Support » Troubleshooting » 1. Check installation
The first thing to check is if 3wirex is installed and configured correctly so that it will start when FSX is launched. You can confirm that 3wirex starts if you see the 3wirex console window, which you can see in the picture below, when you start Flight Simulator X. Another way to confirm that 3wirex is running is by checking the Add-ins menu (press Alt when in flight to see the menu bar) for a 3wirex menu. If this is present then 3wirex has succesfully started and connected with FSX.
If you do not see this window or the menu item then you need to check that 3wirex has been correctly configured in the exe.xml file. To do this you need to find the correct folder depending on which version of Windows you are using.
On Windows XP, you will need to open My Computer on your Windows desktop, then type in the following path, replacing <username> with your current Windows user name:
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Microsoft\FSX
On Windows XP, you will need to open Computer on your Windows desktop, then type in the following path, replacing <username> with your current Windows user name:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX\
Once you have the FSX folder open as noted above, we need to either modify an existing file or create a new file. In most cases, you will need to create a new file. The file we need to have is called EXE.XML. You will most likely have a file called DLL.XML. The EXE.XML is very similar.
If you in fact do NOT have the EXE.XML file, we will need to create one. To create a new file, click the File menu and click New, then select Text Document from the list. This will create a new file waiting for you to name. Change the name of the file to EXE.XML. If you mess up, simply right-click the file and choose Rename from the pop-up menu and change the name.
Once created, right-click the file and choose Open With, then select Notepad from the list. Enter the following text into the file and save it:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="Windows-1252"?>
<SimBase.Document Type="Launch" version="1,0">
<Descr>Launch</Descr>
<Filename>EXE.xml</Filename>
<Disabled>False</Disabled>
<Launch.ManualLoad>False</Launch.ManualLoad>
<Launch.Addon>
<Disabled>False</Disabled>
<ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>
<Name>3wirex</Name>
<Path>3wirex.exe</Path>
</Launch.Addon>
</SimBase.Document>
If you have the EXE.XML file, right-click the file and choose Open With, then select Notepad. At the bottom of the file will be the line:
</SimBase.Document>
You will need to add the following lines of text ABOVE the </SimBase.Document> line and save the file:
<Launch.Addon>
<Disabled>False</Disabled>
<ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>
<Name>3wirex</Name>
<Path>3wirex.exe</Path>
</Launch.Addon>
FSX will read the EXE.XML file automatically when FSX is loaded. You will be asked if you want to allow 3WireX to run. Choose Yes. You will be asked again if you want to always load 3WireX when FSX starts. This decision is up to you. Choosing yes will automatically load 3WireX every time you open FSX. Choosing No will require you to choose every time you load FSX.