6th time and I'am out

[hurricane3]

After getting a new computer to run FS9 and the sim fighting me every step of the way, I give up after the sixth time and three months work.
Stuuff happens that has no ryme or reason.
After getting Miltons D18 sorted out I put in the Sea Vixin and as has happened before I got a bunch off eror messages(this didn't happen when I loaded the Sea vixen before) that I was missing a bunch of DLL file and Microsoft Flight Simulator will shut down.
I'am not one to give up easily but enough is enough.
I've discovered a lot of good friends here and wish all you happy flying . Thanks to all who helped me in the past ,this time FS9 is going off my HD for good.Bye everyone

[Blackbird686]

Flight Simming is definately a learning curve, especially if you aren't real sure how it works or where to put stuff when it comes to adding on planes, scenery or whatever. I can't remember how many times I un-installed and re-installed FS and CFS over the years. Each time I learned just a little bit more about what I could and couldn't do.

It's totally up to you, but if I may make a suggestion before you go...Don't get discouraged, mate. Take a break, catch your breath, and try it again at a later date. And certainly DON'T leave the "Outhouse". You can always ask questions and get help here when you need it. You'll get it sorted, I'm sure.

As ever -- BB686:USA-flag:

[WarHorse47]

Hurricane,

I'm sorry to hear about your frustrating experiences. I will soon be replacing my computer and going to a new operating system, and have no idea of how FS 2004 will migrate to the new computer.

It would be mutually helpful if you could provide some more information. What are the specs of your new computer? What operating system are you now using, and is it different from your earlier setup? What dlls are you missing?

For example, you mentioned problems with the Sea Vixen. Which one? Skysim or AlphaSim? Is the missing dll related to FS9 or to the operating system?

I'd really like to know more and help where I can, but I need more information as to what you've experienced.
:ernae:
--WH

[hurricane3]

First ,my computer is made to my specs ,itel core5 3.3GHz LCA1150 CPU,cooler master enhanced cooling Hyper TX w/copper core pipes,8 gb Corsair High performance Vegeance*gb DDR3 1600Mhz,GA-Z77X-D3H ultra durable MB,Sata,ITB Seagate Barracuda ,7200 rpm,64mbSata6Gb/sHD,7200/64MB Cache,Nvidea PCIe vidieoCard1.25GBDDR51600Mhz(2x4GB)Memory,Creative Sound BlasterX-Fi xtreme Audio,Sony Opticarc 24x DVDRW Sata Optical Drive,Thermaltake VL8000 case with blue LED 120mm Exhaust fan,600WExtreme Power Supplyw/Over Voltage/Over power Protection energy state SATA Intelligent Fan Controller,PCI Express.WHEW ,I bascily had some specs written down and told the computer guy to build me the fastest computer he could.
Since I copyed this from the sales reciept and my eye's aren't what they used to be ,I probley got some of the specs mixed up ,so I hope you can make sense of all this.
I'am running Windows 7 64 bit where I was running XP on my old Dell.
I have installed FS9 outside of program files ,running as administrater, and have UAC shut off most of the time.
I can't be specific about what DLL's were missing as it was different most times ,I know the last one was a modules DLL .
The frustrating thing is I would get so far with my reinsillation and when doing something totally unrelated ,I would have something happen. For instance I was putting a small program called Roadpac in which I had done before and my Addon Scenery folder vanished. I was putting it in my main texture folder as the read me said and first thing I know I get an error message saying my scenery was gone. Then after that I put in some bgl in my scenery world scenery folder and my effects folder vanished. Then the missing Dll files started to come up with out warning.
Last night about three quarters of my gauges files turned to zip files.
I could go on but you get the idea. it seems like FS9 and Windows 7 wait a while then decide they don't like each other.All the missing DLL's were FS9 related not OS related. I have had the Alpha Sea Vixion in many time with no problems.
Also I tried taking it out to no avail.I tried deleting the FS9 config file with no change.I tried useing system restore but it always ended up saying no files were changed and to shut down my Virus Protection even though I had already done that It's AVG by the way.I had backed up my FS9 instillation to a 2 TB external HD but when I first tried that it said it was missing a DLL file as my CFS2 and First Eagles sims said the same and wouldn't start.My CFS3 and Dogpatch Crew Korea and IL2Forgotton (IL@Forgotton) Battles survied and can be run from my external drive with no problems ,all sliders maxed as was FS9 which ran as smooth as silk ,when it ran
So you can see my frustration. I do hope this helps.

