Correct Order For Numerous Addons

[Guest Radial9]

My new 500G drive has a brand new install of Vista 64 in a 50G partition and a clean new install of FSX Deluxe and FSX Acceleration installed on the remaining 450G partition. I have decided to add the following addons to this brand new install. Is there any particular order I should install them in? Does it make any difference at all?Appreciate any suggestions.Ultimate Terrain XGround Environment XFlight Environment XActive Sky XFS Genesis Terrain MeshFS Genesis LandclassCheers,Radial9

[FalconAF 213]

First, some of them will get added to your FSX Scenery Library and some won't. Some that NORMALLY wouldn't CAN be if you install them to someplace other than their default locations. This would allow you to "manage" them better in FSX if you decided to do this. If you want to do this, let me know BEFORE you install any of them, and I'll point you to a couple tutorials I wrote on how to do this.OK, the following ones WON'T get added to the Scenery Library:Ground Environment XFlight Environment XActive Sky XFS Genesis Terrain Mesh (IF you install to the default location...the files will get added to the default FSX installation, and the only way you would be able to quit using them would be to completey uninstall all the terrain mesh)FS Genesis Landclass (IF you install to the default location...the ONE FILE would be put in your Addon SceneryScenery folder, and you would have to move that ONE FILE anyhow to layer it in the UTX entries in the Scenery Library, or it won't work with UTX)If you WANT to install them all to there default locations (and not have the ability to "manage" the Terrain Mesh using the FSX Scenery Library), you can do this:1. Install UTX. Then use the Setup Tool to install what options you want from it. After you check to make sure it works, DEACTIVATE UTX using the Setup Tool (to restore all the original FSX textures!).2. Install GEX. Use it's interface during the install (or after the install) to make a backup of the default FSX textures (this is why you need to DEACTIVATE UTX first, or you will be backing up the UTX textures).3. Install FEX.4. Go back to the UTX Setup Tool and RE-ACTIVATE the UTX settings to get those in FSX again.5. Install FS Genesis Terrain Mesh. If you select the default location, you won't be able to "enable" or "disable" it using the Scenery Library. IF you install it to a DIFFERENT location outside FSX, you can then manually add it to the Scenery Library and "activate" or "deactivate" it in the future. Tutorial available if you want to do this.6. Install FS Genesis Landclass. DON'T put it in the Addon SceneryScenery folder! You need to create a separate folder for it, then add it to your Scenery Library BETWEEN the UTX URBAN and UTX VEGETATION entries in the Scenery Library. This will allow you to use it with other landclass products that also cover the continental USA, like Scenery Tech North America. Turorial available if you want to do this. In any case, you MUST NOT just put the FS Genesis Landclass file in the Addon SceneryScenery folder if you have ANY OTHER stuff in that folder already, because you would have to move the entire Addon SceneryScenery folder between the UTX URban and UTX Vegetation Scenery Library entries to get the landclass to work with UTX. Any OTHER things in the folder that got moved with it might cause serious scenery problems in FSX!7. Install Active Sky X. It will get installed outside of FSX in it's own folder.The above is not the ONLY order you can do it. Just my recommendation. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you install ANYTHING YOU CAN OUTSIDE of FSX, then add it to your Scenery Library manually. You will have much more control over what you can "activate" or "deactivate" in FSX then, and can avoid "scenery conflicts" this way.Yell if you want any more info.FalconAF

[quantumleap 1]

See comments in http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...topic_id=456562 for general guidelines on order of installation.Note that Ultimate Terrain X must be installed under the main FSX directory (which is the default that the installer will suggest to you).Put UTX entries in the order as per my last message in this thread http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=28067Also in relation to that thread, where it lists where the SceneryTech Landclass was to be placed, just substitute FS Genesis Landclass (and layering of 3rd party landclass in UTX products is covered in detail in the online manuals which ship with UTX).Jeff

[Guest JIMJAM]

Prayer,knock on wood,get a rabbits foot and a four leaf clover,bring a cricket in the house,maybe sacrifice a chicken:7 I would rather have a root canal done and have my fingertips ripped off than go through a reinstall.I have ALL the addons and way to many planes.Recently I had a 2 month old raptor HD fly apart and I lost it all.Most was on dvds and on a second HD the rest was through FLIGHT1!Now that Simmarket has a simular reinstal policy it would not be so bad.My biggest headache was ActiveSky and a dam simconnect error.It took me months to straighten out the net framework install and version to satisfy ASX.Come XMAS or soon after I am going to get a new system and start from scratch again.My only suggestion is to go slow,run FSX betreen addons installs so you can isolate a problem as you go.Also make sure you are installing the latest version.In my case, I paint my face in war paint,lock the door and prepare by using lots of profanity and Pharmaceuticals :-lol GOOD LUCK!

