Couatl engine failed after installing new airports

[Highiron]

Hi Umberto,

I downloaded the new installers for Prepar3D for Zurich, JFK, Hawaii 1 &2, PHNL, KLAS, KDFW, and KORD. I installed all the airports and all was functioning fine. I mucked around KLAS for over an hour.

After a restart of Prepar3D to purchase Zurich, KJFK, and KORD the Couatl option was no longer available on the menu. The add-on manager was still showing though. Nothing in my anti-virus definitions had changed, the applicable files are excluded as they always have been and has been working for over a month. The only thing new was the install of the additional airports and a restart of P3D.

I downloaded the stand alone Addon Manager and ran the install, with no success.
I ran the installer again for KLAX, and still no Couatl in the menu. I ran the latest release installer for O'Hare, and still no luck.

I checked the error log, and there is no error logged.
It's 03:06 in the morning, and after spending over 2 hours on it, I give up...

I'm going to say it, because it will make me feel better, I HATE COUATL!!! They don't make a toilet big enough to handle this enormous piece of crap. Every time I install or change an airport the thing goes AWOL. There, now I feel better, and I'm laughing again.

I will feel much better when all my FSDT airports stop disappearing...

[virtuali]

I'm going to say it, because it will make me feel better, I HATE COUATL!!! They don't make a toilet big enough to handle this enormous piece of crap. Every time I install or change an airport the thing goes AWOL. There, now I feel better, and I'm laughing again.

You have the Addon Manager but not the Couatl menu ? If that's the case, you should first hate your antivirus that has blocked it...

It's not enough to have the Couatl.exe excluded in the antivirus, because that exclusion is only valid for the FSX/P3D folder, if the antivirus is the problem, it's blocking it when downloading and installing (in the Windows temporary folder)

If the antivirus is the problem, you need to download and install the Stand-Alone Addon Manager with the antivirus turned entirely off, and turn it on before launching FSX/P3D.

[Highiron]

You have the Addon Manager but not the Couatl menu ? If that's the case, you should first hate your antivirus that has blocked it...

Yes this is usually the case, and have encountered this in the past. I disabled everything possible when downloading and installing the Add-on Manager. It has always worked for me in the past, but not this time.

It's not enough to have the Couatl.exe excluded in the anti-virus, because that exclusion is only valid for the FSX/P3D folder, if the anti-virus is the problem, it's blocking it when downloading and installing (in the Windows temporary folder)

This would be the case normally, but what if the anti-virus is off during the download and installation process as it was and is in my case?

If the anti-virus is the problem, you need to download and install the Stand-Alone Addon Manager with the anti-virus turned entirely off, and turn it on before launching FSX/P3D.

Done this already in at least 5 different ways, all netting the same ineffective result. Since I have encountered this problem before on two separate occasions I have gotten quite used to manipulating my anti-virus to work around this problem, this time the solutions are not working, hence my frustration.

The confusion I'm having is after I installed all of your airports except Geneva, and Fort Lauderdale, the products functioned properly. After closing Prepar3D following several hours of use to do other computing, mainly forum stuff, I restarted Prepar3D to purchase KJFK, KORD, and Zurich. When I went to the menu, *Couatl* was not present, just the *Addon Manager*, I continued with the purchases anyway and Activated all three with the new keys. I then spent another 3 hours trying to fix the problem, but have now run out of options and possibilities. Everything on my system is up to date, proof of that was that all was functioning fine after initially installing the airports into P3D, and other than your airports into Prepar3D, nothing new was installed, so what changed between the first and second sessions hours apart in Pepar3D that now causes the Couatl engine to fail?

[virtuali]

othing new was installed, so what changed between the first and second sessions hours apart in Pepar3D that now causes the Couatl engine to fail?

Nothing has changed, of course. The program is always the same, which is why it's not possible that Couatl itself is the problem. In another message, you said that, although your turned off your antivirus, it was STILL alerting your of a "dangerous URL", which means you haven't *full* deactivated.

I'm sorry, but everything in your description (especially your other message) leads to believe the antivirus is the problem.

