I like others feel this is great news about an update to FS2k4. The only problem is how long it took Redmond to release it. Most of us don't have a basic install of FS2k4 anymore. We have tones of add-ons and tweaks to the sim that would be hard to get around at this point. Some of us have shut down certain Autogen objects due to framerate issues, others added various texture updates to enhance the speed of the sim. Case in point FSW's clouds, AI improvements like Ultimate Traffic, Active Camera.... How will FSUIPC be affected??? Many of us know you can fix one thing that totally hose something else. That's why the hope is always that a patch is release not that far behind the initial release of the base product.Avsim I know you guys will report on this so I guess everything is cool there. At this point I welcome any update that's going to improve on the sim we have now (it's long overdue). I would just like to know before hand if rebuilding our various library of add-ons/tweaks is something we all are facing. An update to Flight Simulator is well worth it, just let us know before hand what we can expect. I can set aside some time knowing it won't be such a shock that I have to reinstall a program like USA Roads. I'm very glad to see the days of patching Flight Simulator has returned. We are now back where things should be with the development of Flight Simulator... Microsoft is listening to us and responding to our concerns, what more could you ask for....

That's an interesting observation. In the case of the FSW clouds and autogen objects, it should just be a matter of restoring the original cloud and autogen files off the FS9 CD's or from backups. The update may cause some problems with some addons though - I may wait a few days before installing the patch just to make sure it doesn't cause any problems with the addons I use. I hope we don't have to repeat the whole process of updating all our payware and freeware for the new FS version, not to mention WAITING forever for update from certain payware companies. THAT is something I'd rather not go through again :-eek

The important thing will be to BACKUP your existing FS9 installation before installing the patch. If there is a problem, you should be able to just restore the backup and everything will be like it was.

Ken, As in, "Restore Point" if using XP?Regards,Tom

>The important thing will be to BACKUP your existing FS9>installation before installing the patch. If there is a>problem, you should be able to just restore the backup and>everything will be like it was.i must admit that is a good practice and i am sure i am not alone but where does one put the backup, my free space is getting short (relativly) while i have a combined fre space of over 70gig i do not have enough room to backup my FS9 install in one place, niether do i have enough unued DVDs and CDs to back up over 40 gig of installed software :) I would suggest a restore point as being a good idea before patching, but i would like to think it is now fully sorted.

When any kind of patch comes along, there is this "gotta install it the minute it comes out" mentality. Why not simply wait 24-48 hours after release, and I guarantee you will have a good idea of what works and what doesn't. Then if you hear that the patch breaks your favorite addon, then don't install it until after the 3rd party gets a patch ready. Or, as was suggested, simply make a backup copy of your fs9 directory. That is something you should probably be doing anyway. It would be impossible for MS to test this patch with every single 3rd party addon. That said, I hope that the changes in the patch don't have any impact on aircraft. Looking at the list of changes, I am betting that it won't.

TomCYYZ I'm not so sure that System Restore on XP will in fact restore all changes made to FS9 - far safer to make a backup copy - OK you may have many gigs of FS9 but HDDs are cheap these days - probably worth getting one just to keep a backup copy anyway if you don't already have sufficient free space - never mind the possible consequences of the patch /update.Dave

Hi dillolRead this from Tom Allensworthhttp://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...id=211043&page="That's one of the first questions I asked. The answerr is no, a clean install in not required, and it does not appear to affect any add-ons that the BETA team could find."Also if you have read the patch details, there is no mention of anything changed others then added bridge,ctd fix, autogen, mesh resolution,stuff like that's, should be intact like the patch in fs98, fs2000 installation. ThanksChris Willis[link:fsw.simflight.com/FSWMenuFsSim.html]Clouds And Addons For MsFs

>>The important thing will be to BACKUP your existing FS9>>installation before installing the patch. I had the original installation copied and rename it (the original) to Flight Simulator 9-org I also back up and rename files in Documents...This way whenever an add-on or whatever requires the original installation path, I rename them again, hiding my working version and get the org version to take up the changes. This way I can keep FS9 in the registry wihtout really pointing to the one I use.This way I can get changes without committing my FS9 to it.allen

Thanks Chris....

I would say the only REAL thing to backup (if you're a tweak-head) would be the FS9.cfg and maybe scenery.cfg as well and perhaps the modules folder also. Cant really see what other folders could be screwed up by installing it.If the update should would install new clouds etc etc, its pretty easy to overwrite them once again since I guess they share the same name.I cannot see anything in the update-info relating to either aircraft folder nor addon folder.