FS2004 & W7 64bit

[jay907uk]

Hi Guys,I've gone thorugh the whole 22 pages and picked out which was relevant to FS2004 and installing this into W7 64bit but few things do puzzle me?1) The post called Tips to install 2004, this mentions about reading OPA's tips but haven't found anything anyone point me to this please?Various posts mention to install FS2004 into C: drive rather than default (Program Files X86). My question is do I delete the default folder and when installing FS2004 select C: or C:\FS2004? Little bit confused by this one appreciate any tips or what to type:)I have rather alot of payware / freeware stuff for FS2004 including PMDG 737NG / 747 / MD11 will these work? Aswell as Overland Scenery / Aerosoft / Flytampa / PSS Aircraft / CLS aircraft amongst others?I'm convinced I read about selecting compability mode but can't remember is this correct?Opa mentioned the below quote in the (Tips to install FS2004 post). I'm not to sure what he means by testing and how the testing is done? "(I would suggest that you go slowly and test every individual addition - aircraft and/or scenery - before proceeding, rather than install massive groups of things)."I don't really know how powerful my specs are below or even if the Processor is better than the QuadCore / Athlon maybe someone can advicePC Specs:Acer Aspire AX3950Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bitIntel Core i3 processor 550 3.20 GHz4GB RAM / 500GB Hard driveNividia GeForce 315 upto 2299MBAgain Sorry for maybe making a duplicate post but from looking at the whole 22pages only three I found relevant to FS2004 though anymore helpful advice or handy tips are always greatfully received.Kindest RegardsJason Thompson

[Superpilotv2]

I don´t know why it shouldn´t work. I´m also using W7 64 bit and I´ve never discovered any problem. The only thing to remember is that you install it outside of it´s default location, maybe out can make a partition only for FS9.

[greggerm]

Various posts mention to install FS2004 into C: drive rather than default (Program Files X86). My question is do I delete the default folder and when installing FS2004 select C: or C:\FS2004? Little bit confused by this one appreciate any tips or what to type:)

You can place it in C:\FS2004, C:\Games\FS2004, or even C:\FlyingGameThingy...The goal is to keep Flight Simulator out of the "Program Files" directory when using Vista and Windows 7, because they apply restrictive security settings to that directory which can prevent some addons from installing and working properly. Just so long as you know where it's installed, and it's not inside the "Program Files" directory, you should be fine.

I have rather alot of payware / freeware stuff for FS2004 including PMDG 737NG / 747 / MD11 will these work? Aswell as Overland Scenery / Aerosoft / Flytampa / PSS Aircraft / CLS aircraft amongst others?

Most certainly should. I can't guarantee that everything would work, but the vast majority certainly should!

I'm convinced I read about selecting compability mode but can't remember is this correct?

Yes - Flight Simulator 2004 isn't "aware" of how Vista and Windows 7 deals with graphics. When running in Windowed mode, you will have REALLY bad graphics performance and issues if you fail to make this adjustment.

• Once you have FS2004 installed, browse your way to the Flight Simulator directory, and right-click on FS9.EXE file, select Properties...
• Select the Compatibility... tab, and in the settings area select "Disable desktop composition".

By doing this, you are telling your computer to drop out of the fancy looking "Aero" display profile when you start the simulator. You will notice this happening with a slight flicker in the display and a temporary loss of the transparency on your Windows desktop. In simple terms this step is needed in order to allow the computer to properly process the graphics in FS2004. (By contrast, FSX is "aware" of Vista and Win7 and will do this change automatically). When you close FS2004, your display settings will return to normal automatically.

Opa mentioned the below quote in the (Tips to install FS2004 post). I'm not to sure what he means by testing and how the testing is done? "(I would suggest that you go slowly and test every individual addition - aircraft and/or scenery - before proceeding, rather than install massive groups of things)."

