change the last zero to 1
- Now you should see the string as "api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll" - save couatl64_P3D.exe.
- Start P3D and click OK in the "Couatl has been modified...virus..." message.
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may it be possible in a future update of Couatl64_P3D to check for Windows Version 7 and - in this case -
to explicit load library "api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll" (LoadLibrary, GetProcAddress) before the (new) GetErrorInfo call ?
Not possible, I just checked it: we are not even calling GetErrorInfo from our code, we inherited from another library we linked the program with which we don't have any source code.
- Check/install KB2952664 -> delivers C:\Windows\System32\CompatTel\api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll
- Add C:\Windows\System32\CompatTel to the Windows search path
It should work better, and easier to do, if you just copy this library to the Addon Manager\Couatl64 folder and SET IT TO READ-ONLY, otherwise a Live Update will remove it. Windows always search the path of the application itself for any required .DLL, before trying anything else.
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I know that there may appear more incompatibilities in future, but it would be a workaround at the moment.
So I tried everything that you did...and I see that all of my FSDT stuff is now unregistered. When I went to re-enter the serials, I got a nice message saying "The Couatl scripting engine hasn't started."
So, now, I can't even register them back to get the scenery working.
--EDIT: Tried the new installer link provided pinned at the top of the forum. Shows all products activated.--
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- Start P3D and click OK in the "Couatl has been modified...virus..." message.
I think mine is failing at this point. It seems that when the CHECKUM doesn't match, it causes it to abort the process.
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I think mine is failing at this point. It seems that when the CHECKUM doesn't match, it causes it to abort the process.
Of course it fails. You can't modify the exe, it will quit later because it detected it has been tampered with.
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I think mine is failing at this point. It seems that when the CHECKUM doesn't match, it causes it to abort the process.
Of course it fails. You can't modify the exe, it will quit later because it detected it has been tampered with.
Ok, then enlighten me as to why achmedfsx is able to run it? :)
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Ok, then enlighten me as to why achmedfsx is able to run it? :)
No idea. I would expect the program might start, but it won't work later on.
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Ok, then enlighten me as to why achmedfsx is able to run it? :)
No idea. I would expect the program might start, but it won't work later on.
I said, to hell with it, and upgraded to Windows 10. Guess what...it works. LOL
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I said, to hell with it, and upgraded to Windows 10. Guess what...it works. LOL
And I'm sure you'll find there's nothing wrong with Windows 10 either, since now it's a mature and well tested system, it still includes some things from Windows 7. In fact, it was Microsoft a bit going BACK to Windows 7 user interface, after the horror of that completely useless tablet-like UI that was Windows 8.
Unfortunately, that old curse which started like a joke, that seem to have every other Windows version being good, with the one in between really bad, still continue to happen.
Windows 3.0 = Bad
Windows 3.11 = Good
Windows 95 = Bad
Windows 98 = Good
Windows ME = really Bad
Windows XP = Good
Windows Vista = Bad
Windows 7 = Good
Windows 8 = Bad
Windows 10 = Good
I have a bad feeling about Windows 11 but, considering it's free, it's likely because it's a so minor upgrade, that it less risky.
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Windows 7 = Good and has about 100 million users.
So far GSX is the only software that is useless for THIS operation systeem.
A question of good programming (see Boeing)or not.
Happy we are in the flightsim world and not the real one.
Sleep well.
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Windows 7 = Good and has about 100 million users.
Nobody denies Windows 7 WAS good, it's just way past due its time, and of the 100 millions users, I'm sure they are mostly running older PCs that are not really suited for high-performance "gaming", which is what P3D requires.
And, even if 100 millions users sounds like an high number, it's dwarfed by Windows 10 numbers right now:
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide
So yes, Windows 7 WAS good, but all good things ends.
So far GSX is the only software that is useless for THIS operation systeem.
Of the ones YOU tried or YOU are interested in.
We are discussing about P3D right ? Well, you cannot update to P3D V5, for example, because it runs in Windows 10. That's just the first obvious example of something pretty major related to this topic you can't use because you are using a legacy OS.
