FSX reinstall no headache wanted

[Rocky_53 1,566]

OK, so my install is about three years old now, with Win7 and I can't help thinking that it would benefit from a drive reformat and a reinstall of Windows. The idea is that I will reinstall FSX alongside P3D and slowly move completely to P3d as and when the relevent sceneries and aircraft that I own are made compatible. The problem I have is that I have so many addons and hardware that I really find it difficult to fire up any enthusiasm, not necessarily with the prospect of all the aircraft and sceneries I'd have to reinstall, but more things like EzDok FSUIPC, LINDA etc. Can anyone suggest what I would need to do to somehow retain as much as possible with these kinds of addons without having to go into all the heartache of creating gazillions of control assignments for all the different aircraft, the different FSUIPC profiles, EzDok profiles etc etc. Is it just a question of copying the modules folder back into the new install, with all the relevent ini files, But what about things like xml files, are there things like Win registries that are created? Or do I have to bite the bullet and really go back to square one? Hopefully someone can offer some first hand experience, cheers...

[BeechPapa 32]

No headache during a reinstall? I’m not sure that’s possible. Right off the bat, I’d suggest a preemptive Tylenol or strong drink.

 

I didn’t know my way around FSX for a while and suffered lots of reinstalls. I eventually learned that each and every reinstall I did was unnecessary, a misdiagnosis or misconception of the problem, but I learned a lot in the meantime about the importance of folder archiving. I’m sure you keep a separate floating folder for FSX addons, but it’s a good idea to order those folders in the sequence of install so an installation is a matter of clicking on the next folder, and going through the next installer. It also helps a lot to organize related files in subfolders, such as repaints being grouped with the plane they belong to. As for customized files, I would stay away from re-introducing old XMLs or Windows registries, but there are LOTS of things that you can easily reuse for the next install, they just need to be things that absolutely wouldn’t change between installs and not complicated enough to cause conflicts (I reuse historic button controls, custom inis, panel configs, repaint cfg entries, and custom nav data entires like VHHX stars without problems)  This begs the question though… if your current install is good enough to warrant backup, why reinstall in the first place? As I said before, a reinstall never got me anywhere – it feels zippy as a virgin default sim, but put all those addons back by day's end and I guarantee it will feel like déjà vu.

 

A program like CCleaner can help with tidying up your Win 7 install. I don’t really subscribe to the philosophy that a fresh install (even on an entire OS) makes a remarkable difference to operation, at least not if you keep up with regular PC maintenance like defragging, registry cleanup, startup program removal, deleting logs, cleaning out caches, etc. But if you do decide to do the reinstall, I'm sure the sense of starting over fresh will be rewarding enough to justify what in the grand scheme of things isn't really too much time. 

[Glynn 405]

Fsuipc is easy, just keep a copy of your Modules directory and copy what you need back in.

Keep your DLL.xml and EXE.xml, your controls file Standard.XML and your Scenery.cfg

these are all good for reference

Install FSX then P3D and finally the Estonia migration tool.

 

You will not be spending too much time in FSX anyway once you get P3D set up to your satisfaction.

[karlh 3]

Backup the config files for each of the items you mentioned. I think that would be the easy answer. To avoid this in the future I have been using a reliable backup program. In one daily backup task I make a fresh "full" backup of the OS every couple of weeks. In between it just backs up files that have been changed. I have a similar task for FSX and P3D as well. With those tasks the folders included are the main one of course, the one in AppData that contains the main XXX.cfg file, and the FSX/P3D folder contained in C:\Program Data.

 

I selected Acronis originally because I found a couple of boxes of older versions of it at a book store. I've upgraded it since. I have used the backups to restore the OS to a computer that was a twin of the the original source. I've also used it to undo changes made when I improperly added some scenery and messed everything up in FSX. In both cases, the restore process was virtually pain free and appeared reliable. The FSX was a lot slower than I would have thought. But I didn't have to sit there during the process. I just started it and came back to a fixed FSX later in the day.

[Rocky_53 1,566]

Hmm, thanks fellas, some interesting points. I have to admit that I may agree with Ethan, in as much that I have no real reason to do a complete reinstall, or in fact that of Windows, it's just that I have this idea that I'd like everything to be spot on before moving to P3D. I have very, very few CTDs or OOMs, in fact almost unheard of, and so I do question my reasons. I just suffer a bit with OCD and always strive for everything to be perfect!

[scianoir 610]

I have very, very few CTDs or OOMs, in fact almost unheard of, and so I do question my reasons.

 

Although my system runs fairly smoothly now, I don't think it is so good that I would be able to make the same statement, so I envy you! Therefore I might also question your reasons, but I think I can understand them, as the OCD bit in me makes me strive for perfection in FSX and I always seem to have something niggling at me which I keep coming back to (currently it is a missing autogen issue around Aerosoft EIDW which I am having difficulty resolving). In fact I sometimes think I spend longer fiddling around with the innards of FSX than I spend enjoying it!

 

Bill

[Rocky_53 1,566]

In fact I sometimes think I spend longer fiddling around with the innards of FSX than I spend enjoying it!

 

Sadly, I think that's something we all suffer with Bill, to some degree or other :wink:

[Guest JustanotherPilot]

I've found after numerous re-installs to make sure FSX is  in it's own folder eg C:\FSX (not the default C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\) numerous post have been made on this, and to me the install seems to run better. Your choice of course, just offering my two cents worth. I did a complete reinstall just 2 weeks ago because of a HDD failure. With all my addons it took me eight hours. I have it on it's own 2TB HDD (T:\FSX) with no other programs and have created a disc image of my operating system, in preparation for that inevitable system failure.

 

steve