The MSTS Activity Editor and Windows 10 - HELP!

I’ve run into a problem that I can’t solve and I’m hoping someone might have some ideas of what to try next.

I have two computers that had MSTS installed and running fine in Windows 7 and then they were both updated to Windows 10. My backup computer (a core 2 duo with an AMD graphics card (with the AMD fix)) runs all of the MSTS stuff with no issues. My main computer (i7 with an NVidia graphics card and 8Gb of RAM) doesn’t.

The main computer will run MSTS itself with no problems and I can load up the Route Editor and open a route with no issues. However, if I try to run the Activity Editor, it opens okay but when I try to load an activity I get the “Microsoft Train Simulator v1.4 has stopped working” message soon after I try to open the activity.

I just created an activity using the AE and saved it - no crashes. I then ran it in MSTS with no problems. I then went back into the AE and tried to load it and the AE crashed.

My AE shortcut is "D:\MSTS\Train Simulator\train.exe" -toolset -mem:2048 and is set to run as administrator but not set to compatibility mode.

I even tried renaming my main MSTS folder, uninstalling MSTS and then fully reinstalling it exactly in accordance with the Steam4me tutorial. Everything else runs okay but the AE still crashes. I’ve tried the Hwrenderer fix, just in case, but no joy.

Any ideas gratefully received.

Bob

Sorry Bob not an answer to your problem,but just where do you get this AMD fix,because it looks like I will have to go to Win 10 and I cannot get on with O.R....Regards.Roger

Hi Gentlemen,
Pardon me for butting in, but here's the link for the fix (specifically, it's in post #16) :

http://www.trainsim.com/vbts/showthread.php?322502-Will-Windows-10-support-AMD-graphic-card-in-MSTS/page3

Cheers,
Ged

Thanks for that Ged..Regards ,..Roger

Thanks for the link Ged, I have just added it to the useful links section.

Hi Ged,

Thanks for the link, but for those like me having a senior moment I struggled to find post #16 when it's actually on page TWO.

Bob,

I hope that someone can help you as I am having similar problems with some of the activities I created on the Cambrian2 Route several years ago. The only way I can run one of the affected ones is with OR, the others will run with MSTS but the Activity Editor crashes every time I try and edit a consist and with one activity I can't even open the main MSTS Editor to select Route Editor or Activity Editor. I also get another oddity in that when I try to open the Activity Editor in one of my mini routes I sometimes get a different mini route or the main MSTS. My Shortcuts are set correctly including the extra memory and run as administrator.

C drive has Windows 7 etc.
E drive has General Folders
F drive has trainsim downloads and other bits and pieces
G drive has MSTS, trainstore, various Mini Routes and Open Rails

Like Bob I would be grateful for any help,

Stephen

Hi Bob,

My new PC has Windows 10. I also had problems in getting RE to run at first,,,it now works fine and my settings are

C:\1MSTS\launcher.exe -runeditor

I don't need to allocate memory but the PC does have 12GB.

I also run as Administrator in Compatibility Mode using Windows XP Service Pack 2

Hope this helps.

Thanks Danny. I tried exactly those settings but it still crashes. I think there must be something else on my main computer that's causing the problem but I have no idea what it might be.

Regards,

Bob.

Hi Stephen,

having a senior moment I struggled to find post #16 when it's actually on page TWO

The link says Page 3 and when I click it, it goes to page 3 which has posts 11 to 20. Page 2 starts at post #21, unless you're counting from the other end! On the trainsim Forum, page 1 is the oldest.

Cheers,
Ged

Hi Danny & Bob,
There is a general recommendation that launcher.exe is not used for sim or editors - Sorry, I can't remember the exact reason, but it's included here : http://msts.steam4me.net/tutorials/xtra_mem.html
Note that the memory switch (and, I believe, other switches) can't be used with launcher.exe.

For editors, use "............\train.exe" -toolset -mem:2048  and for the sim,  ".........\train.exe" -mem:2048

Cheers,
Ged

Thanks Ged.

I have been using train.exe for both and I have also not been setting a compatibility (I found when I did the loading slowed right down). Since those settings work for Danny I thought I should try them anyway, but they didn't work for me.

Bob.

Hi Bob,
I know it's been mentioned in replies to you on other Forums that AE is the only element of MSTS which loads all the stock prior to starting. I note that it doesn't crash on loading, which I would expect if it was a stock item causing the problem, but when you select an activity - any activity!

There's one question, which I don't think has been asked : is it a default MSTS installation with only default routes and stock, ie with no additions whatsoever?

Cheers,
Ged

Hi Ged.

This is what I posted over at trainsim.com about my testing platform:

"When I first ran into the problem I set up test pair of Routes and Trains folders. The Routes folder contains one route, Test Track, the Trainset folder contains one item of stock, a UK Class 90 locomotive and the Consists folder contains one consist, the Class 90 light engine and I have set up one simple activity using these. With that set-up the the AE crashes.

I have run that set-up through all of Route_Riter's tests and those of Conbuilder and have checked the brackets with Engmod. None of these produce any errors.

