Last week I got a new processor and as funds are quite linmited I put it in a mobo I knew was a little tempermental. It only started that way after a thunderstorm and a power outage, then a week later the PSU blew. Anyway, I fitted the CPU and that works brilliantly but the mobo is buzzing loudly and will not hold the settings. So I ordered a new one thats due here next Wednesday as I couldn`t find one locally to accept the DDR2 I have, only DDR3 and cannot afford to replace that too. When I wiped the drive whilst fitting the CPU I for a change, due to one reason and another, decided to put the OS on a 160 gig SATA drive and FSX on the D Drive with my PMDG and other aircraft, this is a 1TB Sata drive. From those people who split the drives regularly can you tell me if I can get away without reinstalling the FSX and aircraft, just reinstall the C:\ (160 gig) and make a shortcut to FSX or will it not work due to changes being necessary in the registry and/or licensing? Not been down this particular road before..... Sorry PMDG, but yet another necessary change is needed. I`ll face that as and when/if I need to reinstall everything. Just realised this should have gone in the hardware section, so feel free to move it and sorry, my mistake.

Is it possible your CMOS battery is fried? If you can't keep BIOS settings, that might be your problem? Try replacing the battery (it's round and small, like a watch battery), and see if that helps. The CMOS battery looks like this: http://pctechnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/remove-battery.jpg As for partitioning the drive, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, but I recommend you keep Windows and FSX on the same partition, just to be safe. Frank

General opinion is to install Windows on the C drive. Then install FSX on a seperate physical (not partition) hard drive for performance and permission reasons. I used to install FSX on the same drive as Windows, but giving FSX its own drive gave significantly improved loading times. However, during FSX installation, and most likely addon installation, registry entries will be created in Windows - on the C drive. This means that if you wiped Windows and reinstalled it, FSX wont work. So yeah, dig out your FSX DVD - you're gonna need it! :-)

Hi, First, you don't need to mess around with separate drives for FSX and the OS. Any performance gain is the result of the drive being faster, not because you split them. If your computer has sufficient memory, it won't be using the swap file (and if it was you need to get more memory anyway). Second, if you do choose to copy FSX to a separate partition, you just need to ensure the FSX registry entry is pointing at the actual location. Best regards,Robin.

Having two HDD is completely new to me, some say you should install FSX on the same drive as the OS then others say, no each should have it's own drive. I do not have Windows7 at the moment but I should imagine it is like XP, You open My Computer and you see Local Disk C:\ which has Program Files\ MS Games and inside, FSX (that is with OS and FSX on the same drive). I should imagine with two hard drives when you go to My Computer you will obviously see two drives there, Local Disk C:\ with Program Files\ MS Games but no flight sim inside and on the second drive, call it D:\ (in this example), inside you have FSX plus other applications such as weather etc This might sound dumb to you knowlegable guys but how do you install FSX on the second drive with no access to the folders Program Files and \MS Games? I understand that you can do a custom install with the sim. Do you create folders titled Program Files and Microsoft Games on D:\ drive so that FSX has the correct path or do you just use a direct install onto drive D:\ in this example. What installation path would you use to get FSX up and running on the second drive D:\ ? Remember I did not grow up with computers, they were'nt around back in 1943 so I am one "old" bloke on a steep learning curve here so be gentle. Delf

or do you just use a direct install onto drive D:\ in this example.

Correct. Just stick it in D:\FSX otherwise FSX.exe and all the associated bits are in D:\ and it is messy.

What installation path would you use to get FSX up and running on the second drive D:\ ?

Technically anything you like, but if you want to put other things on there, put it in a folder on D:. Best regards,Robin.

Delf Im pretty sure when you do your custom install and pick the d:\ fsx will create all the necessary folders. Its been a long time since I installed mine but im pretty sure it took care of it for you. I did mine on a separate drive so that I could keep all my FSX stuff together. When I download my pmdg software I can keep the original on the D:\ drive and a back up on a cd or flash drive. Not sure if the access time is faster but its easier to find my fsx stuff with it all in one place. Good luck on the install.

Thanks guys, I think I have the picture. So infact I could add a folder titled "Flight Sim" for example and custom install FSX into that? D:\Flight Sim\Microsoft Flight Simulator X. I can then have other files that reside outside FSX like Active Sky Evolution in another folder titled for example "Program Files". So when I open D:\ drive I would see two folders "Flight Sim" with Microsoft Flight Simulator X inside and "Program Files" with Active Sky Evolution, and FSC9 Flight Commander etc? Or I must ensure it is DIRECT Install, D:\ Microsoft Flight Simulator X and other application sit on D:\ under FSX. So when you open D:\ it appears with folders like this: Microsoft Flight Simulator XActive Sky Evolution (HiFi)Flight Sim Commander (FSC9)

Thanks guys, I fear I will have to reinstall. But I will try this, I have an excellent little program that resets FSX in the registry. You can choose where the install will be set in the registry by typing in or pasting in the address in the program then pressing OK and it either sets or resets as necessary. Right back to my dilemma as I didn`t explain too well though the answers seem about right. First off tried the battery, its only OC settings it doesn`t retain and even a new battery doesn`t fix it-the OC works for a few days then slips back to a normal setup and a standard 3.06 gig CPU. It did this perfectly before the thunderstorm and worked months on end. The faults only occurred after the storm when the power went low on the estate, a week later the PSU blew with a loud bang and the board has been wonky donkey ever since. Drivewise I was forced to install the OS on the 160 Gig because the board would not accept the 1 TB or another 500 Gig Sata drive as Master, but will accept them both as Slave drives. Therefore FSX was put on the 1 TB (not a partition) as the D:/ I tried a jumper but that didn`t do anything and I thought Sata drives didn`t need these anyway. The only thing I can figure is maybe the drives are Sata II and the board is Sata I but thats only a guess. The 160 gig is from an old Acer Amd 3800 installation so its old enough to be Sata I. Luckilly it saved me. Perhaps I may have more luck with the new motherboard in this, only time will tell. If I have to reinstall all of it then I`ll just stop up mpost of the night to ensure its done in time, if necessary. Thanks again.....