Needing Help to install scenery Fs2004 Windows7

[kiwitrav]

I have purchased a new computer, the other one died on me, but I did have alot of enjoyment with Fs 2004 in the XP system. Now we have Windows 7, I have read as much as I could on the "traps" when installing Fs 2004 onto this new OS and made a different folder to install it, ie C:\FS2004
It installed great.........BUT when I came to install my Real New Zealand collection, this is a disaster, I am NOT computer literate and I don't know how to instal complex things such as this. I tried on my old computers doing things and wiped out the complete system. 9 hours later a friend had windows reinstalled.
Now, what I did when trying to ADD "Real NZ" to the FS 2004 folder. When the installer came up, it showed a path to " Microsoft Games". I Knew that was NOT the folder it was to go to, so, I deleted that path and typed FS2004. Seems simple to me, thinking that's where I want tne scenery to go. When I fired to Flight Sim up, NO Real NZ was there. Went to my Program files, and found 2, FS2004 folders.NOT 1, but 2 folders now. The 2nd folder held ALL the Real NZ scenery.
My question is this, how do I get the scenery into the Flight Simulator 2004 folder?? If it's complex, I don't mind paying someone to come to Pukekohe or someone who might give me the time on the phone to guide me through it. Any help would be much appreciated thanks.

Steve

[toprob]

When you say that you reinstalled FS2004, did you actually run the installer and choose C:\FS2004 as the install path?

Most Real NZ installers look at the System Registry for the FS2004 location. If it can't find it, it defaults to the default FS2004 path. It sounds like this is what has happened. I don''t know why -- I'm not aware of any problems with Windows 7 registry and FS2004. this normally only happens if you install FS then move the entire installation, or copy over a previous installation. (Neither are recommended.)

If there is a reason why the Registry path might be incorrect, then please let me know. I might be able to suggest a way to fix it. Most addons require a proper System Registry path.

There are instructions in the Real NZ manual which you really need to follow closely if the installer can't find the registry entry. I suggest that you reinstall, but this time when you get the incorrect install path:

BROWSE to the correct folder;
Check the resulting path, and TRIM it if it doesn't actually represent the actual FS2004 installation.

[kip]

QUOTE (kiwitrav @ Jan 22 2010, 11:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have purchased a new computer, the other one died on me, but I did have alot of enjoyment with Fs 2004 in the XP system. Now we have Windows 7, I have read as much as I could on the "traps" when installing Fs 2004 onto this new OS and made a different folder to install it, ie C:\FS2004
It installed great.........BUT when I came to install my Real New Zealand collection, this is a disaster, I am NOT computer literate and I don't know how to instal complex things such as this. I tried on my old computers doing things and wiped out the complete system. 9 hours later a friend had windows reinstalled.
Now, what I did when trying to ADD "Real NZ" to the FS 2004 folder. When the installer came up, it showed a path to " Microsoft Games". I Knew that was NOT the folder it was to go to, so, I deleted that path and typed FS2004. Seems simple to me, thinking that's where I want tne scenery to go. When I fired to Flight Sim up, NO Real NZ was there. Went to my Program files, and found 2, FS2004 folders.NOT 1, but 2 folders now. The 2nd folder held ALL the Real NZ scenery.
My question is this, how do I get the scenery into the Flight Simulator 2004 folder?? If it's complex, I don't mind paying someone to come to Pukekohe or someone who might give me the time on the phone to guide me through it. Any help would be much appreciated thanks.

Steve

I have got windows 7 and have just reinstalled 2004 with real nz collection. No problems with it. C:Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9 ......is where it installed it....dunno if this helps.....runs perfect. Had FSX but too frustrated with it. gonna wait another year hopefully some updates and patches will arrive then. Q9400 quad 2.66ghz,3 gig ram, gts250, and did the tune up of it from http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=29041 and still not happy.....back to 2004 yay!

[kiwitrav]

QUOTE (toprob @ Jan 23 2010, 12:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When you say that you reinstalled FS2004, did you actually run the installer and choose C:\FS2004 as the install path?

Most Real NZ installers look at the System Registry for the FS2004 location. If it can't find it, it defaults to the default FS2004 path. It sounds like this is what has happened. I don''t know why -- I'm not aware of any problems with Windows 7 registry and FS2004. this normally only happens if you install FS then move the entire installation, or copy over a previous installation. (Neither are recommended.)

If there is a reason why the Registry path might be incorrect, then please let me know. I might be able to suggest a way to fix it. Most addons require a proper System Registry path.

