Complete reinstallation and backup

[Hans_Petter 1]

Some of you may remember that I had a strange problem in the Sanfran region -- the moment I got close to a runway my fps dropped from 25 to 1.Well, I reinstalled FU3 with the SanFran region, patched it and tried it out. This time I got 12 - 15 fps in the airport region and 35 fps once I was airborne. I then swapped the default plnpile for the one I'd been using, containing only the cream of the crop. As I tried to fire up FU3 once more it crashed to the desktop. I then pasted all of the default aircraft into my plnpile and everything was back to normal. Thus, for some reason it seems that the sim likes to see a windhawk.res etc, even though there are better versions to be flown. It doesn't have to be "absolute default" since the ones that I imported do have the quarter views installed. I ran the sim with Chris Low's packages (sans the heavier SanFran parts) and I still got 12 - 35 fps. I transferred my log file and my joykeys.cfg from my old installation to get everything the way it used to be.I did make a complete backup of the patched default installation on another drive, before trying out any packages or other tweaks. My advice, provided you have ample disk space, do make a complete backup -- if things go wrong you can always paste this version back to where the registered installation resides. Currently there are three complete FU3 installations on this PC: old FU3 (the one that stutters and hangs), new FU3 (backup of the complete default installation) and E:flight simulatorsFU3 -- the one that I fly.Now my question is, what could possibly have messed up my previous installation? It must be some add-on that digs into the intricate structure of FU3. Packages and aircraft present no problems since these can be tried out and deleted if things go awry. I'll be reluctant to add any major tweaks unless I learn what may cause problems. But then, with my total default backup I can always go back :-)best regards,Hans Petter

[Hans_Petter 1]

Just a little soliloquy here, airing my frustration...Some excellent packages by various authors crash my newly installed sim.I've settled for what I call "Hennie's safe packages" that I downloaded about a year ago. I just find it strange that packages that work for others crash a totally pristine "virgin" installation with no other add-ons. Or, maybe that's the problem? Could it be that some packages rely on some other tweaks being installed beforehand? What I'm driving at is this: In what order should the add-ons be installed? My old, stuttering installation had them all, including some conflicts that I couldn't weed out. As I've started all over it would be prudent to add everything in the right order. That is, if any tweaks rely on some previous tweak I'll have to get them in the correct order. For instance, Chris Low packages may assume that Chris Low taxigraph corrections are installed (Just an example :-))In any event, my new FU3 is really flying with excellent frame rates and I truly enjoy the smooth performance.best regards,Hans Petter

[Christopher Low 5,353]

Hans,I think that we could be looking at the PC's major problem here. There are so many different combinations of CPU's, motherboards, graphics cards, sound cards..........the list is endless. If you want to use ALL of my packages and modifications, then you will simply have to buy a PC that is EXACTLY the same as mine ! :-lolAnother thought just occurred to me also. Are you using the German version of FU3 ? The reasoning here is that I am using the UK version, and the fact that there ARE different versions would imply that there are differences, however slight.Chris Low,ENGLAND.

[Hans_Petter 1]

My version of FU3 is the US one. Still, this raises an interesting point -- you're working with the UK version, Ansgar and Agtim probably have the German one and Capt Rollo probably has the US version. How about Hennie?We never quite understood what the differences are, except for some "localized" text strings. That's why I always insist on installing an English operating system rather than a local language version (in my case, Norwegian). The local versions rename a lot of system folders and may create a host of problems when you try to apply tweaks designed for the standard "international" OS.Anyway, I think I'll start with Chris' taxigraph corrections and take it from there. Then I want some of the outer terrain airports back, being careful to avoid the frquency conflicts with SanFran airports.best regards,Hans Petter