Although fsx is running fine at the moment I'm feeling the need to perform some house keeping on my pc and clean out the crap.I have fsx installed on a separate hdd.First question, will reinstalling windows affect my fsx install given that all fsx related software is on a different hdd.Second question, if I reinstall fsx too what steps do I need to take to ensure my settings and more importantly tweaks are kept??ThanksTom

First question, will reinstalling windows affect my fsx install given that all fsx related software is on a different hdd.

Yes, even though FSX is on a separate hard drive, it will affect your installation as well as many of your addons. Expectations otherwise may lead to great frustration!FSX and your addons add many settings to the registry. When you reinstall Windows, you will be purging and recreating the registry from scratch. This will remove all the entries these (*and all your other) programs have made, opening the door to problems and concerns. Full reinstallations of FSX and your addons will eliminate these issues. Additionally, many addons may add "system" files and DLL's to your Windows system directories. Once Windows is reinstalled, these files will also logically disappear, further opening the door to issues. Full reinstallations of all items will obviously restore these files too, leading to far fewer problems. Thirdly, some addons which have robust copy protection may balk at the new Windows installation. Reinstalling Windows from scratch will likely remove any specialized license or key files utilized in copy protections, and it will also change enough on your computer to possibly trip the copy protection schemes into thinking the addon is now on a different computer. In these cases, a reinstall would be needed no matter what in order to reinitialize the protections and get you "legit". When planning a re-installation of Windows, it is strongly advised to perform a full reinstallation of FSX and all your addon files. By doing a true and full reinstall, you minimize your risk of strange behavior. Do not reinstall FSX on top of it's previous directory with your old installed files in it - make certain to delete the "old" FSX directory or create a brand new install destination to keep things clean. (Disclaimer: Before deleting, be certain to make backups if you think you will need them)

Second question, if I reinstall fsx too what steps do I need to take to ensure my settings and more importantly tweaks are kept??

There are some things you can do to hold over some tweaks and settings. I'd recommend making some screenshots, or writing down, the key settings IN the simulator that you have adjusted. (Scenery Details, Weather, Clouds, etc). After you've reinstalled, you can just re-apply those settings in the sim. Make a backup copy of your fsx.cfg file. This contains all the settings found in the simulator under the "Settings" areas, as well as various settings which you may have tweaked manually. It is NOT recommended that you just copy the old fsx.cfg file in over the newly fresh installed one, but keep the old file available to you can cut and paste specific portions from the old to the new one as needed. Examples of things to copy over might be the approach lighting tweaks, BufferPools, AffinityMask, or other manual tweaks. (Again, do not simply copy the entire old file onto the newly installed one) Regarding fsx.cfg tweaks - I'd recommend NOT copying in everything you have done right away. Use it with minimal tweaking to start. Often times, people add in unneeded or otherwise ineffective tweaks, and by having a fresh installation, you get a chance to work with a blank slate. You might find that things work better without any tweaks at all! If you've tweaked any airplane files, make backups of those custom files and hold them in reserve until you are reinstalled. Since tweaks and system adjustments come in all different shapes and sizes, it is difficult to address every one. You will have to know and remember what you've adjusted, and re-adjust them if needed. Reinstalling Windows (& MSFS) gives you a great opportunity to correct the sins of the past with your computer. Do things one item at a time, be methodical, and soon enough you will have a nice fresh desktop installation ready for another round! Good luck,-Greg

Yes, even though FSX is on a separate hard drive, it will affect your installation as well as many of your addons. Expectations otherwise may lead to great frustration!FSX and your addons add many settings to the registry. When you reinstall Windows, you will be purging and recreating the registry from scratch. This will remove all the entries these (*and all your other) programs have made, opening the door to problems and concerns. Full reinstallations of FSX and your addons will eliminate these issues. Additionally, many addons may add "system" files and DLL's to your Windows system directories. Once Windows is reinstalled, these files will also logically disappear, further opening the door to issues. Full reinstallations of all items will obviously restore these files too, leading to far fewer problems. Thirdly, some addons which have robust copy protection may balk at the new Windows installation. Reinstalling Windows from scratch will likely remove any specialized license or key files utilized in copy protections, and it will also change enough on your computer to possibly trip the copy protection schemes into thinking the addon is now on a different computer. In these cases, a reinstall would be needed no matter what in order to reinitialize the protections and get you "legit". When planning a re-installation of Windows, it is strongly advised to perform a full reinstallation of FSX and all your addon files. By doing a true and full reinstall, you minimize your risk of strange behavior. Do not reinstall FSX on top of it's previous directory with your old installed files in it - make certain to delete the "old" FSX directory or create a brand new install destination to keep things clean. (Disclaimer: Before deleting, be certain to make backups if you think you will need them) There are some things you can do to hold over some tweaks and settings. I'd recommend making some screenshots, or writing down, the key settings IN the simulator that you have adjusted. (Scenery Details, Weather, Clouds, etc). After you've reinstalled, you can just re-apply those settings in the sim. Make a backup copy of your fsx.cfg file. This contains all the settings found in the simulator under the "Settings" areas, as well as various settings which you may have tweaked manually. It is NOT recommended that you just copy the old fsx.cfg file in over the newly fresh installed one, but keep the old file available to you can cut and paste specific portions from the old to the new one as needed. Examples of things to copy over might be the approach lighting tweaks, BufferPools, AffinityMask, or other manual tweaks. (Again, do not simply copy the entire old file onto the newly installed one) Regarding fsx.cfg tweaks - I'd recommend NOT copying in everything you have done right away. Use it with minimal tweaking to start. Often times, people add in unneeded or otherwise ineffective tweaks, and by having a fresh installation, you get a chance to work with a blank slate. You might find that things work better without any tweaks at all! If you've tweaked any airplane files, make backups of those custom files and hold them in reserve until you are reinstalled. Since tweaks and system adjustments come in all different shapes and sizes, it is difficult to address every one. You will have to know and remember what you've adjusted, and re-adjust them if needed. Reinstalling Windows (& MSFS) gives you a great opportunity to correct the sins of the past with your computer. Do things one item at a time, be methodical, and soon enough you will have a nice fresh desktop installation ready for another round! Good luck,-Greg

Excellent advice! I would add that your read the excellent guide on setting up FSX and tuning it too: http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=29041Best regards,Jim