AE Problem

Hi all, I just checked all of my .con files (602) and still anytime I try to edit the player service AE phones home (Send/Don't Send) So far it seems to be any route, any activity (existing or new). I've re-installed MSTS (using re-copy existing files option). Still no joy. I'm using Windows ME W/128 Meg Ram.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm trying to test a new route. Thanx in advance.Jeff

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RE: AE Problem, obo, Dec-02-02, 12:43 PM, (1) RE: AE Problem, Idahojeff, Dec-02-02, 09:23 PM, (2) RE: AE Problem, obo, Dec-03-02, 01:34 PM, (3) RE: AE Problem, redfin, Dec-03-02, 07:28 PM, (4) RE: AE Problem, oldrailfan, Dec-23-02, 05:07 PM, (5) RE: AE Problem, rowie_nq, Dec-28-02, 05:10 AM, (6) RE: AE Problem, kevarc, Dec-28-02, 09:24 PM, (7) RE: AE Problem, oldrailfan, Dec-28-02, 10:58 PM, (8) RE: AE Problem, rowie_nq, Dec-31-02, 11:48 PM, (10) RE: AE Problem, rowie_nq, Jan-01-03, 04:23 AM, (11) RE: AE Problem, MasterChief, Jan-02-03, 11:37 AM, (12) RE: AE Problem, baldwin, Dec-31-02, 05:23 PM, (9) RE: AE Problem, Bing, Jan-02-03, 02:41 PM, (13) RE: AE Problem, MasterChief, Jan-02-03, 03:03 PM, (14)

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This could be anything. Here's what I would do, assuming you've already checked your files with Conbuilder and Route Control.1. Backup MSTS.
2. Do a clean install and test it.
3. Try putting all your con files back and test it.
4. Try putting your routes back and test it.At some point in the above it should start breaking again. That should give you the general location of the problem and you can start digging a bit deeper to isolate it.Tedious yes, but that's debugging for you.Rob.

Obo's MSTS Locomotive Catalog: http://msts.banal.net

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Thanks. I've checked with Conbuilder and RouteRiter next up is Route control, then tedium if that fails.Jeff

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Quick thought: one shortcut _might_ be to try steps 3 and 4 before you reinstall. You risk having to everything twice but it might be worth it.Rob.

Obo's MSTS Locomotive Catalog: http://msts.banal.net

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I had a similar problem which turned out to be a consist file that I'd corrupted during manual editing. This did not show up on any of the analysis programmes. I cured it by trial and error, removing consists to a back up file in batches until the problem disappeared. If you have edited any consists manually, try those first. Make sure the TrainCfg name matches the file name.

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LAST EDITED ON Dec-23-02 AT 05:36 PM (EST)

I concur with Redfin, with the added note that if you have been editing .eng or .wag files, you can cause errors within them that Conbuilder won't find, but will lock up MSTS during loading.
One quick way to tell: Does it freeze during the initial load, or after you have selected the activity? If it's during the second part of the load, you will usually get an error message that will aim you in the right direction. (If you know how to read it; the message can be cryptic)
I don't want to go thru it all here, but if you'd like, e-mail or Private Message me, and I'll send you the rough draft of a tutorial that I'm working on about the problem. It would help, if you ARE getting error messages before lockup, to write them down and include them in the message to me.(added during edit)
Ah, Heck! I just re-read your message, and noticed the problem occurs during Activity Edit. That does simplify things some; you have a consist error. Either you have edited a particular consist, (AE reads every one of them during startup) or you have renamed an .eng or .wag file or the folder it is stored in and the consist editor is looking for it in the old file/folder name.
You have a real needle-in-a-haystack. The best way to solve it, as stated elsewhere in this exchange, is to remove the consists from the CONSISTS folder one at a time (or in small batches) to a backup file until the problem stops, then start reloading them. DON'T just fix one, assume the problem is solved, and reload the rest. There could be several consists with errors.
If at all possible, correct the .con file. If it's a rename problem within a particular consist and you change the name or folder of the offending wagon, you might be creating problems in another consist.
Be patient - this can be a real "can of worms" until you get all the bugs worked out.
Good Luck

JOhn
Oldrailfan
Railfan means anything on rails! Trains Trolleys Rollercoasters - you name it.

