45 minutes ago, Reader said:

Amending the path to the flight simulator seems to result in the update manager then seeking to install the whole of the rest of the simulator again, as it does not find the simulator files at the amended path.

Yes, because you shouldn't move "just" the Community folder, but also the Official folder. Because that setting controls the location of the MSFS PACKAGES, not just the Community.

Moving both is what you want to do anyway, because in case an update wipes out the Community ( always happens if you were using the Beta ), it's only the non-default location of the Packages that prevents it.

1 hour ago, fppilot said:

No! He has not yet returned a response to all of this.  Distilling down his question is this. The drive his addons are on is filling up and he is looking to move his addons to another drive

Hard drive filling up it's precisely the reason why the method to edit the usercfg.opt file is the best, because by moving all packages in one go ( including the Official folder ), you'll free the highest amount of space.

And, with the added benefit that, if you want to participate in the public Beta, if your Package folder is NOT on the default location, it won't be Zapped when Beta ends, saving another 180GB re-download of the same stuff after Beta ends.

Edited February 7, 20224 yr by virtuali

Will this method of moving MSFS to another drive work with the Steam edition?  If not, would someone explain how to do this for the Steam edition?

Just now, bobterri said:

Will this method of moving MSFS to another drive work with the Steam edition?  If not, would someone explain how to do this for the Steam edition?

yes, the only thing that changes is the location of the usercfg.opt file, which for Steam is found here:

%APPDATA%\Microsoft Flight Simulator

Thanks, but what about the Steam folder?

Hey Gang!  A big Thank You to all of you who provided input. In the end, I decided to go the route of the Addons Linker due to the value add features and also, because I don't have to mess with the native install location of the Microsoft Store install, which is known to be "finicky" at times.  I was able to accomplish the mission with the addons linker and all working well.

Thanks again!

Dennis

In the store version all I did was go into settings/apps click on MSFS  icon and select move - put it on my F: drive

All the symbolic links and options get updated by the system.

 

2 hours ago, bobterri said:

Thanks, but what about the Steam folder?

the Steam folder, which is where the basic game is installed, is completely irrelevant to the location of the user preferences which contains the usercfg.opt file, which contains the line that has to be changed to tell the sim where the packages are, after they are moved.

And for the same reason, it’s irrational to fear editing that file in the MS Store version of the sim, under the reasoning the MS Store location is “different” or “finnicky”.

Yes, the location where the BASE sim is installed IS finnicky in the MS Store, with weird permissions and an encrypted volume it’s best not to touch, but that’s NOT the same place as the preferences folder that contains the usercfg.opt file that should be edited, which is a standard folder with normal access to regular users, so it can be edited safely.

Edited February 7, 20224 yr by virtuali

1 hour ago, vgbaron said:

In the store version all I did was go into settings/apps click on MSFS  icon and select move - put it on my F: drive

All the symbolic links and options get updated by the system.

 

Until you do a systems restore at some time in the future and MSFS is inop... been there.. Never again.

6 minutes ago, virtuali said:

..

Hi Virtuali,

 

sorry for hijacking this thread, But, How is your KIAH coming up? I am waiting for it! 🙂

I'm sorry.  I should have been more specific.  Is it possible to move the Steam folder AND the %APPDATA%\Microsoft Flight Simulator  folder?

1 hour ago, Bert Pieke said:

Until you do a systems restore at some time in the future and MSFS is inop... been there.. Never again.

True, same thing if you restore an old backup. There will always be things "lost".  I just make frequent system saves depending on what I have changed. 

Never had a problem.

13 hours ago, bobterri said:

I'm sorry.  I should have been more specific.  Is it possible to move the Steam folder AND the %APPDATA%\Microsoft Flight Simulator  folder?

They are completely separate and yes, you CAN move the Steam folder ( although is still not clear if you mean "the folder MSFS for Steam is installed into" or "The whole Steam folder" ).

And no, you CAN'T "move the %APPDATA%\Microsoft Flight Simulator" folder, because that is hardcoded to store all your preferences, joystick settings, etc so, if you move that, you'll lose all your settings. The only thing you can move from there, is the "Package" folder contained in it, which contains both the Official and the Community folder. THIS can be moved elsewhere, provided you ALSO update the InstalledPackagePath line in the  usercfg.opt to match the new place you want to move the Packages into.

 

Moving the MSFS install folder on Steam is done exactly like any other Steam game, which means:

- You first need to add an extra destination for the Steam Library (if you don't have one already), which is done from Steam->Settings->Downloads->Steam Library Folders press the + and browse your drives to add an additional destination for any Steam game. 

- After your new destination is set up, you can MOVE every game ( including MSFS ) to the new destination, which is done by right-clicking the game own entry in the Library, select Properties->Local Files->Move Install Folder

Note that moving MSFS this way will move just the BASE game install, which is fairly small ( about 1.5 GB ), it will not move the big Package folder, that is handled separately by moving manually and editing the usercfg.opt file.

Edited February 8, 20224 yr by virtuali

51 minutes ago, virtuali said:

THIS can be moved elsewhere, provided you ALSO update the InstalledPackagePath line in the  usercfg.opt to match the new place you want to move the Packages into.

You can just move the folder and then start MSFS. It will ask you for the location. Then it checks if everything is there and starts.

Thanks!  We'll see how it goes.