A MUST READ!!! Better PC Performance

[Guest]

Hey guys, this is something I found on www.pcaviator.com, which is an AVSIM partner site. This things really worked for me a lot, you should try it, but at your own risk, it's pretty simple. My machine isn't a high end, but I consider it pretty good. Before doing this tweaks, I was getting an average ok 20fps with all sliders max at SEATAC, now with the same settings it runs at 25fps BTW with lots of clouds in the sky.It is made for old machines with FS2002, but I did all the steps, and my new machine WinXP with FS2004 works great!!! Go on, at least give it a try!!! Let us all know here, how are the results. Any questions also post it here. Enjoy fellow simmers...http://www.pcaviator.com/articles/article_hd_opt.htmhttp://www.pcaviator.com/articles/5_XP_tweaks.htmPS: Sorry if this has been posted here already!

[Guest OneTinSoldier]

Hi All,In the second link, 5_XP_tweaks.htm, there is a tweak that has come up in here before. It is one I consider very dangerous to try because of my experience with the option a few months ago. The tweak is...CONTROL PANEL => SYSTEM => ADVANCED => PERFORMANCE => SETTINGS => ADVANCED => MEMORY USAGE. Change the option from Programs to System Cache.Reboot your computer.It has come on here before and the thread ended up with about 10 pages or so to it. My experience with it was after rebooting I got a message something like...WRITE_DELAY_ERROR - Windows could not write to the file C:$MftJust for some info, the MFT is the Master File Table for NTFS. The way I got back in was to start pressing the 'F8' key while rebooting and choose 'Restore From Last Known Good Configuration' from the Troubleshooting options offered there. Which essentially restores your System Registry if I'm not mistaken. A Few days later I got another error...The File F:Windowssystem32configsystem is either missing or corruptIf I'm not mistaken, that file is your System Registry! There was no recovering from that and I ended up reinstalling WindowsXP. Some people I have seen talk about this have apparently had no problems with Windows but have had some problems with Flight Simulator... such as aircraft textures not displaying at all. I just wanted to let folks know what happened to me though so you have an idea of what you might possibly be in for. There is another user who frequents this forum who goes by the username Hotshot. Maybe he'll come in here and let you know his opinion on this particular 'tweak' also.Take Care,Jimmy RichardsOne Tin Soldier

[Guest Paragon]

I got the exact same error doing that and ended up having to reinstall XP. This should only be done if you don't mind having to reinstall...

[Guest OneTinSoldier]

Sorry to hear about that Paragon. I can see I was not alone anyway.

[Guest]

That's why I put..."at your own risk"...I'm not beaing responsible for this, I just put them here, for anyone interested, and I like the idea of posting the goods and the bads. I feel very sorry for TinSoldier & Paragon (Thanks God my PC did not throw that error), maybe are other like me, that they just work fine. I repeat, read carefully the article, and also read carefully TinSoldier & Paragon posts, I don't want anyone here having troubles with their PC's and blaming me after...Thanks guys for letting other know which kind of erros can ocurr.

[Guest OneTinSoldier]

>That's why I put..."at your own risk"...>Thanks guys for letting other know which kind of erros>can ocurr.Sure thing. Glad to see it worked out ok for you.Jimmy 'Tin Soldier' Richards"Variable, this is EasyRhino. Do you copy? Over." Loud and clear EasyRhino. "Do we have a gig? Over." That's a Roger, we have a gig. Target is painted, start the music. "Roger that Variable. Into attack. Pickling target. Target is acquired and lit. LGB comin' down!" EasyRhino, circular error probability zero. Impact with High Order Detonation. Thank You, have a nice day.

[JimmiG 244]

The problems people are experiencing when selecting System Cache instead of Programs are possibly caused by ATI display cards. So, if you have a Radeon you'd better leave the setting at Programs as it's likely that selecting System Cache will render your system useless and force you to reinstall Windows XP, possibly loosing important data in the process.A thread discussing this isse:http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/2459/?o=20

[Guest OneTinSoldier]

JimmiG,Thanks for that link. That was a fairly interesting thread. There is a link pointing to a temporary fix for it at the end, but it says it will decrease your performance. I'll stick with my current settings.Thanks Again,One Tin Soldier

[Guest CargoMun]

So does this mean GeForce users will be "safe" to use this setting with the system cache??On the link posted they also mentioned something about when people have large amounts of memory and large NTFS disks (wich i have both)

[Guest]

Some people have reported this as a miracle cure some a nightmare.I have a NVIDIA card and when I select system cache I dont get a blue screen or crash, but I do lose my textures on my aircraft and VC, and have sound problems. When selecting Program everything is fine. Don't know why some can use system cache and some can not.MontyDell 82002.53 Ghz 533FSB CPU1024 Mb RD800 RamGf4 Ti 4600 128mb Video (Driver 4524) Viewsonic 21" VP211b Flat Panel Monitor (1600 x 1200 Native Resolution)Audigy Sound (Latest Drivers)Seagate X15 15000 RPM 37 Gb SCSI Hard Drive E: (Dedicated to FS9)Thrustmaster Hotas CougarWindows XP Pro SP1