ETO will not load

[swpierce]

My ETO will no longer load. I get the message: CFS3 did not shut down properly the last time it was run. Would you like to view information on troubleshooting this problem?
When I click No the window closes and nothing else happens.
Any recommendations?

 

[sixstrings5859]

What did you do before the crash? Did you install or add anything new ? What did CFS3 show before the last messages ?

 

[MajorMagee]

Try setting ShowUIWorld="false" in the game.xml, and let us know if that let's you get any farther into the loading process.

 

[swpierce]

Thank you for the replies.
I had been replacing some AA vehicles in some facility files previous to this but I don't think that I had changed anything subsequent to my last successful ETO startup.
In any case, I went back and restored the original files.
I tried changing the game.xml file as you suggested and no joy on the loading.
MAW and PTO are running normally on my computer.
I have screwed up file entries and such before that have caused CFS3 to boot to desktop or freeze, but I have never had it happen so soon in the loading process.

 

[mongoose]

I assume you tried deleting the relevant folder in Appdata user folder such as C:\Users\xxxxx\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft ? (Win 10 and ? win7)

 

[Daiwilletti]

One thing I've started to do when troubleshooting is to find out which files I modified recently. Usually I discover I modified something and forgot that I did it! To find out, I run a search in Windows Explorer, from the root of the install. I run searches on *.xml, and *.xdp. Then I sort the search results in date order and just investigate the files which have been modified in the last day or so. Changing the view setting from search to details when looking at the results helps.

 

[swpierce]

I assume you tried deleting the relevant folder in Appdata user folder such as C:\Users\xxxxx\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft ? (Win 10 and ? win7)

I still have CFS3 on my only Windows-based PC, which is old and still running Windows XP. I cannot find an AppData user folder.
And yes, I have updated my stone tools to steel.

Perhaps there is a corresponding folder or file with XP that I can delete?

 

[swpierce]

One thing I've started to do when troubleshooting is to find out which files I modified recently. Usually I discover I modified something and forgot that I did it! To find out, I run a search in Windows Explorer, from the root of the install. I run searches on *.xml, and *.xdp. Then I sort the search results in date order and just investigate the files which have been modified in the last day or so. Changing the view setting from search to details when looking at the results helps.

Good idea, but I am 100% certain there was nothing modified after the last successful ETO boot up that I have not replaced with the original unmodified version.

 

[mongoose]

I still have CFS3 on my only Windows-based PC, which is old and still running Windows XP. I cannot find an AppData user folder.
And yes, I have updated my stone tools to steel.

Perhaps there is a corresponding folder or file with XP that I can delete?

Yes there is a similar folder whose name I have forgotten but should be Users/XXX or some link like that. It will be under a "Microsoft" subfolder and will have ConfigOverrides, uisel, ViewUI, etc files. Perhaps do a search for those under Users.

Again, what install are you using? Just basic CFS3?

 

[swpierce]

Yes there is a similar folder whose name I have forgotten but should be Users/XXX or some link like that. It will be under a "Microsoft" subfolder and will have ConfigOverrides, uisel, ViewUI, etc files. Perhaps do a search for those under Users.

Again, what install are you using? Just basic CFS3?

This issue is with ETO install only.
I have a CFS3 ETO Expansion_________ folder inside my Application Data folder that has those file names you cite, among others. Should I try removing that entire folder or just certain files?

 

[mongoose]

You can remove the whole folder and when you restart the install it probably will ask you to set your cfg again. Do that and also deal with the DPR there under 'Parameter editor for Overrides" by going File > custom settings>window>overrides in the cfg.exe app.

 

[swpierce]

You can remove the whole folder and when you restart the install it probably will ask you to set your cfg again. Do that and also deal with the DPR there under 'Parameter editor for Overrides" by going File > custom settings>window>overrides in the cfg.exe app.

OK, first off I want to thank you guys for coming back to this thread and helping me out.

Now, I deleted that folder and tried to boot up ETO again and it did not get any further than the first splash screen, as usual. It did not ask me to set my cfg or anything else.
A new C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\CFS3 ETO Expansion_________ folder did appear, with empty Campaigns, Missions, QuickCom, and Weather folders as well as ConfigOverrides.xml and DefaultOverrides.xml files.
It did NOT include the CFS3.xca, uisel.xml, UnlimitedPilots.xml, ViewUI.xml files that were in the original folder. It also did not include the Steve ETO.xca file, which I assume contains my keyboard/joystick settings.

I restored those missing files to the new CFS3 ETO Expansion_________ and no improvement.

I do have ETO completely archived on a flash drive from a couple of years ago. Are there any files there that I should try to move over to my computer hard drive?