My FSX is broken after trying to "repair" Acceleration.

[jeff3163]

My FSX is down at the moment.  Yesterday I discovered my "Acceleration" functions weren't working as they should have been, so I put in the Disk and told it to repair the installation.  My FSX is located in "P:\" but the acceleration re-installed to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\.  (there was not an FSX installation there, but it did it anyway)  In the process it wiped out my fsx.cfg file, as well as the dll.xml and exe.xml files.  I also had a problem re-activating the product, but eventually got it activated.  I uninstalled that from my "C:" drive, but now my "P:" drive FSX won't start.  It CTD with a Fatal error loading simprop.dll.  I can't get the Acceleration program to repair my "P:" drive's FSX installation.  It wants to default to C:.  I got a utility that fixes the setup and installed paths in the registry, but Acceleration seems to ignore the changes I made.   I dread the "Full re-install", but it's looking like that's what I'll have to do.  My FSX is so huge these days, with so many planes and scenery addons, effects and utilities and all, I don't know if I can put it back together the way it was. 
     So until further notice, I am down.  No FTX, no Misty Moorings, no Tongass Fjords.   :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

[corbu1]

In Januars this Year I had also a problem with my FSX Installation. No matter what I tried FSX
didn`t start again. This was extremly frustrating for me, so I know how you must feel now..
I didn´t find any solution which prevented me from the reinstall. So sorry that I can´t help you.

After some unsuccesful attemps on repairing my FSX, I decided to do a complete reinstall.
I can tell you, this was a complete horror. It took me nearly one week to get all my sceneries, aircrafts and other goodies running again.
On the other side after finishing it and running FSX I noticed a slight improve in performance.....
So in the end all the nasty installing of FSX, Accelerations and dozens of sceneries and aircrafts was worth it..... 8

[knswee]

Yeah I know how u feel. Sometimes though you just need to clean everything up and get rid of the mess.


ken

[Dragnhorn]

Jeff,
 I know it's no consolation but I've had to do the same once before.  It was a pain but in the end I had a much less bloated FSX that ran smoother and was easier to work with.  Now, since that time I've managed to bloat it up a bit....lol....but with mostly ORBX and RTMM stuff.........way worth it!!   :-)

[jeff3163]

I am slowly getting it back, but not in a traditional way.  FSX installed itself to my C: drive, so I let it.  That copy runs, but the copy on my P: drive doesn't.  So I run the C: drive FSX, and it's using the scenery library from the P: drive directory.  Also the aircraft directory in the P: drive.  There is still a problem though with the airport elevations.  The runways are elevated by probably 50 feet.  I didn't calculate the difference, but anyway that seems to be the only problem left so far.  Here's a picture at Annette Island by the scenery test buildings.  Any scenery Guru's out there know how to correct this?  What file controls the elevation constant.  The P: drive install should have the correct elevations, whereas the C: drive install hasn't been edited by FTX.  I could copy or point to that file from the C: drive FSX. 
     My C: drive is a Solid State drive, and although it's blazing fast, it is only 128 Gigs.  That is my Windows drive.  So FSX won't fit on the C: drive with all its addons.  That's why I am using the P: drive's scenery and aircraft folders with the C: drive FSX.

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[foggy-bottom]

Good morning Jeff,

Your solution of running FSX from the "C" but linking the scenery files from "P" is sound.  I believe Francois D offered that advice to a similar issue in "another place". 

I had some issues with my FSX install a couple of months ago.  FSX would start, the flight would start, then a straight CDT.  The advice I got from another forum was to clear out the flight plan file in the My Docs FSX folder.  It worked.  I have also cleared out a lot of add-ons; scenery, aircraft, apps, etc., so that FSX is now pretty much specific to the flying I am now doing.  Currently thats PNW, PFJ and Tongass.  Low and slow, no heavy metal, etc.  The only other add-on's I have now are My Traffic for AI and Flight Keeper for flight logs, etc.  All the aircraft variants I don't use are "//" in the aircraft config file so they are disabled but still available if required.

