Wow, thanks for the fast reply Skuzzy!
Multiple reboots, but we just tried rebooting after the reinstall, that seemed to fix it.
For the record, the game did not apparently load far enough to get to clipboard, and would almost immediately just go to a big blank window with something about ace high (no other useful info) in top left corner, and the little spinning circle.
I had to roll back the Creator's update; it made my puter too unstable to be useful for anything.
No other DirectX game on this puter, but did try running the AH film viewer, that would not complete loading either.
I did use the game uninstaller.
Long term, I've been having an occasional stability issue(about once/week), and thinking the next step need to reinstall Win 10 from scratch.
Summary, it's looking good for now, will try adding back my settings, films and skin folder, and hopefully will be back in business for FSO and Rabaul. Will report back if things break again; always appreciate any suggestions you have.
Thanks again Skuzzy!
-DaddyAce