Hi guys,I had a question relating to running 2 installs of the game side by side. I wanted one vanilla to do all my missions etc on, the main copy; and then another which I could install 3rd party missions, scenery and planes etc - just in case it corrupts a file or something.Does anyone run this, and what is the best way to do it - simply run a 2nd install and change the path?How does this work with licensing and activation etc?Thanks!Matt

FSX will not allow two installs on the same system. If you booted to two different OS's you might be able to do it but when it reads the registry it will either do a repair of your current install or uninstall. Not to mention the activation issue.VicVisit the Virtual Pilot's Centerwww.flightadventures.comhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Proud SupporterRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/

They're right; you have to have dual OS installs.I have two internal hard drives, each with it's own install of XP Pro (no problems activating both). Each drive has a small partition that is used for the swap file for the OS on the other drive. One OS I use for my normal computing with the usual eye candy and such.The other OS install is just for FSX; it is leaned out strictly for performance. My working copy of FSX for that OS is installed on the other drive so XP and FSX are hitting separate drives.I have a copy of FSX on the other OS which is also installed on the opposite drive (just to keep things...uh...simplier). I use that install, run from my normal XP side, for all my testing/mode work. Again, I had no problem activating the second FSX install.This works well for me and with my "flying" FSX installed in the performance based OS I maximize my system capabilities with FSX.

You might be able to install in "trial" mode on the same OS, carefully backing up your system first, but I wouldn't try to activate a 2nd instance on a single OS. It seems fraught with risk though so be ready to restore your system.scott s..

easy:Just copy the entire FSX folder and rename it to something else. IE, "Vanilla FSX". Then when you want to play that, rename back to "Microsoft Flight Simulator X" and name the other to "FSX with addons". To install addons to that one, make sure your vanilla is renamed and "FSX with addons" is named "Microsoft Flight Simulator X", then install whatever you please. You just need to rename the folders when you want to have 2 versions. That's what I do with Falcon 4.0. I have a BMS install and an Open Falcon install...

Since FSX only runs on runs on Windows XP SP2 or Vista - you can use separate ID's to have different configurations.This will also allow you to have different scenery configuration setups because the Scenery.cfg file is not in the individual user ID profile.I do have to temporarily move any AI traffic files / mesh.But I've found the only way to have a "pure" default FS setup is on a different computer.