[FalconAF 213]

Start doing Disk Imaging. If you had a disk image of that Raptor that trashed on you, you could have got a new hard drive and re-installed everything you had on the old drive in one step. Less than 30 minutes...not months of re-installing and trouble-shooting everything.FalconAF

[Guest ftrusky]

>Start doing Disk Imaging. If you had a disk image of that>Raptor that trashed on you, you could have got a new hard>drive and re-installed everything you had on the old drive in>one step. Less than 30 minutes...not months of re-installing>and trouble-shooting everything.>>FalconAFIs Disc Imaging the name of a software program or the process of? And if it's a process whose software do you suggest for doing this?Thanks.

[FalconAF 213]

Disc Imaging is the "process", not the software name. OK...here's the 3 types of "backing up" stuff you can do with your computer. Maybe this will help clarify the different "processes" available to you:1. Windows Restore Points: Creating these (either manually of automatically) can allow you to "get back" to a previous configuration of your computer that worked prior to something "going wrong", like installing an updated driver then finding out it doesn't work right for you. The problem with only doing Windows Restore Points is that if you lose your hard drive where Windows is installed (or Windows itself just craps out on you), you can't access the Restore function anymore. Windows is gone, and so are your Restore Points. Plan on doing a full, manual re-install of Windows then, with the added fun of re-installing everything else you had before also (programs, addons, driver updates...can take a LONG time to get back to where you were).2. "Data Backups": These are backups of PORTIONS of things on your hard drives...downloaded purchased programs, stuff from your My Documents folders, etc. Stuff you don't want to "lose" if your hard drive crashes on you. Doing these kind of backups is essential, but they have nothing to do with restoring your ENTIRE computer to a previous state. For instance, if you backed up a bunch of Word documents, your hard drive could crash, you then reinstall Windows and MS Office, then just put the backed-up documents back in your My Documents folder. KEY again here...you can NOT restore an entire computer to a previous state with these kind of backups.3. Disk Image: This is a COMPLETE backup of your ENTIRE computer...the Operating System, Registry entries, drivers installed, all programs, all data in folders...EVERYTHING. You use "Disk Imaging Software" to make these. They create a "Disk Image" of what you tell it to make. You can save this image to either one or more CD/DVDs or an external hard drive. If your computer ever completely craps out on you (hard drive failure where the OS is loaded, virus attack that destroys data or messes up yur system, etc), you just take the "disk image" and re-install the WHOLE THING right back to your computer. If you lost a hard drive, you can simply get a new one and install EVERYTHING back to it...it will work just like your old hard drive then. You get an EXACT DUPLICATE of the computer you had when you made the last Disk Image. There is no having to re-install Windows, update drivers, re-install programs, tweak config files, reset video card parameters, re-install addons, etc. Instead of days or weeks getting everything back to where you were, it is done usually in less than 30 minutes.Disk Images are saved in a "compacted" format, so if you have 500GB of stuff on your hard drive, the Disk Image will take up much less room than that on a series of CDDVDs or an external drive.I use O&O Disk Image Pro 3. There are many other companies that also have software apps that do imaging. I'm not saying any one is better than any other...that's your call. But for the price of an external hard drive (or a few CDDVDs) and something like Disk Image Pro 3 (about $30), you should NEVER have to go through the pain of having to re-install Windows from scratch, along with everything else you had on your computer. That became obsolete numerous years ago. Doing regular Disk Images of your system as you continue to add stuff to it (or change hardware, drivers, etc) will always allow you to "get back to" where you were COMPLETELY in one step...without having to manually re-install anything.Hope this helped.FalconAF

[Guest ftrusky]

Thanks, I'm likin' #3 option, never done anything beyond #1 in the past but prefer to run with System Restore off on my XP box (with Vista64 thinking about just keeping the most recent restore point at all times - still getting familiar with Vista so I keep it fully on presently).

