answered X-Plane crashing at some airports but not others!

[Jez88]

Dear all,

 

I'm very new to X-Plane so please forgive me if I've made an obvious mistake.

 

I'm running X-Plane 11 on a newish iMac and have so far installed TrueEarth Great Britain South plus a couple of recommended plugins.  All was going well until suddenly X-Plane started crashing within a couple of seconds of my selected new flight.  I've tried to do a bit of searching and experimenting to find out why.  

 

Yesterday I started with a fresh install of X-Plane.  From scratch, all works okay.  I then re-added the Orbx scenery files using Central to regenerate the symlinks, the files themselves are in a separate folder.  Again, all seems to be okay... until, for no reason that I can discern, I can fly merrily at London City (EGLC), but not Bristol International (EGGD).  If I try to set up a new flight at the latter X-Plane crashes within a couple of seconds of the flight starting.  I've tried rearranging the scenery_packs.ini file, but that didn't seem to help.

 

I've saved the log.txt files from two flights as examples and attached them.

 

Finally, I'm not sure if it's relevant or not, but I had also added MisterX's Airport Environment HD and the MisterX_Library.  I've since removed the symlinks to these but that didn't solve the problem.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

 

 

Jez

 

Log_EGLC_ALL_OK.txt Log_EGGD_CRASHED.txt scenery_packs.ini

[Jon Clarke]

Welcome.

I cannot spot anything untoward in the Log files to indicate what the issue maybe. I did notice that in the log file labelled as Crashed, there was no mention of a crash at the bottom of the report when there normally would be.

You could test by disabling all the plugins, run a flight in Orbx TEGB South in a default XP plane. See if you get any crashes and report back.

[Jez88]

Dear Jon,

 

Thanks for replying so promptly.  It seems that going back to square one isn't as simple as it sounds.  I refreshed X-Plane via the installer, removed all custom scenery, started to fly a standard jet from Bristol... and noticed there were no buildings! I deleted and reinstalled Global Airports but still no buildings. So, I've now deleted all scenery and reinstalling Europe, which might not complete until I need to go to bed!

 

In the meantime, I grabbed the native log that the macOS saves and sends back to Apple when a program crashes (shown on screen so I copied the text andProblem Report for X-Plane 11.41r1.rtf saved it as a text file).  This was when I still had some plugins etc.  Does this shed any extra light on this?

Finally, hugely appreciative of your efforts.  I was a software engineer in my youth and I know how difficult it can be to fix these things.  I've obviously done something wrong, but it's not obvious to me!

 

With thanks,

 

Jez

Problem Report for X-Plane 11.41r1.rtf

[Jon Clarke]

8 hours ago, Jez88 said:

Dear Jon,

 

Thanks for replying so promptly.  It seems that going back to square one isn't as simple as it sounds.  I refreshed X-Plane via the installer, removed all custom scenery, started to fly a standard jet from Bristol... and noticed there were no buildings! I deleted and reinstalled Global Airports but still no buildings. So, I've now deleted all scenery and reinstalling Europe, which might not complete until I need to go to bed!

 

In the meantime, I grabbed the native log that the macOS saves and sends back to Apple when a program crashes (shown on screen so I copied the text andProblem Report for X-Plane 11.41r1.rtf saved it as a text file).  This was when I still had some plugins etc.  Does this shed any extra light on this?

Finally, hugely appreciative of your efforts.  I was a software engineer in my youth and I know how difficult it can be to fix these things.  I've obviously done something wrong, but it's not obvious to me!

 

With thanks,

 

Jez

Problem Report for X-Plane 11.41r1.rtf 79.89 kB · 2 downloads

No problem Jez. I am glad you appreciate how difficult it can be to resolve issues when not actually at somebodies PC. A lot is initial guesswork

I obviously have no idea what I was looking at when I opened the attached rtf file, but what did stand out was:

Thread 1 Crashed:: Thread pool worker (1)

0 libsystem_platform.dylib 0x00007fff68aa1929 _platform_memmove$VARIANT$Haswell + 41

1 com.laminar-research.X-Plane 0x000000010b98de52 TEX_obj::load() + 5458

2 com.laminar-research.X-Plane 0x000000010b98c8de TEX_obj::do_it(int) + 14

3 com.laminar-research.X-Plane 0x000000010af490e2 UTL_threadpool::thread_func(void*) + 530

4 com.laminar-research.X-Plane 0x000000010af6f934 THREAD_launch(void*) + 164

5 libsystem_pthread.dylib 0x00007fff68ab0109 _pthread_start + 148

6 libsystem_pthread.dylib 0x00007fff68aabb8b thread_start + 15

 

Buildings not appearing is probably your World Objects settings being too low.

When you reinstalled/refreshed XP it will have set all your XP settings to the rather low default settings which put World Objects at a low setting. 

