Couatl starts manually, but not automatically with the simulator

[virtuali]

For anyone else reading this, I changed to UTF-8 tonight to cure coualt not starting automatically.  For some reason this completely borked by hotas throttle and stick whereby any aircraft didn't react to my inputs.  I've just restored the original exe.xml and my hardware is working again.

As explained in the first post of this thread, the issue of add-ons not being started automatically by the EXE.XML, is not really related to an issue related to the EXE.XML encoding.

Sure, if you have a problem with it, it's guaranteed it will not work but, if you read the explanation in the first post carefully, there's another fundamental issue with starting add-ons, that has been confirmed to be a problem in the sim, as indicated in the reply I cited, coming directly from Asobo, and it's caused by simulator trying for some reason to validate the add-ons licenses, something it clearly can't do, not possibly knowing anything about any license requirements of 3rd party add-ons.

MAYBE this could be some kind of derivative bug that, if MSFS has a problem with *its* license, is not supposed to start any add-ons, which seems to be confirmed by the fact that, when the .EXE.XML doesn't seem to start anything, even enabling the Simconnect logging Console results in an unspecified license error.

That is to say than yes, before you have any chance to have the EXE.XML add-ons starting correctly, the EXE.XML must be correct and have the proper encoding, meaning the actual content of the file must match the encoding declaration and, by default, even when an XML declaration is missing, the XML standard dictates the file is assumed to be UTF-8 without BOM, but even if your XML is perfectly fine, there's the OTHER issue explained above.

This SEEMS to have been fixed in SU11 Beta. I'm just starting MSFS again right now while I'm typing this (using the latest SU11 Beta), and my EXE.XML, which has an UTF-8 declaration and NO BOM, started the only two add-ons I have correctly, that is couatl64_MSFS.exe and FenixBootstrapper.exe. To be sure, I tried 3 times in a row, and in all 3 startups, couatl64_MSFS.exe and FenixBootstrapper.exe were correctly shutdown after quitting MSFS, and they were both auto-launched on the following startup so, it seems this might be fixed.

Assuming, of course, the EXE.XML is otherwise correct and doesn't include any errors.

[Ankh]

An interesting observation on my end: due to a hardware change I did a full re-install of Windows 10 and MSFS last weekend and guess what, this bloody exe.xml suddenly starts up all addon executables including couatl.exe without any hickup every time I fire up MSFS. Even with all my addons back in place, the exe.xml still works as intended. Do not ask me why, because if I compare the "new" and the "old" exe.xml line by line, they look 100% identical.

[virtuali]

An interesting observation on my end: due to a hardware change I did a full re-install of Windows 10 and MSFS last weekend and guess what, this bloody exe.xml suddenly starts up all addon executables including couatl.exe without any hickup every time I fire up MSFS. Even with all my addons back in place, the exe.xml still works as intended. Do not ask me why, because if I compare the "new" and the "old" exe.xml line by line, they look 100% identical.

Thank you for having confirmed what we already knew it was an issue ( separate from possible "issues" with the EXE.XML itself ) related to some kind of weird Windows/MS Store licensing problem, which was of course already explained in the first post of this thread, and I repeated in my last post.

As I've said, it seems to work much better with the SU11 Beta, previously I was never able to have anything auto-started automatically, and I think this was related to having two MSFS installations ( MS Store and Steam ) with two separate license, on the same PC. Now it always works for me.

[airbadger]

With SU11, is there anything I can do to make couatl start with MSFS? I'm still having to start it manually.

[virtuali]

With SU11, is there anything I can do to make couatl start with MSFS? I'm still having to start it manually.

With SU11, it always starts automatically, each time. I never had to start it manually again.

[airbadger]

Not for me. Looks like more fun troubleshooting MSFS for me.

[virtuali]

Not for me. Looks like more fun troubleshooting MSFS for me.

