New System for FS9

J

jackryan172

SOH-CM-2025
Hi All,

I just built a new machine to house my FS9/FSX installs and while I use FSX, most of my flying is FS9 (along with most of my flightsim dollars!). I dont think I will try and copy over my old install to the new box , instead I plan on installing everything onto an SSD for best performance. My question to you all, is there a how to or a document on best practices?
I mean I will install FS9, upgrade to FS9.1, then whats the next thing? Install global terrain mesh? Global default texture upgrades (FS9 Extreme) then add new water and sky textures? then start with local sceneries? Add some planes after that?

What about directory structures, should I cut up the local sceneries by geographical location (US, Canada, Italy, South Africs, ect under addon scenery)? I just want to make this the cleanest easiest to administer install I have had so I can fly quickly after startup and not wait for stuff to load.

Thanks for listening,
Sean
 
You pretty much have the install order down already: FS9, FS9.1, everything else. As far as directories, I'm guessing you're using something newer than XP, so you'll want to avoid the default install location. Set up a new folder on your C: root like "Added Programs" or "Games" or "Sim Files" or whatever. For example, my FS9 install location is C:\Added Programs\Flight Simulator 9. The reason for this is to prevent Windows from applying its normal security, which can cause issues such as control assignments reverting to default when the Sim is closed. Yes, you can edit that security for the folder, but it's a true PITA - it's just so much easier to avoid the issue and put it somewhere else.

By the way, I also have my Avery DesignPro label software, GIMP, Notepad++, and a few others in that same "Added Programs" folder.
 
As for the order of your addons, it really doesn't matter when you put them in as far I know. What matters is the order in your scenery library. The more localized a scenery is, the higher you want it on the ladder. FS loads from the bottom up. For instance, if you have a mesh for the entire Western US and then a mesh for the Grand Canyon, put the GC mesh higher. If the Sim loads the GC mesh first, and then the wide area mesh, the wide area mesh will hide your GC mesh, effectively making it useless. So what you want is all the default stuff at the bottom, then mesh, then landclass, then cities (New York skyline, etc.), then airports. A real application of this would be for Hawaii - mesh lowest, Pearl Harbor next, then PHNL. You can install them in any order you want, just use the up/down buttons to shift them to where they need to be.
 
I'm a great believer in large area basics. World wide mesh. World wide ground textures. World wide landclass. Vector, there is no world wide vector for FS9 unfortunately. Sky, clouds, water. All this comes first.
 
Putting fs9 onto a solid state disc (ssd)

I put FS9 onto an SSD very recently. To keep things simple I run FS9 on its own disc with my OS on an SSD lettered as the normal C: drv.

I backed up the disc with FS9 onto an external drive using PARAGON disc manager.

Put the new SSD into my PC. Gave it the next sequential drv letter.

Take out old SATA drv and keep as historical talking point.

Got PARAGON to recover my backed-up copy of FS9 to the new SSD.

Changed the drv letter given to the new SSD to the original drv letter of the SATA disc holding original FS9.

Voila! all 270 Gigabytes seamlessly transferred and the original FS9 root docs on the C: drv still finding a copy of FS9 where it is looking for.

Missed the mechanical clattering of the old disc, but enjoyed the increased operation speed for access of files and smooth frame rate.

Mal
 
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