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Trouble Downloading and Installing Scenery from FSPilotShop.com


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Hey guys,

I made a software purchase on FSPilotShop.com, and it is rather confusing with the install instructions. I think the developer went out of business because i cant connect to their website anymore.

 

The download for the purchase was broken up into several different files as it is a large amount of scenery (South and Central Florida scenery from Realworldscenery.com) But instead of downloading .zip files, the files had the extension .7z.xx ("xx" representing sequence of numbers from 00-16". I have no idea what kind of file type that is. It seems like 7-zip... but then why is there another period followed by a number?

 

One of the downloads was an .exe. I ran it and it was just a file extractor, and it would extract to a 7-zip folder that gave me an error everytime i tried to open it.

 

Here are the instructions it came with. Has anyone purchased from FSpilotshop, or knows how to get this scenery installed on my sim?

Simply unzip/extract the .zip file (the numeric files included will only open with the main .zip file) extract all .bgl files to your ...addon scenery/scenery.. folder under Microsoft flight simulator X, wherever you may have it installed. Most often it will be found under Microsoft/Microsoft Games/Microsoft Flight Simulator X.

 

After installation and verification of all files properly installed, it is recommended that you delete the downloaded zip files, as they are rather large. The only files you will need to use the scenery are the .bgls you've installed into the sim. Of course, to avoid having to download them all again, if you should have to reinstall or some other reason, It is advised to store the files somewhere other that your main folders or the drive you have your sim installed in. zip drives work well for this, or cloud storage if you have the space.

 

It says to unzip the .zip file.... none of the downloads are a zip file, they are all technically .7z with another "." followed by numbers.

 

example of one of the files: RWS-FloridaSouthern.7z.015

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Based on the instructions given what I would try is this....

 

1. Create a temp folder for the downloaded files in a place OUTSIDE of any area controlled by the UAC tool of the OS - at C:\My Temp Downloads for example. Then, within this new folder create a sub-folder called Extracted Files. OPTIONAl - create a further sub folder within the Extracted Files folder called Scenery.

 

2. Move all downloaded files to the new temp location top folder.

 

3. OPTIONAL - Not essential (as you should be able to open the files with WinZip) but you could get a copy of 7-zip and use it - its freeware and I actually prefer it over WinZip)

 

4. Unzip the contents of the file that contains the .exe file into the Extracted Files sub folder - this is essential as if you attempt to run the .exe file directly from the .zip file without extracting it first it may not extract fully and thus cause the error you have experienced when attempting to open the files.

 

5. Run the unzipped .exe file from within the Extracted Files folder. Based on the instruction

(the numeric files included will only open with the main .zip file) extract all .bgl files to your.......
I believe that you will need to point the program that opens when the .exe file is run to each .7z.XX file in turn and extract the files that it contains (as indicated most like the scenery .bgl files) to a suitable location - in this case either the Extracted Files folder OR the Scenery sub folder if you created it.

 

6. Once you have extracted all of the files you will then be able to move them into where you want to store them in FSX.............................

 

A note about this - you don't have to store them in the location stated in the instructions. You could, for example make a folder and subfolder called South and Central Florida\Scenery within the root directory of FSX (i.e ....FSX\South and Central Florida\Scenery) or make one outside of FSX altogether (i.e. C:\My Addon Scenery\South and Central Florida\Scenery). You can then copy the .bgl files to the selected location and then activate the folder in FSX as normal.

Regards

 

Brian

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Hey Longbreak, thanks for the detailed reply!

I have made the folder and subfolder on my c:/ drive, and moved all the files to the top folder. I think i already have 7-zip installed so thats good haha.

4. Unzip the contents of the file that contains the .exe file into the Extracted Files sub folder - this is essential as if you attempt to run the .exe file directly from the .zip file without extracting it first it may not extract fully and thus cause the error you have experienced when attempting to open the files.

Seems like the .exe file was never in a .zip file. I downloaded it and it was just the .exe itself. Now, i do have an option to extract the .exe application itself (through right-clicking, scoll to 7-zip, then "extract")... should i do that? All saw were random files when i did.

 

The .exe file seems like a modded version of 7-zip, as it says 7-zip at the top of the application window border. When I run it, it only says "Extract To:" following a folder path i can set for the application to extract to. Then at the lower bottom, it just has the 'EXTRACT' button. There are no other options to click other than that. So it seems like I cannot point the .exe to extract the numeral .7z files..

 

If I missed any points of yours, which I seem to do a lot when it comes to online help, please let me know haha. I can also provide screenshots if you would like to see something that way.