There are instructions in the Real NZ manual which you really need to follow closely if the installer can't find the registry entry. I suggest that you reinstall, but this time when you get the incorrect install path:

BROWSE to the correct folder;
Check the resulting path, and TRIM it if it doesn't actually represent the actual FS2004 installation.

toprob, This was a NEW install of FS 2004 onto my NEW computer using the 4 discs that i originally purchased. My old computer, with the defunked drive has the FS 2004 still on it. I have not taken any files off the old machine at all. I have chosen to start fresh from the start, the program loaded beautifully, into a new folder that i named C:\FS2004. I also loaded the PMDG 737-800 into it no problem.
Once that was all done, I wanted to load the Real NZ collection. When I put the disc in, the path that came up on screen, was to " another " destination. Not C:\FS2004, it came up with something like Microsoft games, which i steared clear of. When this path appeared to load the Real NZ scenery, I changed the path to C:\FS2004. That's the folder where FS 2004 is. When I checked the program files in my C drive, instead of loading INTO the FS 2004 folder, it created a NEW folder, with all the Real NZ scenery. I now have 2 folders in C program files, BOTH named FS 2004 and no idea how to get the scenery folder into the Flight sim folder for it to work.
Should I uninstal the 2nd folder with all the Real NZ scenery, it's just sitting there or, do you or anyone know how to associate that folder into the MAIN flight Sim folder? If that is too much of a headache to do, when i put the Real NZ disc in to my disc drive, as I now have Flight Sim, plus an add on aircraft successfully installed in C:\FS2004, what "path" should the Real NZ scenery be given, when the installer asks me??
Many thanks
Steve

[kiwitrav]

QUOTE (kip @ Jan 23 2010, 01:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have got windows 7 and have just reinstalled 2004 with real nz collection. No problems with it. C:Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9 ......is where it installed it....dunno if this helps.....runs perfect. Had FSX but too frustrated with it. gonna wait another year hopefully some updates and patches will arrive then. Q9400 quad 2.66ghz,3 gig ram, gts250, and did the tune up of it from http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=29041 and still not happy.....back to 2004 yay!

Kip, thanks for your info. C:Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9 you say is where yours is. Was that the " default" or a new path just for Flight Simulator?? If you read what i just replied back to toprob, I'm now of the belief that me and installing stuff into computers, DON'T go together.
Thanks again, if all else fails, I can only try the way you did your setup.

[dbcunnz]

QUOTE (kiwitrav @ Jan 23 2010, 11:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

plus an add on aircraft successfully installed in C:\FS2004, what "path" should the Real NZ scenery be given, when the installer asks me??
Many thanks
Steve

Hi Steve on the install when it asks for the path to install to try browsing to C:\FS2004\FS9 and install it into that.

Doug

[toprob]

Ok, it does appear that the installers don't pick up the registry path in Windows 7. It does for FSX, but doesn't for FS2004. The registry is in fact correct, the installer just doesn't read it. I'll think about a solution.

In the meantime, what you are doing is fine, with one small change. Be aware that Wellington is an exception, so I'll deal with that separately.

Instead of typing the correct path into the installer, BROWSE to it.





Once you have selected the correct folder, you may need to TRIM the resulting path. (If your actual path is 'Flight Simulator 9', as in D:\Flight Simulator 9, then you'll be ok. Anything else it'll add this expected path, so you'll need to trim it back.)
Here I've actually changed the path to illustrate this -- since mine is actually in D:\Flight Simulator 9 then it works differently. So now imagine that 'Timeshift' is your FS2004 folder.





It should now install in the correct location.

Wellington

The Wellington installer doesn't give you the option to change the path, so it needs to be done differently.

Before attempting this, you will need to rename the incorrectly created Flight Simulator 9 folder. You could actually delete it, but renaming it is safer. Right-click on the folder name, Rename, type something like 'renamedfs9'.


Run the installer as normal, then browse to the incorrectly placed installation. (It will recreate the folder you just renamed, but only with the Wellington installation.)

The new Flight Simulator 9 folder should contain these folder:

Addon Scenery
Modules
RealNZwgtn
Scenery

Open the Scenery folder. It'll contain:

Ocen
World

Delete the Ocen folder. Leave the other one.

Now go back to the Flight Simulator 9 folder. Drag the folder off the left side of the screen until it 'snap's to halfscreen.

Open another Windows Explorer window, and browse to your actual sim installation -- C:\FS2004. Drag that folder to the right edge of your screen, until it 'snaps' to fill the other half of the screen.

Now select all the folders inside the left hand Flight Simulator 9 folder, and drag them into the right-hand C:\FS2004 window. If it asks to overwrite any folder, let it do do.

Now you are done.

