Hi.

 

I had a major systems crash, and after recovering the system, FSX would no longer work. I have tried repairing, re-installing and uninstalling, but the program always stops with the message "Error 1324. The path Microsoft Flight Simulator X contains an invalid character". I've tried running a registry cleaner, and Revo uninstaller but nothing works.

 

FSX by the way is installed to it's own hard drive D:

 

Has anyone got any suggestions at all?

 

Kevin O'Connell

hello same thing happened to me approx 9mths ago tried everything in the end ,I had to use" regedit " function to search the registry and clear out all msfsx entries from the registry,not knowing how you feel about searching for and deleting entries from the registry ,I suggest you search Google for more info,it is not difficult unless you delete the wrong item! ,Maybe somebody more qualified than me can talk you through the process ,there is a lot of info out there on the regedit function ,it is a built in Ms win 7 tool(other vers of windows also ) which allows you to search the reg for specific entries ie msfsx and delete them ,hope you can read and understand this broken fingers makes typing diff

peter

Before you do something that drastic, try running the Flight1 registry repair tool It fixes path problems in the registry!!!

 

 

http://www.flight1.com/view.asp?page=library

And before you do anything, backup your registry! :mellow: This way it's not big deal if you delete something wrong. And yes, i think you should delete all fsx keys from registry, then try to install / repair.

I recommend you to use some backup software like Acronis True image to avoid this problems in the future

The folder name is most likely corrupt. Copy the entire FSX program folder to a new folder, call it anything you like. Then try deleting the original and then rename the copy to look the same as the original. Come back if you cant delete it.

the FSX key in the registry is:

 

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\microsoft games\flight simulator\10.0"

 

the value

"SetupPath"

contains the FSX program directory name i.e. E:\Microsft Flight Simulator X

 

ensure that's correct but I don't think that stops you reinstalling.

Hi,

 

If you have ran out of options and non of the suggestions are working for you, go for a full un-install and re-install a fresh FSX copy. Painful and tediuos but worth it at the end.

 

To un-install completly (I have used it in a multitud of machines - IT Pro) I suggest you use THIS software. Do not get too bothered with the big installation, just download and run the 'Portable Download', which can be found at the foot of the page. Make sure you read the manual and understand it (easy) before you take any action. This software will backup your registry and create a recovery point. You'll be able to go back if you change your mind. All you need to do is point it to fsx.exe. Presto!

 

Good luck.

If that's all that is installed on D, you can format that drive. You are not done then though. You must clear all the stuff from C: that points to it. All the above are probably valid, but the only way I have been able to get it to remove itself is to go through the registry as recommended by wizzards earlier. A long and tedious task, with potential for error, but, after you have backed up your registry, it can be done in less than 1/2 hour and you are good to go.

 

John

Run CCleaner. It's free, easy and quick to download. Scan the registry and repair it.

Thank you all for taking the trouble to reply.

 

I tried regedit Peter, but it took me a while to realise that I didn't really know what I was looking for, and by the time I saw SteveW's post, the damage was already done. However, then I tried Tom's suggestion, the Flight1 software, which repaired the registry sufficiently to allow FSX to uninstall itself. I'd never heard of that before - oh! the times that program could have got me out of trouble in the past!

 

So, a day of rest now before I begin re-installation, though I'm not too hopeful regarding the 'rest' as we're looking after two grandchildren of 2 and 4 for the weekend, so better start Monday.

 

Thanks again chaps.

 

Kevin O'Connell

I would not advice anybody to reinstall FSX in 2012, you gona re install go P3D, most fsx addons work with it. Just make sure to get P3dMigrationtool, it helps to fools addons into thinking they being installed into fsx instead of P3d.

 

Fsx is 2006 product, P3d is still supported in 2012, go figure. Unless you running XP which is from about the same time as FSX, go P3D.

 

Its much more stable, and requiress less tweaking in part cause some of what used to be tweaks have now been added to the menu options.

 

After moving to P3D, i am suiprised anybody still using FSX.

 

$40 for academic version, not bad considering.

I would not advice anybody to reinstall FSX in 2012, you gona re install go P3D, most fsx addons work with it.

 

You reinstall FSX so you have access to the default aircraft if needed, and to use those downloads that won't work in P3D. Even if you already have P3D.

