FSX + Vista + FScopilot and FSInn = Help!

[cass7996]

Alright guys thanks for taking the time to read this.

I'm running Vista on my comp with FSX and everything is happy happy.

I want to connect to Vatsim now. I have read all there is to read about the latest installations of both FSInn and FSCopilot. The problem isn't reading the directions and performing the steps, the problem is understanding a couple key portions of the installation for a Vista set up.

Problem 1: I understand I must check boxes or "run as administrator" for the programs but I have no clue where to find these boxes or when to run the program as "administrator."

That seems to be the major problems

Problem 2: While obtaining other information from the Vatsim forums I found something to do with "UAC." No clue what that is either.


Bear in mind here that I have got both programs to run before without doing these steps but things were just not right as would be expected. Problems were that the "traffic light" wasn't showing up etc.

Help would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance guys.

Also when I uninstall FSCo and FSInn everything runs smoothly but files can still be seen under my start menu. Don't know if thats a problem just thought I'd throw that in here also.

[L. D. James]

Hi, Mike. There are more than one method for configuring Vista to work with FSInn. An easier way would be to set FSX.exe to the "Run as administrator" mode. Using that method you don't have to be bothered with the UAC.

You can do this by: Right Clicking Flight Simulator in the Games Explorer -> Customize -> Edit -> Compatibility -> Put Check Mark in "Run the program as an administor" -> OK

If you've already done the installation you should be good to go.

For more details, take a look at:

FSInn Quick Install Steps:
http://flightsim.apollo3.com//docs/fsinn/connectiontovatsim.htm

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Thanks a lot Larry you're the man. Everything seems set up correctly I just have to figure out how to use the Control Panel now. Again thank you for the quick response.

[cass7996]

Larry no problem (as I can tell) getting connected to Vatsim. The chat comes up blinking telling me I'm connected but several seconds later a noise sounds and I'm disconnected automatically.

On my Control Panel

1. I click FSInn and everything turns green up top
2. Click on Vatsim. Little cloud and sun lights up and Chat blinks
3. Several seconds later error sound is heard and Vatsim turns red.

[L. D. James]

It sounds like you might not have the right ID/Password setup. What do you have in the status window of your VATSIM network? You can find this by looking at the screen where you put your VATSIM ID and Password.

For details of this take a look at:

VATSIM Connection Tutorial:
http://www.mcdu.com/media/swf/tuto1vatsim.htm

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Little update on the automatic sign off.

I checked out my ID and password to make sure everything was typed in correctly. Put my callsign in and picked my server.

And while I'm in the Control Panel -> Vatsim menu where I type in my ID, password and pick my server, at the bottom it says

"Disconnected" "---FSIUCE_WSAECONNABORTED---"

[L. D. James]

Try choosing a different server.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Doesn't seem to be the problem. I'm wondering if the problem is stemming from me being in a college dorm and being connected through my college's server to access the internet.

[L. D. James]

Install the Microsoft Loopback adapter.

http://www.apollo3.com/ljames/fsinn/vatsim/faq/#loopback

-- L.James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Got Loopback working still disconnecting.

If theres no other solution that you can think of it's okay. You have gone out of your way to help. Thanks Larry.

[L. D. James]

>Got Loopback working still disconnecting.
>
>If theres no other solution that you can think of it's okay.
>You have gone out of your way to help. Thanks Larry.

I don't mind.

The Loopback compensates for lots of network problems.

I can understand, your being in college and might not reply right away to some of my suggestions. There might be gaps in when I reply at times. I find using forums a very convenient medium because either person can take their time in reading or responding and easily see the log of where they left off.

Less run a test. Will you try to connect to the Apollo III Server and see if you get the same error?

You can configure one of the private servers for Apollo III by:

Inn Control Panel -> Set -> Network -> [Click on either of the NetX items] -> [Fill the page as follows: ID:222222 Password:password Net Label:Apollo Server:www.apollo3.com] -> (Click) Apollo

Let me know if you get the same type of disconnect problem.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Totally agree this is the best way communicating.

I'm down to try out the Apollo3 server I'm getting lost on the Apollo homepage though. Don't know what to do after:

Inn Control Panel -> Set -> Network -> -> www.apollo3.com > ?