[hurricane3]

Did I mention my weather folder also vanished one time ,but I found it on I think disc 3 of my install discs and put it back giving a whole day before the next crash.

[WarHorse47]

Oh, my. It does sound overwhelming.

Just so I put things in perspective, I've had my install under Windows XP since the first day. I have experience with Windows 7 and am learning Windows 8, and will eventually migrate my FS9 to Windows 8 which is why I'm interested in learning from others.

Since you've indicated that several folders have disappeared, my first inclination would be to determine where they went. Did you do a Windows search for your Effects folder, for example? I would open Explorer and look in the C:\Program Files (x86) folder and see if there are any FS 2004 directories created there. Although your main install is outside that folder, perhaps some of your recent installs went to a default location. Just a guess. Be curious what you see.
:ernae:
-WH

[EMatheson]

With all that going on, I don't think you've got a problem with FS. Missing folders, dlls, etc, random file extension changes - it could be two things, both nasty and both unrelated to FS.
First, it looks like you might have a failing hard-drive. The file-table and registry seem to be getting hammered on a regular basis, which can result in missing or reassigned file types and associations. This can also result in random loss of files or folders - the data might not actually be getting lost, but a sector in the file-table went bad, with the result that Windows no longer knows where to find said files. (This is not a problem unique to Windows - similar things happen when Mac HDs begin to fail, too.) You'd better replace the hard-drive where Windows is located.
Second, it could be what is called a root-kit trojan. This can masquerade as a a legit file and loads while the computer boots. It may be causing damage itself or it may be downloading other junk while you aren't looking. Here, if your AV hasn't found it, you are probably best advised to format your HD and reinstall Windows.
Replacing the HD where Windows is located would have the same effect, so either one of them, pretty much, involves starting over.
Now, I hope I'm wrong. I'm kind of just an arm-chair geek - I don't actually have any computer-tech bonafides to flash around. But, I think those are probably the mostly likely reasons for what you're seeing. I HIGHLY doubt that FS or any combinations of addons are to blame.

[falcon409]

I have to agree with EMatheson. . .your specs are 5 times better than mine and I run FSX on mine, so FS9 should scream on your setup. It would be a shame to give up with that much potential. There's no way the problems you're having are related to FS, but I do suspect that as it seems that things just snowball on you. . .you could be inadvertently causing some of the problems yourself without realizing it. Best thing to do is really start over from scratch. If that means formatting and starting over, that might be the best thing as you could discover that these missing dll files get reinstalled with a fresh install of Win7-64bit. Even before that though, get your HDD's tested. If one of them is going south on you as EMatheson suggested, anything else you do will be futile if it suddenly dies on you.

I promise, as bad as it is right now, there are those who have been in worse shape and got through it. . .take that deep breath. Get the HDD(s) checked and start from the bottom, taking each step in turn. . .if you get an error anywhere along the way, stop, get help, correct it and move on. I hope you stick with it and get FS9 up and running as well as I know it can with your specs. Good luck!

[Motormouse]

Had similar happen to my rig last year, wasn't the main HD going bad, but the backup, don't know the exact reason for
things going missing etc, but my in-house geek said it was to do with way windows reads HD on boot.

Hope this helps

ttfn

Pete

[vonernsk]

Hey Hurricane,

We have all been there. One of my crunch moment was when I accidentally deleted my whole FS9 setup whilst backing it up . . . . .