 

Hook

You reinstall FSX so you have access to the default aircraft if needed, and to use those downloads that won't work in P3D. Even if you already have P3D.

 

Hook

You reinstall FSX so you have access to the default aircraft if needed, and to use those downloads that won't work in P3D. Even if you already have P3D.

 

Hook

 

Makes sense, but the FsxToP3DMigration tool seems to cover the point you make. Its starts a service on windows that pretends to be FSX, so that most installation of FSX addons is smooth.

 

However installing fsx for the reason you state is fine by me, its just used to help miantain P3d, in such a case its non issue, cause you will probably never manage to break the install. But as a flight simming platform fsx is now very unreliable to run with win7 etc

 

PLus you no longer need fsx sp1/sp2 etc, fsx been getting too much of a drag to maintain for me.

 

LAST TO LEAVE FSX FOR P3D PLEASE TURN THE LIGHTS OUT.

 

Also about time Avsim started givng the P3D forum more prominence, its buried away deep inside the bowels of the endless list of forums here.

Mmmmm...... but I've spent £hundreds over time on scenery and extreme airports, and I'd be lost without my PMDG aircraft and the scores of custom liveries that the forum guys produce.

 

Kevin O'Connell

Hey Kevin, Prepar3d does run about 99.9% of addons - it uses the same core as FSX (Microsoft selling the ESP code to Lockheed Martin), has an SDK that though being developed still seems to function with most addons requiring it (AES being an excpetion) and has a 3rd party developer that has developed a simple way to avoid registry edits and careful placing of files with a product called "FSX to Prepar3d migration too"l that makes it simple to install your FSX addons with little hassle.

 

A few things to keep in mind, and summarised as there's a heck of a lot of discussion on it - EULA's (end user licensing agreements). In short, P3D is not to be used for entertainment purposes, and a lot of addons are only suppossed to be used for entertainment purposes .... so you can see there's going to be some issues there. But the law is actally far fairer than a lot of people give it credit for. I'm not sure what developer would pursue an EULA infringement, it's more there to protect those developers from being sued for their entertainment product being used for real world training purposes and a deficiency in their product leading to a case for damages. I simply mention it as you start finding out some more detail I'm sure you'll see a lot of this discussion.

 

IMHO Prepar3d is a great product. I use it alongside X-Plane 10 which is also continuing on a development cycle. Many add-on developers/publishers like FSDreamteam and Aerosoft are now making installers that support both FSX and Prepar3d. Folk like FTX are even going back to redo all their past product installers to support both FSX and Prepar3d. There is an awareness in the developer community that FSX is reaching it's EOL, and nothing reflects that like Microsoft stopping support for the product - yet strangely continung to sell it on the GFW site .... Hmmmmm.

 

The other important piece is that Prepar3d V2.0 will come along and introduce DirectX11. You're entitled to upgrades untl that version - they're currently at V1.4 (consider each of these dot releases a service pack) - but it does mean you will have to buy V2.0 in a similar way you had to with the move from FS9 to FSX. When that will actually happen is anyone's guess, but releases happen about every 5 to 6 months and it might be another "service pack" , ie 1.5, or it might be V2.0. Either way the recommendation from Lockheed Martin is a fresh install, which also means reinstallation of all your add-ons as well. Seems a bit painful, but worthwhile to make sure it's fresh as it can be.

 

Should also be mentioned that the needs for performance tweaking have been minimised. Many of the improvements found over the last 6 years by various folk such as *******, Word Not Allowed and NickN are now incorporated in the core code. But some tweaking can still be effective in maximising performance - everyone's PC's is a little different and the programming is still reliant on finding what works for your CPU/BUS speed/storage/RAM/GPU combination.

 

I realise I've written more than usual passing lines, but if you're looking at Monday doing a lengthy and tedious install I've hopefully summarised what you need to think about in relation to Prepar3d alternative to FSX. In short it will require some investment (purchase Prepar3d, the P3Dmigration tool), comes with some legal issues you should ponder to determine if you get either the professional or the academic version (I use the academic version and I'm not using it for commercial purposes), will maybe need another step change down the path to V2.0 (which as we've seen with DX10, even with Steve's fixes, has made some addons not work properly) but I'm happy to be using a product that has an active development team that is producing a product that built on the best of FSX and continues to improve FSX's problems.

 

Enjoy your time with your grandkids and good luck no matter which way you go!