[L. D. James]

>Totally agree this is the best way communicating.
>
>I'm down to try out the Apollo3 server I'm getting lost on the
>Apollo homepage though. Don't know what to do after:
>
>Inn Control Panel -> Set -> Network -> ->
>www.apollo3.com > ?

There's no need to go to the Apollo homepage. Looking back at my message I see that the system had my blocks of "[]" information filtered out. This one should come out better because I'm checking the option to use plain text.

Just configure your FSInn network by clicking:

Inn Control Panel -> (click) Set -> (click) Network -> [Click on one of the entries to configure, by default there will be three Net[2-4] between VATSIM and FSFDT. Click on one of them] -> [Fill the entry as: ID:222222 Password:password Net Label:Apollo Server:www.apollo3.com] -> (Click) Apollo

Then tell me if you have problems with the connection.

Sorry for the confusion of the previous message.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Yeah reconfigured FSInn Control Panel for Apollo and still it will only connect for only a couple seconds. Very frustrating.

I don't think my dorm room internet connection is to blame either because my roommates play games online all the time.

I'm stumped

[L. D. James]

Michael. How are you connected to the Internet. Is it wireless? If it is and you're not using the LAN adapter, disable the LAN adapter.

Insure that you've restarted the computer after having installed and configured the Loopback adapter.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

It is a wireless connection. But I am unsure how disable the LAN and if I disable it how will I still be able to access the internet?

Sorry for the dumb questions but my forte is the business world and law not comps.

[L. D. James]

No problems, I'll address the questions, but first can you tell me what numbers you put in for the IP and Netmask for the Loopback adapter?

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

No clue how to get to that info. But I did install the Loopback adapter.

[L. D. James]

The loopback installation included configuring it. There's a chance that configuring it might resolve the issue.

I'm writing a description to configure it. I'll post it in a few minutes.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[L. D. James]

This is how to disable your unused LAN adapter and configure the loopback adapter. The Loopback adapter will not cause a conflict with your network. The only think it will do is give connection stability (of which the error message you get shows you're lacking).

Disabling the unused LAN adapter won't affect anything about your current network connection because you're using wireless. You can enable it anytime just by right clicking and clicking on enable (or simply double click on it).

Please proceed as follows:

Control Panel -> Network and Shareing Center -> Manage Network Connections -> (This brings you to the Network Connections window. You should have at least 3 adapters [your computer NIC, Your Wireless Adapter, and the loopback adapter you installed] Right Click the Local Area Connection [not the loopback and not the wireless] Click Disable) -> (Right click the loopback adapter, click properties, Double Click TCP/IPv4 and configure: IP Address: 172.20.1.1, Subnet Mask 255.255.0.0, leave the Default Gateway Blank) -> (Click) OK -> OK -> Close the Network Connections Window -> Close the Network and Sharing Center Window

After you've done these steps, test the VATSIM network and the Apollo III network and see if you get better results.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Well Larry I guess it's just not meant to be. It's still not holding the connection on either server (Apollo or Vatsim).

Tomorrow I'm going to try and make the tech guys at my school set it up for me and see if they can find something I'm overlooking.

But if you got anymore tips or come up with anything I'll still be checking the forum here. Thanks for the help lots of people appreciate what you do for the Vatsim network.

[L. D. James]

I would be curious if you're able to hold a Games Spy Connection.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[L. D. James]

Hi, Michael, grab flightsim.apollo3.com/files/fsinn-timeout.zip .

If you're running Vista 32, run the reg script file (by double clicking on it). If you're running Vista 64, let me know and I'll make a reg file for the 64 bit version.

Try VATSIM after this reg update.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

I'm running Vista Business 32bit OS so ill grab the flightsim.apollo3.com file.

Never tried the Gamespy stuff though.

[cass7996]

Alright I put the flightsim.apollo3.com..... in my browser and than it showed up as a zipped folder on my computer. Should I extract that or do something else with it?

[L. D. James]

It has a reg script inside. Open the zip and run the reg file by double clicking on it.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Double clicked on the file inside and an error comes up:


Registry Editor
Cannot Import
C:\Users\mike\AppData\Local\Temp\Temp1_fsinn-timeout.zip\fsinn-timeout.reg

The specified file is not a registry script.
You can only import binary registry files from within the registry editor

[L. D. James]

Sorry, grab the updated version, grab http://flightsim.apollo3.com/files/fsinn-timeout1.zip .

