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Devil 505

Can One Of You Guys Tell Me How To Fix This????

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Hello All!!!Hope one of you who visits the forum on a regular basis can help me with a problem which has been bugging me since first getting our PC a couple of years ago now.Shortly after getting our new PC, like all good flight simmers, I installed "Fly!" Not long after that, I purchased and downloaded the Wilco Publishing 737 for "Fly!" (PC version, by the way.)I was a complete "newbie" at the time with installing add-ons, so I had some trouble with getting the aircraft to appear in the selection menu. Once I did it was worth the effort, as it was a nice aircraft to fly. Unfortunately, though this is about where I hit problems.Did'nt realise until after the Wilco 737 was installed I had forgotten to first install the "Fly!" patch, so I uninstalled the 737, then "Fly!" itself. I figured since I now knew how it was done re-installing everything which had just been uninstalled should'nt be a big problem.Even though I uninstalled "Fly!/Wilco 737 for Fly!" by going into "Control Panel," then "Add/Remove Programs," for some odd reason, the PC still thinks some of the old Wilco files are still there. When I click on "Add/Remove Programs" a window will appear asking whether I want to add, repair or remove the installion. After I select "remove," another window saying selected operations are complete next appears. However, a file of 1.29mb in size saying "Wilco Publishing" still remains on the list for"Add/Remove Programs." I made sure I went back and manually deleted anything which said "Wilco Publishing" after uninstall was carried out via the control panel. I have also tried re-install from my back up CD-Rom, but the window I just described keeps appearing.Guys, is this easily fixable??? I've been meaning to post about this for a long time, just never seemed to get around to it. Tried posting about this on another forum, but never got any responses. This is REALLY bugging me for a couple of reasons. I remember seeing a very similar situation described on a MSFS 2002 forum, but don't remember the advice given to solve the problem. I'm sure it's something minor I'm overlooking, and that nice 737 is stuck on my back up CD instead of flying the vurtual skies where it should be.....Thanks for any suggestions...Best Regards,"Devil 505"Joe D

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Hello Joe,First of all, I never owned the Wilco 737, so I'm simply going to dispense some advice on general issues with uninstalling some programs. For instance, even the Fly! program's uninstaller will leave some files and directories, so after running the uninstall you need to manually delete the root directory of the installation along with everything in it after you've rebooted from the regular uninstall procedure.You mention manual deletion of all Wilco items - were you also referring to the registry? In this case, it looks like Wilco's uninstall program was either corrupted, not well-designed, or both, stranding some files and registry items (which is why it still shows in the Add/Remove Programs area).Most likely, running a search of the registry for any line that contains "Wilco" will find most or all of the items. Each item can then be deleted from the Registry. If you've never done this, I would recommend backing up the Registry first, so that you would be able to recover if anything went amiss.One other thing - wasn't there a patch for the Wilco 737 also? Maybe part of your uninstall refers to the patch. Sometimes patches have their own uninstall programs and need to be removed first.


Randall Rocke

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Hi Randall,Thanks for the fast response!!! Will try to answer you point by point, though, so I don't accidentally skip mentioning something I have done which might affect the corrective actions needed to fix this.1) When I mentioned manual deletion of any Wilco files left behind I was'nt referring to the registry. As a matter of fact, I was told by a lot of people (especially my wife!!!) not to mess around in it as you can REALLY mess up your PC if you don't know what you're doing.2) I have searched using the "Windows XP" search function, also tried scouting around off & on folder by folder, but did'nt find anything else left behind. I guess this means it only searches the list of programs, not the registry, right???3) Yes, you are absolutely right, there was also a patch for the Wilco 737 which had to be installed following the installation of the aircraft itself. I think the correct sequence was something like: 1) Install the Fly! patch 2) the Wilco 737 3)Then the Wilco 737 patch. In all honesty I thought at the time uninstalling the aircraft took the patch with it....Lastly, about going into the registry after first backing up the files, can you tell me in a little more detail how to go about doing this??? I ran into one of the guys from the IT department at work today who is also a sometimes gamer, explained the problem to him and briefly what you suggested. Pretty much what he said to do was click on "Start," then "Run," and type in "regedit" As far as backing up the registry files beforehand, he said something about typing in "filebackup" but I did'nt understand what he was saying and he did'nt have time to go into anymore detail...Again, I won't go in there and start messing around without being sure of what I'm doing, as I would like to think I'm smart enough to know when I might be getting into something which is a little bit "over my head" in terms of my level of PC knowledge. I understand it may seem like I am "pinging" and going into a lot of detail about a minor issue, but I look at it as a good opportunity to learn how to do something which I may be able to later pass onto someone else who needs help too....Thanks again guys.....Best Regards,"Devil 505"Joe D

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Joe,Your issue definitely sounds like a registry problem. TRUE, you don't just want to go banging around in the Registry - very bad things can happen! At the same time, cleaning up problems like this may require it. If you're careful, you can do it safely, and working through issues like this is really not that complicated.However, before I give you the steps, what is your OS...Win98? WinXP?