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Have been reading this carefully as am also a Windows 7 user with FSX SP2 because i have it running so well i dont want to touch it for as long as i can. For me the most recent GSX update last week installed without issue and walkin gates is working perfectly but fully accept one day i will get caught out.
One advice at the beginning of the thread was to use a previous installer with internet off if i get the error response to a future update.
Excuse my ignorance on this but when i run live update does a copy of that installer remain on my PC and where would it be located? Is it that that i would use to install a previous version?
Thanks.
p.s. walkin gates is fab....been waiting for this for years....many thanks!
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Of course it fails. You can't modify the exe, it will quit later because it detected it has been tampered with.
Seems not to quit here. Did a 2 hours flight yesterday, at P3D start, Couatl complains about being modified maybe by a virus,
I clicked OK on the button in the middle of the window (closing this popup by the X in the upper right disables GSX and XPOI).
Two hours later in LSGG, I called the little car that leads me to the gate.
There I found the marshaller, so it seems, no problem in my environment ?!?.
Or did I miss something ? I don't know much about moving jetways and these things as I fly GA
(my license is GSX, not GSX2, maybe that's the reasing it works in my case ?)
Even if I get the error of the missing GetErrorInfo, P3D comes up and GSX/XPOI work well.
My whole sim installation is outside C:\Program... , maybe that's the reason ?
Now I set all back to the original state.
Moving dll 1.1.1 to the Couatl64_P3D.exe folder and rename to 1.1.0 -> GetErrorInfo not found
Creating a Couatl64_P3D.exe.handle as https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/win32/dlls/dynamic-link-library-redirection mentions -> GetErrorInfo not found.
cmd-Window: C:\Windows\System32\CompatTel as first in PATH, then calling Couatl64_P3D -> GetErrorInfo not found
Looking deeper in Couatl64_P3D.exe, I find LoadLibraryA after the lib names (offset ~0016C630):
According to https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/libloaderapi/nf-libloaderapi-loadlibrarya
a lib can be loaded outside the specifications of https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/win32/dlls/dynamic-link-library-search-order.
Some bytes before, in the library list, I find "python27.dll".
So it may be python that loads these libs outside of the normal search order ?
https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/ states "Python 3.9.10 cannot be used on Win 7 or earlier",
but python27.dll seems to belong to an older Python version ? Or just a compat lib in Python 3.9.10
BTW: these Api-ms-win-downlevel... libs are hard links (see "fsutil hardlink"), so copying them on the same drive doesn't create a separate instance but a new hardlink.
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You are losing your time digging in Couatl.exe. As I've said in my previous post, I already check this and, WE DO NOT CALL GetErrorInfo!
It must be some of the libraries we link with, and it's not Python. We don't use the regular Python, we use Stackless, and it's not the normal interpreter, is our own version, but we haven't changed *ANYTHING* in our code, other than keeping Visual Studio regularly updated.
I also checked the Windows SDK we compiled the program with, and it's not a very new version, it's a version that should support Windows 7 and, again, it hasn't changed in the last version.
So, as I've said, several times by now, I'm fairly sure one of the normal Windows updates that are released, likely the VC++ redistributable runtimes, that caused the requirement of a newer version of the api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32.dll which, again, is NOT included in Windows 10, so there must be a way to install it properly in Windows 7, unless is something in between, maybe for Windows 8, I couldn't find a precise answer on when it came out.
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Have been reading this carefully as am also a Windows 7 user with FSX SP2
This shouldn't affect you. The runtimes being called were inside the 64bit environment (P3D4)...which your sim, FSX, is a 32bit application.
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I use Windows 7 and experience the same problems. I tried Achmed's solution attempt for several days actually but to no avail, couatl scripting engine won't start because it has been modified. I own GSX part 1, Zurich, Honolulu, Vancouver, Memphis and Louisville (EUR 147,15 for me) and none of these work any more, showing only docking bridges.
Please change the one character in couatl64_P3D.exe from "0" to "1" and ideally make an announcement of how to obtain the necessary "api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-1.dll". An alternate solution would be that you provide us with an installer from the beginning of february so that I can use my products.
