Assistance preparing for next GTN Trainer updates

[fppilot 4,339]

Jean-Luc,
Need to ask about this as I predict I am not the only user who may be a bit apprehensive now about updates and changed/changing file locations.  I have not yet updated to Trainer 6.5 and the related RXP GTN update.  Instead I am waiting on the impending newer update coming soon.  I would like to ask for some direction.

My situation is this. Previous to the RXP GTN 750 I was a licensed user of the F! GTN product.  At the time I first installed the RXP GTN 750, I left the F1 GTN in place.  To avoid any conflict between the two, I know for a fact that as I installed the RXP GTN 750 product I slightly modified the installation path for the Garmin GTN trainer.  I may also have modified the installation path for the RXP gauge itself.  This then put me out of the standard paths for databases and data files.  I have needed to scramble to keep up with changes in file locations associated with subsequent updates.  Then I also later purchased the RXP GTN 650.  In essence, though my current RXP GTN installations are working well, I truly have a mess on my hands, understanding that the 6.50 trainer changes the file locations landscape once again.

With the impending new update, I would like to first fully uninstall all of my GTN related installations, F1 750, RXP 750 and 650, and Garmin GTN Trainer(s)., and then complete a fresh new install of the RXP GTN's and the 6.50 trainer.  In doing so I wish to retain my (4) user data files of the spec sys_nand(x), and my .gfp flight plan files.  

What all steps should I take for complete uninstall of my RXP GTN gauges, including Trainers?

Has/will the User Guide be brought up to date to reflect updated file locations?

[RXP 2,336]

Hi Frank,

Yes the User's Manual are always updated accordingly, but writing this, I realize the manuals linked on our home page(s) are previous versions. This will be corrected with the batch of updates coming up (GTN and GNS V2).

Overall, there is no change in path you'd need to care of with the latest trainer, and our current GTN version takes care to straighten out all differences from GTN 6.21 to GTN 6.50. It was work-in-progress when we've released our initial trainer 6.50 compatible update, but it has been validated since then in the latest 2 updates.

Because trainer installers prior v6.50 used to create a 'nonvol' folder in ProgramData, our GTN uses to just re-use the existing location. However, it has appeared installing a newest trainer, which uninstalls the previous one, also deletes this folder and the sys_nand file copies we're managing there. Since trainer 6.50, there is no longer such folder so in order to keep backward compatible, we default save our nonvol file copies in the same folder as before: "C:\ProgramData\Garmin\Trainers\GTN\nonvol"

This way, should you keep a copy of the previous files, our new version will pick them up automatically, and when Garmin releases its next update, it won't (shouldn't) affect these copies either.

We've also made sure our path redirection are working properly (environment variables) so that you can still install the trainer in other places than default. In this case, our GTN also has better detection of such situations without requiring the environment variables but they are still there in case. (NB: if you encounter a problem with a non-default installation path just let us know).

Uninstalling RXP files is not necessary unless you have manually copied gauge files in specific aircraft\panel folders. Otherwise, it is just a matter of running the newest RXP installer over. You might want to reboot the computer prior this just to make sure there is no locked files from a previous FS session, although our installers should offer the possibility to reboot-finish-install in this case.

To sum up, prior installing the new trainer, you might just want to make a backup of your sys_nand# files, and your gfp/wpt files. That is all which is needed. Once the new trainer is installed, you just have to manually copy back the sys_nand files in the aforementioned ProgramData folder, or, let our GTN run once and it will create this folder for you, then copy back your files over.

 

[fppilot 4,339]

Thank you for that detailed response.

Let me say that I was not raising questions regarding your products or installation processes.  Instead I was stating concern on my part about my system and my interest and intent to comprehensively clean up all of my GTN gauges to remove fragments that are now not needed (F1) and fragments, widows and orphans so to speak, from previous RXP and Garmin Trainer versions.  

Having all of that present on my system has at times made it difficult to know which is current and needed.  i.e. to  know correctly what to back up to another location, and what to discard.  I had noted that a number of support questions here may have been due to other users facing the same issue(s).  A topic such as this may be able to lay tracks for others to then follow.

[fppilot 4,339]

I completed these steps

On 10/5/2018 at 4:07 PM, fppilot said:

stating concern on my part about my system and my interest and intent to comprehensively clean up all of my GTN gauges to remove fragments that are now not needed (F1) and fragments, widows and orphans so to speak, from previous RXP and Garmin Trainer versions.  

Got this accomplished today.