Thumb drives are very inexpensive. Get a 16 GB one for about 20 bucks and put your installers on it.

 

I have 2 external USB drives that I backup my entire system to once a week. If my HDD crashes, I can be back up and running in about an hour.

 be more specific mate, are you trying to back up the installers for your addons? or backup your whole complete system?

 

The installers should be located in the "downloads" folder if you are using windows 7 by default. If you changed the location, then possibly in your 'my documents" folder. I have all my addons organized by the type of addon and company.. Soo all my flytampa are in their own folder, aerosoft in their own and so on. then just copy the main folder to your flash drive.

 

If you want to create a image backup of your computer and each individual hard drive then I would strongly suggest Norton ghost or what I use Acronis true Image. Worth every penny.

I mean my addons, if i simply copy the files will i be able to install them theoretically on a new HDD as long as i have the activation codes etc?

A product is a product so buy-once policy should be the way to go.  There is no future in making people buy multiple times for the same product.  

 

After all that is what databases are for - to record purchases or am I missing something here?.

 

Regards

Jim Allen

SkyPilot Software

since when?

 

PMDG probably isn't hosting their files on some dodgy server back in a student dormitory.

Whether you rent space on a server, or decide to install and maintain servers yourself, it's not going to be cheap.

It's not like the servers their files are stored on, is connected to the internet via a cheap DSL line...

I really can't say I blame them for the approach they're taking. I don't see the difference between owning the software on a DVD or owning it via a Download. It still is your responsibility to keep your files safe, whether you have them on a hard copy or not. Why not just make the hard copy yourself?

To the people referring to back ups, etc, well fair point.  My backup CD was so old and unused that my drive will no longer read it.   I don't tend to unistall addons very often (especially PMDG), so it's just bad luck that the time I did need my back-up (years after purchase), it didn't work.

 

Now, whilst for example my HD failure and backup CD degradation is clearly not PMDG's fault, what is relevant, is the fact that so many other vendors, don't do what PMDG do ......... so it's not like PMDG's view (and practice) is the only way ..........

 

Aerosoft have a free download service.

 

 

Aerosoft;   lifetime availability of your purchased downloadable products, 

 

Just Flight:  lifetime availability of your purchased downloadable products,

 

Simmarket:   lifetime availability of your purchased downloadable products,

 

Flight 1:     lifetime availability of your purchased downloadable products,

 

FlightSimStore:   lifetime availability of your purchased downloadable products,

 

 

 

......so whilst people like the OP may get some stick for not making backups, it is conceivable that customers could assume when they buy from PMDG, that should they need to re-download their purchased products, they'd have access to do so, without further cost.

Aerosoft;   lifetime availability of your purchased downloadable products, 

 

Just Flight:  lifetime availability of your purchased downloadable products,

 

Simmarket:   lifetime availability of your purchased downloadable products,

 

Flight 1:     lifetime availability of your purchased downloadable products,

 

FlightSimStore:   lifetime availability of your purchased downloadable products,

 

 

So this covers most of the addon providers, if PMDG is all that is left, just sign up for a free Microsoft, Google or Apple account and upload all of your PMDG addons to the cloud, now you too have unlimited download of your PMDG products.

 

Personally, I backup everything on DVD and also backup my HDD with Acronis.

I do the cloud also, but prefer buying from Flight 1 or Simmarket.

People saying PMDG should do what other companies do.....

What they should or shouldn't do is their choice.

Yours is to keep buying from them or not

 

forgot to backup the JS41, now my link has expired, and I have to spend more money to download it again. To date I have had to do this multiple times, and the cost adds up.

 

I would think that after the first time of forgetting to backup your software and paying the download fee, you would take that as a lesson to properly manage your files.

If you did it "multiple times", then the problem isn't PMDG, it's you.

Whether some of you want to believe it or not, redownload requests have been a HUGE source of operating cost for us as far back as 2006 when we implemented the extended download service policy. We have in general more people per day requesting new downloads than we do new purchases. This is not sustainable - bandwidth for a company that serves up large files in the volume that we do is most definitely NOT free. Neither is the time Paul and I spend every single day processing all of the requests - users often have their products on multiple accounts in our store, they buy the EDS on one account while the products are on a different one etc. Each NGX base pack installer is a good part of 1GB in size and a lot of people who write in want new downloads of every file they've purchased from us going back to 2003. It's often well over 2GB per batch if they own everything we've made.

 

Even after 7 years of having this policy in place, people still buy the extended download service over and over again instead of just backing up their files. I don't get it at all. Any computer that can run FSX has the ability to burn CDs/DVDs, copy to USB flash drives or external hard drives etc. You can get a Dropbox, Google Drive, MS Skydrive etc account for free that will hold everything we've ever made.

 

This is not new, everyone in this community knows about our policy on it. We maintain that it's your responsibility to back up what you've purchased, not ours. We are not an off-site backup service, which is effectively what people who say we should offer unlimited downloads are. It's a waste of money, electricity, etc for us to just constantly send out the same file to people over and over.

I mean my addons, if i simply copy the files will i be able to install them theoretically on a new HDD as long as i have the activation codes etc?

 

Yes, save the original files you downloaded when you purchased and the activation email/text file. You should be good to go. And it doesn't take much space. Get 2 small (8GB) thumb drives, copy the files on both of them, toss them in your desk drawer. Peace of mind my friend.

Whether some of you want to believe it or not, redownload requests have been a HUGE source of operating cost for us as far back as 2006 when we implemented the extended download service policy. We have in general more people per day requesting new downloads than we do new purchases. This is not sustainable - bandwidth for a company that serves up large files in the volume that we do is most definitely NOT free. Neither is the time Paul and I spend every single day processing all of the requests - users often have their products on multiple accounts in our store, they buy the EDS on one account while the products are on a different one etc. Each NGX base pack installer is a good part of 1GB in size and a lot of people who write in want new downloads of every file they've purchased from us going back to 2003. It's often well over 2GB per batch if they own everything we've made.

 

Even after 7 years of having this policy in place, people still buy the extended download service over and over again instead of just backing up their files. I don't get it at all. Any computer that can run FSX has the ability to burn CDs/DVDs, copy to USB flash drives or external hard drives etc. You can get a Dropbox, Google Drive, MS Skydrive etc account for free that will hold everything we've ever made.

 

This is not new, everyone in this community knows about our policy on it. We maintain that it's your responsibility to back up what you've purchased, not ours. We are not an off-site backup service, which is effectively what people who say we should offer unlimited downloads are. It's a waste of money, electricity, etc for us to just constantly send out the same file to people over and over.

thats only partially correct. It would be fair to say that the majority of buyers would purchase PMDG well after playing around with lighter add ons that dont have a re download fee hence there is a good chance they will get stung the 1st time around with PMDG simply because they dont know any better.

 

Just last week I was really annoyed because Im out of the country and threw my laptop and joystick in a bag only to find out I forgot to transfer my 737 download onto yet another disc to transfer to my laptop. I paid the $5...

Yes, save the original files you downloaded when you purchased and the activation email/text file. You should be good to go. And it doesn't take much space. Get 2 small (8GB) thumb drives, copy the files on both of them, toss them in your desk drawer. Peace of mind my friend.

Cool, thanks.

Just last week I was really annoyed because Im out of the country and threw my laptop and joystick in a bag only to find out I forgot to transfer my JS41 download onto yet another disc to transfer to my laptop. I paid the $5...

Again, I want to promote the cloud storage method - you have access to it from anywhere that way.

Again, I want to promote the cloud storage method - you have access to it from anywhere that way.

 

A great idea for sure.