.gau files in FS9 Sound folder...

[patchz]

[color=#000000]Is there a valid reason for .gau files to be in the Sound folder? I doubt that I placed them there by accident due to the distance between the Gauge folder and the Sound folder. It was, however, an accident that I discoved

[Groundbound1]

A good question. I have some like that too, and I THINK they were put there (in my case at least) when third party aircraft were installed. Seems some developers get some files mixed up from time to time. I've had downloads (that I noticed after the fact of course) that have had effects files in the gauges folder, gauges in the sound folder etc...

I never tried moving or deleting them because I, like you, am not sure if they need to be there, though my hunch is probably not. Since they don't do any harm I just leave them alone.

[Hagar]

Seems some developers get some files mixed up from time to time.

This is more common than you might expect. Sounds like you've installed at least some aircraft using an auto-installer. If you install them manually it's unlikely to happen.

[patchz]

Seems some developers get some files mixed up from time to time.

This is more common than you might expect. Sounds like you've installed at least some aircraft using an auto-installer. If you install them manually it's unlikely to happen.

That's what I was thinking. I prefer to do the install myself, but I don't know of any way to do it when...
wait a minute, I think I just figured out how to bypass the auto-installer. Change the destination folder to a temp and then install it myself. Think that will work?
As to the original question, I've had a couple of aircraft give me error messages before loading and it's always a gauge error. I think I'll check to see if it is one that is in the sound folder and not in the gauge folder. If that's the case, I'll move it and see if it stops the error message.

[Opa]

MY FS2004 installation, which has had many items added, does not have any gau files in my sound folder.

I direct all auto-installers (by whatever name) to a temporary folder and if all checks out, I then move the items manually where they should go.  Sometimes this involves creating a "dummy" Flight Simulator 9 folder if the installer needs a specific folder name.

I never unzip anything directly to my FS root folder either - always to a temp folder for review first.  

[Hagar]

Seems some developers get some files mixed up from time to time.

This is more common than you might expect. Sounds like you've installed at least some aircraft using an auto-installer. If you install them manually it's unlikely to happen.

That's what I was thinking. I prefer to do the install myself, but I don't know of any way to do it when...
wait a minute, I think I just figured out how to bypass the auto-installer. Change the destination folder to a temp and then install it myself. Think that will work?

That's the method recommended by most of the old hands. It's easy enough to point the install path to a Temp folder anywhere convenient.

I install a lot of files to check them out & have also configured auto-installers. The most common auto-installer used by Freeware developers works in the same way as extracting zipfiles direct to FS. They need to overwrite default folders to work properly. This is all very well if the person that configured the zipfile or auto-installer knows what they're doing & tests it thoroughly before uploading it. Unfortunately this is very often not the case & I've seen many files that are incorrectly configured. This is one of the most common causes of installation problems & also problems with FS itself.

Another problem is that the uninstal.exe file created by these installers will overwrite the FS default file which can give problems if you ever wish to uninstall the addon or FS itself. The Uninstall option can be disabled when the file is configured but many people using the auto-installer software don't appear to appreciate that, even some experienced FS developers that should know better.

As to the original question, I've had a couple of aircraft give me error messages before loading and it's always a gauge error. I think I'll check to see if it is one that is in the sound folder and not in the gauge folder. If that's the case, I'll move it and see if it stops the error message.

Worth a try but take my advice & when pasting gauges into the FS Gauges directory do NOT overwrite files/folders if prompted.

[Opa]

The gauge issue is another resason I also never place gauges from a package I am audtioning into the default gauges folder.

I always place them in the panel folder as FS looks first into that folder for any gauges which are required and if they are not found looks then in the usual gauges folder.

If there is a problematic gauge it makes it much easier to track down the problem that way.  If I decide not to keep the aircraft, one delete gets it all.

The only drawback to that method is if the gauges are "common" to other aircraft whose panel.cfg may expect to find them in the default location.  But to me that is a minor issue when compared to the "safety" and convenience aspects of having them in the panel folder.

Anyway, that system works for me and helps keep my default gauge folder from getting "clutterred " with a lot of unused gauges.  

[patchz]

[color=#000000]Thanks guys. I did not know that I could put gauges in the aircraft panel folder instead of the FS9 gauges folder. That makes a lot more sense, especially for the reasons you explained. I probably already have some problems but now I know how to avoid some future problems.
As to the error messages, all but one are related to a DHC2 Beaver. The gauges are in the gauges folder, so I don't know why I get the error message. The only other one, is for a Twotter and it is a TCAS gauge. The reason I get that error message is that I have not installed TCAS and probably won't. From looking at the instructions, it is over my head and I don't even know what TCAS is for anyway.
Again, thanks for the help.