Attach a pic of your current XP settings

 

[Jez88]

Dear Jon,

 

World Objects

Thank you for the heads up re. the World Objects setting.  I did a fresh install of XP last night and was frustrated to find I still had no buildings.  It turns out XP stores preferences in the Library (very macOS) and these were still present.  Deleting these files restored the defaults... and the buildings.  And now a confession, I had slide the World Objects slider to the far left as previously I had seen the word 'minimum' on the right.  It had crossed my mind that this slider was reversed compared to the Visual FX sliders etc., but hey ho.  I now realise the 'minimum' was the setting in words.  What a plonker!  So, yes, World Objects back to the right and buildings reappeared.  Thank you.

 

Crashing X Plane

Now for the bad news.  Having performed a fresh install and no additional scenery, XP worked this morning.  However now, without having added anything new, XP won't even load without crashing.  As I said, I was a software engineer and am still relatively IT-savvy.  How an application can work at one time, then not a few hours later when I've not changed anything is beyond me.  Clearly, something has changed, but what?  Again, I've attached the macOS crash report, but appreciate this is beyond Orbx's control now.

 

Cheers,

 

Jez

 

Report Problem for X-Plane.rtf

[Jon Clarke]

@Jez88 Your GPU or CPU isn't overheating is it?

 

[Jez88]

Ummm... I don't think so.  It's a current model, top of the range 27" iMac.  Here's a link:

 

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-mac/imac/27-inch-3.7ghz-6-core-processor-with-turbo-boost-up-to-4.6ghz-2tb#

 

I went for the 2 TB SSD drive and have manually upped the RAM to 40 GB.

 

I must admit, until XP I'd never heard the fan before, not even recording music!

 

X-Plane themselves say I must have a bad texture file.  But the application now crashes immediately, even after a fresh install and no addons or custom scenery.  I'm lost!

[Jez88]

Dear Jon,

 

Sadly this problem hasn't gone away.  I wrote to X-Plane support and they said it was due to a bad texture file.  Lo and behold when I look at my log file I see a number of texture warnings:

 

WARNING: texture Custom Scenery/Orbx_EG20_Clench_Common_Field/Objects/concretepatches.png has a size that is not a power of 2; it may not render correctly.
WARNING: texture Custom Scenery/Orbx_EG20_Clench_Common_Field/Objects/concretepatches_normal1.png has a size that is not a power of 2; it may not render correctly.

 

and...

 

WARNING: we are missing the texture: Custom Scenery/Orbx_C_GB_South_TrueEarth_Orthos/textures/ab90xfca0x17.dds.

 

X-Plane sometimes crashes on loading, other times it loads but I get this warning on screen (captured in the log file) and it might then crash subsequently:

 

 

0:01:35.539 E/SYS: +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0:01:35.539 E/SYS: | Some scenery textures could not be loaded.
0:01:35.539 E/SYS: | This may be an installation problem or you may have a damaged add-on scenery package.
0:01:35.539 E/SYS: | Please see the Log.txt file for a detailed list of missing files.
0:01:35.539 E/SYS: | 
0:01:35.539 E/SYS: | (alrt.cpp:30)
0:01:35.539 E/SYS: +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Does this help work out the problem?

 

Kind regards,

 

 

 

Jez

 

Log.txt

[Jon Clarke]

Does this warning message  

WARNING: we are missing the texture: Custom Scenery/Orbx_C_GB_South_TrueEarth_Orthos/textures/ab90xfca0x17.dds.

appear on screen?

[Jon Clarke]

I am offsite in a short time so have a reply to these questions for me when I get back early evening UK time.

1. Read the link I post below and ensure you meet ALL the requirements and in particular about free space required, location of your Temp folder, deletion of any back up copy. They do relate to Windows but you will need to find the Mac equivalents if possible.

2. What  the free space is available on the drive you are downloading onto and the drive you are installing onto?

3. Delete any backup copies of TEGB South and Clench if you have them.

 

Once you have established that you have the required free space available on the drives, deleted any backups then open Orbx and run the Verify Files for TEGB South and Clench.Run XP and immediately exit. Open Custom Scenery and place TEGB South under Global Airports and Clench above Global Airports if they are not automatically placed in that sequence.

Run a flight from Clench and report if you get any error messages.

The warning message about a missing orthos/texture file indicates an incomplete installation due to a lack of required free disk space. 

 

 

[Jez88]

Hi Jon,

 

Apologies for the delay in replying.  Balancing X-Plane and home schooling due to the lockdown!

 

When I had some time I found the ab90xfca0x17.dds file and it was empty; Zero KB as my Mac says.  I deleted and then re-verified my GB South pack with Orbx Central as you suggested.  This reinstated a 'proper copy' and everything has been fine since.

 

For what it's worth I've got a 2TB drive on my iMac which is only half full, so free space shouldn't have been an issue with the original download.

 

So, all fixed now and thank you for your help.

 

With kind regards,

 

 

Jez

 

 

[Jon Clarke]

8 hours ago, Jez88 said:

Hi Jon,

 

Apologies for the delay in replying.  Balancing X-Plane and home schooling due to the lockdown!

 

When I had some time I found the ab90xfca0x17.dds file and it was empty; Zero KB as my Mac says.  I deleted and then re-verified my GB South pack with Orbx Central as you suggested.  This reinstated a 'proper copy' and everything has been fine since.

