Windows Explorer Opens on P3D v4.5 Launch

[vafpilot]

Every time I start P3D Windows Explorer opens to the P3D root directory. I tried uninstalling the latest addon which was just before this started but it did not fix the issue. I was only to find one previous post but the solution of removing the .xml file did not work.

This is extremely annoying and I wish I could find a way to make it stop. If anyone has found a corrective solution please let me know.

(I am running Windows 10)

[Martyson]

@ vafpilot ,
Will Thomas

The General Debugging Steps are here for your review:
viewtopic.php?f=6312&t=123246

[JorgenSA]

Yes, if you really want to destroy your installation, the debugging steps are the way to go.

Jorgen

[mpni]

Have you try to make a new prepar3d.cfg by disabling this file?
Regards
michel

[Martyson]

@ vafpilot ,

Additional information:

I have see the reply:
"Yes, if you really want to destroy your installation, the debugging steps are the way to go." in a number of posts in the forum.

To be clear, you cannot destroy your installation by simply reviewing the Debugging Steps.

If , after a review, you have any questions about the 7 debugging steps just ask for additional information.

viewtopic.php?f=6312&t=123246

[vafpilot]

Have you try to make a new prepar3d.cfg by disabling this file?
Regards
michel

Ahhh. I vaguely remember doing this before to fix start up issues. If I remember correctly the sim will create a new config file when it starts so I’ll make a copy (or back it up) then delete it to see if that fixes the issue.

Thanks so much for the suggestion.

[Martyson]

@ vafpilot ,
Will Thomas

Some additional information :

While reviewing the LM Debugging Steps you will notice that Step 4 :

Includes 3 paths (WIN10 searchs) to P3D folders and files you could check to see if any were recently updated.
You may want to review any that were recently updated as a possible cause for your current problem.

Note:
Good policy to make backups of any suspect file(s)/folders before making any changes.

[JorgenSA]

I shall repeat: if you really want to destroy your installation, the debugging steps are the way to go.

I say that, because you are using them (in fact, you are the only one I have seen using them) as an excuse for not troubleshooting an issue, or as an excuse for saying "I do not know what to do", and then you lead the unsuspecting user down a potentially destructive path.

But it sure increases your message counter.

Moderators/Administrators: I respectfully move that the debugging steps be removed.

Jorgen

[Martyson]

@ vafpilot ,
Will Thomas

Follow up / Additional information:

In your first post you mentioned:
“Every time I start P3D Windows Explorer opens to the P3D root directory. I tried uninstalling the latest addon which was just before this started but it did not fix the issue.”
“(I am running Windows 10)”


While reviewing the LM General Debugging Steps you will notice that Step 7 asks for some additional information:
This is important because LM Staff reads the forum posts.

From LM General Debugging Steps Step 7 :

“Finally, include the following information in your report:

1. Prepar3D version
2. Operating system
3. All add-ons installed (applications, scenery, vehicles, etc.)
4. Hardware (graphics card, CPU, RAM, displays, etc.)
5. Changes made to your system – overclocking, graphics accelerators (NVIDIA Inspector), debuggers
6. Changes to Prepar3D's settings or configuration files
7. Crash logs or error messages

Thank you for your interest in Prepar3D and it is a pleasure to have you with us,

Adam
Prepar3D® Engineering Project Manager”

Note:
In past forum posts (various topics) LM Staff has also mentioned e.g., "have you gone through the General Debugging Steps" ?

[vafpilot]

Well, I've read through the 'general debugging' steps and there's mention one of the steps removes all of the addons and then insturcts you to start reinstalling them one by one. I've done something similar by removing the latest addon before the behaviour began. And that's the strange part: this started several days (and uses) after the latest addon was installed.

As I thought about this I vaguely remember a window popping up as P3D started and I selected "OK" thinking it was the admin permission question: but I'm thinking it was something different now. Possibly an association.

Anyway, I have well over 100 addons and I'm not sure reinstalling all of them is the way to go. As I've said, this behaviour started more recently and I even used an older version of my Addons folder and it still does it.

If any users have unlocked this mystery please post.

[vafpilot]

I found it !!

I appreciate the suggestions offered by other users of P3D, but in my case it was something slightly different. It had nothing to do with the "Addon" folder in the documents which I had suspected due to the fact the issue did not start immediately after installing the latest addon.

I started to think about any changes in the past few weeks and couldn't think of anything I missed so I went snooping around in the Prepar3D folder where the config files are located and started looking at anything that ended in *.cfg and noticed the "addo-ons" file and opened it. I started to scan down through all of the entries (I previously verified all .xml addon files were pointing to valid locations in the P3D Addons folder under documents) and everything looked fine until I found the one for Navigraph simlink. I recently uninstalled Navigraph Simlink because: 1) I don't use it and 2) I kept getting a popup all of the time about a new version. I thought I disabled the popup but it persisted so I uninstalled it.