Randall Rocke

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Hi Randall,Oops, the most important bit of info and I forgot to give it to you! I have "Windows XP" OS.Wow, you guys rock, that's a really fast response!Best Regards,"Devil 505"Joe D

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OK Joe,Let's start by protecting yourself - with XP you have two ways: restore points and a registry backup.Restore Points:1. Go to the System Tools section under the Programs, Accessories menu.2. Select System Restore, then choose to Create a restore point.3. Follow the instructions and name it something that will be easy to identify, like "wilco".Registry Backup:1. Select Start, Run.. - type in "regedit" and press Enter. The Registry editor will open2. Select File, Export...3. At the bottom of the new window you will find a section labeled: Export range. Select "All", make a folder called Registry Backup, then name the file "wilco".Now you have two ways to bring your computer back if something goes wrong. Using the System Restore, simply choose the "wilco" point, follow the instructions, then reboot. Or...using the Registry method, reopen the registry editor and choose File, Import..., select the "wilco" backup REG file, import it, then close and reboot. If you can't run your computer normally to do this, start the computer in Safe Mode (press the F8 key at the beginning until the menu choice appears) ...run the restore or backup import in Safe Mode, then reboot.Now, to actually do the editing:1. Open the Registry Editor by entering "regedit" in the "Run..." window.2. Highlight My Computer, then select Edit, Find... to search the registry3. Enter "wilco" in the search window, then press Enter4. Everytime you find a string or value containg "wilco" (it will stop and highlight the entry), right-click the value and select Delete5. Continue the search, as there will probably be more than one entry. The fast way to do this is with the Ctrl+F key combination. The Find window will reopen with your value still loaded and will continue the search from the current point. Press Enter to go on. Every time it finds another value, delete it. Keep doing this until there are no more entries.6. If indeed some items are found and you made changes, close the registry editor and rebootWhen your computer is back up, see if you can now install normally.Report back on how things went. If you were unsuccessful, there's one more registry search you can make.


Randall Rocke

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Guest Colins2

Joe / Randall,All perfectly good advice and I agree completely.Step 5 though can be made a bit easier.Once you have entered your search string and the first occurance is found, after deletion simply press F3 to get to the next one and not CTRL+F.RegardsColin

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Hi Randall/Colin,Yes, I will give your advice a try and report back to let you know how everything went as soon as possible. Probably will not be able to get to it for a few days as I am working "afternoons," 1500 to 2300, for the next couple of weeks. Also, I have been prettyb busy getting our house squared away for our impending move back to the States, so.....Thanks again to you both for coming back so quickly about it. You guys all rock!!!Best Regards,"Devil 505"Joe D

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Colin,Excellent advice - after being away from DOS awhile, I forgot about the "reload last command" function working in the registry.


Randall Rocke

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Dear Randal/Colin:Just a short note to let everyone know the status of the problem with getting rid of the Wilco 737 from the "Add/Remove Programs" menu.Your advice was absolutely spot on!!! Sat down today at the PC, after getting my household chores done first, and after following your instructions to the letter, fixed the problem within about 20 to 25 minutes. I am so pleased this a/c can finally be used after all this time! Luckily, I did'nt end up having to use either one of the "restore" points which were created, too.I only hit one snag, which was after deleting a couple of the highlighted entries you said to look for. Went to delete another highlighted entry, and a window saying "unable to delete all values" popped up. Took a second or two to catch on, until I looked at the program tree/list of files over on the left side of the screen, that it was a Wilco folder. Once it was highlighted and deleted, thpppt!, end of problem. Same thing next couple of times I saw a Wilco folder (have nothing else by them installed right now) and the WIlco 737 was reinstalled and flying within a short time of rebooting/restarting the PC.Randall, all you guys really rock!!! I have lost count of the number of people I described this situation to. If someone had just said to do what you suggested, I could have gotten this fixed many, many moons ago...Once again, thanks very, very much!!! Best Regards,"Devil 505"Joe D

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Joe,You may now consider yourself a Windows Registry Ranger! (you get merit badge #1). :-)


Randall Rocke

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