New PC - transfer process?

[Aussie123]

Hi All,

I'm in the process of purchasing a new PC (i7-9700/RTX2070 Super) to replace my existing one which is about 5 years old. Over time, this earlier dedicated flight sim PC has gathered quite a bit of software that I want to transfer to the new PC.

I'm interested in drawing on your experience on making the transition as smooth as possible and getting the de-activation and re-activations in the best order. I'm after advice on what needs to be de-activated in the product or just uninstalled under Windows 10 etc.

 

My current thinking:

 

1. Uninstall, through Windows; GTX2; Active Sky

2. Uninstall all REX products; EV Force; Sky Force; Airports HD etc.

3. Open Orbx FTX. Uninstall all the scenery (I don't have Central yet) Uninstall FTX.

4. Uninstall fully all three packages of Prepar3d v4.5HF

 

I presume I would then reverse the process on the new PC?

 

Anyone any idea of what Config files I should save first before the uninstall and transfer later? And where I would find them?

 

(I'm also having trouble finding all my activation and serial number emails so I am not looking forward to this process but I'm sure it will be worth it.)

 

Any advice appreciated.

 

Aussie

[Doug Sawatzky]

Hi Aussie

 

There is no de-activation and re-activation process required for you Orbx products, simply delete them from your old PC, then install Orbx Central and reinstall them to your new PC.

[Dadtom65]

Hi Doug. Same goes for me maybe later in the year, that’s getting a new PC. Though surely if like mine the Fltsim stuff are on hard drives and your using the same drives in the new PC, then is it still advisable to delete everything and reinstall it all, or leave it as it is. Plus I might have a bit of trouble reinstalling windows as last time me and my son did mine we had trouble installing it and in the end a bloke from Microsoft or whoever they were had to take control of my computer just to get Windows back on. That’s why I might have to get another Windows disc but at about £130 it’s not cheap. Derek.

[Doug Sawatzky]

3 minutes ago, Dadtom65 said:

Though surely if like mine the Fltsim stuff are on hard drives and your using the same drives in the new PC, then is it still advisable to delete everything and reinstall it all

 

If I have a new PC, I personally would advise to start clean and do fresh new build of everything...just plugging drives from the old PC to the new PC may be able to be done by some, but I certainly wouldn't advise it unless you know exactly what you are doing.

 

[Aussie123]

Thank you Doug for the sage advice. Thanks Derek for your input.

Yes, I'll be starting from a clean install. My existing PC, from a few years ago, has a 250G SSD with current Win 10, plus all of my flight sim stuff on it (also a regular 2TB spinning HD for back up). I intend reusing this PC for video and still image editing using the existing Win 10.

 

It works quite well but, as a 4th gen Intel and DDR3 it produces slow frame rates (particularly on 3 screens). The SSD is also getting full (not in red yet however) 

The new PC will have a Samsung 970 500GB M.2 SSD, plus a Samsung 850 1TB SSD, and a 2TB WD Black HDD for back up. (+32GB DDR4)

I think the combination should work well and when I add Orbx Central (yet to try it) I can then install the scenery on to the 1TB SSD.

 

Keep the advice coming. I'm particularly interested in any one's regrets, or what they should have done, when they upgraded/transferred.

 

Aussie

 

[Gelfling]

Umh ... and there is really no other way?

I'm just replacing my mainboard to get some additional M.2 connectors and a better chip set. Total flight sim stuff at present is ca. 4 TB, divided among a 2 TB SSD M.2 for most of the sceneries (e.g. ORBX's) and bootable Windows, a 2 TB SSD SATA, and a small portion on a HDD SATA for data I don't need online. Actually, I was hoping that it might suffice to keep the SSDs and re-activate Windows with a new key - as the latter is bound to the main board. (The HDD will be obsolete in future.)

The idea to download so much data again is ... frankly, it is appalling. 

[Nick Cooper]

Hello,

if you can reactivate Windows and persuade it to accept your new motherboard,

of course you will not need to reinstall anything.

I also have a substantial scenery collection over and above Orbx and do not keep any of

it on the system drive. 

So far, some of it has survived three complete PC rebuilds and all of it has survived two.

To keep it safe, as much of it is irreplaceable, I also have a copy of it stored on an 8 GB

external drive which is not routinely connected to any PC.

[Aussie123]

Well, I have received the new PC and I have followed my plan above.

 

The new Orbx Central has worked great. A great deal of download time, as expected, but it seems to be fine. I have put everything in one Library (except the base package). Still on C drive but will move it later after testing. 

All of REX and Active Sky installed and re-registered OK. I now need to start exploring the world.

I only have one scenery package other than everything Orbx. It is Fly Tampa YSSY. I reinstalled it into P3D and have flashing night tiles.

I think I read about this somewhere so I will have to do some searching of the Forum.

 

Overall, going quite well. Much better frame rates. The next thing is to install all the drivers for the full 737 cockpit and interface it to the hardware.

 

Thanks for the advice,

 

Aussie

[Stillwater]

1 hour ago, Aussie123 said:

Fly Tampa YSSY

You always have to deactivate FT´s YSSY Landclass.