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Neither Apollo nor Vatsim is staying connected but Apollo did stay connected a few seconds longer. I think I might have to resort to having the techs at my school check it out. This is really bugging me to death.

[L. D. James]

Understood.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Thanks for going way out of your way Larry you're still the man even though you couldnt figure this one out.

Keep up the good work with the other Vatsimers.

[L. D. James]

I haven't given up. I'm researching a method to test network connectivity. I'm also looking forward to what your IT people find.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[L. D. James]

Hi, Michael. When you get a chance, please try this updated reg script.

http://flightsim.apollo3.com/files/fsinn-timeout2.zip .

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Tried out the new reg script timeout2 and didn't work still disconnects.

My bad for the late reply I've had classes all day and have one coming up in a few min. I'm going to try and get to my IT people after my last class to ask them about the connection.

[L. D. James]

You replied within the hour of my posting the message. That was more than prompt.

I don't mind if it takes days. But I will be glad to read any development after your IP people look at the situation.

If you're running on a Laptop, maybe sometime you'll find an occasion to be at a different access point and can give a try there.

I know the problem is a timeout in the network packets. The registry files I was sending you was to put longer delays for FSInn to timeout. The registry entries would only affect FSInn's entries and nothing else on the computer.

On yea. Some dormitories have both wireless and LAN adapters available for the students. I forgot to ask you if the LAN (RJ45) connection is available for you? If not your dorm, maybe the computer lab. You can reenable your LAN adapter just be double clicking on it, if you find a way to test it.

Maybe your IT guy will test it with you.

Type to you later.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

My internet connection in my dorm is strictly wireless but I was thinking of going to my library which has a hardwire hookup would make a difference on my laptop.

Im running a

Sony Vaio Business Edition
Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB

so I don't think my comp is the issue I'm leaning towards my internet connections in my dorm.

[cass7996]

Larry I got some good news for you, not so much for me.

The problem must be stemming from my dorm room connection. I'm at the Library right now at my college which must have a different connection system to the internet and I can jump on to Vatsim via both servers with no problem.

Problem is I'm not gonna sit in my library and start rattling off pilot/atc talk and piss everyone off trying to study.

But at least we know everything connects and is able to run smoothly. Just don't know why it won't connect in my dorm. I'm going to bring it up with my IT people tomorrow because now they are off work and see what they have to say.

[L. D. James]

Glad for the success. As I mentioned, the error message is a packet time out message. Most of the time the Loopback adapter will compensate. I'll try I'll send another reg script that you can test at your dorm that might help.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Alright sounds good Larry.

The IT people at the library said the company that provides internet access for the dorms at my school blocks almost everything.

For example I am able to download simple files from the internet like the Vatsim software and the scripts you have wrote. But for example downloading music using a program like Limewire or a torrent downloader is impossible.

I don't know if that has to do with ports or something else.

[L. D. James]

No, the ports doesn't matter unless you'll be trying to fly P2P. Looking at the Apollo logs at your connections yesterday it seemed that something happened about every 8 minutes of your connection.

Maybe they have some type of algorithm in their connections to feel the steady connection is an attempt at file sharing.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

> Looking at the Apollo logs at your connections yesterday
>it seemed that something happened about every 8 minutes of
>your connection.
>
>
>
>-- L. James
>
>--
>L. D. James
>ljames@apollo3.com
>www.apollo3.com/~ljames

Exactly. In the dorm it just cant hold the connection for very long at all.

Also when I click on the Vatsim or Apollo button on the Control Panel it takes about 15 seconds to connect. At the library everything happens instantly and stays connected.

Must be some sort of firewall the company has set up.

The IT guys at the library did say though, that there is a way to get around it. They also said the company sometimes helps students get a better connection with a game, depending who's on the phone. So I'm going to give them a call tomorrow and see if they can give me some info about this firewall.

[cass7996]

Hey Larry a little update with the dorm connection.

The IT people for my dorm were very reasonable on the phone. They said they would be able to bypass the firewall no problem but they said they need to know what specific ports Vatsim uses to connect to the internet.