[kiwitrav]

Rob, thanks for your expert advice. I browsed through the Main FS 2004 folder and found Real NZ had loaded SOME parts of it to the correct folder. What I found in the " other"created FS2004 folder was,
Under the heading,
Add on scenery

AF2 NZAA.bgl
AF2 NZAR.bgl
AF2 NZME.bgl
AF2 NZRV.bgl
AF2 NZTN.bgl
AF2 NZWP.bgl

Flights
GODZONE
All the flights listed from.
Auckland-around the Head
down to
Wanaka-Mooney.WX

Scenery

Ocen
World

Ocen scenery, only thing listed is;
FL994450GVF.bgl
gvf993470.bgl

World scenery

All the above AF2 bgl's PLUS
Traffic_nzwf.bgl

It appears i got a mess, some essential things here and some there. I will gladly UNINSTAL Flight Sim, both folders and start anew. This time, I need advice on where to instal Flight Simulator 2004 to, when I put the 1st disc into the disc drive. Some people have said that it is unwise to instal Fs 2004 to the default in Windows 7. Is this correct or not??
If it is, do I create a folder, such as kip did above, same path and go from there??
Then, when I go to add The Real NZ collection, should the Windows 7 OS, correctly pick the path straight into Fs 2004, or am I going to have to "browse" for the correct location??
So sorry to give you headaches with this, I just want to get flying again with this great scenery again, as the default in 2004 is not that good after experiencing Real NZ.
Many thanks for all your advice guys

[toprob]

QUOTE (kiwitrav @ Jan 24 2010, 10:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It appears i got a mess, some essential things here and some there. I will gladly UNINSTAL Flight Sim, both folders and start anew. This time, I need advice on where to instal Flight Simulator 2004 to, when I put the 1st disc into the disc drive. Some people have said that it is unwise to instal Fs 2004 to the default in Windows 7. Is this correct or not??
If it is, do I create a folder, such as kip did above, same path and go from there??
Then, when I go to add The Real NZ collection, should the Windows 7 OS, correctly pick the path straight into Fs 2004, or am I going to have to "browse" for the correct location??
So sorry to give you headaches with this, I just want to get flying again with this great scenery again, as the default in 2004 is not that good after experiencing Real NZ.
Many thanks for all your advice guys

What you've got is exactly what I'd expect you to have, so please reread my instructions above a couple of times, as they cover all you need to know about why you have the files you have, and what to do about it.

Do you know why some people don't like to install it in the default location? There are benefits and drawbacks, as you've discovered, but I just want to know if you are aware of exactly why you installed it there. I would never recommend that anyone install anything in other than the default location unless they have a very good knowledge of Windows.

As I said earlier, my installers don't appear to be picking up the correct path with Windows 7, so yes, you will need to browse to the correct location for each scenery.

You could reinstall FS2004 in the correct location, but this isn't always going to solve this problem -- just a quick explanation of what the installer does:

First, it sets the install path to 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9', as this is the most common default location. It does this because the installer needs to have some default path set. There are two things it can do after that -- first, it can find the correct path itself, or it let you choose the correct path by browsing.

So it checks the Registry, if it finds the path it'll change the install path. Whether or not it finds a path, it displays either the default or the actual found path.

It then lets you change whatever it displays.

With Windows 7 it's not finding the path, so it reverts to the default location. You can change this (by BROWSING, rather than just typing a new path.)

So if your default Program Files is C:, and you install FS2004 in the default location, then you'll end up with the Real NZ installer's default path matching the actual path, which will install everything in the correct location. However if your default drive is called something else (such as D:, E:, F: or anything else) then it still won't work as intended.

I don't think there is an easy fix for this, short of rebuilding the installer for Windows 7. I'll do this for future purchases, but since the installer includes each entire scenery, it won't be issued as a 'fix'.

[toprob]

WINDOWS 7 FS2004/GODZONE FIX

I don't know where you stand now, Steve, whether you've reinstalled FS2004, or managed to get the scenery installed ok, but I have been thinking about a solution for this.

So here's the current state of play:
A couple of weeks ago it came to light that my scenery installers didn't pick up the Registry entry for FS2004, so if FS2004 was installed anywhere but the default location, the installer would have problems finding it.
Since I've had no internet access all week, I've been getting to grips with some of the many outstanding things on my list, and this was one of them. A bit of research shows that Windows 7 actually changes the location of the FS2004 registry entry. Where my installers look for:
HKLM "Software\Microsoft\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator\9.0"
...in Windows 7 the location changes to:
HKCU "Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\microsoft games\flight simulator\9.0"

Very annoying, really. I guess that there may be a solution somewhere, but without the net I had no way of finding it, so I came up with a quick solution, in the form of a little utility which copies the FS2004 registry entry to where it used to be in Windows XP/Vista.

One problem is that it doesn't work with most of my installers However it does work with Real NZ Wellington, which was the only installer which doesn't give the option to choose the install location. So if you are in this category:

• Windows 7 user; and
• FS2004 user; and
• FS2004 is installed somewhere other than Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9;
• ...and you want to use Real NZ Wellington;

then this is for you. Download this tool, read the instructions, and if you agree with the terms, run it to create the fix. You can then install Real NZ Wellington to the correct location. It also works with Real NZ Marlborough, but not the other scenery. For those, you'll need to follow the instructions included in the manuals, to install on a system which can't find the registry entry.

However it may help with other third party addon installers which rely on the System Registry to locate FS2004.

I'm in the process of redoing each installer to include the extra code to check for the Windows 7 registry shift, but these will only be available with new purchases.

Luckily this doesn't affect FSX.
Click here to download the utility in ZIP format.