MSFS MSFS Bricked Itself

[=rk=]

Two evenings ago, I was editing an airport with ADE. I'd been having a little trouble with it, changes weren't saving and the compiler was insisting existing package folders were not present and I was about to make a post to Jon, then the craziest thing happened. I tried to compile my airport and after a very long time, the package dependency installer window opened. The Steam login window also opened, but I purchased MSFS from MS. So I take a peek at the Community folder, to see if it compiled, but my heart drops:

At that point, I am really freaking out about ADE and my mind keeps going back to, "where did he hide my Community folder," but after having spent a few days under this particular curse, I know no benevolent flight sim developer could be this devious. The software refuses to reinstall and it's almost like I've been kicked out of the MSFS club. I don't know if it is the MS Store, this POS Alienware, Windows, Asobo, Steve Wozniak, whomever and the only thing I get from Windows, is an opportunity to "leave feedback," for their $130 software. What a way to say, "'feedback,' means we may or may not read your complaints and may, or may not respond."

So I've already opened up a score or more of command and elevated command windows, copy/pasted code from any number of geek sites. I think my system runs better, because I think I've taken ownership of my System Volume Information folder, so thanks for that, MSFS. During one of the sessions, while I forcibly attempted to replace/restore Xbox Gaming Service, I was greeted with this familiar glyph. MS customers will recognize the path name "8wekyb3d8bbwe."

Be aware, that when you uninstall MSFS, for whatever reason, it takes the Community folder with it. This is not consistent with previous versions of the sim and it is not consistent with most software, to delete data that is not part of the original installation. This happened to me once before, I had all my personal software deleted, during a Windows update, so I've already used the same deep scan software and I have confidence that I have preserved most of my work. Of the 50k odd files scanned, 3500 were not recovered, but since the Community folder did not exist, I'd had to target a higher directory, which also contained the Official folder, so I think odds are good my work is largely intact. MCX seems to agree.

So, not really asking for support, mostly providing everyone a chuckle. If anyone here is a wizard, I'll defer to you imminence and if anyone here knows Bill Gates, kick him in the pooter for me, or get him to give me a support call - please. Knowing where to go next is probably a topic of support, in itself. This Alienware isn't what I paid for, it blue screens pretty consistently, but to assume it somehow prevents the very operation I purchased it to accomplish, is a layer of paranoia that seems too self indulgent. Windows is the obvious culprit, you'd think they would have charged me $150 for the software, so I had 20 minutes of prepaid live support for the inevitable glitch, but I suppose in their eyes, that is investing in failure. They are like the covid vaccine, they bring so much good to the world, no customer support and the few broken souls are just the consequences of success.

 

[rhumbaflappy]

I wonder if your computer is over-clocked. That may cause your blue-screen problem (I never get a blue-screen). Also, a bad memory stick could cause that type of thing. In other words, I think this comes from a hardware failure. Heat could also cause blue-screens... I'm guilty of not cleaning the lint out of my computer.

 

[=rk=]

Well I appreciate the feedback and it’s my oversight to assume those provisions are taken for granted. I bought the Dell, because I’d wanted the Nvidia 3080 card and none were available, this has the 3090. So I’ve never clocked it, it should be proficient fit my needs as supplied and I’d prefer stability anyway.

I’ve performed most hardware checks over the freezes, but this particular consequence seems acutely specific. I think the freezes had been driver related, which I just updated a day or two before this latest hurdle.

I can download CandyCrush and play it, I can run P3Dv5 and I can download 1.65 gb of MSFS, but it refuses to launch or give me the other 93 gb. Besides that, there are other downloads in the MS Store that consistently fail. I really believe it to be a glitched app, or my machines inability it authenticate itself.

Every time I uninstall MSFS, the entire directory is deleted from the appdata folder and every time I install it, it is a truncated directory with no packages folder. It seems more viral than hardware, but I’m a Neanderthal poking sticks into the thing.