Thank you in advance
Lars
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As I've said, several times by now:
- Windows 7 is unsupported since January 2020, and we repeated this over and over many times when asked during the past 2 years, keep saying what IS happening right now: that at a certain point, any update in the MS libraries and/or VC++ compilers that Microsoft released would break compatibility with Windows 7 at any time, urging users to upgrade.
- I don't think you can just change a .dll like that but, as I've said so many times, we don't have ANY means to test it, since nobody at FSDT uses Windows 7 since years, you cannot even buy a copy, and while Microsoft DOES let freely download an OS Image to be used on a Virtual Machine ( that was a way I tried to pursue to be able to test the problem ), but they only have the 32 BIT version of Windows 7 for some reason.
- I already linked a site where you could download that 1-1 .dll but that's stops there because, again, there's no way for us to know if it works.
Something you can try is using the 32 BIT version of Couatl, it should still work and before we had a 64 bit version, this was used for all simulators. To enable it, open this file:
Documents\Prepar3d V5 add-ons\Fsdreamteam Addon Manager\ADD-ON.XML
Look for this line:
<Path>C:\Program Files (x86)\Addon Manager\couatl64\Couatl64_P3D.exe</Path>
and change it to:
<Path>C:\Program Files (x86)\Addon Manager\couatl\Couatl.exe</Path>
This assuming a default installation, if you installed elsehwere, your paths will look different, so makes your changes accordingly. This will configure it to use the 32 bit version of the program, maybe it will work better in Windows 7.
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Thank you, I did as you said and it works. There's a delay of about 1/2 second when commanding the GSX menu, but of what I have tested, everything seems to work. Is there any downside of not using the 64Bit version, any functionality missing? I run Windows 7 64Bit and P3D 4.5 HF2.
For the time being, the work-around is fine, but I still think you should fix this (despite of what you explained).
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For the time being, the work-around is fine, but I still think you should fix this (despite of what you explained).
But how do they fix it when they can't test it.
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For the time being, the work-around is fine, but I still think you should fix this (despite of what you explained).
But how do they fix it when they can't test it.
I volunteer as Beta tester when they try to tackle this.
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Is there any downside of not using the 64Bit version, any functionality missing? I run Windows 7 64Bit and P3D 4.5 HF2.
I think you'll lose the Custom camera views, because those are only available in the P3D4.5+ version of Simconnect, but the 32 bit version is linked with the FSX Simconnect, which doesn't have those. But I think this is better than being cut off from ALL future updates, which would have been the case if you used an older installer (installed with the network disconnected).
Other than that, I don't think there would be any real differences, since Couatl.exe it's a separate executable, it has its own separate 4GB address space, which is even overkill considering it hardly takes more than 200-300MB of RAM.
For the time being, the work-around is fine, but I still think you should fix this (despite of what you explained).
Sorry, but I don't agree.
We are free from any support obligation to do anything for Windows 7 in January 2020, when it went completely out of support, and asking to do anything for Windows 7 now, more than 2 years later, is just as unreasonable as asking to continue to support Windows XP, which we also used to support years ago.
OS do have a life cycle, and the one for Windows 7 ended 2 years ago, and this is completely irrelevant how good/bad it was, it's not OUR decision when and how stop supporting it, it has been decided by Microsoft years ago, they started to alert users a long time ago, and when you decide against all common sense to continue to use an unsupported OS years past its due date, you do it at your own risk and you must be prepared to accept the consequences, for example not being able to find an older installer.
You want to live dangerously and stay with an old OS forever ? ( nothing last "forever" anyway, your PC will break or you would want a new one, which will come with Windows 10 or 11 ) Fine, but the first thing you should do, is a BACKUP of all installers of the software you bought, because you just can't expect the vendor would keep legacy installers always available. Bandwidth and disk space on the cloud is NOT free, it has a monthly cost that is based both on the bandwidth used but also the space taken so, it has some extra cost for us, even if nobody downloads it, and that's just another aspect of what stopping support means.
A real world example anybody can understand:
When Apple stopped selling 32 bit iPhone/iPad/Macs, they started alerting developers that 32 bit apps at first won't be accepted anymore in their App Store, and eventually they would be phased out.