[Guest Radial9]

FalconAF and QuantumleapThank You for the responses. Yes FalconAF, I would appreciate the links to the tutorials you referenced. Not sure I will install all outside of FSX, but it sure sounds like I need to at least look at the options. Appreciated!Cheers,Radial9

[FalconAF 213]

Radial,OK, below are two links to threads/posts. The first one is from the GEX forum. I have two "main" tutorials in it, along with sevral other replies to things in the post. I recommend reading the entire thread from top to bottom...it's long...but it will make more sense when you get to the tutorials I wrote in it.http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_post...p?TID=24965&KW=The second link below is to an individual post I made in a thread in the AVSIM forum that Phil Taylor linked to his Blog. It is about FSX Scenery Library management, and installing stuff outside of the main FSX folder, then adding the stuff to your Scenery Library. I'd also recommend you scroll down to the bottom of the post, then select the "View all" option to read the entire thread. There were questions that led up to the tutorial I posted (the link), and there were also additional posts I added to the thread after the post you will see in the link.http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho..._id=453571&pageBy doing the above things with FSX addons, you can have much more control of how FSX works for you. And trouble-shooting addons is much easier. Combine the above with making a Disk Image of your computer when FSX is running the way you want it to, and you will never have to re-install FSX again from scratch. You can always use a "last good" Disk Image of your computer to get Windows, FSX, and everything else on it "re-installed" back to your computer should anything "bad" happen...hard drive crash, virus attack, you name it. One step only...re-install the Disk Image...and you are back in business.FalconAF

[byork 2,258]

My advice...Install them one at a time. Take your time. You don't need to install everything at once.Do a test flight after installing each one.That way if something goes wrong, you can easily identify the culprit.Installing a whole bunch of addons at the same time can make troubleshooting very tough.Cheers,Bryan

[Guest Radial9]

FalconAF and all,Just wanted to take a moment and say THANK YOU for taking the time to post the links and info. My FSX install ran into some problems with my CH yoke, pedals and throttle, but have bought payware FSUIPC and am getting all that squared away. I do believe I will take your advice and spend the time to read through the posts and guides. Sounds like time well spent.Thanks again! I bookmarked this post and may come back a bit down the road after reading and perusing posts here.Cheers,Radial9

Radial,OK, below are two links to threads/posts. The first one is from the GEX forum. I have two "main" tutorials in it, along with sevral other replies to things in the post. I recommend reading the entire thread from top to bottom...it's long...but it will make more sense when you get to the tutorials I wrote in it.http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_post...D=24965&KW=The second link below is to an individual post I made in a thread in the AVSIM forum that Phil Taylor linked to his Blog. It is about FSX Scenery Library management, and installing stuff outside of the main FSX folder, then adding the stuff to your Scenery Library. I'd also recommend you scroll down to the bottom of the post, then select the "View all" option to read the entire thread. There were questions that led up to the tutorial I posted (the link), and there were also additional posts I added to the thread after the post you will see in the link.http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...453571&pageBy doing the above things with FSX addons, you can have much more control of how FSX works for you. And trouble-shooting addons is much easier. Combine the above with making a Disk Image of your computer when FSX is running the way you want it to, and you will never have to re-install FSX again from scratch. You can always use a "last good" Disk Image of your computer to get Windows, FSX, and everything else on it "re-installed" back to your computer should anything "bad" happen...hard drive crash, virus attack, you name it. One step only...re-install the Disk Image...and you are back in business.FalconAF

[StevenHPerry 20]

...The second link below is to an individual post I made in a thread in the AVSIM forum that Phil Taylor linked to his Blog. It is about FSX Scenery Library management, and installing stuff outside of the main FSX folder, then adding the stuff to your Scenery Library. I'd also recommend you scroll down to the bottom of the post, then select the "View all" option to read the entire thread. There were questions that led up to the tutorial I posted (the link), and there were also additional posts I added to the thread after the post you will see in the link.http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...453571&page...FalconAF

Any idea how to find this post again? Links are broken on Phil Taylor's blog too.Tks,Steve Perry

[Guest abz]

The second link below is to an individual post I made in a thread in the AVSIM forum that Phil Taylor linked to his Blog. It is about FSX Scenery Library management, and installing stuff outside of the main FSX folder, then adding the stuff to your Scenery Library. I'd also recommend you scroll down to the bottom of the post, then select the "View all" option to read the entire thread. There were questions that led up to the tutorial I posted (the link), and there were also additional posts I added to the thread after the post you will see in the link.http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...453571&pageBy doing the above things with FSX addons, you can have much more control of how FSX works for you. And trouble-shooting addons is much easier. Combine the above with making a Disk Image of your computer when FSX is running the way you want it to, and you will never have to re-install FSX again from scratch. You can always use a "last good" Disk Image of your computer to get Windows, FSX, and everything else on it "re-installed" back to your computer should anything "bad" happen...hard drive crash, virus attack, you name it. One step only...re-install the Disk Image...and you are back in business.FalconAF

Again anyone know how to find this link?Would very much like to now hw to install FS Genesis as noted above.Thanks, Al

[Taildragger 2]

Again anyone know how to find this link?Would very much like to now hw to install FS Genesis as noted above.Thanks, Al

http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtop...amp;hl=managingJohn