To eliminate the possibility of an error in the one item of stock, I open the same activity on my back-up machine in the AE and it opened fine. I then copied the one item of stock from my back-up machine to my main machine to make doubly sure that both machines had exactly the same files.

To further eliminate the possibility of a problem with one of the route or stock files I have just copied the test Routes and Trains folders from my back-up machine, where the AE opens the activity okay, to my main machine and, using exactly the same files, the AE crashes."

I also performed a fresh install of only the MSTS default stuff (plus BIN) following the Steam4Me tutorial and the AE still crashed.

That again seems to point to something on my machine that's getting in the way for some reason.

Regards,

Bob.

Hi Bob,
To really prove that it is something on your PC and not in the MSTS installation, why don't you try :

a) Temporarily rename the MSTS folder on the PC where AE fails (= "bad")
b) Copy the complete MSTS folder from the "good" PC on to your "bad" PC (same drive as the original)
c) If the newly copied folder doesn't have the same name as the original installation on the "bad" PC, rename it to be the same,
d) Now try to run AE - if it still fails, it's something on your PC outside of MSTS.  If it doesn't fail, it's something in the original "bad" installation.

Apologies if you've already done this, but you only said you'd copied the ROUTES and TRAINS folders from the "good" to the "bad".

Cheers,
Ged

That's a good idea Ged. I'll have a go and report back.

Bob.

Following Ged's suggestion, I renamed the MSTS folder on my backup computer and copied the MSTS installation from my main computer onto my backup computer and everything ran, including the AE.

I then renamed the MSTS folder on my main computer and copied the MSTS installation from my backup computer to my main computer and everything ran EXCEPT the AE.

So my conclusion is that there's something on my main computer that is interfering with the AE but not MSTS and the Route Editor.

My first thought was graphics drivers (NVidia 780 on my main computer and AMD HD6870 on the backup computer) but I doubted that since I could open the AE on my main computer and create an activity complete with the 2D map. Just to eliminate it I uninstalled the current drivers (361.75) and installed the first W10 drivers released by NVidia (355.6). That didn't make any difference so I reinstalled the 361.75 drivers.

At this point I'm still stumped. I'm actually not sure whether the AE has ever run on my main computer after the update to Windows 10.

Regards,

Bob.

Hi Bob, you seem to have tried everything so there's not much else I can add. You did say you were using a test track and single loco etc, so my only suggestion would be to remove the Test track, loco and activity and just use default Settle & Carlisle . You know you're definately
on safe ground with this.
One thing I did forget to mention - Windows 10 didn't like me installing from a portable HD or memory stick, so I had to install using the 2 original MSTS disks. It was the same for Paint Shop Pro and even my printer - only installation from original disks worked.

Thought I'd try one more thing.

I exported the registry entries from the two machines and compared them. The lines all appeared to be the same except that some of the values were a little different.

Because both MSTS installations are in d:\MSTS\Train Simulator, I then imported the registry entries from the working machine into the registry on my main machine. The AE still crashes, even if I try it on one of the default activities for one of the default routes.

Hi Bob,
It's probably been mentioned before, and you may have said so yourself, so I apologise in advance!

Does AE still fail with a completely new virgin (default-only) installation? I know you posted :

The AE still crashes, even if I try it on one of the default activities for one of the default routes.

... but I'm just checking that there are only default items in the Consists and Trainset folders.

Cheers,
Ged

Bob, did you see the edit on my previous post? I had to do a fresh install using the original MSTS disks. Windows 10 wouldn't fully accept file transfers.

Yes thanks Danny. I did see your mention of having to use the original disks.

Ged, what I did was to rename my existing MSTS installation folder from D:\MSTS to D:\MSTS FULL and uninstall MSTS through the Control Panel. I then did a fresh install from the original CDs into D:\MSTS and went through the full Steam4me installation, including Bin. Once I'd done that, with nothing in the Consists and Trains folders apart from default files, the AE would not open an activity. I'm going to try that again but this time I will install just the original CDs and test it before adding anything else.

When I try to load an activity (any activity on any route including default activities on default routes) into the AE I have noticed that the "Player Service" and "Traffic Pattern" boxes actually show the correct entries and then I get the "Microsoft Train Simulator 1.4 has stopped working" message and it closes. So it's evidently opening the .act file to some extent.

Bob.

Some of you may be aware that I'm running a similar thread on the trainsim.com forums.  My theory is that someone in the big wide world of MSTS may have run into this before and solved it.  It does seem to be a rather unique issue.

One of the suggestions over there was to run an activity through Open Rails and have a look in the log file to see if there are any hints as to what errors OR encountered. I did that but couldn't see anything obvious and attached the log file to my post. I tried to attach it here but it wouldn't let me, telling me that it exceeded the maximum file size of 0 bytes.

Bob.