If it is any help, I transferred FS9 onto my new self built PC about 18 months ago. Very similar specs to yours and the results with FS9 are great.

The key step I took many years ago when running FS9 was to alway separate my O/S from the Sim. ie run Windows on one disc and FS9 on its own dedicated disc, with a third disc to cope with downloads and fitting together a/c.

When setting up the new PC I conducted all the O/S setup on its own drive then copied my backed up FS9 onto its new drive.

There was then a fairly lengthy set up of those FS9 files that install themselves onto the main O/S disc. This I did by copying FS9 files from the old 32 bit Windows Vista prog (backup) onto the relevant area in Windows 7. Making sure that the path from the O/S to FS9 is the same as the previous setup. There were of course lots of glitches along the way but keep it simple and if hitting probs with old a/c or progs - uninstall and re-install.

Found that the latest Solid State Disc (SSDs) are now really cheap. They are a fraction of the size of SATA disc; no moving parts to wear out; no heat probs and silent too. Have my O/S on one at present and will put FS9 on one when they start making cheap SSDs of 300Gb or over.

Hope this helps a little. Main message is - Stick with it! and like climbing a mountain, take it one step at a time and remember your route.

Rgd Mal

[Blackbird686]

Hurricane --

Should you decide to re-install...I think it's a good idea to keep FS out and away from the X86 folder... even though when you insert the CD it names that as part of the path for the install. Having FS in the X86 folder only caused problems for me the first time and so I un-installed FS from the machine and re-installed it using this path: C:\FS GAMES\FLIGHT SIMULATOR 9. I created the FS GAMES folder specifically for FS9 to go into. That did the trick. I have had FS on a Win7 machine for about 2 years now... with about 300 aircraft installed, multiple scenery programs and it runs just fine there. I also use the FS GAMES folder for FSX, although I don't fly that sim much.

By the way, I learned about the install trick from chaps here at the SOH, I would have never figured it out as quickly on me own. Just say'in. :salute:

BB686:USA-flag:

[hurricane3]

I did a folder by folder search and under C/Intel,logs found my weather folder, but that was all. No Addon scenery folder ,no effects folder ,nothing else FS9 related.I have stayed away from all programs folders ,my install path was just c/Flight Simulator 2004.Maybe I should have created a new folder to put it under. I have intended to get a second HD but will have to wait till spring when my finances can stand it.
Heck, I havent been able to get a printer or sound system yet.I use an earphone.
All the problems started after my first install when it would only load to 77% and someone here directed me to a microsoft fix ,which after three trys I got to work.All the problems would show after I would install something new.
Since my computer guy said to bring it in ,also in the spring for a checkup ,this would also be a good time to get a second HD.Besides the weather here is horrible ,lots of snow and temps that go to 0 at night and don't get out of the twentys during the day.

[hurricane3]

I ran ckdisk for the C drive and everything came up normal. does this mean any thing as to the state of my HD failing?
Second I keep my external HD disconected ,except if I want access to the four(I forgot to mention Microsoft Train simulator was ok also),so if I try and install FS9 on it without problem ,does this mean I could Install it to a secong hd separate from the OS? Thanks

[EMatheson]

I ran ckdisk for the C drive and everything came up normal. does this mean any thing as to the state of my HD failing?
Second I keep my external HD disconected ,except if I want access to the four(I forgot to mention Microsoft Train simulator was ok also),so if I try and install FS9 on it without problem ,does this mean I could Install it to a secong hd separate from the OS? Thanks

ckdisk really only is good for finding on-going problems. It seems likely to me that your disk is failing intermittently - perhaps it is powering-down prematurely during shut-down, perhaps something is loose inside and it gets vibrated from time-to-time. It is possible that in-between "events," the disk is ok - but when such crash events begin to occur, it usually isn't long before the entire disk is borked.

