I save my system to disc now every two weeks, regardless of any extra software i have installed for FS9. I do a full cleansweep and internet check using spybot, Norton utilities etc.. before saving and then roll back the system anytime anything goes wrong or not.I know this is simple advice, probably aimed at non-technically minded people such as myself, but it has really enhanced my enjoyment of flight simulator recently, so thought i would mention it all the same.Bye the way i have over 550,000 files on my harddrive, all of which are related to FS9.CheersDan

I never save the "system". I only make sure that all my keys/codes/ receits for payware products are safely stored on other computers - I simply use web-based email accounts for that. But I maintain the 'health' of my system by running cleansweeps, by keeping it up to date, etc.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

never.i'm safe,i check my system at least once a day,and i hardly go anywhere but flightsim and news-sites.that alone saves a lot of grief.i also only use web based email accounts,and if i think it's suspicious it's deleted.i have never used outlook or incredimail or similar things,whereas my wife does,and her system has to be reformatted once every two months or so,mind you,she's got a complete norton suite on it,as well as spybot s/d,adaware,spywareblaster,and ZAP.i run AVG,ZAP,and spybot s/d,adaware and spywareblaster,andmine's running steady for over 1.5 years now :)both our pc's are behind a hardware firewall too.that said,i do backup some material on cd,but it's not much.should my pc die,or something like that,i'll just redownload the stuff.cheersJP.

Hello All, After loosing FS several times during my simming lifetime, and being totally upset when this does happen, I now keep a seperate HD of equal size to backup the entire system. Once per month I format and then ghost this HD, so that in case of dire emergency, I have only lost a months worth of files and it isn't too tragic.It also makes for a great backup if something goes wrong with FS on a new installation as I can just copy the majority of the files I need to bring back to life that program.Best,Clayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"

JPPlease explain why I should't use incredimail or outlook. What is the risk compaired to web based account (etc MSN Hotmail).Stelios

Hi,I think I can answer on that.Because every mail in Outlook is stored on the computer, while everything saved on a webbased E-mail acount, is stored on the web. ;-)http://www.scandicair.com/images/Banner_ariane_4.jpg

Hi,I only ghost the boot partition (C:, 25GB in my case), before I try a new driver (esp. video & sound card).But I have a backup of my downloaded FS files (and other important stuff)on a second PC, which acts as a file/print-server (with IDE RAID1).RegardsOliver

"Because every mail in Outlook is stored on the computer, whileeverything saved on a webbased E-mail acount, is stored on theweb. ;-)"Exactly, I stopped using Outlook years ago after getting a virus from a PC vendors email without opening it..I run pretty lean and have an external HD I back up to, plus important keys and passwords on a flashdrive. Defrag every month and run adaware, and counterspy every week. I also have a hardware and software firewall.Was reading an article about the state of the internet, pretty scary stuff, makes you want to pull out the cable.Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/mcdcvabanner.jpgCalVirAir International

I never backup my full PC anymore. That is just too much data, and my current PC has had the same XP install for two years now and has never had an OS related problem. I only backup critical data files, licenses, etc. I am very careful about what I install on my system, and with proper firewall settings and virus protection I have not had a problem in quite some time. At least in my experience, XP is the only OS that does not degrade in quality over time, if you treat it properly. I do make occasional backups of my entire FS2004 directory, especially the texture folder. I have a copy of the default texture folder from a clean install as well, which comes in handy when installing various textures.

Good advice Dan. I backup "my stuff" to secondary HDD's every day. These backups mirror the "from" data and even with a little more than 800GB of permanent files it takes, on average, less tham 15 minutes (depends on how many files I added and deleted that day). I dump the small OS partition once a week just to be safe.Doug P4 3.0C SL6WK @ 3.510 (1.600 vCore - 234 FSB)OEM Intel HSF Asus P4C800-E Deluxe (BIOS 1019)2 x 512MB Corsair TWINX CXM3700 (3-4-4-8)4 x 300GB WD HDD'sHercules 9800 Pro (128MB @ 410/360)A-Open 1648 AAPPlextor 708AEnermax 431W PSUInwin Case

i have a couple of questions that i need to ask if i may.i too have my computer geared for FS9. i have in the past several times reformatted my hard drive and i hate the process of reloading everything.1. what is a easier way of saving everything so that when you feformatt you can load everything with one sweep.2. do i need to set up an raid drive to mirror my hard drive.3. tell me if im wrong , i try to stay out of sites that generate a lot of spyware, but im finding out that all of the spyware, adware, that i will get seems to atrack and not reject add ware.meaning i went for months witout no pop ups.i visit this one site about some adware , and whammo i get these adds about my system is in a dire need of correction and is corrupt, i try to go out of it and from that day on i get all kinds of pop ups, and unwanted adds .i have also downloaded the beta adware from microsoft to see if it would help, and now it blocks all kind of adware that never was on here in the first place, i spend more time getting rid of pops up.4. im also leary of putting all of the updates on my com because that to seems to brings trouble than reject it.

Hi Camtech., i will try to answer your number 1 question the best i can and maybe someone else will have an alternative or better way of backing-up your system.What i do is use Norton Ghost Symantec which you can buy from the internet. This basically allows you to back-up your system whenever you want. I always do a complete cleansweep, defrag, virus check etc..before doing so. That way at least you have your system running as best as you can, and i make sure i am happy with fs9 and add-ons as well. My DD is about a quarter full (around 30GB). I save to dvd about every two weeks. It takes a while to save (around 9 hours), but only takes up around 4 dvd's so it is a simple process. Then you know you have a reasonably good fs9 running apart from any problems you may have had in the past two weeks.Loading the system again is a lot quicker than saving. I hope this helps a bit with your question,CheersDan :-)

The only thing I back up is my flight sim directory and all my downloaded files for flight sim. It's the only important thing. Besides, if something happens to windows, I'd probably want to start over again reinstalling drivers and software. I've done it so much at work and messing my personal computer up before that it takes about as long as ghost does.

if something happens to windows, I'd probably>want to start over again reinstalling drivers and software.>I've done it so much at work and messing my personal computer>up before that it takes about as long as ghost does.LOL :-doh that's the difference between you computer aces out there and plebs like me!CheersDan