 

For what it's worth I've got a 2TB drive on my iMac which is only half full, so free space shouldn't have been an issue with the original download.

 

So, all fixed now and thank you for your help.

 

With kind regards,

 

 

Jez

 

 

Finally ! That's good news.

[Jez88]

Seems like I spoke too soon.  Having finally got True Earth GB South to work I took advantage of the recent sale and bought GB North and EGLC too... only they don't work consistently.  X-Plane's advice is to remove all Custom Scenery and plugins until the app is again stable.  I do this and all's good.  Add some plugins; fine.  Add some US Orthos  etc; runs like a dream.  Add Orbx's scenery... after a while X-Plane becomes unstable again.  If I remove the Orbx content by removing the symlinks and updating the scenery_packs.ini file X-Plane works perfectly.

 

As I've said before - I appreciate this is complex stuff and difficult to solve remotely - but as it stands my Orbx purchases just aren't usable.  I spend as much time trying to get X-Plane to work as I do flying; perhaps more.  I fear I might be requesting a refund.  However, I'd much rather get the Orbx products working as the scenery is fabulous when it works.

 

Jon - how can *we* fix this?  As a computer-savvy user I'm happy to roll my sleeves up!

 

Thanks,

 

Jez

[Jon Clarke]

7 hours ago, Jez88 said:

Seems like I spoke too soon.  Having finally got True Earth GB South to work I took advantage of the recent sale and bought GB North and EGLC too... only they don't work consistently.  X-Plane's advice is to remove all Custom Scenery and plugins until the app is again stable.  I do this and all's good.  Add some plugins; fine.  Add some US Orthos  etc; runs like a dream.  Add Orbx's scenery... after a while X-Plane becomes unstable again.  If I remove the Orbx content by removing the symlinks and updating the scenery_packs.ini file X-Plane works perfectly.

 

As I've said before - I appreciate this is complex stuff and difficult to solve remotely - but as it stands my Orbx purchases just aren't usable.  I spend as much time trying to get X-Plane to work as I do flying; perhaps more.  I fear I might be requesting a refund.  However, I'd much rather get the Orbx products working as the scenery is fabulous when it works.

 

Jon - how can *we* fix this?  As a computer-savvy user I'm happy to roll my sleeves up!

 

Thanks,

 

Jez

Have you tried placing the Orbx addons directly in the XP directory without any symlinked?

It could be anything I'm afraid and i don't know what to advise as you say they don't work consistently so it appears there is a degradation process.

That could be anything including a hardware problem.

What is not working properly? is it that default scenery appears, XP doesn't load? XP crashes?

[Jez88]

Dear Jon,

 

Sorry for the sporadic relies.  As I said before, I'm trying to fit this in between home schooling and supporting a critical worker partner!

 

I have freshly installed both X-Plane (r11.41) and Orbx TE BG South.  TE GB North was already a new install.  I have made a complete copy of the X-Plane folder on a separate drive so that I can compare them as time goes on.  I have added a few plugins and double checked that they were installed correctly by installing them twice and diff'ing each against the default X-Plane folder.

 

So far so good and I am flying above GB again!

 

I will wait for any problems to arrive and then should be in a position to find what has changed.  As you say, it seems like a degradation issue.

 

To answer your questions.  I have not tried installing the Orbx add-ons in the XP folder, previously they have always been via symlinks.  I will try this if things go wrong again.  When the issue arrises XP either crashes on loading pre flight (i.e. having selected a new flight etc.) or within seconds of the new flight starting.  This only happens when flying in a TE GB scenery area.  If I remove TE GB - or fly somewhere else - the problem goes away.

 

Fingers crossed and I'll report back when I have news... good or bad!

 

Cheers,

 

 

Jez

 

[Jon Clarke]

7 hours ago, Jez88 said:

Dear Jon,

 

Sorry for the sporadic relies.  As I said before, I'm trying to fit this in between home schooling and supporting a critical worker partner!

 

I have freshly installed both X-Plane (r11.41) and Orbx TE BG South.  TE GB North was already a new install.  I have made a complete copy of the X-Plane folder on a separate drive so that I can compare them as time goes on.  I have added a few plugins and double checked that they were installed correctly by installing them twice and diff'ing each against the default X-Plane folder.

 

So far so good and I am flying above GB again!

 

I will wait for any problems to arrive and then should be in a position to find what has changed.  As you say, it seems like a degradation issue.

 

To answer your questions.  I have not tried installing the Orbx add-ons in the XP folder, previously they have always been via symlinks.  I will try this if things go wrong again.  When the issue arrises XP either crashes on loading pre flight (i.e. having selected a new flight etc.) or within seconds of the new flight starting.  This only happens when flying in a TE GB scenery area.  If I remove TE GB - or fly somewhere else - the problem goes away.

 

Fingers crossed and I'll report back when I have news... good or bad!

 

Cheers,

 

 

Jez

 

That's good. I feel we have exhausted the support that can be offered as it has been determined that the installation and indeed the addon is working as designed now.