Good Bye XP !

[Aircanuck]

Morning all,

Time to move on , have been running Windows XP Media Edition forever and want to hear from you all about what platform to consider as my next move ....... Windows 7 ??

Running a GeForce GTX 550 1GB GDDR5.


Look forward to your thoughts and ideas.

[Naruto-kun]

Well considering that P3D wont work on XP, neither will the newer graphics libraries like Direct2D and Direct3D11 be available on XP, and that Win8 is a mess, I would say Win7 Ultimate 64bit is the best option.

[wombat666]

Well considering that P3D wont work on XP, neither will the newer graphics libraries like Direct2D and Direct3D11 be available on XP, and that Win8 is a mess, I would say Win7 Ultimate 64bit is the best option.

+1

[Moses03]

Went from XP to a new 8.1 build back in April. Runs FSX smooth as silk with all sliders maxed. Don't have to worry about my operating system until Jan 2023.

[Odie]

Running Win 7 with no issues on my primary gaming machine. Running Vista on the internet/media box. Both 64-bit.

[hairyspin]

I'd go for Win 7 64-bit, but from experience would question the need for Ultimate unless you know why you need it.

[Naismith]

Yes Win7 64 has to be the way to go. I have had and suffered through every edition of Windows since v3.11 (circa 1993/4) and can say it is the most stable version I have ever used (not tried 8 - it's just so ugly ).

[UnknownGuest12]

No doubts, W7 64...the best here...

[trucker17]

I am running windows7 with no issues.

[orionll]

Windows 8.1 (64 bit) works fine here.

[BrittMac]

Win7 64. I run Pro (though I don't use all the features I suppose).

I friggin hate Win8. If I wanted a tablet OS, I would get a tablet OS. Drives me nuts.

I have put off buying a new laptop because everything is Win8.

[txnetcop]

Well considering that P3D wont work on XP, neither will the newer graphics libraries like Direct2D and Direct3D11 be available on XP, and that Win8 is a mess, I would say Win7 Ultimate 64bit is the best option.

YEP!!! That's the one!
Ted

[StormILM]

I was a diehard XP user for a long time but last year my old but long super reliable XP system died. So many folks here influenced my decision to go to Win 7/64 when I bought my new system last year and it was a good move for me, almost like a logical progression of XP. I have Vista on my now semi-retired laptop and I've never been a fan of that OS and likewise, I was very nervous about going to Win 8 after hearing what some folks had to deal with in using FSX on Win 8 OS. The only regret I have is not spending more and getting an Nvidia card but I have had good performance & reliability from my Ati HD7770. I will probably move to Nvidia before too much longer.

[Hughes-MDflyer4]

I'd go with 8. If you're finally upgrading after all of these years, don't continue the tradition and intentionally get an older operating system. :P Just as any previous Windows, 8 is perfectly fine for desktop use. Most people that say otherwise haven't actually used it. I also saw a noticeable performance improvement in FSX going from 7 to 8.

[Naismith]

I'd go with 8. If you're finally upgrading after all of these years, don't continue the tradition and intentionally get an older operating system. :P Just as any previous Windows, 8 is perfectly fine for desktop use. Most people that say otherwise haven't actually used it. I also saw a noticeable performance improvement in FSX going from 7 to 8.

You are probably right, it's just so durn ugly.

[Dev One]

My son just upgraded me to Win 8.1 64 bit, from Win 7 32 bit on an old gaming computer of his (2008 vintage 6 core AMD, 8MB RAM, AMD 5700 GPU). If you dont like the front page of Win 8.1 & its touchy feely big icons, just hit the Documents button & its presented to you just like XP, or Win7.
I find Win 8.1 loads a lot quicker than Win 7.
HTH
Keith

[orionll]

Yep, not only what Brandon said about it working just fine, and Dev One said about it booting faster (much, much faster, in my experience), but the desktop itself is actually improved. There are a lot of small tweaks that make things a lot better: things like the improved file copy dialog, support for JPEG EXIF rotation, improved multi-monitor support (spanning a panoramic background, for example), and that's just off the top of my mind. General performance seems a lot snappier, and everything I've tried runs just as well, if not better than on Windows 7. Not only that, but if you really dislike the new Start screen, you can enable booting directly to the desktop (in fact, this option is set by default in Windows 8.1) and set the Start screen background to that of your desktop background to make things less jarring.

[Montie]

I am using Windows 7 x64 and no problems here. Windows 8 makes my head hurt though...its not very intuitive for me.

[Aircanuck]

Thank you all for your comments , have Windows 7 loaded .... so far so good !

Quick question - Want to tweak the "WideViewAspect but unable to find the Air Config folder ??


Somebody able to give me a hint where to look ?

[hschuit]

Thank you all for your comments , have Windows 7 loaded .... so far so good ! Quick question - Want to tweak the "WideViewAspect but unable to find the Air Config folder ?? Somebody able to give me a hint where to look ?

Default locations for:

FSX.cfg = C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX\
Scenery.cfg = C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\FSX\

[Jafo]

Win8 is a horse designed by a committee....aka...a camel.

It has a lower overhead thanks to the stripping out of some of the aesthetics of 7 [amongst other things] so it'll run faster on older software...
The speed of booting is FAKED. The desktop simply loads earlier in the boot process to give the impression.

If you can't stand the GUI [even with 8.1]....not many can....hence heads rolling at MS, go look at Stardock's Start8 and Modernmix ....and you'll have rid of the clunkiness of the jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none interface.
SD has been improving the Windows GUI for decades....and invariably gets it right.

Stability? ....for most humans it'll be fine....for me...I can break anything....and often do...on ANY OS....but my personal fave is still 7 [Ult] ....and I've used them all...

[Aircanuck]

Not finding it ??

Two concerns, cannot find the "Microsoft Fsx folder" with all its sub folders in it .... simobjects - weather - lessons etc

or the Fsx Config folder to change the "wideview aspect = true to false

Could they be hidden ?

[Dumonceau]

Not finding it ??

Two concerns, cannot find the "Microsoft Fsx folder" with all its sub folders in it .... simobjects - weather - lessons etc

or the Fsx Config folder to change the "wideview aspect = true to false

Could they be hidden ?

Usually they are hidden. Open "computer", click on the "organize" button and select "folder and search options". Go to the view tab and select "show hidden files and folders".

Dumonceau

[Lane Street]

cannot find the "Microsoft Fsx folder" with all its sub folders in it .... simobjects - weather - lessons etc

Do a Windows Explorer search for- FSX.exe

cheers,
Lane

[Aircanuck]

Usually they are hidden. Open "computer", click on the "organize" button and select "folder and search options". Go to the view tab and select "show hidden files and folders".

Dumonceau

Cheers .... now how bout a hint on where the Microsoft fsx root folder went ?? The folder I used go to in Media XP to add a new texture to an existing aircraft .I used to go in via the programs tab but not having much luck with Windows 7 !

Thank you again , much appreciated.