Please help me setup the perfect/most efficient installation.

[conura 45]

Hello everyone,

 

I have given in and decided to format my SSD and reinstall FSX from scratch as it sometimes crashes, and also my HDD was a bit of a mess.

 

I will be installing the following software and addons...

 

FSX, Acceleration, UTX Europe, GEX Europe, Rex essential, OrbX, WOAI and the NGX.

 

In the past I have often given up because of a buggy installation, or crashing, but I am now determined to get the sim setup correctly and I definitely have the hardware to do it...

 

So, starting from the moment windows is installed, please could you guys advice me about setting up windows, setting up the sim etc which will maximise the sim and minimise chances of crashing? I know some tweaking is always needed but I am looking for the best possible base setup. I love the NGX and really hope it is possible to make it run crash free....I have heard real time virus scanner with microsoft security essentials can cause crashes, so I guess I'll start there...

 

(ps, my OC is 100% stable for every bit of software and test I throw at it including DCS A10 and Rise of Flight)

 

Thanks

[Jim Young 2,356]

Hi Luke,

 

Having just reinstalled my Windows 7 and FSX (and still in the process), I can give you a couple of ideas. I installed FSX then ran it a few times and adjusted my FSX settings and my display driver settings. I was getting 50-80 FPS easily. Once I figured FSX was stable, I installed Acceleration. I then ran Acceleration a few times just to make sure it was installed properly. I went on the Microsoft site to download and install MS Visual C++ SP1 as NickN indicated this was needed for Acceleration and the SP was not get released until after Acceleration was released to the public. I looked in my Add/Remove Programs folder and saw that only the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 version is installed so far (I'm doing this for my own research as I know the 2008 and 2010 versions are installed with some FSX addons). I saw that a version of dotnet was installed too and my Microsoft update program issued new updates after installing FSX/Acceleration.

 

The next addon I installed was GEX North America as this program replaces all of the default scenery textures and optimizes the textures for better performance. I was completely stunned when I started up FSX again to make sure the GEX addon was properly installed and working. Previously it took a minute or two for FSX to load to the setup screen. After installing GEX, startup was almost immediate and within 10 seconds. I don't recall seeing that before. Running FSX my FPS viewer was impossible to read as it was running over 100 fps and up constantly. Okay, I was running FSX with a default Cessna over the default Friday Harbor area but still, it was much faster from the times I was running FSX/Acceleration only. I think you should also install GEX Europe next then UTX Europe. The rest of your addons can be installed in any order afterwards. I would be interested to learn of your experience after installing GEX Europe if you are installing it after Acceleration.

 

The next thing I did was enable DX10 Preview then installed the DX10 Shader Fix per instructions on the DX10 forum. I have been running FSX to make sure everything is still working properly and there is no stuttering or graphic anomalies. I like the DX10 immersion as I feel like it's an upgrade with shadows from the sun in the cockpit and other enhancements.

 

I haven't installed anything else yet. I have tons of addons but I'm in no hurry. Hope this helps.

 

Best regards,

Jim

[conura 45]

Thanks so much for this Firehawk I have followed your guide and the game is beautiful and smooth

[Jim Young 2,356]

Hi Luke,

 

Glad it is working for you too! Since my last post I have installed Orbx PNW. Still have fast startup but fps are now in the consistent 50-60 range. Sometimes higher. Had to install dotnet 3.5.1 and got a couple of updates from Microsoft Update when I installed it. Hope you continue to have smooth sailing!

 

Best regards,

Jim