Well my XP had some unrecoverable Registry (Hive corruption) problems, after several re-formats I am swapping out the hard drive.I was able to backup my Microsoft Games folder prior to attempting re-format. In addition my Documents and Settings All Users to copy the FS9.cfgHas anyone attempted to install FS 9 and then just copy (from the backup) all the FS9 files sub folders (aircraft / scenery) etc, with all the aircraft and scenery?I have Ultimate Traffic and a Flight One AC I don't want to have to re-install. But if these programs write out registry entries etc, I may have to.Is there anyway to prevent this in the future? Besides having a full backup?Any help would be appreciated!Barry

Creating a restore point on a regular basis saved my butt a number of times. It you don't use that you might want to at least make backup copies of the keys that came with your commercial programs, or since it is Flight One you won't have a problem reinstalling.