Hi Bob,
I looked at the log file you attached, and noticed that there was an error right at the end, which seemed to concern RunActivity, but that might be a red herring!  I noted that you were using the Test Track route and not a default route - could the problem be there?   Unfortunately, I don't know enough about Open Rails to offer any advice, but I'm sure someone will soon reply

Cheers,
Ged

In one more attempt to narrow the problem down I did the following:

- renamed main MSTS installation folder from D:\MSTS to D:\MSTS FULL.
- Uninstalled MSTS through the Control Panel.
- Deleted the Microsoft Games entry in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE area of the registry.
- Installed MSTS from the original CDs into D:\MSTS with no additional files loaded.

After doing that, MSTS itself ran fine but the AE crashed when I try to load any activity.

I started up Open Rails and, with the log enabled, started up one of the activities from the default Settle and Carlisle route. The log is attached to my post over in the trainsim.com forums.

There must be a reason for this but I'm running out of things to try.

Bob.

Hopefully these odd comments aren't deemed as talking out of a dark place!

1. I assume that permissions have been set for everything - assuming that this is still applicable to W10?

2. Have you tried a fresh install of MSTS in line with Steam4me but without BIN?

Hi Bob, I'm running out of suggestions now.....so final thoughts and details of my own set-up....

ShortCut Description....MSTS Launcher v1.3
Permissions....Full Control
Advanced Security Settings...Full Control
Run as Administrator
Run in Compatibilty Mode for Windows XP Service Pack 2

AE can stop working if it doesn't like a Trainset item or Consist, so it's best for your MSTS folders only to include default stock and consists at this stage.

Hope you get sorted soon.

Hi Danny,
I know I've said this before, but in all my tests of Windows 10 (and 8/8.1) there is absolutely no need to run MSTS in any XP compatibility mode - in fact, I've seen reports that using it slows MSTS down. Also, please don't use launcher.exe! For one thing, the mem switch (and other switches) can't be used, and for another, the Steam4Me site advises to run MSTS from train.exe.

Cheers,
Ged

Bob Latimer wrote:Thought I'd try one more thing.

I exported the registry entries from the two machines and compared them.  The lines all appeared to be the same except that some of the values were a little different.

Because both MSTS installations are in d:\MSTS\Train Simulator, I then imported the registry entries from the working machine into the registry on my main machine.  The AE still crashes, even if I try it on one of the default activities for one of the default routes.

Hi Bob,
Have you tried removing all the AE registry entries on your 'problem' set up? (as opposed to copying them over)
If that works, then try adding the signals, platforms etc views one by one in turn to see if it is one particular aspect that's causing the issue.
Good Luck, and hope you get sorted soon.
T

Thanks for the suggestion Terry.

What I did was to delete the AE entries from the registry, start and close the AE and make sure that the registry entries had been re-created,which they had.

I then opened the AE and created a small test activity and, before saving it, I unticked all of the lines in the View menu and the Windows menu. I then saved the activity and exited the AE. When I opened the AE and tried to open the activity I just created, the AE crashed.

Based on a suggestion by Vince over at trainsim.com, I also made sure that my D: drive had Full Control permissions for Users. That didn't help either.

I think I feel an O/S reinstall coming on.

Bob.

Hi Bob,
Don't re-install!!
I have a dual boot Win 7/Win 10 PC and each OS has access to the same MSTS folder.
As an experiment, I installed a virgin MSTS from its CDs into Win 10 and tried to run it from the Desktop icon.  Absolutely nothing!!  

Still in Win 10, I changed the shortcut to access one of my other installations and it worked first time.  

Back to the default, I applied the update;  MSTS now started OK, so I tried the Editors; they started OK, but as soon as I started moving the map or zooming in, I got the "stopped working" message.

Applied the Bin patch (v1.8 ), and, although I haven't done any exhaustive testing, I can now move the map around and zoom in/out without the dreaded message!

Please try that - I hope it'll work for you

I think my original problem with the sim doing nothing is due to MSTS wanting to access the CD and things have changed in Win 10.

Cheers,
Ged

Thanks Ged.

I think I've tried an installation with just the CD files plus the official updates plus Bin, and MSTS itself would run (with the CD in the drive before installing the official update) and the AE would open but not load an activity.

My plan now is to start from scratch and test MSTS and the AE at each stage.

1. Just the content from the CD.
2. Add the official patches.
3. Add Bin.

All this will be done with universal read/write ability and all users having full control of my D: drive.

I had read somewhere of someone not being able to run the AE until they installed Bin.

I'll report on my findings.

Regards,

Bob.

Hi Bob,

I had read somewhere of someone not being able to run the AE until they installed Bin.

In my post, above yours!!

Cheers,
Ged

I think there was a similar post over at UKTS also.

I installed windows 10 yesterday, I tried making a simple act, then quit the program, I started it again and the act loaded perfectly, zooming in on the track worked OK as well, I have nVidia graphics which didn't need patching, so that probably made a difference.

The results of my tests were that every stage MSTS would run and the AE would load okay but would crash on trying to load an activity.

Bob.

After seeing a thread on the forums over at the-site-which-shan't-be-mentioned and the reports of an AE problem similar to mine having fixed itself, I thought I'd try it.

Lo and behold, the AE will now load activities on my main machine without crashing.

No idea what's caused the change but I'm pretty sure it's not something I've done. An updated graphics driver perhaps?

Bob.