In any case, our suggested solution procedure, always includes a "Windows reboot" step. Have you done that ? Try to follow this to the letter, don't skip any step:

- If you installed the Stand-Alone Addon Manager, Uninstall it.

- Reply YES when asked if you want to remove the Addon Manager and the Couatl Engine. Reply YES to both questions.

- TURN OFF your antivirus. Don't just exit from its interface, but turn off the real time protection. Actual wording changes between products, however, it's the option to scan every file that gets open in real time, without user intervention.

- Reinstall the Stand-Alone Addon Manager with the Antivirus TURNED OFF. Don't launch P3D yet.

- Configure the antivirus to exclude the following files from scanning:

YourP3DFolder\bglmanx.dll
YourP3DFolder\fsdreamteam\Couatl\couatl.exe

- Now you can turn the antivirus back on, and launch P3D

- Check P3D starts correctly, and you are seeing BOTH the "Addon Manager" menu AND the "Couatl powered products" menu under the "Addons" menu.

[Highiron]

Funny that you mentioned it. It's what I have been doing the last hour.

I was able to get around the malicious URL by deactivating the "signatures" within Norton 360. It was the signature of the URL it was tagging, not the file it's self. Nothing to do with the anti-virus or the firewall features of Norton, which were also disabled.

There is no actual way to shut down Norton completely, I've even tried through the System Processes option, and Access is Denied when trying to shut down the module, even though I have Administrative rights over my system. No doubt this is to prevent unwanted tampering. Since deactivating it completely in a normal Windows session is impossible, you can go into it's multitude of menus and cripple it which is how I was able to download KLAS eventually. It took me over an hour and 5 attempts to figure out what to shut down in Norton but I was successful.

I did one better as a solution. I went to "Add Remove Programs" and found 4 versions of *Addon Manager", I un-installed all of them, including FSX and P3D. I restarted the computer in "Safe Mode", Norton cannot run in Safe Mode and I confirmed it was not running. I downloaded the "Addon Manager" stand alone from the KLAX info page version 2.8.1.1.. I then ran the installer in "Safe Mode" as it installed all the files again. I restarted Windows again, and let it boot normally. I confirmed all the files are in place within the Fsdreamteam folder and the exclusions are all still present within Norton for both a FSX and P3D install. I ran Prepar3D and again only the Addon Manager is present no Couatl tab is present. Since everything was installed and downloaded in "Safe Mode" circumnavigating any anti-virus influence I can not see how the anti-virus can factor in anymore.

As for your instructions to follow, I did them last night and twice today in exactly the same manner as you laid out, hence my "Safe Mode" effort.

Next?

[virtuali]

I doubt the Addon Manager installer will work correctly in Safe mode. You have to install it normally.

Fact you can't even fully deactivate Norton in normal mode, only adds up to my suggestion to switch to a more reliable product, like the free MS Security Essentials, which doesn't mistakenly identify our software as a threat to begin with, which means it doesn't require any special configuration, it just works.

[Highiron]

Ok, it seems I found the problem, and it wasn't with the anti-virus. You may want to remember this as another possibility of the problem.

Just on a side note, the downloader and installer worked fine in Safe Mode. Just make sure Internet access is enabled with Safe Mode. It ran and placed all the files where they belong. A sure fire way to get around any anti-virus issues.

After running the installer for the Addon Manager once for Prepar3D and once for FSX, I had failure of the Couatl engine in Prepar3D. I wondered if the same was true for FSX, so I fired it up. When FSX booted I got three messages asking if I trusted the Virtuali Addon Manager, Couatl, and something else I missed. Naturally I selected "yes" to all the prompts of trusted software. In FSX I had the Addon Manager and Couatl working, no problems. I didn't recall seeing any of the same prompts when starting up Prepar3D, (if I trusted your software). This got me thinking about permissions. In FSX, I was being asked if I trusted your software, in Prepar3D I was not. In FSX the Couatl engine worked, in Prepar3D it did not.

