[RESOLVED] Trouble with PBX, Windows 10, and UltraDMD tables

[Erzak]

I'm having trouble with PBX and VPX games that use UltraDMD.   My cabinet OS was recently updated from Win7 to Win10, and the problems have started since the update.  I have a two monitor + PinDMD3 cabinet.

If I launch a UltraDMD table (Diablo, for example) from PinballX, the table launches and plays fine.  When I push the button to go back to PBX, the backglass monitor stays on the Diablo backglass display, and the PinDMD continues to show whatever was last displayed when the table was active.  If I then try to launch another table (non-ultraDMD) I get the "PinDMD3 not found error".  The backglass display ususally resolves itself when starting another table, but it doesn't change if I cycle thru the tables in my collection in PBX.  If I open Task Manager, I see that the UltraDMD process is still running.  Killing it manually and re-starting PBX solves the problem, until I launch another UltraDMD table.

If I start VPX by itself and launch the same table manually, then when I exit the table, it quits the backglass and DMD, and those processes are no longer running if I look in Task Manager.

This makes me think that PBX is not cleanly quitting VPX when you exit a table.  Is there anyway to change this?

Thanks,
Eric

[joyrider3774]

Use lauchafter batch file and add a taskkill command with force parameter to kill ultrdmd. I do it also 

[Erzak]

1 minute ago, joyrider3774 said:

Use lauchafter batch file and add a taskkill command with force parameter to kill ultrdmd. I do it also 

I tried something like that and it didn't seem to do anything.  Could you possibly post in here what is in your batch file?

[scutters]

Strange, i'm also on win10 but don't need a launch after taskkill for ultradmd. I am running visual pinball & pbx exes as administrator though, but maybe a PinDMD3 thing as i use virtual?

anyway this should do it

C:\Windows\System32\Taskkill /IM “UltraDMD.exe” /F  

I'm sure @joyrider3774 will confirm if not..

[joyrider3774]

1 hour ago, scutters said:

Strange, i'm also on win10 but don't need a launch after taskkill for ultradmd. I am running visual pinball & pbx exes as administrator though, but maybe a PinDMD3 thing as i use virtual?

anyway this should do it

C:\Windows\System32\Taskkill /IM “UltraDMD.exe” /F  

I'm sure @joyrider3774 will confirm if not..

I only have the problem with certain tables, not all of them using ultradmd.exe. That's indeed the command however it could be if it is not working (you can test it by manually running the commando after exiting pinballx when ultradmd keeps visible after exiting the table) that i use powershell to run the commando with verbas command to run taskkill with elevated rights. I'll verify my cabinet when i get home and past what i use.

I also have to do the same for some B2S server that seems to hang with some vp9 tables sometimes

[scutters]

@joyrider3774 @Erzak

Out of interest are you running pbx and/or visual pinball as admin? Just trying to figure out why i don't need taskkill for ultradmd or b2s server for any VPX table.. Diablo being one of them.

edit- may be related to a 64bit pinballx install rather than 32? 

[Draco1962]

Hi Eric - can you please attach copies of your pinballx.ini and log.txt (do not copy & paste) files for review?

[joyrider3774]

@Erzak

This is what i have in my launch after batch file for visual pinball (so i do use powershell start process with runas command to run with elevated rights only works on windows 10 or if powershell installed & in path variable on a 7 system):
 

powershell -Command "Start-Process 'taskkill' '/IM UltraVPServer.exe /T /F' -WindowStyle hidden -Verb runAs"
powershell -Command "Start-Process 'taskkill' '/IM UltraDMD.exe /T /F' -WindowStyle hidden -Verb runAs"

@scutters
yes i do run everything with admin rights, i think i tried disabling in the past but then had problems with quit commands not executing well for example in visual pinball 9 version i have running.

Everything works fine with me using my taskkill commands for ultradmd and ultravpserver.exe. I have no problems running it like this, maybe i'll try disabling admin everywhere again sometime later but it's a pain to test every system (i got bigscore, pinballwicked, malzbies, pfx2, pfx3, zaccaria pinball, visual pinball 9 & 10 as one system (i use alternateexe method) ) not to mention multiple tables and all the ahk scripts i use. So i'm leaving it as is. I do know once you start with one process running as admin you basically have to run all else also as admin or sometimes wm_messages will not be received or simulated keyboard input etc (you can not mix as it's bound to cause problems).

Do all these systems work with you without a problem when using no elevated rights / run as administrator ?

[scutters]

@joyrider3774

Can't speak for all systems, but i did i few quick tests with visual pinball x, toggling admin on and off on vpx and on pbx. For me at least the one that seems to matter most is admin on visual pinball x, without admin on that the b2s and the ultradmd remain on screen after exiting the diablo table. As soon as i restore admin to that everything exits cleanly again.

But as you have admin on that as well but still need to run taskkill scripts i'm a bit clueless as to why..

@Erzak

Sorry for hijacking the thread a bit there.. but aat least you have a couple of things to try. Admin on vpinballx.exe, and if that still fails joyrider3774's scripts. One of them will work i'm sure!

EDIT - Well this is crazy, after restoring admin on vpx & pbx and testing Diablo exiting properly ok yesterday... it now appears after a reboot it isn't anymore!. Diablo backglass & ultradmd stay on screen after table exit now despite the same admin permissions as before . Nothing else changed!... Aaargh... I'm now going to use bat file too until i can figure out what the flip is happening (don't hold your breath), my two lines in .bat file;

TASKKILL /IM "UltraDMD.exe" /T /F
TASKKILL /F /im "B2SBackglassServerEXE.exe" /T

EDIT2 - Don't ask me how but i now have just pinballx running as admin, removed admin from vpx and ultra dmd and B2S are closing again on table exit without a launch after script. Try that and make sure you don't have admin on b2sserver exe in VP tables folder or ultradmd (probably in vp\vpinmame\xdmd folder. If that fails the launch after scripts will work.

[Erzak]

Thanks all for the replies and suggestions.  I will give these things a try this weekend, if not before.  Really wish I'd stuck with Win7, since everything worked perfectly there.  But when you're sold a system with a bogus product key and MS doesn't sell Win7 keys anymore, what other options are there?

[Erzak]

Thru some trial and error, I got it working.  I used the batch file lines that Scutters posted.  They didn't work when trying it from a command line, unless I right-clicked the .bat file and selected 'run as admin'.  Once I got it working from a command line, tried using the 'launchafter' option and it didn't work, but then I tried right-clicking on pinballx.exe and setting it to run as admin, and then the batch file works from PBX.  

Right now I have it so that the .bat file runs after every VPX table exits, I suppose I could group the UltraDMD tables into an alternative .exe group, but probably no harm in that .bat file running everytime, I don't notice the couple of ms it takes.

The only other nagging issue that I'm seeing (sometimes) is when launching Diablo form PBX, occasionally the table doesn't have focus, so I have to click the mouse on the playfield before I can start a game or anything.  But it doesn't always do this.  I know I read about this in a thread, either here or maybe on vpforums, will have to see if I can find that post again.

Thanks again for the help!

[Outhere]

Diablo

https://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=37523&p=420903