moving fsx out of programs files X86 can I do it?

[bombardier]

hello to all:

I was wondering if I can move fsx out of the program files X86 and maybe renamed it as C: fsx/microsoft . with out losing any planes and my destinations . my C drive does have a file called microsoft games and right now fsx is in that file.

bombardier

[OldAirmail]

There are a number of ways to "move" it out of that location.

The simple way, cut & paste/drag & drop is not one of them, however. Unless you know how to rework the Registry it simply isn't going to work. And even if you are familiar with the Registry, it's still not the best way by any means.

The "best" way would be to uninstall, and re-install, FSX. That may not be the answer that you're looking for, though.



For what it's worth, I'll harp on this again - BUY AN SSD DRIVE FOR YOUR FLIGHT SIM!

Too much money? Nope - a 240-256GBSD can be had for as little as $52.

Also, you DO NOT need the fastest SSD, even the lower end SSD drives will be faster than the majority of hard drives.



A smooth flight sim experience is more than having the fastest CPU & graphics card.

A simulator is like any other program in that it takes an operating system to tell it how to do what it does.

By putting your flight sim on ANY other physical drive, you'll gain some smoothness.


What happens with a single drive is that when you start FSX, the OS starts reading the FSX files, stops reading, starts writing, stops writing, starts reading, stops reading, starts writing, and on and on and on. All on that one drive.

BTW - That's an over simplification, there's a lot more reading & writing that I left out.

But pretty much any computer that you use today will be able to read off both drives at the same time.

NOW, you are going to get a smoother experience.



But don't start day dreaming about how fast your system will be, other problems (like viruses) can slow you down too.

But this is a very good place to start.

And if you get an SSD instead of a spinning hard drive all of that flight sim reading is going to go a lot faster.

[OldAirmail]

Addendum

Make your life simple. Whatever your NEW drive letter is, replace the C:\ with the letter for the new drive for sim software installations.

In my case it looks like this - F:\Program Files (x86)\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v3

If a flight sim program installer tries to install to C:\Program Files (x86)\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v3 all I have to do is to change the C to an F.

[bombardier]

hello old airmail:

so if I go to my program files X86 file folder find the fsx and replace the c with my second drive letter it should move all the program and planes and my destinations to the new drive and still keep my planes and destinations I'v been to.
how about an external hard drive can I do that?

bombardier

[garymbuska]

hello old airmail:

so if I go to my program files X86 file folder find the fsx and replace the c with my second drive letter it should move all the program and planes and my destinations to the new drive and still keep my planes and destinations I'v been to.
how about an external hard drive can I do that?

bombardier

Changing the drive letter is not I repeat is not going to actually move files from one drive to another. It does not work that way.
What will happen if you do this is you will get a message file not found because the actual file is still on the other drive.
Like the other post stated the best way to do this is to uninstall and reinstall on the drive you want.
The wy to keep all of you aircraft and scenery is to copy it to another folder any where or copy it to your desk top.
Once you have reinstalled FSX just movee the sopied file over to the new location abd over write any duplicates.

[OldAirmail]

hello old airmail:

so if I go to my program files X86 file folder find the fsx and replace the c with my second drive letter it should move all the program and planes and my destinations to the new drive and still keep my planes and destinations I'v been to.
how about an external hard drive can I do that?

bombardier

There are a number of ways to "move" it out of that location.

The simple way, cut & paste/drag & drop is not one of them, however. Unless you know how to rework the Registry it simply isn't going to work. And even if you are familiar with the Registry, it's still not the best way by any means.

The "best" way would be to uninstall, and re-install, FSX. That may not be the answer that you're looking for, though.

....

I usually upset people by adding to much emphasis with large, bold, underlined, and colored text. But this (your last question) is an example of why I do it.

It's not that I'm picking on you, but people tend to skip over long posts and see only a few parts of the total.

The reference to replacing the drive letter has to do with after you've reinstalled FSX.

Many installers will be looking for FSX to be on the C drive.

AT THAT POINT if they ask you to install to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X, . . . AND IF you installed FSX to D:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X, then all you need to do is to change one letter - the C to an D (or whatever letter represents your new drive) and let the install continue.

Effectively, you're simplifying your life - you don't need to remember what your new location is for FSX, just change one letter. Also, you don't have to type in the new FSX location each time that an installer wants to run.



BTW - The folder name "Program Files (x86)" is only a special folder name on the C drive. On any other drive it's just a name.


PS - Like garymbuska said, you can copy your aircraft/scenery files to a temp folder before uninstalling FSX. But don't forget to copy the "Gauges" folder too (C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\Gauges).

But if you're like me, over time I've installed & uninstalled so many planes/scenery the a new start works out better, you lose some problem installs that either didn't work out, or that screwed up original files.

[Hagar]

All this is confusing me & I'm an old hand at this stuff.

Unless you have a very good reason for moving FSX to a different location I would say leave it exactly where it is.

[OldAirmail]

The folder "Program Files (x86)" on the C drive has some restrictions imposed on the files within. I fined them to be very minor as I know how to change the access permissions & other properties. However, others may have problems.


In fact, when Prepar3d V2.x came out, the access permissions of the "Program Files (x86)" folder caused a major headache for many people.

To paraphrase what you said, if you don't have any problems, there is no "good reason" to move it to another folder ON THE SAME DRIVE.


On the other hand, if you want to make FSX, Prepar3d, X-plane 10, or any other sim smoother, more responsive, then REINSTALLING it on another drive IS a "very good reason".

Again, I tend to tick people off by over emphasizing, but I'm hoping to get their attention to key points. Sorry to offend.

[Hagar]

Again, I tend to tick people off by over emphasizing, but I'm hoping to get their attention to key points. Sorry to offend.

No offence taken.

To paraphrase what you said, if you don't have any problems, there is no "good reason" to move it to another folder ON THE SAME DRIVE.

Exactly. The original question was "Is it possible to move FSX from its default location to another location on the same drive?
Yes, it's possible but can cause problems unless you know what you're doing. I don't see the point if it's running well where it is. Hence my advice to leave well alone.