I have full administrative rights on my system all the time, and both my FSX and Prepar3D installations reside on a separate drive away from the default C:/. I opened the the Fsdreamteam folder and navigated to "Prepar3D/Fsdreamteam/couatl/couatl.exe" and right clicked it and selected the "Properties" tab. I then selected the "Compatibility" tab and checked the "run this program as an administrator" checkbox, selected "apply" then "OK" and closed the window. This time when I ran Prepar3D, the menu had the Addon Manager and the Couatl Products tabs present and all the FSDT airports functioned properly.

In my FSX installation, I have not had to do this, perhaps because during initial boot of FSX, it is permitting their use because as an "Administrative" user allowing the files to be determined as "Trusted". In Prepar3D however these "pop up" Windows do not appear, it goes straight to loading the scenery and terrain and then into the simulation environment. This never allows the user do determine the "Trusted" factor of any of these .exe files. By habit, I always check the box of any .exe file to "run this program as an administrator", regardless of what drive the file resides on. This has gone a long way to prevent unexpected problems of programs. Usually when a file is  overwritten in retains the set properties, which is why in the past the Couatl.exe even though updated always functioned properly. For some reason this time, perhaps because of the install of multiple new airports the setting was removed. Even having full Administrative privileges over the system was not sufficient enough for the Couatle.exe to run. As soon as I checked the box, it instantly worked.

So in closing I would also recommend that when the issue crops up that anti-virus be turned off during download and install as a safe guard, but also that the "run this program as an administrator" check box is checked as well in the "Compatibility" options, particularly in Prepar3D as this appears at the moment to be a must for functionality.

Fact you can't even fully deactivate Norton in normal mode, only adds up to my suggestion to switch to a more reliable product, like the free MS Security Essentials, which doesn't mistakenly identify our software as a threat to begin with, which means it doesn't require any special configuration, it just works.

I know you hate Norton with the red hot intensity of a 1000 suns, but there is good reason for this. A little history reveals why. Several years ago a virus was created that not only harmed ones computer, but was designed to mess with Norton. When it was downloaded in a file, the first thing it did was disable Norton silently in the background. It then tinkered with the files to give the appearance to the user that Norton was up and running, when in fact it was not, and even go so far as to show that "updates have been downloaded and installed" and that the user was now up to date. This too was false. Meanwhile, the virus delivered it's payload and began it's nasty little work on your system. I only downloaded what I determined as "safe" material yet this little sucker found it's way onto my system. I only discovered it when my Internet was down and I still received the message that updates had been downloaded and installed and that I was now up to date. Really? With no Internet connection! I shut my system down. When my Internet was up and running, I opened the Norton control panel manually, and manually selected "Run Live Update", which was followed by a huge amount of content, then ran the scan, and low and behold it found the virus and sent if packing. The conclusion reached by Norton was that if you or I can disable the module, so too can a hacker or cleverly scripted virus. The solution was to make it impossible for it to be shut down, other than by un-installing it. This is still a real vurnability any anti-virus has that can be totally and completely disabled. Noton 360 is extremely robust and I must admit, your content is the first in 10 years of use that I have had conflicts with. It is true, that this is not accepatble considering you have sent them the offending files and have recieved no "love". I will contact their customer support and will also give them a nudge as they proclaim to detest false positives, well now I'm going to call them out on it, and hopefully end this problem for good, at least with Norton anyway.

[virtuali]

I didn't recall seeing any of the same prompts when starting up Prepar3D, (if I trusted your software). This got me thinking about permissions. In FSX, I was being asked if I trusted your software, in Prepar3D I was not. In FSX the Couatl engine worked, in Prepar3D it did not.

That's normal: Prepar3D doesn't use the Trust system at all. Modules are always trusted, unless you un-trust their publisher in the Windows security settings.

So in closing I would also recommend that when the issue crops up that anti-virus be turned off during download and install as a safe guard, but also that the "run this program as an administrator" check box is checked as well in the "Compatibility" options, particularly in Prepar3D as this appears at the moment to be a must for functionality.

Note that, if you browse the P3D support forum, running as Administrator is suggested by Lockheed Martin people as a general rule, there was a problem with the sim crashing accessing the Scenery Library, if not run as Admin.

