Need a little help, hoping to avoid a complete re-install. (sigh)

[2Low]

I haven't done a complete re-install in over a year so a fresh new sim wouldn't be the worst thing but, the week required to do it is daunting.

Now, I know what's gone wrong but I don't really know. Know what I mean?:isadizzy: OK, I'll elaborate then.

Quite aways back (a year or two) an add-on or update came out that gave quite a few of us a problem. While installing it overwrote a file that initiated your add-ons as FSX started. FSRecorder and FSUICP are two that are affected for sure, I don't know what else. There is no longer and Add-on menu item in the FSX menu bar which is where you normally access FSRecorder.

I seem to remember XML and maybe dll being involved (could be completely wrong here) but both search terms are too short to work in the search feature.

Any body know what I'm on about? I hope so because it just happened to me again.:angryfir:

[swimeye]

could it be the "exe.xml" file that has been deleted or corrupt? You can find it in the same directory as the fsx config file. Normally any 3d part program creates a backup of that file before it writes any new information in it, maybe if you are lucky you have a backup. I hopeyou solve your problem, a complete re-install is not a very funny task.

[2Low]

Thanks swimeye,
I found the exe.xml file, opened it in notepad and found just the one entry...
for EZCA,
which I had uninstalled,
ages ago.
Nothing else there...

But!

In the same place, I found the dll.xml file which the offending add-on did make a back up of.

Yeah!

no.

The add-on created a new dll.xml file which is identical to the original but with it's own entry added.

It looks fine.

I tried replacing the new file with the back-up but still no joy.

The Add-on menu still eludes me.

The exe file concerns me as well. More research is required so I am off to scour the interwebs.

[Bone]

I had a similiar problem, in that I installed a plane and the "addon" tab disapeared from the top bar of FSX. At this point in time I was down to only FSrecorder and FSUIPC in the addon tab, so I just went into the "control panel....uninstall program" and uninstalled both FSrecorder and FSUIPC, then reinstalled them both. All is well.

[2Low]

Those are the programs I know I am missing but I don't know what else may be broken. For now I am going to do what you did.

The more I think about it the more a nice, clean operating system and sim sounds.

I think it's time to start planning my back up, re-install, update, tweak strategy (deep breath). Yes, that would be nice (deep breath). Wish me luck (I am going to need it).

[lazarus]

Run the repair function on the discs. Works a treat, and it won't bugger things up. It will overwrite any changes you've made to default components- Textures, BGLS ect. Stuff that is modified default .

[imn2sims]

I just had the same thing after I installed the Razbam A-7. You're on the right track. The xml.dll and the backup .dll have bad entries right before the end of the file, therefor FSX doesn't run either one. Open the backup .dll in notepad and look toward the bottom. I'm not in front of my FSX computer right now so I can't tell you exactly what to delete, but I think it's rather obvious when you see it. It's a start and stop tag with nothing between the start and stop. Once you get rid of it you'll be able to double click the file and it will show correctly instead of displaying an error. Once you have that you can rename it back to xml.dll and you're good to go.

Steve