Hallo everyone :)We all tweak our FS9s by adding planes, scenery, cool engine sounds etc. I dont know about you all but in the back of my mind theres always that grain of fear that one day Windows might crash & you could lose everythinghttp://www.nextgenerationrecords.co.uk/boa...es/icon_eek.gifI have a question about System Restore in Win XP: It restores *everything*? So if you added loads of goodies to FS9 and your computer crashes and you had to use System Restore - will your FS9 will be back with all add-ons intact too?I have backups of all important FS9 files on CD but Im just not sure how Sys Restore functions and thought Id check with you all :)

AFAIK Sysrestore only restores system files/settings not program files( ie: Windows,drivers etc).Doubtless if I 'm wrong about this someone will very quickly say so.Dave

No, you're right. A system restore won't do a thing for for FS9.Doug

I had a feeling!Its not all bad, CD backups give peace of mind but I guess we all dread installing *ALL* our add-on planes, scenery & sounds *ALL* over again!Name of this game: backup, backup & then backup some more.And buy a sponge hammer.

System Restore backs up the following, and it most certainly will restore drivers. I use it when playing with new video drivers.Registry Profiles (local only

It looks like you have a good, solid system. Have you thought of adding a second hard drive for all the backups? A second drive would allow you to either clone the entire C drive or just backup whatever selected items you want. Either way it's great peace of mind. You could also very easily set up a dualboot with a second copy of WinXP on the second drive (invaluable if the main drive fails). I routinely keep three copies of FS9 on this machine - the "working" setup and a copy of it, as well as a clean copy of the default "plain vanilla" install. I've installed extra drives in a couple of Dell's owned by friends and it's a real snap to do - shouldn't take more than 30 minutes.DougA Tired-and-Aging Northwood 2.2a at 2.72Ghz (Intel HSF)Abit TH7II-R512MB Samsung 40ns PC800Radeon 9800 Pro (128MB)Cat. 4.11's DX9c WinXP Pro (SP2)5 WD HDD's (60GB, 60GB, 120GB, 120GB, 120GB)Plextor 708A WriterSony DDU-1621 RipperInwin case / Enermax 431W PSU

Edam - Thankx for that link. Also good to know what the Sys Restore backs up exactly.------------------------Doug-Now thats a great idea! It didnt cross my mind to fit a second HDD.However I only just got this machine, its about 2 months old now, and Im afraid that adding stuff to it will zap my 1yr warranty if anything goes on the blink. However in October 2005....I'll most definetly slot it in!Im pretty well cued up on software but I've never fitted anything to a computer ever - let alone open one up.http://www.nextgenerationrecords.co.uk/boa...con_redface.gifJust how difficult is it hee hee.Also what do you think about these Maxtor One-Touch external HDDs:http://www.keepdata.fi/onetouch.jpg

You could also very easily set>up a dualboot with a second copy of WinXP on the second driveAgree with you Doug but with one reservation..... Nevin has a Dell PC - many of these nowadays come with a " Recovery" CD rather than a proper Windows CD - I'm fairly certain that IF this is the case you can't install a second copy of it ( the recovery CD) on another drive or partition- he would need to go out and buy a MS Windows Disk. DaveMSI KT6V-LSR(MS-7021)AMD Athlon XP3000.768 MB 333mhz DDRAMTi4200/128MB GPU.66.81 driversMaxtor 80GB HDD(7200rpm)Maxtor 40GB HDD(7200rpm)LG CDRWLG CDR 52Xo/b AC97 soundThermaltake 480W PSUWinXP- SP1.Direct X 9cSaitek Cyborg 3D Joystick

You're right Dave. Thanks for the reminder and keeping me honest. I haven't owned owned a "store-bought" machine in years and I keep forgetting about the recovery CD "problem", i.e., it won't dualboot among other things. Sigh...It's a crying shame that Dell (and others) won't send a proper copy of the OS along with the machine. But that's a whole other thread...Doug

For my piece of mind I have what I call a "3-Tier Safety System":1. I have all my zipped downloads saved on a seperate harddisk2. I have my FS9 on a independant hardisk3. I use Drive Image and have complete image back-ups of my C Drive (Windows, programs etc), and of my FS drive.I always seemed to have issues with Restore Point but Drive Image has worked flawlessly.

Nevin, I have the Maxtor One Touch and it is a very good external HDD. Having said that, I must add that the backup software is a little difficult to use. I now use a software package for Genie Soft, which is better but has its twinks also. Bob

Bob-Cool, Ive read good reviews on it. Can you drag & drop stuff into it using Windows Explorer- or does the software not allow that? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dave-Yes youre right, I have a recovery CD. Do *any* branded PCs come with the original OS CDs? Just wondering :) Still, a 2nd drive will work for me! Until then, the shiny round things will do!

You may want to check with Dell but my understanding is that adding the drive won't void the warranty. It's very easy to add a HDD to a Dell. In fact, the owners manuals for the two that I've worked on for friends even had the instructions required. I've never used an external drive but I know many folks do so and love them. There are some transfer speed advantages to the internal drive but if the external is only a backup device then that's not a worry. To add the drive internally, just open the case, slide the new drive into the available slot, check the jumper on the old drive to be sure it's the master, jumper the new drive as the slave, hook the new drive onto the existing HDD cable, close the machine, turn it on and stsrt copying files. Done in less than half an hour. Between the owners manual and the instructions that come with the new drive you'll have more than enough information to get the job done.Doug

Yes, it will drag-and-drop with Windows Explorer. The added drive, external or internal, will function just like the one you have now. You can do everything the same way with the same programs. The only thing different is the drive letter assigned to it by the system (and if you don't like the letter chosen by WinXP you can even change that). Makes it really easy to deal with. I'm not 100% sure on the recovery disc issue but my bet is that none of them have an original WinXP CD.Doug

HiI don't know about you guys but I lost the sounds on FS9 once and system restored fixed it.I think that this feature of XP is magic!!!Stelios