In the scenery library all those continents I don't go to are unchecked, e.g., Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, etc.

All of that, together with regular registry scans, cleanouts and de-frags means that FSX loads and runs much more efficiantly.  Everything is still there, apart from the flights, but it's only disabled - and it's all backed up.  That's a good thing 'cos the computer's in the repair shop - new Motherboard!!

Happy flying...    soon.

PS:  the issue with the flights was a "saved flight" for an add-on aircraft variant that HAD been uninstalled

[jeff3163]

Thanks Foggy for the response.  What I need to know is how to correct the elevation of the PAKT and PANT airports.  They are raised above the terrain by 54 feet.  Is there something that FTX central does to the elevation when you switch to North America?  Is it a file that is not located in the scenery directory?  I don't want to have to install FTX on my C: drive.  Everything else seems to be working OK as far as I can tell.  The dirt airstrips such as Mistys show up just fine.  I'll try to explain better after work.  It is 5:30 am, and I have to leave in 5 minutes.  But for the most part, my FSX is running, and I "can" land on the elevated runways.  It just doesn't look right.  OK, thanks again, and I'll be back tonight after work.

[Doug]

Jeff ... look for a "double" bgl file.  That was the problem I had.  Watch for two PANT's etc.

D

[spud]

Jeff,
are you running UTX MESH along with ORBX?  As I recall it can be done but the Scenery Library in FSX needs to have it all in the correct order.  I do not run any other MESH for Canada/Alaska so do not recall exactly which is over which but a search on the ORBX forums should set it straight for you.
Another place to clean up is the FSX logbook.  For some ungodly reason M$ decided that the program should log every flight you make.  This includes all those 1 min. flights you make checking scenery etc.  Result is a bloated overburdened log.  Might want to go to the logbook and delete a few thousand flight from the log.
 

[foggy-bottom]

Spud,  re the logbook,

I've had that one also.  A duff entry can stop FSX in its tracks.  I tend to make a copy of the logbook file every 5 trips or so.  For those "test flights" type entries I generally delete that specific line record before I close down FSX at the end of the test session.

There is also a freeware Java edit application called: logbookedit.jar which I find is better than the FSX Logbook management system.  I believe it was on Avsim but may have been lost in the hack.  I'm sure a search on the usual download sites will come up with the application file.

[jeff3163]

     I do have UTX, but I haven't been using it since I got FTX.  The entries in the scenery list are all unchecked.  Also, I would have to point to the UTX locations for them to become active.  I haven't done that.
     As for the logbook issue, I read that on a forum somewhere, so I disabled my current logbook.  (adding ".off" to the end of the file)  FSX created a new logbook.bin file, but that didn't fix any of my problems, so I reverted back to my original.  I am almost up to 7,000 landings and 4,000 hours flying in this logbook.  I have a "postcard" program that relies on the logbook entries to produce postcards for certain places in the US that I have gone.  No logbook, no postcards.
     Doug suggests looking for duplicate "BGL" files for those airports that are affected.  I will do that, since I am running two FSX locations, although only one is "active".  There is nothing in my C: drive's "Addon Scenery" folder.  But the default PAKT and PANT bgl files on the C: drive may be causing the problem.  I'll let you know what I find.

[spud]

Spud,  re the logbook,

I've had that one also.  A duff entry can stop FSX in its tracks.  I tend to make a copy of the logbook file every 5 trips or so.  For those "test flights" type entries I generally delete that specific line record before I close down FSX at the end of the test session.

There is also a freeware Java edit application called: logbookedit.jar which I find is better than the FSX Logbook management system.  I believe it was on Avsim but may have been lost in the hack.  I'm sure a search on the usual download sites will come up with the application file.

