fs spring clean!! But how?

[goodfella]

After adding hundreds of add-ons, files, upgrades etc I feel its time for a spring clean of my system as there is so much rubbish on there now and Im starting to get more and more crashes here and there but Iv never uninstalled fs2004 before and isnt there going to be the biggest mess of left- over files once I do?

So does anyone know the best way to go about cleaning and deleting all the rubbish. Iv heard of those registry cleaners but I dont want to run the risk of messing up windows by accidently deleting something pretty important.

Many thanks!

[Travis]

Well, it depends on what you want to save.  If you've added anything that has changed the way FS operates (ie: config file changes, FSUIPC, environment upgrades, etc) then your best bet is to figure out which of those you have, which you want to save and where they are.  It can be time consuming, but it will be well worth the effort to keep them.

As regards to aircraft, gauges, addon scenery, etc: FS uninstall will only remove files that were added by the original four disks, meaning any repaints of stock aircraft, new aircraft, gauges, panels and any addon scenery will remain left behind.

The way I do that kind of thing is that I have a folder on my desktop labled FS Downloads.  Anything I download goes into a subfolder in there (Aircraft, Repaints, Panels, Sounds, Utilities, Environment, etc) and I save it until I do a reinstall, or decide I don't like that addon anymore.  Then, when I delete the addon in my FS folder, I also delete it in the Downloads folder.  That way, my FS stays consistent, and I have a sort of log of what I have downloaded.  It may take up a little space, but it is well worth it to avoid an unneeded hassle.

Good Flying,

Locke

[Delta_]

You could just do what i've just done, and just format your comp, then re-install everything.

Yes, it is time-consuming but the rewards are excellent!

[Nav]

goodfella, no guarantees, but you might find FlightSim Manager useful.

I tend to be pretty conservative about downloads, so I don't have any FS9 crashing problems. But I find the 'Manager' useful when I want to delete things, it locates and recommends deletion of all related files as well (after checking that nothing else is dependent on it).

It also has a 'clean-out' capability - I used it once to tidy up my gauges folder, for instance. It found a lot of gauges that were not in use any longer. It doesn't just delete them, it backs them up and provides a list, so you can check that none of your other aeroplanes are affected before you finally scrub them.

Beyond that, there are all sorts of diagnostic functions that I haven't tried out. I can't recommend it unreservedly, because I've only used it sparingly - all I can say is that, performing the limited tasks that I've set it, it hasn't caused any problems yet. Suggest you have a look, anyway.

http://www.ranainside.com/software_flightsim_manager.html

[goodfella]

cheers guys, I think im guna back up as much as possible, delete FS then just track as much crap as I can find then re install. Il give the manager thingy ago too.

Im not bad with computers although I did build my own but not sure about doing a re-format, Il agree that the results would proberly be pretty awsome.

[Delta_]

Format is quite easy, just back up everything you need then:

Put your XP cd and reboot your comp and boot from cd, then delete all partitions and format the drive you are installing the o/s on (the master drive).

[cstrut]

If you are really serious about cleaning your computer up and don't want the hassles of damaging your registry files I would suggest the old faithful and ever true method of the re-partition. Sure you destroy the registry and all the data but with careful back-ups and mindful re-installation I would bet that the end result will make you a much happier and more stress free person. I do it about once a year and I find that most of the stuff I have stored on my computer is usually not really that important. It's like moving and as the omish say "two moves is equal to one house fire." Yep, I think that you will be amazed by all the files that have been saved and never opened again.