Crashing, but output_log.txt is empty

[DavidHunter]

Hello,

KSP has been crashing at random recently. I'm running a heavily modded game, and so wanted to use the output_log.txt file to try and figure out what mod is the cause.

Unfortunately, this is literally the only thing recorded in the output_log.txt file:

Quote

Initialize engine version: 5.4.0p4 (b15b5ae035b7)
GfxDevice: creating device client; threaded=1
Direct3D:
    Version:  Direct3D 9.0c [nvd3dumx.dll 21.21.13.7866]
    Renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
    Vendor:   NVIDIA
    VRAM:     8113 MB (via DXGI)
    Caps:     Shader=30 DepthRT=1 NativeDepth=1 NativeShadow=1 DF16=0 INTZ=1 NULL=1 RESZ=0 SlowINTZ=0 ATOC=1
 

...there isn't the usual log spam from various mods, nothing, not a thing.

 

Also, I note the last time this file was modified (according to Windows Explorer) was 27th February. It's now the 7th March, and I've played KSP on a daily basis since then.

In the KSP launcher, I have logging enabled in the settings, so that's not the cause.

 

Any ideas why KSP isn't writing to the log file please?

 

Thanks.

 

EDIT: never mind. For some reason, the KSP install directory had become read-only. I have no idea why that happened; I had this same issue in January and have no idea what's going on there, but something in Windows is making the KSP directory read-only. I presume that's the cause of this issue.

Edited March 7, 2017 by DavidHunter

[DavidHunter]

Hmm, nope, where I thought I had solved the issue, I haven't: the log file still isn't being written.
 

Any thoughts please?

[sal_vager]

4 hours ago, DavidHunter said:

Any thoughts please?

When the log does not progress any further than what you have shown it usually means that something is causing the Unity3D game engine to crash before it is able to load any project files, i.e. the game, mods etc.

You mentioned the KSP folder was read only, have you checked this again and did KSP start after you changed the permissions?

There is also a Unity bug that causes Unity to assume it is in low integrity mode when it isn't, and it will write the logs to your users appdata.

 

[DavidHunter]

On 3/9/2017 at 9:26 PM, sal_vager said:

When the log does not progress any further than what you have shown it usually means that something is causing the Unity3D game engine to crash before it is able to load any project files, i.e. the game, mods etc.

You mentioned the KSP folder was read only, have you checked this again and did KSP start after you changed the permissions?

There is also a Unity bug that causes Unity to assume it is in low integrity mode when it isn't, and it will write the logs to your users appdata.

 

Thanks, @sal_vager: the most recent log files had been written to my appdata folder instead. Dunno why...

(to answer your other questions, KSP runs fine, except every now and then there is a crash. That can be once every few days. And I don't know why, but the KSP directory is being made read-only repeatedly, no matter what I do to change it. I thought it may have been because I had it installed directly into the C: root directory, so I moved the KSP folder into my user directory, and then changed it to read/write, but it still changes back to read-only. God only knows... anyway, at least the log file is being written, just elsewhere... I can work with that.  )
 

Thanks for your help.  

[sal_vager]

On 12/03/2017 at 11:26 PM, DavidHunter said:

except every now and then there is a crash.

Yeah that can happen, especially during a scene change, hopefully the log will give a clue next time it happens.

On 12/03/2017 at 11:26 PM, DavidHunter said:

but it still changes back to read-only. God only knows

Something on your system has to be doing this, like an anti-virus or app or maybe Windows itself, are you using Windows 10?

[DavidHunter]

19 hours ago, sal_vager said:

Yeah that can happen, especially during a scene change, hopefully the log will give a clue next time it happens.

Something on your system has to be doing this, like an anti-virus or app or maybe Windows itself, are you using Windows 10?

Yup, Winblows 10. I only recently migrated over from a Mac, and I haven't really used Windows since XP, so I'd be grateful for any pointers.

I don't have any antivirus software installed on this system...

[sal_vager]

3 hours ago, DavidHunter said:

I don't have any antivirus software installed on this system...

Don't do this, seriously, at least use MS's security essentials.

 

3 hours ago, DavidHunter said:

so I'd be grateful for any pointers.

As a Linux user I'd happily point you to any number of Linux distributions

As for the read only files, no idea, it seems only Windows 10 users are reporting this so maybe it's a new security feature.

[diomedea]

@DavidHunter: though I'm not using Windows 10 (refused to "upgrade" from 8, guess why) therefore can't directly test the issue with security permissions, I'd advise to move KSP to a custom place where the OS doesn't mess with (User directory certainly is something the OS wants to "keep in order" in its own way). I always make a "\Games" folder (also on a different drive than the one with the system, e.g. D:\Games) where to install all those games that allow custom installation, would be amazed to find Windows 10 tries to mess with custom folders like that one.

[DavidHunter]

On 15/03/2017 at 8:41 PM, sal_vager said:

Don't do this, seriously, at least use MS's security essentials.

 

As a Linux user I'd happily point you to any number of Linux distributions

As for the read only files, no idea, it seems only Windows 10 users are reporting this so maybe it's a new security feature.

It's a non-networked computer; it is isolated from the Internet. The only files it gets from the Internet are from KSP mods, and even then I download them on my Mac (which has BitDefender) and then transfer them via USB stick.

And yeah, sadly I need Winblows to run some specialist work software, so I'm stuck there.

 

 

On 15/03/2017 at 8:56 PM, diomedea said:

@DavidHunter: though I'm not using Windows 10 (refused to "upgrade" from 8, guess why) therefore can't directly test the issue with security permissions, I'd advise to move KSP to a custom place where the OS doesn't mess with (User directory certainly is something the OS wants to "keep in order" in its own way). I always make a "\Games" folder (also on a different drive than the one with the system, e.g. D:\Games) where to install all those games that allow custom installation, would be amazed to find Windows 10 tries to mess with custom folders like that one.

Yeah, I thought that may be the reason too, but alas, 'tis not.