 

[Anthony31]

I've had to reinstall windows 10 once due to the MS Store failing. The first clue was the windows picture viewer stopped working. Then I couldn't start MSFS and the MS Store slowly died. Other non-MS programs would run fine. Windows gave me an error message but the steps involved in solving that error message, well, it was just quicker to burn it all to the ground and reinstall windows. Fortunately I keep my community and work folders on a separate drive so reinstalling MSFS I only had to redownload the 1GB program file and not the rest.

I hate Windows. It is without a doubt the jankiest piece of software ever invented and 90% of my problems with PCs are due to windows "losing" or "corrupting" some valuable little program which is impossible to just replace and which the various windows fix it programs seem unable to handle. I'm typing this on a Macbook Air because on my old windows laptop the OS did a similar thing. I didn't even bother reinstalling windows on that machine and put Linux on it.

 

[=rk=]

All fixed up (so far as I can tell). Users experiencing similar issues should research "repairing Windows update service" and common signs will be a Windows update failure with code 0x80080005, an indication that the Windows user profile may be corrupt, Windows Store may be broken and also Malware contamination. I performed all the obligatory scans for registry keys and rootkits, the only thing I found were PUA's, possible unwanted file associations and I decided those were for things like Sketchup opening Photoshop to edit, the scans never found any suspicious targets of these unexpected file associations.

The specific service, or registry key is called "wuauserv.reg" and I repaired it by deleting it and replacing it with the attached text file, of which I had edited by changing it's extension to "reg." Incidentally, failure of the wuauserv service was often cited in the Event Viewer Windows system logs as a critical warning just before a forced shut down, so we'll see about that one, as well.

MS is currently reassigning the 93 gb that already resides on my SD, via the pony express of download, I'll brick a brack through my Community folder and eventually restore every byte of it.

 

[gsnde]

Are there no clues in the Event Viewer?

From mobile hence short

 

[=rk=]

Yes, there had been. The missing wususesv service came up regularly as a critical fault, so did a usb headphone connection and my NVidia drivers. One of my mistakes, is that I had been using NVidia's proprietary driver monitoring app and I had completely overlooked the manufacturer supplied NVidia driver, that is not monitored for update by NVidia, so that had to be addressed.

As I'd expressed, I am not skilled with Windows OS nuances and most of my efforts are subjective and heavily nuanced by Google search results. I feel like I know where this all started, an ill advised download, so I'll proceed from there. None of the tests I ran, revealed the presence of any active malware.

If it is an a.i. that is smart enough to subtly disable Windows update, but to go stealth when it sees me installing obvious and published antivirus - that recommends I rename the exe before running, to fool this same virus - because this virus anticipates that I will torch this computer to kill it if were to reveal itself preventing anti malware installation, is beyond me.

If that were the case, I'd be pretty much at it's mercy and hopefully it would build its zombie network during my inactive hours.

 

[gsnde]

If you want to be safe on the malware side, I recommend to download one of the bootable antivirus images of the av software producers. If possible download and prepare the bootable dvd or usb not on the computer which is affected.

E.g. Kasperski

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E.g. Esset

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Read the instructions on the web pages, it an easy process.


From mobile hence short

 

[DragonflightDesign]

Rick: the nVidia drivers are better than the OEM 'special' drivers when troubleshooting. They contain all the basic stuff without the OEM sparklies on top. Also, if that's an Alienware-branded PC, there's a high probablity that the graphics card is overclocked out of the box. If you want an absolutely stable set of drivers, use the nVidia Studio drivers. They are LTS and always three or four versions behind the bleeding edge. Download and install, but when asked if you want to keep your current settings say 'no' and do not install the GeForce Experience (the auto-update). That will return complete control of updates to you.

Don't get hung up on the overclocking part of things. The i9-series processors are sold with a base frequency (e.g. 3.6GHz) but Core No.1 is capable of overclocking itself automatically as high as 5GHz during use. I've seen mine hit 4.7GHz while playing AC:Valhalla with all settings maxed out.

