What should I do?

This page describes the most effective manner for you to handle any problems that may arise when using the GridMotorsports software.  If you encounter an error while using the application, be it attempting to fetch the latest updates, or launching rFactor, or whatever, please deal with it in the following manner:

1. Do not immediately just re-install!  It may be that reinstalling will ultimately resolve the issue, but doing so immediately is very disadvantageous for us.

2. The very best thing to do first is probably to just see if someone else has already encountered the problem, and if so, whether a fix or workaround already been identified.  The chances are very good that this is the case.  Search through the Technical Support section of the forum for anything that looks like what you're experiencing.  (Note that to post in the forum you'll need a website account, and unfortunately we had to disable self-registration due to rampant spamming).

3. If you don't spot any prior description of the issue, then this is your chance to be a good citizen and report the issue.  Please use one of the following methods to describe, in full, the problem you experienced.

   • Use the automated reporting form in the application itself (in the menu, via 'Help' -> 'Report a problem').

   • Use the bug report form on the website.  Note that this is identical to the form embedded in the application - it offers the same interface and functions identically.

   • Create a new thread in the Technical Support section of the forum (requires a website account).

4. Regardless of which method you use, the critical thing is to include the log file that captures some or all of the messages associated with the error.  The log files are in the GridMotorsports directory, and are named 'gm_log.txt', 'gm_log_previous.txt', 'gm_log_ERROR.txt' or something similar.  Don't be afraid to look at them prior to submitting the report to ensure you've got the right one -- they're just text files, and contain the same messages that get displayed in the Log window in the application.  If you use either bug reporting form, they directly ask for a log file to be associated with the report.  If you create a forum thread, just include the file as an 'Attachment' to the post (this is preferred over just pasting the file contents into the body of the post).

5. The reason we ask that you first submit a report, including the log file, is that it frequently represents the only opportunity we have to capture any 'forensic' evidence of what happened.  If you just immediately obliterate the folder, or reinstall, or whatever, we have no means of discovering anything else about what went wrong, making it that much more unlikely that we can classify and potentially prevent its re-occurrence.

6. In the report, please provide an accurate, but succinct, description of what happened -- specifically if possible the order and nature of the actions that you took that preceded the error.  All told, submitting the report via any of the methods shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes.

7. If, after submitting the report, you feel inclined to take some recovery steps, there are a few things  you can do easily that have a reasonable chance of helping.  Note that ideally we'd like to have a chance to work with you to investigate the issue, with the 'scene of the crime' being left in the condition it was in when the error occurred.  However, time can often be a higher priority, and we'd always much rather you be able to practice, or be synchronized in time for an event, than wait for any error investigation.

8. Depending on the nature of the error, it's possible that an emergency sync might help.  We've provided a batch file, in the GridMotorsports directory, which will execute just the synchronization phase of an update, with as few dependencies as possible (meaning that it might succeed when the application itself is failing).

   1. open a command prompt window (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt)

   2. change to the drive and directory where GridMotorsports is installed (<rFactor>\GameData\Vehicles\GridMotorsports)

   3. enter the following command:

      • emergency_sync.bat

   4. It's important to run that command from a command prompt rather than just double-clicking it in a folder window, because doing so allows you to review the messages after the command finishes and spot any errors that might have occurred.

   5. If that appears to succeed, you can run the GM application again and initiate an update in the usual fashion, which will (hopefully) result in a successful rebuild of the mod.

9. Now (finally), if all else fails, there's no harm in just reinstalling using the installation package.  Note that we don't create the installers very often, so they're 'stale' by their very nature.  After a reinstallation you'll still need to initiate a normal update in order to be current and capable of joining the server.

We've gone to the trouble to spell all of this out in detail because we've found ourselves repeating parts of it again and again in response to people encountering errors, and it'll be easier and more productive for everyone if there is an understanding of how to appropriately react to errors.  We don't have a Q/A department, and are constrained by the limited variability of our own test systems, so errors encountered by users 'in the field', so to speak, almost always represent things that we haven't experienced in our testing.  The most valuable asset we have when it comes to these situations is all of you, collectively.  If you don't take a moment to capture and report the circumstances of any errors, we'll have an extremely difficult time polishing our application.

Thanks for being patient and for taking an active role in helping to improve the experience for everyone.