My suggestion (which is valid for FSX too), is to install it in a folder you have complete control, like C:\Prepar3D (or C:\FSX in case of FSX), instead of the default C:\Program Files, because under Vista or Windows 7, only programs run As Administrator have write permission in the C:\Program Files.

This means, any product that tries to write something in its own folder, will usually crash. It's not the case of our own modules, because they are all Vista/Win7 aware, and don't try to write in their folders, but in the correct %APPDATA% folders. However, a lots of 3rd party addons expects to write in their own folder, and will fail if you install them in a Flight sim installed under C:\Program Files.

I know you hate Norton with the red hot intensity of a 1000 suns, but there is good reason for this. A little history reveals why

I'm sorry, but I have a different view when judging an antivirus. To me, the best antivirus is NOT the one that "catches more virus than the competitor's", this is what the antivirus marketing people are pushing into, and because of this, they use questionable heuristic methods, in order to advertise their ability to catch virus *before* they are discovered.

Doing this, obviously results in flagging as threats lots of legit programs only because they use things like encryptions or anti-tampering methods, which is to be expected with something that handle security and handle sensitive data like your personal details/credit card.

I rate an antivirus highly if it does its job without interfering with mine. An antivirus that causes too many false positives creates more issues that the actual virus that is supposed to defend from...

In addition to that, when we contacted Symantec with a false positive report (twice), they replied that our modules are not considered threats by their product so, there would no need to do any action on their part. Yet I keep getting reports from users that Norton 360 blocks our installers. When we reported a false positive to Vipre, they whitelisted it and updated their data definition in less than 24 hours...

That's why I'll keep suggesting to every Norton user to switch to a more reliable product.

[Highiron]

I submitted the KLAS file download link and info to Symantec and this was the response:

"The Symantec Insight Dispute team has reviewed your recent submission to the Insight Dispute Submission form Webpage form "klas_fsx_setup." In light of further investigation and analysis Symantec is happy to remove this detection from within its products. Please ensure that your machine reflects the change by running LiveUpdate.
 
Decisions made by Symantec are subject to change if alterations to the Software are made over time or as classification criteria and/or the policy employed by Symantec changes over time to address the evolving landscape.
 
 
Sincerely,
 
Symantec Insight Dispute Team"

This was very easy to do using this form found here: https://submit.symantec.com/false_positive/

It took about 4 working days to get the conclusion. When they asked why I thought it should be excluded, in the comments amongst other things I included "because it's choking up his forums!". LOL

I believe Hawaiian Airports 2 and Geneva suffer the same fate as KLAS as my download folders are once again empty. I did mention it to them, but I believe it's 1 form for each issue. I could try downloading them again, and see what happens.

[virtuali]

This was very easy to do using this form found here: https://submit.symantec.com/false_positive/

Which is obviously what we did, twice. But since the file they mistakenly flagged as "dangerous", is Couatl.exe, we sent THAT one for analysis. They said that Norton doesn't block that file anymore, so there was no need to do any action, because they already fixed this.

But the problem is we sent the current version, because that one is what is downloaded online, and it's always being updated. But the installers might not necessarily contains always the same version that is online, it could be the online version was already updated in the meantime.

Which indicates how even the method of clearing files is flawed, since it's not based on what the program REALLY does (or doesn't), it's just an hash of the file. If we change something even trivial that doesn't affect behavior at all, like the program icon, this shouldn't require a new "analysys" on their part, but since the file hash has changed, their flawed heuristic will then again raise a suspect, and re-block the file again.

I'm sorry, but even the false positive reporting doesn't really solve the issue. The issue will be fixed when they'll change their heuristic in order not to automatically trigger a detection, it's not that all antivirus behave like this, most of them aren't.

[member111222]

Hi Umberto,

I downloaded the new installers for Prepar3D for Zurich, JFK, Hawaii 1 &2, PHNL, KLAS, KDFW, and KORD. I installed all the airports and all was functioning fine. I mucked around KLAS for over an hour.

After a restart of Prepar3D to purchase Zurich, KJFK, and KORD the Couatl option was no longer available on the menu. The add-on manager was still showing though. Nothing in my anti-virus definitions had changed, the applicable files are excluded as they always have been and has been working for over a month. The only thing new was the install of the additional airports and a restart of P3D.