The wusuesv error is a ....... From a professional POV I've never found why it suddenly starts acting up, but it equally quits playing silly just as quickly. Unfortunately the damage it can do if it quits during an update is pretty much unlimited. If you think you've given a zombie a home, that might explain the wusuesv problem as the zombie will want to kill Windows Updates to prevent the patching of whatever zero-day exploit it is using. The only definite solution to that is a 10-kiloton warhead, otherwise known as the ten-fingered salute (f o r m a t c : / s).

My take on Windows is the opposite to most peoples. I don't curse when it goes wrong; I just marvel at the amount of crap that gets thrown at it and it keeps going, along its ability to continue to run software that is two decades and more old. When a Linux distro goes titsup (Total Inability To Support Usual Processes), getting it sorted can be worse than rebuilding Windows. I know... I have to use various flavours of CentOS, Ubuntu and Red Hat on a professional basis too. It is not (and probably never will be) prime time for gaming.

 

[=rk=]

Rick: the nVidia drivers are better than the OEM 'special' drivers when troubleshooting. They contain all the basic stuff without the OEM sparklies on top. Also, if that's an Alienware-branded PC, there's a high probablity that the graphics card is overclocked out of the box. If you want an absolutely stable set of drivers, use the nVidia Studio drivers. They are LTS and always three or four versions behind the bleeding edge. Download and install, but when asked if you want to keep your current settings say 'no' and do not install the GeForce Experience (the auto-update). That will return complete control of updates to you.

This is my perspective, that before the experience, I was up to date according to the GeoForce app, but Substance Painter was throwing a warning that my drivers are outdated, unpredictable behavior, do I wish to abort and after I took the Dell supplied video driver, Substance opens quietly. It's my belief that this machine, with the 3090, should perform significantly better than I am used to, right out of the box - and it was a very nice box they sent it in.

If you want to be safe on the malware side, I recommend to download one of the bootable antivirus images of the av software producers. If possible download and prepare the bootable dvd or usb not on the computer which is affected.

You know, I am going to wait and see. I've seen what can happen and how to compensate, I still have that Malwarebytes subscription to take advantage of. To be honest, I was really looking for some blowback while I was doing the disinfection. I mean, if the thing can shut down Microsoft Store with impunity, it should have the wherewithal to prevent a rootkit detector download, or install, then I would have known, you see.

That's why I say, if it is smart enough to selectively allow itself to be disinfected to prevent detection, meaning it shuts down update more as a taunt than anything, I mean, why bother. Anyway, Update is currently downloading a cumulative update for W10 20H2, so the worm has about 10 minutes left to stop the download, do it's worst, or have it's vulnerability exploit patched.

 

[DragonflightDesign]

That's an interesting remark on Substance Painter. I've never seen mine throw that error, even when the RTX2080Ti drivers have been four versions out of date. I also never use the card's OEM drivers, prefering the (almost) guaranteed stability of the nVidia offerings.

Latest Windows updates have just barfed on my PC because I won't let it install Microsoft Edge. Not that I care - it's not the first time and the auto-rollback worked just fine.

 

[=rk=]

I don't know that I've explained the driver situation properly and I don't want to seem like I am disputing your experience. Previous to this PC, I'd always built my own from components. I'm not overly intelligent, but I consider myself to be "bright," or a quick learner, also regrettably, a quick forgetter.
The way I remember, I would often have to get graphics drivers from the board manufacturers, that were independent from the video card drivers and I would occasionally overlook that step, until emerging problems compelled me to complete it.

Regardless of what I'd gotten wrong, or right, after getting the Dell supplied driver installed, I opened GeForce Experience again, updated to the latest driver from 6/22 and confirmed that Substance still opens without complaint.
I've changed so many little things in this computer over this MSFS situation and it definitely runs better. The MS Store opens almost instantly now, dials right into my downloads and immediately complies with my request to download MSFS, due to my continued attempts to rejoin the club. Also, since I am no longer developing over the course of an evening and then shutting down for my daytime job, the PC is booting much faster, presumably from the cyclical restarts. So thanks, MSFS.