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rowie_nq
Charter Member

Dec-28-02, 05:10 AM (EST)

6. "RE: AE Problem"
In response to message #5

LAST EDITED ON Dec-28-02 AT 05:17 AM (EST)

I'm having a similar problem. I recently installed Route Control and did a checkup. Here is the report:Problem Activities
=
ACT:Marias3 "Fuel Train"
=
Problem Services
=
Services-Activities
=
Problem Consists
=
CON:sbe.con=
CON:turbine set.con=
CON:GP15 FREIGHT.con=
CON:CSX Freight 2.con=
CON:po&n_cltrn traffic 7.con=
CON:FB_wrkdpa.con=
CON:SP TankTrain.con=Missing Locomotives
=
ENG:Sd50.eng Folder: Up Sd50=none
ENG:Gp38.eng Folder: Gp38_bn=none
ENG:P42_amtk_3.eng Folder: P42_amtk=none
ENG:Wrkdpa.eng Folder: Wrecked Alco Pa=none
ENG:Up_sd40-2_3152.eng Folder: Sd40_up=noneMissing Wagons
=
WAG:Upcab.wag Folder: Up Caboose=none
WAG:Shell_oil_y.wag Folder: Us2shell=noneNow when I go into AE and try to create an activity to test a route, clicking on 'New' under Player Services causes it to do the dreaded Send/Don't send thing. Would the problem be caused by Route Control removing the consists? Thanks
David

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Did you fix the messed up consists? Until you do it will keep crashing.Kevin Arceneaux
It is time for Amtrak to become a fallen flag!

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And you need Conbuilder or something similar to do that.
Kind of a Catch-22: you need to go into AE to fix some consists, but the busted consists won't let you go into AE.

JOhn
Oldrailfan
Railfan means anything on rails! Trains Trolleys Rollercoasters - you name it.

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rowie_nq
Charter Member

Dec-31-02, 11:48 PM (EST)

10. "RE: AE Problem"
In response to message #7

Kevin,Fixed all the consists and Route Control gives everything the ok, yet it still crashes when I select player service. Everything else works?? I have restored the consists that were changed (those that I remember. pretty sure I got them all) but it still crashes. I'll try a re-install and see if that helps. David

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rowie_nq
Charter Member

Jan-01-03, 04:23 AM (EST)

11. "RE: AE Problem"
In response to message #10

Fixed the problem! Did a complete un-install, deleted the registry entries, and installed it again. Now I can do some exploring on my new route David

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David,For the sake of us who are yet to experience this problem (but surely will at some point...), or some other issue that requires a complete uninstall, can you list the specific registry entries for the AE? Thanks,MC

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IT is possible because AE tends to complain at the least little thing that is not 100% correct.These problems with AE can also be caused by an eng or wag file which contain errors that the usual check methods do not pick up. Again, the only way to check for these is the long and tedious way, but not so long if you can remember what stock you installed between the times when AE worked and didnt work. Once you have isolated the offender/s, either find a substitute or try and work out why this is causing the problem.

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MasterChief - There isn't a master list of leftover registry entries from a MSTS uninstall. It would depend first of all on your OS and a lot of other factors, such as version, service packs, too many to list. It will be different for just about every computer.What you need is a good registry editor. There are two I use regularly - yes, one will find entires the other won't - and the old ZD freeware RegEdit DeLuxe which works only in Win98/98SE.The one I use the most, which is most likely overpriced for the user who just wants to do an edit now and then, is Resplendent Registrar - it is incredibly fast and will do mass deletes, which many editors will not for obvious reasons. The other is RegOrganzier, somewhat less expensive and slower but not that far behind the first one in features. YOu can also use the standard issue RegEdit but I really don't know how it is on search function; one of the reasons I went to a third party reg editor was the difficulty of using RegEdit. You set the search to find various forms such as "MSTS" "Train Sim" and so on, including "train.exe". If you had a crash before uninstall, you may have 100 or more surplus reg items - the average for a "clean" uninstall is 35 to 40. Naturaly, you have to be careful about which ones you delete - it is easy to do things like totally rearrange the desktop and worse. Mostly, though, it is safe to delete TS specific reg entires which are leftovers.The biggest offender in this respect are the MRU's, which I won't go into here, but they can really make life miserable. Make sure ALL MSTS-specific MRU's are deleted. For this purpose, you can use MRUBlaster, but again care and caution is advised. You can also defrag the WinXP registry via Resplendent Registrar, but that can be tricky. For Win98 the old MS RegClean is still around - MS dropped it from their website because it doesn't work with WinXP and they don't trust us to read instructions - maybe they're right, I don't know.If you didn't do anything else, getting rid of leftover MRU entires would be beneficial. Bing

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I am more familiar with REGEDIT...I teach a computer program for the Navy (the OS is is NT 4.0), and part of the training includes some registry changes. Also, we use the FIND feature in REGEDIT to help locate issues with our application during troubleshooting.I looked around with REGEDIT, and see what you mean...there is stuff here, there, and everywhere in the registry. I haven't looked at the registry after an uninstall.Thanks,MC

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