Help Please! "Simprop.DLL" then "VisualFX.dll

Well, unsure if this is the appropriate forum but, I didn't see a "help" forum.

Anywho,

Last night, after installing a few addons(SquawkBox4, my Airbus package and CLS DC10 package, and a few freeware planes), I attempted to load up FSX and make sure everything loaded properly.

BUT, about 2s into the load, I received a message saying something about "AddOn Scenery\Scenery" and "Area 115"...in which I have no addon scenery and no "AddOn Scenery" folder either for some reason. MyTraffic X is the only addon I can think of at the moment that may have altered scenery in any manner. Of course, FSX allows you to continue the loading process and skip the error but right when the Menu music starts to play, FSX crashes.

The crash report points to "simprop.dll" as the problem.

I've tried a myriad of methods to isolate or fix the issue such as:

FSX Repair from CD - no good
Rename Simprop.dll and attempt to Repair from CD -> no good either
I've tried deleting the log file in the Temp folder -> no luck
Tried creating an Addon Scenery folder to see if FSX was trying to place something in it -> No luck

Once these failed, I uninstalled MyTrafficX with hopes of it fixing the issue and of course, no dice. So I uninstalled FSX and reinstalled - applying both SP1 and SP2(and starting up FSX without a hitch after each patch). This worked! Or...at least until I attempted to install a damned helicopter then I'm back at square one.

So I uninstalled the Airbus package and tried starting up. Now I get a crash report that points to "visualfx.dll"!

Anyone have the slightest clue whats going on here?!

Looks like the helicopter is the clue. You freely reveal your add-ons such as SquawkBox4, Airbus package and CLS DC10 package but you keep mum about the chopper.

Both, the simprop.dll and the visualfx.dll reside in the FSX main directory. Whether and how they relate to one another I do not know.
I don't think it would be too far fetched to assume that the simprop.dll has to do with prop aircraft, maybe even helicopters.

A possibility is that said helicopter was installed by way of a self-installer which overwrote or corrupted one or both of the .dll files.

Trying to avoid yet another fresh install of FSX, I'd suggest you uninstall the helicopter and replace the two .dll files with the ones I've uploaded here:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/x2lxdc

See how you go and try solving one problem at a time. The best way is to install only one add-on at a time and test the sim thoroughly before you install something else. This makes troubleshooting much easier.

I take it the "AddOn Scenery\Scenery" and "Area 115".. error does no longer appear since you reinstalled FSX.

Oh, and lose the Menu music... it's just one more thing to worry about

Well, it was just a freeware chopper that I was going to try out. Unfortunately, patience is a virtue that I've yet to obtain so I ended up removing all FSX related files, uninstalling FSX, and doing a clean install. I cleaned up the registry prior to the install as well as the temp folder so I hope I'll be in good shape now.

...until you install that secretive helicopter again.

Visualfx.dll

What I have found, after e x t e n s i v e research, is that this error usually shows up after a change/addition to the "Airplanes" folder, and seems to be related to the "FSX.cfg\[USERINTERFACE]\SITUATION=" section. This is the "default flight" and I found (ALWAYS BACKUP your .CFG FILE) if you delete the line after

"SITUATION="

FSX will start up. Then, if you wish, you can go back and reset your default flight via the "Free Flight\Load\(choose your flight)\Make this the default flight" menu.


Law Legge