Well, I've gone and shelved my FSX as I spent more time messing with it than flying. I have ordered a copy of FS9 which will be here in the next few days.My question is this, apart from the MS Patch, is there anything I must have with regards fixes etc. I'm not after recomended addons, just files that I need to get the best performance from the software.Thanks

I use FS9 without the patch. There is one tweak that you should do and that is to rename yor default.xml file. I'm at work right now so I can say for sure where it is in the sim but that was the one fix that we all did to get better preformance. Also now that I think of it make sure you do not have force feedback enable in the settings (with that enabled you would get 3fps on the ground sometimes and then normal frames in the air).One advantage that FS9 has over FSX is the fact that the hardware has increased since its release where in a few years FSX might have a chance to preform better as well.Glad to read that your time with FSX has not ruined your overall desire to sim. You should find FS9 to be a great software platform to enjoy simming and can reflect on FSX as where the software is going (let it be in FSX on versions to follow).

Thanks for the response. I'll find the default xml file with the XP search facility I'd imagine.Regards

just replace the xml with a .bak after it will work so it will read "default.bak"

Recently I re-installed FS9 - I thought I'd got it all back together fine but I completely forgot about this default xml thing. Can you just refresh my memory as to the whys and wherefors of this little tweak.Bud

Its the gas stations and fast food places in the auto gen along with a slew of other items like iceburgs and boats among others. A guru can explain the tech side but what it boils down to is that unlike the other auto gen items it stays active even when you fly past it so in downwind your fine but when you turn final you get a major prefomance hit and if you do pattern work it only get worst.theres mixed reviews if the patch corrected it and some are saying to do the same in fsx. Basically it bogs down your memory (I believe). A quick way to see what it does is to do a flight then zoom far in the distance over a city and all you sill see out of the auto gen are those items because buildings and trees have dissappeared since its far out of sight but those are still there and when you fly back to that area you then get double the same items because the old ones new went away even though you one see one of the two items thence.

The default.xml tweak in FS9 is a twofold item. Originally, the deactivation of the file was to cure a memory leak. As mentioned, when you flew over scenery, the default.xml autogen was not purging itself from memory properly. This lead to severe performance issues should you do a 180 deg. turn and fly back the way you came. The FS9.1 Patch fixes this issue. Some users decided to continue not using the default.xml file simply because without it, there was less autogen to bog the computer down. With the 9.1 patch, the only reason for disabling the default.xml file is performance. Without the 9.1 patch, disabling the default.xml patch is necessary to eliminate a bug. Cheers!-Greg

Thanks guys - all coming back to me now. I beleive I left it as it was after the 9.1 patch.Bud

Also remember to reduce hardware acceleration on your sound card to Basic.This will reduce frame rate stuttering considerably.