As to installing FS on an external HD, that isn't a problem. You can install FS wherever you like. I would recommend not installing FS on an external HD because external usb hardware doesn't usually have very good disk-spin speed (low RPMs). Putting it on a second internal HD would probably be ok, though. Make sure you get a high-speed drive!

[aeromed202]

I can't quite recall but have you had FS issues from day one, or was it working normally until at some point problems started? I remember that I had many similar table pounding crashes and foul ups when i first got into FS until I found another copy of the game at a used book store for $10. All the problems went away when I installed from that set so I guess my original was corrupted somehow.

[hurricane3]

It kinda varied when the problems started but I did have the 77% freeze up on downloadeing from day one. After someone from here gave me the microsoft site to fix the problem, which took three tries ,I was ok for almost a month ,then things started to get worse. I might go for a couple of weeks or ,just one download ,like the last time with the Seavixen which gave me about a dozen dll files ,error messages that said the Sea Vixen,(which I had installed many times before with out a problem) was not compatable with Flight Simulator and reinstall Flight Simulator.
As far as useing different install disks ,I'am one step ahead of you .A long time ago I bought another set of install disks from Walmart and am going to try them today.
I also down loaded a HD checker from Seagate ,that checks all brands of HD's and ran the full scan of my HD and it found nothing wrong with the HD.
I also use Ccleaner which is supposed to be the best registry tool.
So I'am going to download FS9 now with the different disks and see what happens.It might go belly up right away or take a month so this might be a long shot . I'll keep you updated on how things go, and thanks for the advice,I just can't bring my self to give up after getting a computer that finally will run FS9 as smooth as it does.

[Tom Clayton]

About the change to zip files... Go into your control panel, then into Folder Options > View Tab and uncheck the box that hides extensions for known file types. I suspect that what you're talking about are the cab files. Cab (short for cabinet) files are just another type of compressed file (like zip's), but your system can access the files inside them. I suspect that the filetype extension is still .cab, but something has changed the associated program to a third-party program like Winzip or similar. If that is the case, FS should still be able to read them. If you want, you can right-click one and choose Properties, then at the top of that dialog, you'll see a section that says which program opens it and a button to change that. If you change it back to Windows Explorer, the icon should change back to the familiar cab icon.

[hurricane3]

I did what you said but it changed nothing .
If you click on a zip file it says change to previous version,but all the choises it gave was windows explorer or rar file.I changed to rar files, which seems so far to put things in if I check extract all ,but you still have to figure out where to put things.
Leaving my gauges as zip file made it hard to put gauges in ,I had to put the whole plane (zipped) into the main fs9 folder to unzip it, then put things in from there.
I can't think for the life of me what made my gauges turn to zip files in the first place and would like to get them back to gau. files but nothing seems to work.
This is a windows thing cause when I did my reinstall from different disks ,,the gauges still were zip files.
I also tried the second thing you said but that it does is open the files folder to full screen and all the folders are what they should be, gau.files.But when you go back to the FS9 root folder tree the files are (now) rar.
Also changing to windows explorer makes a different type of file than the standard folder gau.

[Sunny9850]

Take a look at this link. Maybe that will work for you.

http://www.winvistaclub.com/t19.html

Cheers
Stefan

[hurricane3]

Stefan, I went to the link but don't see any files called gau. what file should I use?
Right now I have the gauge files changed from zip files, since I was having trouble loading gauges to RAR files, which seem to work better, but even my aircraft and scenery files are now RAR files. I would really like to get back to the standard FS9 files.
I also reinstalled FS9 from different cd's, so far so good ,but it took a month before I had my second or third crash ,so I hold my breath every time I install something.

[hurricane3]

I forgot to say my aircraft and scenery files that have changed to RAR files are only on my CD's that I have saved them on, the files except for my gauges files are all the standard files that you get with FS9 in the root folder.