When this happened, hundreds of thousands of apps were REMOVED from the App Store, they were lost forever unless a local backup of the installer was made, but it was no longer possible to download them again from Apple, without even considering they won't run on newer OS or devices anyway, but that's not really the point, the point was you couldn't DOWNLOAD anymore, even if you bought them, even if you wanted to use them on the older OS or the older device they were brought from.
I'm sure if Apple did anything wrong or not 100% completely legal, class actions/suits would have happened, and this is exactly the same. You want to use a legacy OS/device past its due date ? Fine, but backups are your own responsibility, you can't put that onus on the developer, forever.
Well, in fact, is not even "the same", because Apple being in control of the complete hardware/software/marketplace system, was the only one deciding when and how cutting off legacy apps from users, we mostly depend on what Microsoft does with its updates and tools.
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FSDT is updated via the updater. You press the button and that's it. The updater tells you nothing about a new installer being available, or that you stopped supporting Windows 7. Actually I keep an awful lot of old installers, but I simply wasn't aware that something like this was going to happen.
I couldn't care less about Windows 10, as long as it works for me, it works. It's not "reckless", it's self-determined. The Apple example you cited confirms my choice never to buy an Apple product. Apple is for people who like to live on the receiving end, it seems.
Any chance you could leave an installer of beginning of february here on dropbox or anywhere for the folks in this thread?
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FSDT is updated via the updater. You press the button and that's it. The updater tells you nothing about a new installer being available, or that you stopped supporting Windows 7.
That's because we don't know, for sure, Windows 7 would stop to work NOW. It was nice it worked until now so, instead, are you suggesting we should have intentionally BANNED Windows 7 from the updater 2 YEARS ago, when official support ended so, on January 2020 ?
Actually I keep an awful lot of old installers, but I simply wasn't aware that something like this was going to happen.
This is going to happen for all your software, eventually, some soon, some later. I don't think you could possibly say you didn't know Windows 7 died 2 years ago, Microsoft surely must have sent you plenty of alerts about the phasing out.
Which means, from January 2020, you should have started to keep BACKUP of EVERY software you buy, that's a general rule, it's really not relevant to FSDT.
I couldn't care less about Windows 10, as long as it works for me, it works. It's not "reckless", it's self-determined. The Apple example you cited confirms my choice never to buy an Apple product. Apple is for people who like to live on the receiving end, it seems.
You are free to do your wrong decisions, I'm not not contesting them ( you will get Windows 10 or 11, eventually, hardware is not ethereal ), I only cited Apple to point out, as being so much in the public scrutiny as they are, it's clear if they did *anything* that wasn't entirely legal, we would have know by now.
So, clearly, there's no such thing as a right to continue to use an obsolete product on an obsolete OS combined to the right to always be able to redownload it at any time.
That's what the point I was trying to make. Surely Apple couldn't arbitrarily remove an obsolete program IF YOU MADE A BACKUP OF, so they obviously didn't do that, but you cannot expect or demand for the software vendors to let you access their download infrastructure to get a copy of the legacy installer which you didn't do a backup for, at any time, without any foreseeable time limitation.
Any chance you could leave an installer of beginning of february here on dropbox or anywhere for the folks in this thread?
Dropbox sharing has limits, is not really meant for public releases, once you exceed a certain transfer quota ( which is easy to surpass with a 2.5 GB
installer like GSX ), Dropbox will block the account so no, it's not a workable solution.
Using the 32 bit version of Couatl.exe, which seems to work, is WAY better, because this way you can continue to get updates.
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Can you or anyone please point me to the place where you can download this 2.6 GB installer (generally and even for the current one)? The one I found here https://www.fsdreamteam.com/products_gsx.html (https://www.fsdreamteam.com/products_gsx.html) has 634 KB, which means no 'game'-files like textures etc. are included. Also it says "last updated 30-gen-22" which I suppose means 'gennaio' = january.
Or how am I supposed to build an installer including game-files worth of 2.6 GB out of it? How to do this?
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The small installer only downloads the rest of the file, which are more recent, since there's no need to keep updating the smaller installer (that's the point).
If you are asking for an older installer that might work on Windows 7, then no, no point asking, because we don't have it. As already discussed, the best solution is NOT using a older installer and be forever cut off from updates, but rather using the 32 bit version of the Couatl executable, which seems to work, so you can continue getting updates.