However, uninstalling Navigraph Simlink does not clear the entry from the "add-ons.cfg" file. So to test my theory I simply changed the "ACTIVE" entry from "true" to "false" and also so I wouldn't need to rename each package. I restarted the P3D twice and each time it started fine and without opening the P3D root folder in Windows Explorer.

I hope this may help anyone else who is experiencing this problem. It wasn't debugging that fixed it, it was the suggestion of others that got me thinking and with some intuition I was able to find it.

Thanks to those who contributed their experience and thoughts.

[Martyson]

@ vafpilot ,
Will Thomas

Glad to hear you found your problem after reviewing the General Debugging Steps as I originally suggested.

If you had not been able to locate the problem (as is often the case with other reported problems) then the General Debugging Steps would have worked as written.
P3D would have started properly.

[vafpilot]

@ vafpilot ,
Will Thomas

Glad to hear you found your problem after reviewing the General Debugging Steps as I originally suggested.

Quite honestly I didn’t use the debugging steps: I only glanced at them but I don’t recall seeing anything about the “add-on.xml” file unless the files you delete in the debugging steps erases that file. Either way I didn’t want to literally reinstall over 100 addons.

I posted my results to help save someone else the aggravation I experienced. I do appreciate suggestions as it sometimes helps me to think of other things.

[Martyson]

@ vafpilot ,
Will Thomas

Glad to hear you found your problem after reviewing the General Debugging Steps as I originally suggested.

Quite honestly I didn’t use the debugging steps: I only glanced at them but I don’t recall seeing anything about the “add-on.xml” file unless the files you delete in the debugging steps erases that file. Either way I didn’t want to literally reinstall over 100 addons.

I posted my results to help save someone else the aggravation I experienced. I do appreciate suggestions as it sometimes helps me to think of other things.

@ vafpilot ,
Will Thomas

You mentioned:
“Well, I've read through the 'general debugging' steps and there's mention one of the steps removes all of the addons and then insturcts you to start reinstalling them one by one.”

Yes, and in your case you reviewed your problem further.
That’s the way it’s supposed to be.


I previously mentioned:
While reviewing the LM Debugging Steps you will notice that Step 4 :

Includes 3 paths (WIN10 searchs) to P3D folders and files you could check to see if any were recently updated.
You may want to review any that were recently updated as a possible cause for your current problem.

Note:
Good policy to make backups of any suspect file(s)/folders before making any changes.

Debugging step 5,
Remove your generated files.:
Delete the following generated folders/files. This will result in any add-ons being removed/disabled.

%PROGRAMDATA%\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v5
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v5
%APPDATA%\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v5


The third one (%APPDATA%\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v5)
will remove the add-ons.cfg and a lot of other files that can could cause problems for users who do not want to review each one to save having to re-install their products.


Now in your case you mentioned:

“I tried uninstalling the latest addon which was just before this started but it did not fix the issue.”
You had not mentioned which Add-on.
So I assumed all traces of it were gone per the Add-on developer’s instructions on how to remove their product.


So I suggested reviewing the Debugging steps which:
“Includes 3 paths (WIN10 searchs) to P3D folders and files you could check to see if any were recently updated.
And I further commented:
You may want to review any that were recently updated as a possible cause for your current problem.”


Later you mentioned:
“However, uninstalling Navigraph Simlink does not clear the entry from the "add-ons.cfg" file.
So to test my theory I simply changed the "ACTIVE" entry from "true" to "false" and also so I wouldn't need to rename each package.”



Note:
Before uninstalling Simlinks you should have started P3D, Options, Addons and Unchecked the Navigraph Simlink entry.
That would have changed the entry in the add-ons.cfg , Active, from True to False.
And it would also changed the Date and Time of that file to be more current than all other files in the folder.



Who would have guessed that Windows Explorer Opens on P3D v4.5 Launch would be a Simlinks uninstall problem?
Thus, the suggestion to review the Debugging Steps.

Glad to hear you found the problem.

[vafpilot]

Understood and your suggestion is noted, but in all fairness the part that mentions it will remove all addons to me means all addons. If I only had five or ten then OK but as I mentioned I didn’t want to remove ALL all of them. That would have been a last resort. I read another post that mentioned removing addons until it is fixed but again with over 100 that would be laborious at best.

I don’t want to keep going on about this or debating the process. I just wanted to post my solution to save others from possibly removing all of their addons and provide a lesson learned for anyone else who might experience this issue or something similar.

All the best.