[Sunny9850]

Installing from CD in this case will not make any difference. Because somehow the file associations of the Operating System itself were changed. So W7 now simply is set to open .gau files with WinZip.

If the .gau is not listed in the it may be a bit more interesting. You now have real .zip files and .gau files both showing the same icon. And you only want to change the association for the .gau files.
The alternative method on the linked site should do that but you have to be sure you are really on a .gau file when you right click.

Alternatively, you can also Right click the file whose association you want to change > Properties > General tab > Type Of File > Change > Choose a program from the list or recommended or other programs or else click Browse to select one.

Short of taking the PC to the shop do you have any friends or family around that may be a little more savvy in the ways of the OS that could help you with this on site ??

Cheers
Stefan

[hurricane3]

Although ,I'd like to get back to the stock files ,I can seem so far to use the RAR program ,since I don't want to make things worse.
I either extract from the RAR file to either the root folder of FS9 or cut and past the RAR to ,say 'My Downloads where it's not cluttered with other stuff and click extract to here which opens the folder into normal files which I cut and past where they belong.
It's a bit more time consuming but so far it's worked.

[Sunny9850]

Just had a look myself and the issue is that .gau files normally have no program association. Now that it has one it seems to be stuck that way. All I can see off hand is to pick any other program but zip.

But here is another idea. When you double click a real zip file what window opens for you ??

One that is called WinZip in the top left corner ???
If yes then there may be another way to skin the cat.

Let me know and we go from there if you want.

Stefan

[Tom Clayton]

I'm still wondering whether it's the .cab or the .gau extension that's been affected. There is one way to tell for sure if the .gau extension has had a program association assigned, but it involves going into the registry. Let me know if you want details.

[hurricane3]

As I said ,since I've found RAR zip files are easier to work with ,I've managed to change all the Winzip files in my gauges folder to RAR.zip files.They are all cab files.
If I double click on one of them it just opens in the RAR extraction program and the files are normal.
Like wise if I click the main gauges file,(which still looks normal) it opens up all the gauges ,full page, on the right side of the root tree.
Now all these gauge file are the regular gauges files, it's only in the fs9 root tree(where I install gauges, that they are RAR zip cab files.
I hope this makes sense.

[Sunny9850]

Actually no. Maybe you can post a screen shot or two of what this looks like.

Stefan

[Motormouse]

Y'know with all this poking around in windows, I'm sure there are a few of us out here that really feel for
Mr Hurricane in this predicament.
Is there not a member local to his location, that could pop round and assist if he wanted?

I would, if it were not for that little pond in the way!

Ttfn

Pete

[Sunny9850]

There is also the option of a remote session via a secure connection such as Teamviewer.

http://www.teamviewer.com/en/products/remotecontrol.aspx

Cheers
Stefan

[hurricane3]

I couldn't figure out a way to send you a screenshot, and I;am kinda scared to mess around with the registry.
There is no one anywhere near me to help ,so I guess I'll just muddel through.
I can try to describe what the page looks like when I open to almost full screen, normally there is just the Windows Explorer tree along the left side of the page.I go to" computer/c/Microsoft Flight 2004" click and it opens the FS9 root tree, from here I put one of my recovery disks in the CD/dvd drive and open that on the righthand side of the page.From the cd I can pick somthing to install ,cut and past it to my downloade's just so I have room to work.Then I can open the RAR file" to here" and that extracts the RAR file to my downloads and I can put everything where it belongs.
Now what I ment about opening the Gauges folder to almost full page is I can go to Windows Explorer open the FS9 folder then open gauges which are now RAR zip cab files (since I changed them from WinZip files)
If I double click Gauges it opens the full Gauge file in the righthand pane and here almost all the gauge files are just like they would normally be like.I have some RAR files but thats normal(They would be Winzip if I haden't changed them).
I know this is had to understand , and I do thank all of you for trying to help,but like Tom said ,somthing has changed the gauge files from Gau. to an outside program ,in this case Winzip,I could change it to RAR cab files which FS9 seems to be able to read but not back to the oridginal gau. files.

