Where do you find the FSX service packs? [Archive]

xxmikexx

04-30-2008, 02:52 AM

tigisfat and 415scootermon,

Referring to the first and second FSX service packs as SP1 and SP2, according to Microsoft's Phil Taylor (who is, among other things, the FS product manager), the main purpose of SP1 was to address some of the performance issues. In a post to me on another website he indicated that it typically provides a 40% or so performance increase.

But SP1 also fixed bugs, including some bugs in the default aircraft. I imagine that SP2 was also about bug fixes though I really don't know. But here's what I do know ...

To arrive at the SP2 rev level from the base retail package version of FSX (so called "RTM" as in "Release to Manufacturing") you can do it in any of three ways ...

1 - Simply install the Acceleration expansion pack on top of FSX RTM. This will install SP2, which in turn includes SP1. No other updates are required.

2 - Simply install SP2 as downloaded from the Microsoft "FS Insider" website. (Do an internet Google search on "FS Insider" and you'll get the link to the site, which is here http://www.fsinsider.com/Pages/default.aspx. From that page you should be able to locate the downloads along with much other interesting information.) Since SP2 includes SP1, again no further updates are required.

3 - Install SP1 (as you might have done months ago before SP2 was released) and then install SP2 on top of SP1. However ...

Phil Taylor says that for best results, if any addons have been incorporated into your FSX installation you should uninstall everything relating to FSX including FSX itself, then reinstall FSX (I recommend running the default flight once), and then install SP2 (again I recommend running it once).

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I must also mention that if FS2004 is installed, installing or reinstalling FSX will corrupt the so-called "registry path" to FS2004. There is a free utility made available by the Tweak FS folks called "FS Registry Repair" that will allow you to check/repair the registry paths for both sims. This freeware program is available for download from Flight1.com. Here's the link to the download page http://www.flight1.com/view.asp?page=library. (Look for the entry that says "FS9/FSX registry repair tool.") This link was developed from the first page of information brought up by an internet Googling of -- flight1 "fs registry repair"

This issue is important because the correct installation of many addons requires that the registry path to the sim be correct. This is true for both FS2004 addons and FSX addons -- not all of them, but enough of them such that the registry path issue is a real concern.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Finally, for better or worse SP2 is the end of the line in terms of updates to FSX. Again, this statement is from Phil Taylor himself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

No, not finally :) ...

tigisfat is correct that installing SP1 or SP2 can affect the correct operation of various FSX addons. However, in all fairness to Microsoft, such changes in addon behavior always mean that the addon developer took some kind of shortcut or failed to conform to SDK (software development kit) specifications in some way, for whatever reason.

In other words, things that were built strictly according to SDK spec will run fine on either RTM, SP1 or SP2. However, it is worth checking whether a given addon is affected by what I just wrote. You can ask the question here, or you can ask it in the FSX forum, or you could try an "advanced" forum search using search masks like -- SP2 <name of addon> -- and so on.