License check crashes XP11 with TerraMax active

[JRBarrett]

From time-to-time I get a pop-up window when starting X-Plane requiring me to re-enter my X-Aviation email and password to re-authorize my license. This will always occur if I have not opened XP for some time, but today I got the re-authorization check even though I last used XP-11 just 4 days ago.

Unfortunately, now that TerraMax is installed, this is causing XP to crash. I cannot access the license validation text box to enter my information because XP is hung trying to load TerraMax seasonal textures, but apparently cannot complete the operation because the system is waiting for license revalidation. It's a classic "Catch 22" situation. Eventually I get a Windows 10 error that "X-Plane has stopped responding", and I have to close the program.

The only way I can correct it is to temporarily move the TerraMax folder out of /resources/plugins. I can then start X-Plane, successfully revalidate the X-Aviation license, close X-Plane, put the TerraMax plugin back, and finally re-start X-Plane again.

I've never quite understood why these regular X-Aviation license re-validation checks are required. Is not the license info permanently stored on my computer somewhere?

In any case, the only way I can see to avoid having this problem is to re-enable default XP seasonal textures in the TerraMax config screen before closing X-Plane, on the off chance that a license re-validation request is going to come up the next time I start the sim at a later time.

 

Jim Barrett

 

[sundog]

Have you opened a support ticket with X-Aviation on this? Sounds like they will need to dig into the specifics of your account to figure out what's going on.

[JRBarrett]

3 hours ago, sundog said:

Have you opened a support ticket with X-Aviation on this? Sounds like they will need to dig into the specifics of your account to figure out what's going on.

No I haven't as yet, but I have always understood that regular license re-verifications are part of the way that X-Aviation DRM works, and that having to re-enter ones credentials from time-to-time is unavoidable. Even X-Plane itself does this with its own DRM if it has not been run for quite some time. If it has been a matter of weeks since last run, X-Plane will usually present a pop-up window during loading while the authorization key for the installation is re-verified with Laminar's servers.

The X-Aviation license check has never been an issue in the past on my system, because the other two products I own that use X-Aviation DRM are aircraft, and they do not load into the sim environment until specifically chosen.

The problem I am reporting specifically affects TerraMax, because the seasonal textures load as part of X-Plane's initialization routine. When a license check is active, the textures cannot fully load because the license check has not been completed - but the credentials cannot be entered into the X-Aviation pop-up window because the system hangs while trying to load the textures. When X-Plane finally gives up, the message logged in Windows error reporting is AppHang (for the X-Plane process), and the last entry in the X-Plane log file references TerraMax awaiting license verification.

I understand that you do not control the DRM that protects your software - but I wanted to make you aware of this blocking condition, because if it affects me, it will undoubtedly affect other TerraMax customers sooner or later. One cannot predict when the X-Aviation DRM is going to request a credential re-verification. I have been doing most of my flights in the northern US, so at the moment, I have been using the TerraMax "hard winter" textures as default.

 

Jim Barrett  

[Cameron]

Hi Jim,

You should not be needing to continually input your credentials when a check is due unless you have the option for auto license checks disabled (a setting in Gizmo preferences).

The license check will only occur every 14 days or if a change in components/operating system was significant enough to not be recognized as the same machine.

Can you check to verify you have the auto license check option enabled? We don't get people complaining about this ever, so it's the only thing I can think of!

[JRBarrett]

I have verified that "Automatically update my license" and "notify me when my license is updated" are both enabled in Gizmo preferences. The auto-update option has always been set to "on" so far as I know.

I went to the "X-Aviation Licensing" menu within Gizmo, and forced an update check, (this with X-Plane already fully loaded), and it did so without asking me for credentials, and reset the counter.

It appears that the license will be automatically checked when 2 days remain before the 15-day interval has passed since the last check. That does not seem to present a problem when I use XP every day. The problem, (at least for me), seems to occur when I have not used XP for a period of time - i.e., if I last use it on day 12, and don't boot the sim again until day 20, that is when it seems to require that I re-enter my email and password. 

Nothing has changed on my computer in terms of hardware for months.

I will see what happens when the next auto-update check occurs, which should happen in 13 days from now if my understanding of the log is correct.

FWIW. here is the content of the most recent Gizmo log:

debug:    4.249: Firmware v18.02.21.1358
debug:    4.254: X-Plugins OBJ8 Loader v15.01.11
debug:    4.445: * gxt.refresh()..
debug:    4.448: gxt: AutoLoading..
debug:    4.449:   gxt.load: Console
debug:    4.449:   gxt.load: ToolTray
debug:    4.450:   gxt.load: HotFix
debug:    4.450:   gxt.load: Mute
debug:    4.451:   gxt.load: Preferences
debug:    4.451:   gxt.load: RebootButton
debug:    4.451:   gxt.load: GateKeeper
debug:    4.452: X-Aviation Licensing: Load license..
debug:    4.454: X-Aviation Licensing: License is valid.
debug:    4.512:   gxt.load: MAXX_RWC
debug:    4.513:   gxt.load: LuaGC
debug:    4.513:   gxt.load: Shell
debug:    4.514: gxt: Completed AutoLoad.
debug:   22.232: --- -- - -- --- -- - -- --- -- - -- --- -- - -- --- -- - -- ---
debug:   22.235: Firmware v18.02.21.1358
debug:   22.240: X-Plugins OBJ8 Loader v15.01.11
debug:   22.431: * gxt.refresh()..
debug:   22.526: gxt: AutoLoading..
debug:   22.528:   gxt.load: Console
debug:   22.528:   gxt.load: ToolTray
debug:   22.529:   gxt.load: HotFix
debug:   22.529:   gxt.load: Mute
debug:   22.530:   gxt.load: Preferences
debug:   22.530:   gxt.load: RebootButton
debug:   22.531:   gxt.load: GateKeeper
debug:   22.532: X-Aviation Licensing: Load license..
debug:   22.534: X-Aviation Licensing: License is valid.
debug:   22.592:   gxt.load: MAXX_RWC
debug:   22.592:   gxt.load: LuaGC
debug:   22.593:   gxt.load: Shell
debug:   22.593: gxt: Completed AutoLoad.
debug:   75.148: X-Aviation Licensing: Auto license update is on.
debug:   75.148: X-Aviation Licensing: License days remaining: 15.00 - No update required.
debug:   75.148: X-Aviation Licensing: Update required when <= 2.00 days.
debug:   85.250: Called: GateKeeper_OnShow