VATSPY Crashes Multi monitor setup

[Christopher Maddox]

I have a triple monitor setup. Whenever I open VATSPY for the first time it works fine, until I close it. Once I close it, I have to delete the config every time in order for it to start up again. Anyone have this issue? Is there a fix?

I think it has to do with VATSPY not being on my main monitor, but on the secondary one

[Ross Carlson]

I have heard similar reports, not only with VATSpy, but also with vERAM, one of my ATC clients. It would crash if the window was on a secondary monitor. For one user, the problem went away after he reinstalled Windows. (Which he was planning to do anyway.) This makes me think it's a video driver issue.

There are a few things I'd like to try to see if I can pinpoint the issue. Are you on the VATSIM Discord server?

[Kirk Christie]

Running 3 monitors, never had an issue with VAT-SPY.

Usually get an error if I dont close VAT-Spy properly, but thats about it.

[Christopher Maddox]

I think Im closing it right.

Quote

There are a few things I'd like to try to see if I can pinpoint the issue. Are you on the VATSIM Discord server?

Im not but I can be

[Ross Carlson]

When you join, send a DM to RossCarlsonBTV#7854.

Edited November 30, 2020 by Ross Carlson

[Tom Coombs]

Did this issue ever get resolved?   I have the same thing going on.

[Trevor Hannant]

I have a three monitor setup, VATSpy runs on monitor 3.   If I close it then re-open it works fine.

Using a GTX960 with driver version 461.09

[Ross Carlson]

2 hours ago, Tom Coombs said:

Did this issue ever get resolved?   I have the same thing going on.

No, not yet. I haven't been able to reproduce the issue on my own systems, so I haven't been able to find a fix.

[Tom Coombs]

I can reproduce this thing pretty much at will by opening and closing on the different screens I have (3).  If I capture the config files for a repeatable working config and a repeatable failing config.  Would that help?

 

 

[Ross Carlson]

Unfortunately not. I've tried that already with another user, and it didn't cause the crash on my system.

I'm considering rewriting VAT-Spy with a different, more modern OpenGL library.

[Mike Coutts]

I too have a multi-monitor setup.

If I open VAT-Spy on monitor 1 and close it on monitor 1 (which is also my primary display), I can re-open the program without issue.

If I open VAT-Spy on monitor 1 and close it on monitor 2 - and I prefer it on 2 so I can see while in the sim, the program freezes upon re-open.
The only way I've found to resolve it is to delete the .xml in appdata.

[Frank Kopp]

I have found the issue for this:

When having VAT-Spy on a second monitor to the left in Windows 10 it records its position to VATSpyConfig.xml like this:

  <LastWindowLocation>
    <X>-1926</X>
    <Y>331</Y>
  </LastWindowLocation>

If you close VAT-Spy and then try to reopen it like this it will freeze and not start.

Removing the above section from VATSpyConfig.xml solves the issue and it starts perfectly on the right screen at x=0, Y=0 the next time.

My assumption is that the <X>-1926</X> causes the issue.

 

I just created a separate post for this. 

[Ross Carlson]

7 hours ago, Frank Kopp said:

I have found the issue for this:

This isn't the issue, rather it's a workaround to avoid it.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, I haven't been able to reproduce the issue yet so I'm not yet able to find a fix.

(Note: I deleted your other post as it's a duplicate thread.)

Edited March 10, 2021 by Ross Carlson

[Timm Rehberg]

I can report the same here. Apparently its only since a few days (maybe 2..3? Don´t know).
It loads on my primary screen, checking for updates and the moment it openes the map (on my second screen), its freezing and crashing.

Never had issues before.
Could it also be that its caused by the newest Intel (driver) Graphics driver update which I made some days ago?

[Ross Carlson]

15 minutes ago, Timm Rehberg said:

Could it also be that its caused by the newest Intel (driver) Graphics driver update which I made some days ago?

Hard to say ... I know that some people have this issue even with discrete graphics cards. The only commonality that I've found so far is that it only happens when you last closed VAT-Spy on a secondary monitor.

[Timm Rehberg]

12 minutes ago, Ross Carlson said:

The only commonality that I've found so far is that it only happens when you last closed VAT-Spy on a secondary monitor.

I can confirm that 😄 
You want remote to my desktop/pc to check?

[Ross Carlson]

26 minutes ago, Timm Rehberg said:

You want remote to my desktop/pc to check?

Thanks for the offer, but there's really nothing for me to check.

[Ross Carlson]

To everyone having this issue, please download this test application:

https://vatspy.rosscarlson.dev/files/OpenGlSecondaryMonitorTest_3.zip

Unzip that in a folder that you have write permissions for, such as your desktop, or "My Documents."

There are three versions of the test app in the zip. The first one creates the window in the same way (code-wise) that VAT-Spy does. The other two versions represent different code methods for creating the window. I'm hoping that one or both of these methods will solve the issue.

To find out, please follow these steps:

1. Run OpenGlSecondaryMonitorTest.exe. You should see a window with a black background and a red triangle.
2. Move the window to a secondary display.
3. Close the window. (This will create a Config.xml which stores the location and size of the window.)
4. Run OpenGlSecondaryMonitorTest.exe again. It should try to open in the same location where it was on your secondary monitor when you closed it in step #3.
5. If you are still having the OpenGL problem, it should fail. It should crash or lock up, just like VAT-Spy does for you. If it runs fine, then you can stop here and just post in this thread and let me know that the problem is not reproduceable with this test application.
6. Assuming the problem occurs, then you can move on to the next version of the test app. To do this, run OpenGlSecondaryMonitorTest_2.exe. This should show the window on your secondary monitor. Make a note if this fixes the issue or not.
7. Whether or not OpenGlSecondaryMonitorTest_2.exe works fine, please also try OpenGlSecondaryMonitorTest_3.exe and let me know if that fixes the issue or not.
8. Post a reply in this thread with your results.

Thanks for the help!

[Kolby Dunning]

All 3 versions crash for me.

[Ross Carlson]

22 minutes ago, Kolby Dunning said:

All 3 versions crash for me.

Thanks Kolby. Another user said he fixed the issue by removing/disabling Nahimic Services. Do you have that running in your services list? It's an audio enhancer that comes with some motherboards. You wouldn't necessarily even know if you have it running, since it is not something you install yourself. You would need to open the services list and see if it's there.

[Timm Rehberg]

Tbh, I did not change anything apart the style like colors but now it works again without issues here.
Maybe a nvidia driver issue that they fixed with the latest?

However, its working here again 🙂

[Kolby Dunning]

On 3/19/2021 at 10:32 PM, Ross Carlson said:

Thanks Kolby. Another user said he fixed the issue by removing/disabling Nahimic Services. Do you have that running in your services list? It's an audio enhancer that comes with some motherboards. You wouldn't necessarily even know if you have it running, since it is not something you install yourself. You would need to open the services list and see if it's there.

Once I disabled it, all 3 of the OpenGL testers worked.

[Ross Carlson]

1 hour ago, Kolby Dunning said:

Once I disabled it, all 3 of the OpenGL testers worked.

Great ... how about VAT-Spy? 

[Stephan Leukert]

Same here...

10 hours ago, Kolby Dunning said:

Once I disabled it, all 3 of the OpenGL testers worked.

Same here. VAT-Spy is also starting again on a second screen.

Edited March 22, 2021 by Stephan Leukert

[Tom Coombs]

Disabling Nahimic Services fixed the issue for me also.