Beyond that, I've made great progress on MSFS. Those 90gb downloads are a thing of the past and since I am living this new lifestyle of constantly uninstalling and reinstalling it, that is a real relief. I moved my Packages folder to another drive, so when Windows erases the MSFS directory, Packages remains. Installing, I have only to download about a gig, at which point the installer opens MSFS and asks for a directory to install to. I point it to my packages folder and the pending download goes from 90 gb, to 78mb. Apparently, that last 78 megabyte push is a doozy.

It is at this point that everything comes to a grinding halt, MSFS closes. I am able to peruse the MSFS memory dumps, because they open in Visual Studio. They inform that "The thread tried to read from or write to a virtual address for which it does not have the appropriate access." The code listed is 0xC0000005. I've already performed the long RAM test, so I thought I'd check the permissions for the executable.
I was surprised to see a user account that does not show up in User Account Control or the Registry Editor:

Weirder, when I explore the possibility of editing permissions for RKALIEN, this pane below opens and I've discovered no way to comply with the directive, including reinstalling MSFS.

and the adventure continues...

 

[DragonflightDesign]

Not for one moment did I think we were getting into a dispute, so forget thinking that.

0xC0000005 is a generic 'dunno what I'm doing, so I'll display this' error. 99.9% of the time it means absolutely nothing; it's the fallback error message thrown by many programs when nothing else fits. Try exposing the elevated administrator account and sign in as that:

4 Ways to Enable Built-in Administrator Account on Windows 11 / 10 / 8 | Password Recovery

This step-by-step tutorial shows you 4 ways to enable the built-in Administrator on Windows 11 / 10 / 8, even if you couldn't login or lost admin password.

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Do as little as possible when signed in as superuser because some programs really don't like it. I have no idea why. Also be aware that every single program you do run is running with full superuser permissions. If that fails, I am out of ideas as I don't have MSFS on any of my PCs.

 

[=rk=]

I really appreciate the tips. I think the whole permissions situation is the MS attempt to keep the executable proprietary. As an example, I tried using the move option to switch my installation into a secondary drive, but it failed, throwing another 0x code that related to Xbox reinstallations. The installer rolled back everything, but left the empty "8wekyb3d8bbwe" folder behind. I couldn't delete it, or change ownership, or anything. Ultimately it didn't matter, because after I uninstalled that particular "thread" that had tried to access forbidden memory, I copied my original, precrash data to that same secondary drive folder and installer has about 9 more gig to go, before we learn if every download of MSFS is cursed. I am guessing so, but to see it fail at that same 78.33 mb to go, will be a moment of reckoning.

 

[=rk=]

Well I finally got it, just now. I think ultimately, the download had been corrupt. Above, I'd posted that I'd learned the Packages folder is considered "downloaded content" and as such. can be installed anywhere and, by extension, copy/pasted, shared, etc. So I kept working with that particular downloaded Packages folder and subsequently fixed whatever blocked MSFS and possibly even whatever had been corrupting these downloads, but I didn't know.

My clue was when I resurrected my older Steam Machine that could just barely run MSFS, in order to test the so called "EULA glitch." This happens when a user account reinstalls MSFS and is not presented with the EULA, a glitch, so is therefore prevented from loading the game. The workaround is to install MSFS from a new computer using the "locked" account and this will trigger the ELUA, click accept and everything works. So I booted from another drive and this didn't trigger the EULA, no MSFS functionality either. Then I went ahead and broke out the Steam Machine and got it up to speed, more or less, downloaded the game core and instead of downloading the 90 gb, I copied it, as usual.

The game crashed on that crappy machine at exactly the same point of loading, as happened with the bigger computer. I decided try the Packages folder that only had 78 mb to go for the download and the Steam machine crashed at exactly the same spot as the other one, at a different point of loading.

That seemed like too much of a coincidence to not follow up on, so I redownloaded the entire 90 gb and voila, MSFS loaded!

 

[DragonflightDesign]

That's some good news Rick. At least you're up and running again.