570: X99 Cold Boot Issue Fix

| Tom Tsui

My flightsim computer is built on the ASUS X99 Deluxe II motherboard with Intel i7 6850K CPU.  Not the top highend nor the latest model but it works nicely.

However, it has an annoying problem that it seldom boots up succcessfully from cold and dark — sorry, no prime function boost here.  Most of the time the system goes to Windows only from the second or sometimes the third or fourth startup attempt.

My computer and peripherals all have the latest firmware and drivers.  The issue persists whether I overclock the PC or not.

I searched the Internet and found the issue isn’t uncommon especially among systems built on the X99 chipset running Windows 10, regardless of brand.

I tried many suggestions, such as unplugging all USB devices when booting the computer, disabling/enabling certain features in BIOS, etc.

None of them helps until recently I found the following tweak: Continue reading →

569: My Cockpit Rev #12 – FIP Gauges

| Tom Tsui

While doing fine-tuning and waiting for fixes for the new P3Dv5, I continue to have my cockpit rebuilding going on as planned.  Now is time for the gauge components that reaches a total of 12 FIPs stacking up on top of the HoneyComb Alpha Yoke (click image to see larger picture).  They should be good enough for most of my light aircraft flightsimming requirements.

The 12 FIPs are hooked up to two electrical-powered USB hubs, which are then connected to my Surface Pro that is responsible for the operation and switching of the FIP gauges independently from the main computer. Continue reading →

568: Really No Need to Rush for P3Dv5

| Tom Tsui

After running P3Dv5 for two days, my initial impression stated at Post 564 continue to be valid.  Also true is my earlier comment saying that “there’s really no need to rush for it.”

If I remember correctly, every time when P3D had a major update (1.xx, 2.xx, 3.xx, 4.xx), the very first version always full of issues.  This latest version 5.0 is of no exception.

Followings are a couple of photos comparing the Sion Airport (LSGS) and Bowermen Airport (KHQM) between version 4.5 and 5.0.

The big trench on the left is flat actually.   Orbx Base Pack & EU open LC don’t help.

Continue reading →

567: Shaders Cleaner for P3Dv5 is Ready

| Tom Tsui

Shaders Cleaner for P3Dv5 is now ready for download from the Freeware Section in my Store.  It is downward compatible to version 3, which I don’t think anyone still running it, however.

NOTE that after the shaders are cleaned, it may take a bit longer for P3D to reload the flight session the next time.  The screen may even black out for some seconds.  No worry, everything will come back to normal after the shader cache is built again.

 

566: Assign HoneyComb Alpha Yoke to P3Dv5 Manually

| Tom Tsui

Since Aerosoft hasn’t updated the driver utility for its HoneyComb Alpha Yoke for P3Dv5 yet (by the time of this post), here’s how to assign the device’s Bridge Module manually for the simulator.

Open the add-on.cfg in “C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v5” folder, which is where the scenery.cfg is located.

Then add the following to the file:

[Package.0]
PATH=X:\Aerosoft\Honeycomb
TITLE=Alpha Flight Control Bridge Module
ACTIVE=true
REQUIRED=false

I tend to put this script to the beginning of the file above all other sceneries.  Continue reading →

565: FSUIPC5 Works on P3Dv5

| Tom Tsui

While waiting to purchase the FSUIPC6 as mentioned in last post, I popped up an idea: “Why not test the existing FSUIPC5 with the new P3D first?”

So I copied the DLL.XML from the configuration directory of P3Dv4 to the directory of P3Dv5.

Bingo!

They work together nicely.   I don’t even need to modify the file at all.   Just copy and paste the DLL.XML from the v4 directory to the new v5 directory and then all is set.

The two folders involved are as follows: Continue reading →

564: A Quick Impression on P3Dv5

| Tom Tsui

I ran the new P3Dv5 for a few hours this morning with many addons (such as Orbx scenery and Carenado Aircraft) I used on P3Dv4.  As expected, it didn’t give me too much excitment, including the new logo and the new design of the option menu in the program, for which I am well prepared from what I experienced from the company’s previous updates in about every two years.

But to be fair, there are still many improvements and some are very nice indeed,
for example the Enhanced Atmoshperics feature, from which I get the sky color tone on my HDTV more true to the reality.  This is the first time from all the flight simulators I’ve ever played so far. Continue reading →

Misc: No Rush – When it comes, it comes

| Tom Tsui

Now is 3:05pm 14-April in Hong Kong or 3:05am the same day in Orlando, Florida, where Prepar3D of Lockheed Martin is located.

Normally it took seconds to enter the Prepar3D website and now it takes minutes or sometimes it even gets an “Error establishing a database connection”.   There must be a lot of people around the world like me trying to get a copy of the newest version 5 of Prepar3D as earlier as possible.

Unfortunately, there’s still no sign of it.

No sure if it is because the P3D team is still working hard to get the shop ready to catch up with the launched date?  Or the new version will only be available starting from office hour 9:00am in the area?

So, no rush!   When it comes, it comes.

Edit: It’s finally arrived at about 4:00pm EST US – almost time for home ;)