SU11 fixed the problem, but this assumes your EXE.XML is clean and not corrupted. Before SU11, it even failed to load EXE.XMLs that were correct, now they work so, check this thread and see if perhaps your EXE.XML has a problem, because if it does, SU11 wouldn't fix anything in that case:

https://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,28389.0.html

[airbadger]

I looked at that thread but don't see that particular issue in my attached exe.xml.

[virtuali]

I looked at that thread but don't see that particular issue in my attached exe.xml.

Surely there are differences compared to how it's supposed to be, since your file starts with these lines, which are like it used to be an FSX-style exe.xml, apparently some installer has created it as if was in FSX.

<SimBase.Document Type="Launch" version="1,0">
  <Descr>Launch</Descr>
  <Filename>exe.xml</Filename>
  <Disabled>False</Disabled>
  <Launch.ManualLoad>False</Launch.ManualLoad>

While the file I posted starts with the correct MSFS-style commands,  I've highlighted all the differences:

<SimBase.Document Type="SimConnect" version="1,0">
  <Descr>SimConnect</Descr>
  <Filename>SimConnect.xml</Filename>
  <Disabled>False</Disabled>

This is how the GSX installer creates the EXE.XML it if no file exists, and it's has been confirmed by Asobo (Boris is an Asobo developer ) it is the correct syntax:

https://devsupport.flightsimulator.com/questions/2191/starting-external-programs-without-using-the-exexm.html?childToView=6873#comment-6873

Note that, f an EXE.XML already exists, the GSX installer will just add its own section to it, without changing anything else.

However, this not being documented anywhere, other than that post on Asobo developers forum, it's not 100% clear what happens if you use the FSX-style syntax, the few tests I made seems to indicate it will be accepted as well, but I have not idea of there are side effects, for example of one of the add-ons in the section use Launch commands only available in MSFS.

Other than that, your file has spaces for indentation, the one I posted has Tabs. Again, not sure if this is a problem or not ( it shouldn't, according to XML standards ), but nobody can be sure of anything.

One thing you haven't said is, are ALL the other programs being started automatically from your EXE.XML, or there are some that don't start as well ? Or it's just Couatl ?

[airbadger]

One thing you haven't said is, are ALL the other programs being started automatically from your EXE.XML, or there are some that don't start as well ? Or it's just Couatl ?

Just couatl. I tried changing the instances of Launch to SimConnect as you noted with no change.

Then I removed the exe.xml, ran the FSDT installer and unlinked/relinked GSX and it rebuilt the exe.xml to only have couatl (attached). Unfortunately, even that doesn't get it running.

[virtuali]

Then I removed the exe.xml, ran the FSDT installer and unlinked/relinked GSX and it rebuilt the exe.xml to only have couatl (attached). Unfortunately, even that doesn't get it running.

I can only repeat and confirm it works 100% of the time here. Your file is surely correct now ( since it was created by the GSX installer, you can be sure it is ), so your issue must be something else entirely.

You still haven't answered to my last question, are ALL the other programs being started automatically from your EXE.XML, or there are some that don't start as well ? Or it's just Couatl ?

[airbadger]

Then I removed the exe.xml, ran the FSDT installer and unlinked/relinked GSX and it rebuilt the exe.xml to only have couatl (attached). Unfortunately, even that doesn't get it running.

I can only repeat and confirm it works 100% of the time here. Your file is surely correct now ( since it was created by the GSX installer, you can be sure it is ), so your issue must be something else entirely.

You still haven't answered to my last question, are ALL the other programs being started automatically from your EXE.XML, or there are some that don't start as well ? Or it's just Couatl ?

Couatl is the only one that won't start. I just tried another fresh exe.xml with just couatl and it didn't start. Then I swapped in FSUIPC in that same file and it started fine.

[vekant]

Hello, I have exactly the same problem. Everything lance nickel, except couatl

[Seth2413]

Yep latest updates coutal wont start and now i get that couldnt find valid afcad date for airport, services not available.

[virtuali]

Yep latest updates coutal wont start and now i get that couldnt find valid afcad date for airport, services not available.

Does it work if you start it manually from its icon ?