If you know the ports or however Vatsim connects to the internet technically can you post it for me so I can shoot them an email with all the specs so they can get it running?

Thanks.

[L. D. James]

Hi, Michael, as I mentioned before, you don't have to specify ports unless you're trying to connect P2P (mainly for formation flying which is rare on VATSIM). Our test seems to indicate that you connect alright, but just can't retain the connection.

For P2P, it uses UDP 32062. This is discussed in the manual on page 5 (Network Configuration).

Maybe insuring that port is open will enhance the connection stability. Give it a try. Since your IT is working with you, I'm sure we'll figure out the problem or a workaround.

I'll be uploading a script to expand the timeout interval to see if that will help. I'll also send a script that will restore it back to the default if the modification doesn't help.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Thanks for the quick reply.

When I email him I'll let him know that Vatsim doesn't use specific ports but I'll still provide him the port info.

I'll also see if he can provide some info on the server.

[L. D. James]

Hi, Michael.

Grab the latest zip. It has two reg scripts. One of them is a radical timeout set and the other is the default setting. Try the radical timeout setting from your dorm. You can use the default option to return things back to the way it was when first installed.

http://flightsim.apollo3.com/files/fsinn-timeout3.zip

This script is based on this message from the author:

http://www.mcdu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3593&highlight=disconnect#18503 .

Again, if this doesn't resolve your dorm issue, I would recommend using the default script to put it back to the original setting.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Thanks for the numerous attempts Larry but Timeout3 only gave partial success with the Apollo network.

It would connect but it would take a couple minutes and also once it connected I couldn't see anyone on radar or see anyone in the ATC window when I knew it was staffed.

So it connects but doesn't show any information. Just notifies me in the chat window I'm connected.


Hopefully the IT people will email me back next week.

[L. D. James]

Looking at the Apollo III Logs, you were connected for about 13 minutes. You were the only one on the network that was connected at the time.

Did you check servinfo for Apollo?

Did you manually disconnect from Apollo or did it loose connection.

By the way, there was a rare occasion where most of the day the server was unavailable. I didn't realize it until around 7:00. It's been about a year since there was that type of downtime.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Question about the Apollo network: If I was connected via the Apollo network would I be able to see other airplanes and ATC if as if I was on the VATSIM network?

I did manually disconnect after I could not see and ATC online or traffic around the airport.

But like I said it seems that it does connect.


Edit: The It guy opened up that specific port for me but it did not make a difference and VATSIM did not connect.

[L. D. James]

If you connected to the Apollo network you'd be able to see and experience all things Apollo.

If you connect to the VATSIM network you'd be able to see and experience all things VATSIM.

On the Apollo III server, friends connect and practice things such as formation flying. Anyone can connect as ATC or Pilots. There are two blank network slots on Servinfo. You can setup one for Apollo if you happen to fly on it so that you can see who is online. There's also a who's online link at the top of the http://flightsim.apollo3.com page. It shows the VATSIM connections as well as the Apollo III connections.

If I had known you were connected at the time you were connect, I would have connected also and attempted to communicate with you.

If the Apollo III server works where it doesn't disconnect you, that would be a start. The next time to do would be to study what could be the difference between the two.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

Well that clears up some things. I must be successfully connected to the Apollo3 server because I did not get kicked off that last session I had with Timeout3.

I got no clue why my computer will connect to Apollo in my dorm but not VATSIM.

What I noticed with Timeout3 is that it takes a couple minutes for the chat box to ding and blink and notify me that I'm connected to the Apollo network.

VATSIM will connect almost instantly but after a couple minutes or shorter will disconnect. But while I'm connected to VATSIM I can't see traffic or what ATC are online.

Looking forward to what other solutions my IT guy can give me.


My dorm room internet access is protected by Cisco Clean Access Agent coupled with Symantec AntiVirus. But that is the same in the library so I don't know why that would make a difference in the dorm?

[cass7996]

Update

Hey Larry I just received and email from one of the IT people. As I said earlier he opened up the port for me which did nothing but he had this to say:

With the way our network is configured, all ports are blocked by default.The only way that I could assist you further would be by opening additional ports. In order for the VATSIM program to connect to the internet, it has to be using a defined set of ports. I will try to research the program a little more later today and see if I can find any network requirements for it.

