Troubleshooting problems: Difference between revisions

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Welcome to '''Troubleshooting problems'''. This page will try to help you with [[FlightGear]] issues, from the diagnosis to a possible solution, and if you can't find such a solution will tell you how you can provide the best information to the people who will try to help you on the forum.


'''If you are having problems getting [[FlightGear]] to work for you, this page is dedicated to helping you.'''
== Troubleshooting the old way ==
* If FlightGear runs slowly, please see [[Troubleshooting performance issues]] and [[Howto:Use the system monitor]].
* If you're having graphics problems, please check the list of [[Problematic Video Cards]] and [[Troubleshooting graphics artifacts]].
* If FlightGear is crashing, please see [[Troubleshooting crashes]].
* If the whole system is crashing when running FlightGear, please read [[System Crashes]].
* If you have control device issues (keyboard, joystick...) see [[Troubleshooting input devices]].


* First - Try to solve the problem using the resources on this page
Check out [[Hardware Recommendations]] for more information about video cards and other hardware that works with FlightGear.
** If you are having a problem with software crashes, please read [[System Crashes]]
** If you are having problems with video, please check the list of [[Problematic Video Cards]] and [[Troubleshooting graphics artifacts]]
** If FlightGear performance is slow, see: [[Troubleshooting performance issues]] and [[Howto:Use the system monitor]]
** Check out [[Hardware Recommendations]] for more information about video cards and other hardware that works with FlightGear  


* Request technical help from volunteers in the FlightGear community
== If all else fails... ==
** Try [[Requesting Technical Help]], but only after trying the other suggestions on this page first
Try [[Requesting Technical Help]], but only after trying the other suggestions above!
 
== Common FlightGear Problems and Solutions ==
{{main article|Howto: Get rid of common errors}}
 
=== USB Joystick Fails to Work ===
FlightGear is designed to recognize automatically any USB joystick that it is aware of (has a configuration on file for it). Configuration for USB joysticks is located in the Inputs folder. For example:
 
Input/Saitek/X45.xml
 
The name reported by the joystick through the hardware of your system must match the name specified in the configuration file. If the stick identifies itself as
 
Saitek Saitek X45 Flight Control Stick
 
but the configuration file specifies
 
Saitek X45 USB Flight Stick
 
FlightGear will fail to recognize it.
 
This happens with some frequency. It has been known for the same stick in a manufacturer's line to report different identifier strings. If you encounter a problem getting your usb stick to be recognized by FlightGear, it is helpful to first check to see
 
* a configuration file matching the name of your stick exists
* the configuration joystick name matches the name the stick actually reports to your computer
 
=== USB Joystick exhibits permanent offset / requires repeated recalibration ===
USB Joystick drivers should automatically zero and calibrate the joystick on plugin. Some examples of some types of joystick can be faulty where the fault is exhibited as an offset from the zero position when this process is completed. In Kubuntu this can be fixed for the session by use of the Joystick calibration tool under "Keyboard and Mouse" of "System Settings", or equivalent tools with other distributions, but the problem will recur.
 
In some cases this may be caused by improper connector seating or other loose connections within the joystick. This can sometimes be remedied by unscrewing the base or other case element to access the circuit board and then reseating the connectors. Also check for faulty solder joints and discrete components bent over onto the circuit board. Before attempting any repair unplug the device and remove any batteries.
 
=== Configuring CH Products Under Windows Vista ===
The CH Products Yoke and Pedals are among the most popular flight sim controls.
FlightGear provides excellent configuration files for both the Yoke and Pedals manufactured by CH. Windows Vista recognizes and configures the USB versions of these products by default. However, it reports them as "Generic Controls." This creates an issue when FlightGear tries to assign the appropriate controller configuration.
 
To overcome this you need to edit your Joystick.xml (Filghtgear\Data\Joystick.xml) file to manually assign a configuration file for FlightGear to use.
 
Eg:
 
If you have the Yoke as MS-Windows Controller 0 and Pedals as Controller 1 then you include the following lines:
<code>
  <js n="0" include="Input/Joysticks/CH/pro-yoke-usb.xml"/>
  <js n="1" include="Input/Joysticks/CH/pro-pedals-usb.xml"/>
</code>
 
=== [Enter] does not work for rudder control ===
First of all: if [0] doesn't work, check if toggling num-lock solves the issue.
 
Open file ''[[$FG_ROOT]]/keyboard.xml'' with your preferred Editor. and search for those lines (it's close to the top, around line 40):
      ## uncomment this line to get keycode reports printed to the terminal window
      #setlistener("devices/status/keyboard/event", func(n) debug.dump(n.getValues()));
Read the first one and uncomment the second one. To uncomment it remove the leading "#".<br />
Save the file and run FlightGear as usual but with the log-level set to "alarm" (no need to do anything if it wasn't used/changed before!).<br />
When FlightGear is running press [Enter] and immediately after this, without doing anyting on the keyboard, ''click'' on FlightGears log window and you'll see something like this in the last two lines of the log:
{ key: 13, modifier: { meta: 0, shift: 0, alt: 0, super: 0, ctrl: 0, hyper: 0 }, pressed: 1 }
{ key: 13, modifier: { meta: 0, shift: 0, alt: 0, super: 0, ctrl: 0, hyper: 0 }, pressed: 0 }
The first line is for pressing the [Enter]-Key, the second for releasing it. Keep the first number, named "key", in this exaple shown as "13", in mind.
 
Open file [[$FG_ROOT]]/keyboard.xml again and search for "enter". You should find following:
<key n="10">
  <name>Enter</name>
  <desc>Move rudder right</desc>
Now replace the value of ''key n='' with the one you had to keep in mind earlier. Save file and run FlightGear to test it.
 
If the [Enter] key doesn't work at all for some reason one solution would be to assign the key right hand next to (not the num-block-)[0], if it is not already assigned to something else. Procedure is the same as shown with the [Enter] key.
 
Last thing to do, in any case, disbable the keycode reports by replacing the "#" which we removed earlier.


== Possible pitfalls when modifying base package files ==
== Possible pitfalls when modifying base package files ==
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