 

Thanks again

Josh

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With such a structure you extract the first one (lowest number) only. That will actually extract all the (7) zip files at once.

(it's really just one zip, but when zipping the option in 7zip 'make all files X gb max size' was selected. 7zip then creates several numbered files as output instead of one very large one.)

 

(FreeMeshX is distributed the same way btw.)

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Hi Josh,

 

Based on what you (and the info provided by il88pp) have said I would simply run the .exe file, point the folder path to the required extracted contents folder and then hit the extract button and see what happens.

 

If all goes well you will have a load of .bgl files that you can then move to wherever you have decided to install them before activating the folder in FSX......

 

To further expand my comments at para 6 of my original post - as I stated you don't need to use the default FSX Addon Scenery\Scenery location to store scenery. The main reason this location is often suggested is that the folder is already 'activated' within the sim and, therefore, the new scenery will automatically show without any other steps being necessary. If the scenery files are placed any where else then you need to activate them before they show in the sim

 

Whilst this makes it easy to add new stuff, overtime, as your library expands, it becomes more and more difficult to keep track of what is installed. This can lead to a situation whereby files with duplicate names end up overwriting others and thus causing problems. Whilst this is most likely to happen with texture files, it does make it difficult to investigate and fix scenery related errors.

 

That said, many people do use the default location with no problems, either directly into the \Scenery (and when appropriate the Texture) sub folder or by creating a new folder under the Addon Scenery root directory (I.e Addon Scenery\.

 

The key is to find a solution that suits your needs

Regards

 

Brian

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I tried what ill88pp said, by extracting the lowest number first of the .7xx files. 7-zip gave me an error saying

"Can not open file as [7z] archive.

Unexpected end of data."

 

Maybe a setting is set incorrectly, ill try looking into it.

 

 

Hey Longbreak,

Yeah i used to have my scenery on a different drive, but i didnt like it where all of my fsx folders werent in one place, so i moved em to the default Addon Scenery folder, no problems yet. :)

 

I also ran the 7-zip .exe that the downloads came with, and when that is ran, it creates an actual .7z folder. But when i try to open it or extract from it, it just gives me an error saying "can not open as an archive", and the other error for extracting says "unexpected end of data."

 

Gotta love how FSPilotShop hasnt returned my calls.. I just want to find out if there is still a way to contact RealWorld Scenery haha.

 

Edit: Meant to upload this pic in the first post version.

Capture.jpg

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I use 7Z all the time. It's my personal archiver. You should be able to click on the .exe and it should self extract all the remaining files. If you need further help with 7z I would go to 7Z's support at Sourceforge.
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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey guys, sorry I never got back to you. A lot of personal and family stuff i had to put my focus on, and still am.

You should be able to click on the .exe and it should self extract all the remaining files.

Yeah i would figure the same thing. But whenever i do, it just says that error: "can not open as an archive".

 

Wouldnt this fall more under the support of FSPilotshop or Real World Scenery, rather than 7-zip though? I mean, I could give it a try....

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Have you still not tried to simply run the .exe and follow on-screen instructions?

 

You said running floridaCentral.exe says to select a location to extract to. Just do that then. It seems to be a utility to extract the compressed files.

The .exe does the work instead of 7zip. From what you said about the exe in post #4 it seems to be finding the right file to unzip automatically. It asks for a location to extract to. Just do that, enter a path and click extract.

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Hey guys, sorry I never got back to you. A lot of personal and family stuff i had to put my focus on, and still am.

 

Yeah i would figure the same thing. But whenever i do, it just says that error: "can not open as an archive".

 

Wouldnt this fall more under the support of FSPilotshop or Real World Scenery, rather than 7-zip though? I mean, I could give it a try....

 

If you are double clicking on the .exe and you get that error then it's something with the current version of 7Z you have or your computer. Actually, wouldn't have anything to do with 7Z. It's a self-extracting archive. YOu don't need 7Z to open a 7Z .exe. Just double click it.

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Yes guys I have tried to run the .exe that the downloads came with multiple times, and when that is ran, it extracts to an actual .7z folder. But when i try to open the folder or extract from it again, it just gives me an error saying "can not open as an archive", and the other error for extracting says "unexpected end of data.".

 

It could be 7-zip being outdated and therefore not running the .exe properly. But that doesnt seem like a feasible cause, because why would FSPilotShop send a 7-zip executable with the downloads, yet still require the 7-zip already installed on my computer to remain updated in order to work?

It could be something wrong with my computer too, but I dont even know where to begin looking for something like that.... man, this thing is throwing me through some loops lol

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