[Tom Clayton]

To verify filetypes:

1. Click the Start button to open that menu. Your cursor should be blinking in the "Search programs and files" box at the bottom.
2. Type folder options into that field, then click the Folder Options choice under Control Panel near the top.
3. Click the View tab in the dialog that you just opened.
4. Uncheck the "Hide extensions for known file types" option, then click Apply and OK

As long as the files that were once cabs still have *.cab at the end and the *.gau files are still correct, then your Sim should still work correctly. If either one now has a different extension, there is a way to fix that too. It's a little bit advanced, but if I can do it, anyone can.

[hurricane3]

Already did that once before so it is already unchecked.
As I said my gauge files in the window's explorer root tree are all RAR cab files which FS9 recognizes.If you expand the gauges file ,then the gauges files look like they always have,regular Gau. files.
It takes a little longer to install things ,but so far it's working.(famous last words) Thanks Tom

[Buddha13]

Hi Hurricane, I had similar problems with both FS9 and FSX in Vista. Got round it by swapping to Win 7. {Then my hd died some months later in an unrelated incident. Like you I could not bring myself to re-installing the 60gb of data I had for FS9 till now over 3 years later), But Vista was a pain from the start. Try Win 7.I am sticking with win 7 and not going to 8.Hate the look of 8. Buddha13

[WarHorse47]

Thought I might add a few comments to Hurricane's situation.

I can relate to his experiences. After many years of running FS9 under Windows XP, I'm now moving to a new computer running Windows 8 and have had nothing but a series of setbacks.

My 1st new computer arrived about a month ago. After two days of getting familiar with the new machine, I encountered a corrupted OS. After waiting for discs from the vendor and reinstalling the OS, the technician discovered a hardware issue. A week after it arrived the vendor agreed to exchange the new computer with another.

My exchange computer arrived earlier this month, so I had to reinstall all my apps all over again before shipping out the 1st computer. All the while my older XP was setup behind me on a table in my office. After getting comfortable with everything including my FS9 install, the older computer was boxed up and ready for donation and I was getting comfortable with operating FS9 under Windows 8 and setting up all my new hardware, graphics card, etc.

Then on Tuesday this week I got hit with a virus I picked up on a legitimate site. Apparently the Windows Defender did nothing to stop it, and the OS was toast. I spent most of my day talking with Tech Support and again reinstalling the OS followed by a reinstall of everything else including FS9. What a mess.

Anyways, I'm pretty gun shy of working on the new machine with Windows 8 despite my years of working on other computers and applications. It's been a frustrating experience, similar to what Hurricane is experiencing. But I'm not giving up, and can admit that I'm learning a lot more than I expected.

FS9 now looks great and runs great on my new machine. This morning in another post SOH members helped me solve a compass problem. I only have one payware aircraft that is not installing properly, but its only a matter of time before I figure things out.

Hope you get things ironed out, Hurricane.

[hurricane3]

I know I'am going to jinx myself by saying this ,but so far so good. My gauges folder is still mostly RAR files as are my files on my backup disks ,but I've worked around it.I now have 12 disks of a total of 79.That sounds worse than it is ,because there are a lot of duplicate files on the disks.
As for what I'am doing different ,is made my main install from a different set of disks I bought at Walmart quite some time ago. Also I've stopped deleting the Flight Simulator files from my documents.Also if I feel like installing a lot ,I'll disable my virus scanner (AVG temporaraly)
So far the only thing thats happened is I lost my weather folder ,but having gone through this before I did a file search and found it under Program files X 86.
I now have backups of my weather files, addon scenery files, and effects and gauges files all of which I've lost before this install.
So keep your fingers crossed, I'll let you know if it goes belly up or I get eveything back.
It's good to know I'am not the only one who has problems.