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I get your point. However, you suggested multiple times in this thread that as users of an unsupported operating system, we should backup installers, so that we can go back to one of these if something breaks. I quote you in this thread:
- Install GSX from a previous installer you still have, WITH THE NETWORK DISCONNECTED, so it won't update. Of course, won't be able to update GSX anymore, exactly like you are not able to update Windows 7 anymore.
If you followed sane backup procedures, and have a fairly recent copy of the installer, installing it without a network connection should get you a version that was current at the time you made the backup. If I decided to say with Windows 7 for some reason, I would started doing backups of everything I bought 2 years ago.
As I've said already, if you run an older installer with the network disconnected, it will work with that version, just you won't be able to UPDATE again so, you would be exactly in the same situation MICROSOFT has already put you 2 years ago: no more Windows Updates for Windows 7 and no more support.
When you download the installer, at the end of the installation it will ASK YOU if you want to KEEP the installer you just downloaded in the Documents\GSX_Installer folder. The Document folder has been chosen under the assumption ANY user SHOULD do REGULAR Backups of his own Documents folder.
I understand that by using the small 600 KB installer, this installer would then, of course, load the newest files, which already don't work anymore with Win7. So how is this "installing wiht the network disconnected" going? Where would I get such an installer that I can backup on my machine? Generally speaking and for the future, since the 32Bit version can break anyday, too, if I understand you correctly.
Thank you.
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I understand that by using the small 600 KB installer, this installer would then, of course, load the newest files, which already don't work anymore with Win7. So how is this "installing wiht the network disconnected" going? Where would I get such an installer that I can backup on my machine? Generally speaking and for the future, since the 32Bit version can break anyday, too, if I understand you correctly.
You are asking your question, because you have probably forgot that, when the small installer downloads the main files, which are current at the time of the installation, it downloads them in your Documents\GSX_Installer folder and, at the end of the installation, it will ask you if you want to keep them for "future installs".
The choice of your Documents folder it's not obviously random: EVERYBODY should BACKUP his Documents folder regularly! And of course, when you are using an OS you KNOW ( because Microsoft told you so many times ) that has been gone out of support for 2+ years, when you see the sentence "for future installs", you should use common sense that, probably, it's best to DO what it's being asked and KEEP the backup.
But again, that's entirely besides the point. Why you keep insisting on the older installer, when it seems the 32 bit version of the *current* software works just fine, so you not only can keep using the products, but you can even keep them updated ( unless some day even the 32 bit version might stop to work, we just don't know )
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You are asking your question, because you have probably forgot that, when the small installer downloads the main files, which are current at the time of the installation, it downloads them in your Documents\GSX_Installer folder and, at the end of the installation, it will ask you if you want to keep them for "future installs".
I didn't know that because I always use the FSDT Updater...
( unless some day even the 32 bit version might stop to work, we just don't know )
Exactly.
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I didn't know that because I always use the FSDT Updater...
The Updater only does what the name says: update the product. But you MUST have used the installer at some time, you just forget about it, ignored the message, failed to backup your Documents folder, so you lost it. It's not possible to even use the updater, if you never ran the installer at least once.
( unless some day even the 32 bit version might stop to work, we just don't know )
Exactly.
Not sure what you mean with "exactly". I should be saying that...
My point was, once you have an installer that WORKS for you, YOU SHOULD DO A BACKUP, because that's what you are supposed to do BECAUSE you must surely KNOW you are using an unsupported OS so you can't just demand we'd keep an history of legacy installers, which adds to our server bandwidth fees every month, JUST to cover for users of unsupported OS that don't do their backups.
So, again, if you really want to continue to use Windows 7 ( WHY ? You know very well you WILL end up with a newer OS, sooner or later, or you really think your hardware will last "forever" ? ), now that it seems we found out you can use the CURRENT version of the installer, with the 32 bit of the executable, I hope THIS TIME you'll do your backup so, if and when even the 32 bit version will eventually stop working, which we can't obviously know since we can't test it, you'll be at least able to use the version you DID a backup of.