Yep, got that program but it is no better than the regular logbook edit within FSX as you can only delete one flight at a time with it just like the default.  I am looking for something that can delete 'bunches' of flights at one fell swoop so to speak.  I used to maintain a good logbook with FS9 and liked the way you had to actually enter the flight in your log so that test hops etc. were not gumming up the works like this pisspoor FSX I'll do it for ya even if you do not want to log the flight BS.  Then you have to clean them out one flight at a time.
 

[jeff3163]

Ok, I'm back.  I went searching for PANT or PAKT files in my computer and discovered that in the "scenery\world\scenery" folder are elevation changing files from FTX.  They were appended with ".off", so I changed the "PANT and PAKT" ones to ".bgl", loaded up the sim and now the airport elevations are correct.  I had first tried to point to that directory (on the P: drive), but incurred the BSOD.  FSX can't use both world scenery folders from P: and C:.  I copied the contents of the P: drive world scenery folder to the C: drive, and now I have to manually change those ".off" extentions to ".bgl".  That means my FTX central won't work with this setup.  But I was wondering . . . when am I going to fly in the PNW without FTX?  Never!  So, I think I can leave the elevation files on.  I'm not sure what the negative impact of that might be.  I guess I'll find out someday.  So . . . as Dr. Frankenstein said . . . "It's Alive!"  I have no idea how this will affect the multiplayer flights.  I'll find that out on Thursday.  Was this easier than a full re-install?  Yes!  But I am upset that the whole thing was caused by the Microsoft Acceleration expansion pack's lame repair routine.  A note to everyone - Double check your FSX install paths in your registry before running the Acceleration repair routine.  Back up your dll.xml and exe.xml files as well as your fsx.cfg file.  They will be wiped out because they are in a common area (the FSX folder) and replaced with shiny new ones that don't reference any of your addon programs.  I have to set up all my addons again.  But it's all worth it if I can trap the arrestor cables when landing on an aircraft carrier.  In case you missed that part, that is what started the whole thing.  I couldn't find any aircraft carriers with arrestor cables or launch assist capability.  What's the point of having "Acceleration" if that doesn't work.  (It's all Wedge's fault for asking me if I wanted to fly F-16's together sometime)  That was the "Beginning".  And yes, Wedge, I would.

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[jeff3163]

Testing has revealed that all is not well.  My payware planes don't show up any more.  I mean that they are invisible, except for the pilot, or some interior panels, etc.  The A2A Piper Cub only shows the pilot, the engine and Heidi, for example.  Not black, just invisible.  I am going to have to do it right, and re-install everything after all.  It is a daunting prospect, and I don't look forward to it.  Also, the Acceleration repair program still goes straight to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X, even after I changed the registry paths to P:\Microsoft Flight Simulator X.  It doesn't even confirm that is where you have it, it just goes about copying files to the default location with no user interaction.  At least they give me a "cancel" button to stop it from going through the whole process.  Now it's late, and bedtime is here.  Dammit, I thought I had fixed it!  It seems to me that I was flying the Cub yesterday, and it was fine.  I wonder why it's invisible today?  Hmmm.

G'nite y'all  (thanks for helping me)  I'll let you know how it's going.

[foggy-bottom]

Jeff,  Sometimes you just have to take the hit, but with the re-re-install you will have a much smoother set-up.  I've had to do the re-install thing a few times now; it's never fun and takes days, especially with the registry clean-outs and the de-frags.  Good luck - you'll be back in the virtual skies soon.

Spud, re Logbookedit, you can delete flights in batches - did it last night when I got the computer back with the new mother board.  Select the first flight to be deleted, scroll to the last to be deleted, press shith then click on that flight.  All will now show as selected; hit delete and the're gone - backup first    If the flights are not sequential, select the flights whilts pressing the Ctrl key.  Sometimes, especially around PNW, PFJ, the  default logbook.bin records departure/destination incorrectly, and records 2 landings if the "bounce" on the first is a long one.  I've never succeeded in amending the details in FSX but logbookedit works.  Apologies if this is like teaching the art of beer drinking; some folks may be searching for these work-arounds.

Cheers, and happy flying...