[Sunny9850]

I am beginning to sound like a broken record maybe but I'll say it again all the same. There are really only two options for those of us who do invest a lot into building a personalized FS installation.

1. Buy stock in your favorite brand of liquor or beer and be prepared to buy lots of that product while spending many hours piecing back together FS after something went belly up. Hardware, software or warm-ware (user) will inevitably sooner or later nuke it.

2. Buy a good backup software and hardware package that can store and re-store the ENTIRE PC in one session with nothing more than a few mouse clicks.
There are several out there but I would recommend talking to a local expert about his preference if you think you might need help one way or the other with the task.

I have mentioned the software I use at other such occasions but do a bit of research while you still can. Home-made solutions such as putting everything on DVDs or CDs or external drives manually is better than nothing of course but can't compete with a tested package.

Some of them might require a clean OS install before they can re-store the saved image. Some are literally able to run from a plugged in bootable USB drive and rebuild the entire PC with nothing more than a key stroke. That is what I have.
I do mess around in my three FS installs quite a bit. Sometimes literally to try and see what someone else might have done to bring their system to a halt so I can help them get up and running again. I do have a separate FS install just for testing....nothing but what came on the CDs in that one. So if it gets messed up I manually copy in an image from a backup and it is up and running again..........usually. But on a couple of occasions a change to that test-FS caused all other FS installs to go dark as well because a system .dll file got changed.

In that case I run http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/backup.htm and after a beer or two while it copies the contents of the .sna file back to the HD I am back up and running as if nothing happened....well minus a few days or weeks since the last .sna file was created.

Cheers
Stefan

[WarHorse47]

I am beginning to sound like a broken record maybe but I'll say it again all the same. There are really only two options for those of us who do invest a lot into building a personalized FS installation.

1. Buy stock in your favorite brand of liquor or beer and be prepared to buy lots of that product while spending many hours piecing back together FS after something went belly up. Hardware, software or warm-ware (user) will inevitably sooner or later nuke it.

2. Buy a good backup software and hardware package that can store and re-store the ENTIRE PC in one session with nothing more than a few mouse clicks.
There are several out there but I would recommend talking to a local expert about his preference if you think you might need help one way or the other with the task.

I have mentioned the software I use at other such occasions but do a bit of research while you still can. Home-made solutions such as putting everything on DVDs or CDs or external drives manually is better than nothing of course but can't compete with a tested package.

Some of them might require a clean OS install before they can re-store the saved image. Some are literally able to run from a plugged in bootable USB drive and rebuild the entire PC with nothing more than a key stroke. That is what I have.
I do mess around in my three FS installs quite a bit. Sometimes literally to try and see what someone else might have done to bring their system to a halt so I can help them get up and running again. I do have a separate FS install just for testing....nothing but what came on the CDs in that one. So if it gets messed up I manually copy in an image from a backup and it is up and running again..........usually. But on a couple of occasions a change to that test-FS caused all other FS installs to go dark as well because a system .dll file got changed.

In that case I run http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/backup.htm and after a beer or two while it copies the contents of the .sna file back to the HD I am back up and running as if nothing happened....well minus a few days or weeks since the last .sna file was created.

Cheers
StefanI failed to mention in my post that I had everything backed up on an external drive. I only made the mistake of moving some payware aircraft into the install vs. leaving a full copy of the aircraft folders on the external drive, so I lost those folders along with some e-mails and a few new documents on the desktop. Fortunately, all the original FS9 installs are on CD's, so I was able to reinstall all that was lost - except for one as the CD file was corrupt. I manually control what is backed up, and am looking for a more 'automatic' program to use.

[hurricane3]

All your advice is good, I had all my flight sims backed up to my external HD, unfortunally three out of 6 wouldn't run because of loss of dll files. But the other three are fine.Am looking at different back up systems now.
On disk 14 now, so knock on wood.