FsXPand/FsClient Troubleshooting

Do you have problems like freezing gauges, very slow updates on the gauges, parts of gauges not showing?
Please check the following:  

Configuration:
Running just FsClient on a desktop PC should not be a problem, but do not expect too much: FsClient is a heavy application and should be regarded as a set of medium performance graphics games.
Start with one program per PC. If you run FS and FsXPand and FsClient on 1 PC, you need a heavy machine. Not only 3D card, but processor, memory, everything should be up to the task. Better keep it simple.
Keep as much workload from the FS PC as possible. FSX is more demanding than FS2004. Your PC has enough to do as it is. You often need to run at least some add-ons here, but if possible, avoid it. WideFS can be an option here.
If the problems remain, check the following:

Graphics driver
Often, users rely on the graphics driver installed by Windows. Usually this is incorrect. One should always use the driver that came with the card, and update using the latest driver from the manuafacturer. This is extremely important.

Network configuration:

1. Do you have the TCP/IP protocol installed in My network places, Local Area Connection, properties? (of course you have a network adapter installed)

2. Do you have IP addresses assigned within the proper range? (your cockpit PC's must belong to the same network. If your netmask is 255.255.255.0, the first 3 octets of all IP addresses must be the same.)

3. Can you 'ping' each PC from the other one? (Start, Run, type: "ping 192.168.0.1" or whatever the IP is on the other side, you should get a response within 10 milliseconds. If not, you do not have an operational network.

4. Your PC's are not on different sides of a router? This may slow things down. Also, check the firewall in this router. Check the firewall on the server and the client.

5. Do you have only 1 IP address assigned to your PC? If more, things can get complicated.

6. Check your anti virus or malicious software program: do they block network traffic?

7. Same for your firewall. There may be more than 1, did you check your router/switch..

8. Some systems refuse to use port 9000, when it is blocked due to anti-spam software. Lots and lots of ports have been tagged dangerous because of the one-time use of it by a trojan or virus.
Use another value here. Do not forget to change the FsClient port number accordingly.
If you are unsure of a computer's name, you can add the #1 IP address as well in stead of a host name.

If you want to rule out all routers and other machines, take 1 PC, pull the network plug, install both programs, add another IP address for the FsClient, put that one in manually, and try if you can get it connected.

Or even better: use a cross-over cable to connect just 2 machines (and run FsXpand and Fsclient on separate machines in that case).

Wireless networks may cause problems: TCP/IP requires a perfect RF connection between the stations. Remember that a wireless card is just a radio.
On-board network cards can present problems as well. They use the mainboard processor and can have bad performance.

(There is a lot about network stuff in the WideFS manual (by Pete Dowson). It is worth reading.)

If errors are coming up, see Errors page .

Still problems?
For Windows related errors, see OS Errors page.

A blue screen with XP or Vista is at least an indication of a system problem (windows) or maybe even hardware (memory).

Black squares in stead of gauges: please check if there is any error indicated at the bottom of FsXPand and FsClient control windows: Please contact support in that case.
If not, you have a performance problem. Your graphics card may not be up to the task (maybe on-board chipset), your on-board network card is taking up too much processor power to mention a few common causes. The entire box may be too low in performance.
Some or all gauges not updating: the same. Try removing one or more gauges and see if it starts working. FsClient will not crash if unable to update a gauge, it will merely start the next update cycle.

Software causes:
- Windows installation clean and stable, never a problem
- slowdown of traffic due to anti-virus software
- network gets flooded, unnecessary traffic
- cockpit sits on the home network and someone is downloading a few Gigabytes
You could start doubting your machine now.

Hardware causes:
- Is the system OK (hardware checks out, especially memory, get a free RAM test program at http://memtest86.com)
- Wireless network connections with a bad RF connection (it is a radio after all).
- The machine itself, is it fit for the task?
- Please do not use on-board network cards, they use processor power
- Please suspect on-board graphics adapters, especially with shared memory.

Desktop PC's:
Substandard mainboards will perform badly.
In generally, many PC's can have problems running programs in real-time and still keep the network going.

Laptops/portables/boxes that are not extendable:
Unless they were purchased with high quality gaming in mind, the result may be disappointing. The onboard video is usually less than on a separate card. Sometimes they use shared memory (which is slow to access for the 3D card).