I downloaded the stand alone Addon Manager and ran the install, with no success.
I ran the installer again for KLAX, and still no Couatl in the menu. I ran the latest release installer for O'Hare, and still no luck.

I checked the error log, and there is no error logged.
It's 03:06 in the morning, and after spending over 2 hours on it, I give up...

I'm going to say it, because it will make me feel better, I HATE COUATL!!! They don't make a toilet big enough to handle this enormous piece of crap. Every time I install or change an airport the thing goes AWOL. There, now I feel better, and I'm laughing again.

I will feel much better when all my FSDT airports stop disappearing...

Pretty much the same happened to me some days ago. I know from several posts what to do, but this time it would not let me install the standalone Addonmanager because the installer refused to update the alut.dll. On my FSX only "offline machine" i don't have antivirus softare that could have been the culprit and Windows defender and firewall are only activated when I install an addon.

Compared to the aerosoft installer that also personalizes an addon the addonmanager seems to be hyper sensitive. In the last year it happened a dozen times that suddenly all the buildings were gone at the airport with either the couatl engine not working properly or no appearance of addon manager in the FSX menu at all.  

People, who are working and maybe have a family simply don't have hours to mess around trying desperately to get the thing working again in their little sparetime. Also very sorry for the harsh comment but as my previous speaker said I am feeling better now. By the way I have lots of addons using the aerosoft installer and had never any problems with it at all.  

[virtuali]

Pretty much the same happened to me some days ago. I know from several posts what to do, but this time it would not let me install the standalone Addonmanager because the installer refused to update the alut.dll.

No, what's happened to you, according to your description, doesn't have anything to with antivirus, couatl or Addon Manager, your problem is that you launched the installer too quickly when FSX wasn't closed properly, so the installer couldn't write files, since there were still locked by FSX, and yes, even if you don't see its icon anymore, sometimes it takes a while for FSX to release all lock on its files.

A reinstall after a Windows reboot would have fixed the issue.

[tubavet]

Hi Umberto,

I don't want to start a new thread for a similar problem but wonder if you can help me.

I've installed most the FSdreamteam sceneries without problems but about a month ago I downloaded the KORD update and ran into problems.  My antivirus was NOD32 v4 and not had any problems up to that point.  I have always had couatl.exe and bglmanx.dll added to the exclusions (as well as my FSX folder).  When downloaded new scenery I've always turned off the real time scanning aspect while downloading from the website and while installing (and right click to run as admin).
Since installing the KORD update I've not been able to get couatl menu in FSX (I've the add on manager menu).
Initially I presumed a bad install so I uninstalled and also removed addon managed and couatl when asked and then reinstalled with the antivirus turned off including realtime scanning but no success.  I then uninstalled an previous airport (KLAX) that was working fine and reinstalled as above to no success.
Convinced it must be an antivirus problem I actually uninstalled my antivirus completely (I was due to upgrade to v5 anyway), rebooted, uninstalled a scenery and addon manager and couatl, mande a fresh download with no antivirus (not too concered as usually turn off anyway) and installed without an antivirus on my computer.

I've still had no success to get couatl running and not sure where to turn next.  I've only used the ESET products for about 3-4 years with no problem, but even with no antivirus installed am still getting problems.  I use Windows 7 64bit and the only firewall is the default windows 7 one.
My computer specs are


Have attached my FSX.cfg file.

Any help you can give will be appreciated.

Thanks

Phillip

[mikeymike]

HI
I have something strange happening with my coatl script crashing i ignore the error upon start up, start flight at  kjfk airport works just fine.I then exit, bare in mind anitivirus turned off with all my installs and running fsx. I then install standalone manager then no buildings showing wtf!!!Can you please advise on how to reslove this issue?thankyou

[virtuali]

coatl script crashing i ignore the error

You shouldn't ignore the error, and installing the current Stand-Alone Addon Manager should fix it, if it doesn't work, it means something in your Windows installation is missing.

However, you can also try download the current full JFK installer again and installing it.