Easy stuff... When you are re-installing all of your addons, do them one at a time. Install an addon, then jump into the simulator to give it a quick test-run. Fly the airplane, visit the scenery, etc. etc. This way, if one of your addons is somehow incompatible, you will know it quickly AND you will know which one it is. There's nothing worse than installing 24 airport, scenery, and airplane addons only to find out that the simulator doesn't work right anymore and you have no idea which addon caused the problem!Good luck, and have fun!-Greg

[jay907uk]

You can place it in C:\FS2004, C:\Games\FS2004, or even C:\FlyingGameThingy...The goal is to keep Flight Simulator out of the "Program Files" directory when using Vista and Windows 7, because they apply restrictive security settings to that directory which can prevent some addons from installing and working properly. Just so long as you know where it's installed, and it's not inside the "Program Files" directory, you should be fine. Most certainly should. I can't guarantee that everything would work, but the vast majority certainly should! Yes - Flight Simulator 2004 isn't "aware" of how Vista and Windows 7 deals with graphics. When running in Windowed mode, you will have REALLY bad graphics performance and issues if you fail to make this adjustment.

• Once you have FS2004 installed, browse your way to the Flight Simulator directory, and right-click on FS9.EXE file, select Properties...
• Select the Compatibility... tab, and in the settings area select "Disable desktop composition".

By doing this, you are telling your computer to drop out of the fancy looking "Aero" display profile when you start the simulator. You will notice this happening with a slight flicker in the display and a temporary loss of the transparency on your Windows desktop. In simple terms this step is needed in order to allow the computer to properly process the graphics in FS2004. (By contrast, FSX is "aware" of Vista and Win7 and will do this change automatically). When you close FS2004, your display settings will return to normal automatically. Easy stuff... When you are re-installing all of your addons, do them one at a time. Install an addon, then jump into the simulator to give it a quick test-run. Fly the airplane, visit the scenery, etc. etc. This way, if one of your addons is somehow incompatible, you will know it quickly AND you will know which one it is. There's nothing worse than installing 24 airport, scenery, and airplane addons only to find out that the simulator doesn't work right anymore and you have no idea which addon caused the problem!Good luck, and have fun!-Greg

Greg,Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions indivually I am very grateful to you :( Besides your answers is there anthing you would recommend me to do or not to do?Kind RegardsJason

[Guest n9zn]

Well, well, haven't I been the LAZY ONE!All this time goes by and I just now discover this.I haven't flown FS9 in ages because of the issues, can't believe I never took the time to look to see why there were issues.Thanks for the heads up.EDIT: I just loaded WIN 7 (64bit) to give it a try with 8GB of memory in ALIENWARE Area-51. Is it ok if I simple un-install FS2004 and re-install it in another directory, or can I just move the directory (doubtfull due to registry entries I guess)? Is there anything else I need to watch out for because it was preveiously installed in PROGRAM FILES?

[Superpilotv2]

Well, well, haven't I been the LAZY ONE!All this time goes by and I just now discover this.I haven't flown FS9 in ages because of the issues, can't believe I never took the time to look to see why there were issues.Thanks for the heads up.EDIT: I just loaded WIN 7 (64bit) to give it a try with 8GB of memory in ALIENWARE Area-51. Is it ok if I simple un-install FS2004 and re-install it in another directory, or can I just move the directory (doubtfull due to registry entries I guess)? Is there anything else I need to watch out for because it was preveiously installed in PROGRAM FILES?

You can just move it out of the Program Files folder and use the registry repair tool to update the registry: http://www.flight1.com/view.asp?page=library

[Guest n9zn]

You can just move it out of the Program Files folder and use the registry repair tool to update the registry: http://www.flight1.c...sp?page=library

Thanks so much for the info on the repair tool. I have done all I can and FS9 still continues to produce issues in MS Win 7 64 bit Ultimate.Wish I had known this prior to spending the money I did to go to 64 bit windows but that is on me I didn't look first.Guess I am back to win XP soon.