Support Technician
Campus Technologies, LLC
support@campustechno.com

I guess he needs a little more information on the VATSIM network. Hopefully he can find out what the problem is.

[L. D. James]

I would be interested in a test when you find time. Try connecting to Apollo III for an hour and see if you loose connection. If you will file a flight plan and do a flight, if I happen to be around the console during your flight,I'll join you and test the chat feature.

By filling a flight plan, I'll know if you're in the beginning of your session or nearing the end of the session. I'll also know how to connect in proximity to where you happen to be moving.

I'll use this information to help me identify the stability of your network connection with Apollo for trying to solve the difference and connection problems with VATSIM.

I really don't think it has to do with ports. You actually successfully connects to both networks. There seems to be something that interrupts the connection. It's this interruption that I think is significant.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

I would love to try the Apollo3 test but I've been trying to connect to the Apollo server and I keep getting kicked off even with all the Timeouts.

I'm going to see if anything changes throughout the day.

[L. D. James]

I didn't know you were having connection problems with Apollo. It would make sense that if you were having problems with VATSIM you'd have problem with Apollo and if you were able to maintain a connection with Apollo you'd be able to maintain a connection with VATSIM.

I though you had said you were able to connect with Apollo and remain connected until you manually disconnected, and the only problem was you didn't see traffic and ATC coverage.

Looking at the log, it seems the last connection was on the 12th. Did you try after then?

There was a time, I had mentioned just before that connection on the same day when the server was down and not accepting connections. But it's been ok since then.

You can see the log with this link: http://flightsim.apollo3.com/fsdbase/stats.pl?cmd=recentflights .

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[L. D. James]

Oh yea... the log shows the history of unique CID's. You can get unique CID with this self-registering link: http://flightsim.apollo3.com/register.htm . Currently it shows the connections of 222222, which might be you, or someone else. So, some of the recent connections might be you.

I would also recommend that you configure servinfo for your personal test. This way you can look at servinfo to check if you're being registered there.

You can configure Servinfo by clicking from the Servinfo Menu Options -> Connection Parameters -> Network name [Type Apollo] -> Locator path url [type www.apollo3.com/whazzup ] -> OK

From there click on the Third Network (there are three VATSIM, IVAO and a Selectable Third). Now click on "All Pilots" and you should see your connection.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[cass7996]

The Apollo network seemed to be on and off for me while running the Timeouts. On the 12th it was connected with no problems, today it couldn't hold a connection at all with my setup.

But I found out that there is a specific port that VATSIM must run on from Norman on the VATSIM forums.

I emailed the port info to my IT guys and they opened it up for me. Now VATSIM is finally working and I am able to communicate and see everything VATSIM has to offer.

Thanks alot for taking the time to work with me during my troubles with the network. I'll probably end up talking to you on the network sometime.

[L. D. James]

Glad we have it solved. I'm going to add this information to my collection for future reference.

I guess the manual says it automatically configures most routers. That's why it works without bothering with the ports. It makes sense that it would need use of the ports.

I'm going to experiment with the router in my network to get a clear definition.

I'm glad you didn't give up. I would not have given up either. It was a pleasure working on the problem.

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

[milusos]

Hey what's up, I had same problem and although I had to reinstall windows Vista due to another problems I followed the procedure like in the forum and now I am able to connect to Vatsim without a problem,first for user accounts you must go to the control panel-user accounts ans family safety- user accounts and you will find at the bottom the " turn user account control on and off", click on user account off little box, and you must restart PC after this to take effect, you will get a security warning after that, disregard it.after this install the copilot, and FSinn, once installed make sure you go to control panel-security-allow programs to run and make sure the three programs in the forum are in the allowed list if not add them to it, after that right click on those programs in the forum and left click on the "run as an administrator" tab, also don't forget to open the Fsinn and click on chat and close the program, after this you should have no problem, Good luck

[L. D. James]

Hi, Jorge. Your description will work. There's an easier way. You can leave UAC turned on or off and you don't have to change the mode of the three programs if you change the mode of fsx.exe (or fs9.exe) instead.

Take a look at: http://flightsim.apollo3.com//docs/fsinn/connectiontovatsim.htm .

-- L. James

--
L. D. James
ljames@apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames