fsx-ms FSX:SP2 to P3D - best method to ensure all 3rd party scenery works.

[Ray Proudfoot 8,927]

I'm quite likely to move to P3D this autumn. I have loads of 3rd party software installed and not enough space on my dedicated SSD to hold P3D as well as FSX:SP2.

 

Logically it makes sense to uninstall all 3rd party stuff and then uninstall FSX:SP2. Then install P3D followed by all that scenery again. Long-winded but safe. Or is there a better way?

 

I did think of buying a larger SSD and cloning my FS SSD onto it. That way I could install P3D without having to first uninstall FSX. But could I copy/paste suitable entries from my existing scenery.cfg in P3D's and potentially save myself a huge install job?

 

With suitable editing of dll.xml and exe.xml most of my utilities might also be usable with uninstalling and reinstalling. Like SuperTrafficBoard, GoFlight etc.

 

Appreciate any tips from those who have gone down this route.

[carlito777 712]

 

 

I did think of buying a larger SSD and cloning my FS SSD onto it. That way I could install P3D without having to first uninstall FSX. But could I copy/paste suitable entries from my existing scenery.cfg in P3D's and potentially save myself a huge install job?

 

If you know what you are doing then this is an option for at least some add-ons. Problem however is that many add-ons do not only write files into the their own scenery folders but also into Effects folder, Simobjects folder, World scenery (e.g. elevation fixes) and so on. But as long as you have a good understanding of where the files for each add-on are, then migrating add-ons by simply copying files is indeed possible. But as I said. You'd better know what you are doing. The safer way is definitely to install the add-ons into P3D again. Another thing to keep in mind: If you use files from your already existing FSX install then if you ever uninstall FSX then this can easily become a mess. So I would rather do a clean install of P3D and then install add-ons into P3D again.

[Ray Proudfoot 8,927]

Thanks Carlo. I'd overlooked the extra files so I think I'll take your advice and do a clean install of everything.

 

But a larger SSD does make sense as I've used about 2/3 of my dedicated one and they're much cheaper now than 3 years ago.

 

I'm assuming an i4770k overclocked to 4.5Ghz, GTX 780 3Gb, 8Gb RAM on W7 Home Premium will give as good results on P3D v3.3 as FSX:SP2.

[beechcaptain 105]

Ray,

 

I recently decided to check out P3Dv3 and XP10v45, so I installed a second 1TB HD dedicated for them alone.  I also have an over abundance of FSX addons, and found most of the developers provided P3D installers or they used dual sim installers.  However, some of the older ones did not, but there are helpful tips on how to transfer over to P3D (e.g. SunSkyJet KPHL and some from FlyTampa),  I was also able to transfer my FSGenesis Scenery Mesh without any issues.

 

Here in the P3D forum, Poppet has some really good guides.  As far as scenery (airports), I use Scenery Config Editor to add them to the P3D scenery.cfg file once I've transferred it over.  Great tool!

 

I really like Prepar3D and prefer to fly it with my PMDG a/c.  I still use FSX some as I have almost all my airports set up with AES & GSX, keeping operations very busy at my departure and arrival gates.   At this point, only GSX is compatible with P3D.

 

I also have Radar Contact 4, PF3 and ProATC-X that work both in FSX and P3D. 

 

It was quite a bit of work, time consuming, but worth it.  I kept a list of what I wanted to install and checked it off as I went and noted if there were any glitches or issues. 

 

Wish you all the best in your decision(s) and getting it done.

[carlito777 712]

I'm assuming an i4770k overclocked to 4.5Ghz, GTX 780 3Gb, 8Gb RAM on W7 Home Premium will give as good results on P3D v3.3 as FSX:SP2.

 

 

Yes. This was exactly my configuration until 2 weeks ago (even though my 4770K is at 4.6GHz). Works really well. I even have a triple monitor setup so I run P3D at 5910x1080. With reasonable settings (looking ten times better than FSX) you should get very good performance. I recently upgraded to a GTX1070 which improved my performance with clouds. However, this was only an issue because of that high resolution I run. With a single 2K monitor the GTX780 will be sufficient even with clouds (as long as you don't want to run excessive SGSS anti-aliasing).

[Ray Proudfoot 8,927]

Thanks Glenn. Sound advice. I'm quite an organised person so the installation of 3rd party scenery won't be a problem. Being retired gives me plenty of time too.

 

An additional SSD would give me the luxury of keeping both FSX and P3D. For a while anyway. :smile:

 

I'll have a read of Poppet's guides, thanks.

 

How did you find performance? About the same as with FSX? Or is P3D more demanding?

Thanks Carlo. That's very reassuring. I've held back from some weather software (like AS16) because the greatest benefits appear to be with P3D rather than FSX.

 

I have to be careful with FS Labs ConcordeX as resolutions higher than 1920*1080 will cause OOMs. 3 displays must be very impressive!

[Biggles2010 342]

Ray, I agree with the others about a clean install for P3D.  I find a 480/512 Gb SSD sufficient for Win 7 and P3D plus many addons.

 

As you currently have a working setup for FSX, if you have Windows on that same SSD then I would suggest leaving that SSD exactly as it is, but disconnect it while you install your operating system again to your new SSD together with P3D.

The new SSD then becomes your normal boot drive and is set as that in the BIOS.

 

When everything is up and running you can reconnect your original drive where it will simply become an additional drive with a new drive letter. All the FSX files will still be accessible to you as before.

 

If you ever want to run FSX again, perhaps to check something out, or make some comparison, you only need to change the boot drive in the system BIOS to the new drive letter for what was your old drive, and you will be back to your old tried and tested setup. When done, just go back into BIOS and change boot drive back to the new SSD and you have P3D again. For occasional use of FSX this is simpler than trying to set up a proper dual boot system.

 

This way you don't have to reinstall your existing FSX setup, and it keeps P3D and FSX totally discrete.

[Ray Proudfoot 8,927]

Hi John,

 

I have two separate SSDs. One for the OS (Windows 7) and the other purely for FSX. I think they're both 256Gb Samsung 840 Pro.

 

So there appears no need to reinstall the OS. I'm remaining with Windows 7. I'll probably go for a 512Gb SSD and install P3D plus all my addons to that. That will keep FSX and P3D (with their addons) discrete from each other until such time as I decide FSX can go. I'll then uninstall all that software and the space can be given to P3D.

 

Installing the OS and FSX to their own SSDs seems to have paid dividends. :smile: