FULL Orbiter Installation

chosen_silver

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I have been playing with Orbiter on and off for a couple of years now, but I have never been able to get it fully working the way that it should. It seems that some of the add-ons that I have downloaded cause a lot of the other add-ons to stop working. Basically the only add-ons that work for me right now (aside from MFD add-ons) are the DG, DGIV, and the default Atlantis.

As soon as I try to load any of the others, it just crashes back to the desktop. I am not sure of this has something to do with the order in which I installed everything. I would love to be able to use the rest of the nasa training fleet, and the other shuttles and orbiting objects.

Is there anywhere to download 1 file that basically does the whole install in the correct order and includes most/all of the commonly used add-ons/scenarios. I would be forever in debt if someone could provide something like this.

I am running Vista Ultimate if that helps in any way.
 

dbeachy1

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Remember that any add-on (even just an MFD add-on) can crash Orbiter. A single buggy add-on can cause all kinds of bizarre problems with other add-ons when they are loaded as well. If an add-on corrupts memory it can cause a crash if the corrupted memory is used by any other add-on or by the Orbiter core itself. In effect, one add-on can be the "victim" of another buggy add-on.

I recommend a standard troubleshooting approach:

1. Install a clean Orbiter instance with only OrbiterSound. Do not load any MFD add-ons yet.
2. Install the ship add-ons that you want one-at-a-time, testing after each ship is installed.
3. Assuming that works, install each MFD add-on that you want one-at-a-time, testing after each one is installed.

That will let you pin own the problem add-on.
 

tblaxland

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One strategy is to maintain a separate installation for each major vessel add-on, eg, c:\orbiter_DGIV, c:\orbiter_AMSO, etc. That way the major add-ons won't interfere with each other. Also, only enable those plugins that you need for a scenario, don't just enable them because you have them. You may still get some issues with MFD addons clashing but your problems should be much reduced.
 

chosen_silver

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Thank you for the suggestions. i will give those a try after work tonight. What would be very nice though would be to have a single installation file that would install everything in one shot. That way you know it all works together and there is no messing around.

If there is no such thing, maybe I will make it my goal to create one somehow if I ever manage to get my own installation working....
 

streb2001

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I would also strongly recommend using the Jones Mod Enabler (JSGME). This allows you to back out a suspect or problematic addon immediately, leaving the Orbiter installation in its previous state. Simple to use, you basically:

1) run JSGME. This creates a new folder within Orbiter base called MODS.

2) Create a new folder within MODS to hold your addon, eg. "Orbiter\MODS\WO2001"

3) Unzip the addon into this new folder rather than Orbiter's base folder. The addon's directory structure will be created here.

4) Enable the addon using JSGME. This copies the addon into Orbiter's folders and also writes a record of what it has done along with backups of any files the addon overwrites.

Removing the addon is simply a case of disabling it with JSGME. This deletes the addon files from Orbiter's folders and reinstates any overwritten files.

JSGME.jpg


JSGME is IMO as essential as OrbiterSound.

s2k1

p.s. Great forum! :speakcool:
 
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OneTinSoldier

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Hello chosen_silver,

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND:

That you download, install, and learn to use... Jonesoft Generic Mod Enabler (JSGME). i have been consider making a thread about JSGME recommending that everyone use it. There are quite a lot of folks that know about it and use it already, and of course there are quite a few that don't.

It's free and can be downloaded here...

http://www.users.on.net/~jscones/software/products.html


JSGME.gif



I am currently using v1.5.0 but I see there is a newer version available, v2.0.1.

What will JSGME do for you? It will allow to easily enable and disable individual mods, of course, but it does a little more than just that.

When you enable a mod, it automatically backs up any files that the mod overwrites. When you disable the mod, it automatically restores the original files from the backups it made with one mouse click.

It will warn you about possible conflicts. Let say you've installed several mods. Now let's say you've downloaded a new mod you just discovered and you go to install/enable it with JSGME. And when you do, it tells you that there is a possible conflict with another mod that you have previously enabled, due to that fact that the mod you trying to enable right now wants to overwrite files from one of your previously enabled mods. It will show you the name of the possibly conflicting mod and the filenames that both of these mods have in common(the conflicting files).

Now you can examine the filenames in question. If the files in both mods are exactly the same, then there's no worries or problems with enabling the mod(and letting the new mod overwrite the older mod's files). If you find that the files are not exactly the same, you might be able to determine which of the mods contains the latest version of the the file, and then you can allow only the mod with the latest version of the file to install it by deleting the older version file in the mod that contains it. Depending on which mod contains the older version of the file you may need to disable the mod first, then delete the file, then re enable the mod.

Or maybe it's not a version problem but a content problem instead. For example, let's say that a previously enabled mod installed a modified .cfg file, because the author needed to define some extra content in it. Now a newer mod wants to install the exact same .cfg file. It may very well be possible to do something like the following... Open up the .cfg file from the older mod in Notepad. Do the same for the .cfg file from the newer mod. Copy and Paste the defined content from the older mod in into the proper place in the newer mod's .cfg file so that both mods defined content are now in the newer mod's .cfg file. This is known as merging files. Now when you enable the newer mod the content for both mods is contained the newer mod's .cfg file and you can enable the newer mod and allow it to overwrite the older mod's .cfg file.

Now lets' say you decide to disable this new mod. When you do, it restores any files that the new mod had overwritten from the previous/earlier mods backups, so the previous mod will still work with no problem!

Now lets say you decide to disable this previous mod as well. It will then restore any original Orbiter files that this mod had overwritten, because the original files that came with Orbiter were still in JSGME's backups and were only associated with the disabling of this older mod.


This was a little difficult for me to explain clearly, but I hope my explanation is fairly clear and not too confusing. Is there a learning curve to JSGME? Sure, but I believe it's actually a lot easier than my explanation makes it appear, and you should be able to learn how to use JSGME pretty quickly.

NOTE: Most all Orbiter addons are not made to be unzipped directly into JSGME's MODS folder. Mods must be unzipped into a sub folder(which you create) within the MODS folder. Whatever you name the sub folder will be the name of the mod. I name mine by using the name of the archive(.zip, .rar, etc.) that I downloaded.

In other words... if I download a mod and the filename of the archive is 'DeltaGliderXR1-1.4.zip', then I go into the MODS folder and create a new folder named 'DeltaGliderXR1-1.4', and then unzip the mod into this newly created DeltaGliderXR1-1.4 folder.

All of this is no guarantee. There is still the possibility that mods can conflict with each other, or have bugs that cause problems with Orbiter. But when you use JSGME properly, you can quickly enable and disable mods to try and help determine which mod might be cause a problem.

If you discover that Mod A cannot get along with Mod B, then you can decide which mod you want to play with and leave the other mod disabled. Lets' say that you decided you wanted to play with Mod A and had to leave Mod B disabled, then later on you decide you want to play with Mod B. All you have to do is open up JSGME and disable Mod A and enable Mod B. Something you can do very very quickly with just a few mouse clicks in JSGME, and would take you an eternity to do manually without it.


-----------------------------------------------


Lastly chosen_silver,

Are you reading the documentation that comes with the mods before you install them? There are pretty good number of mods that require you to manually edit .cfg files such as, Sol.cfg, Base.cfg, Earth.cfg, etc. or some other type of operation that needs to be done manually. In these cases I make a backup of the original file by copying it to another folder and adding '.orig' to the file extension, and then moving it back to the original folder(i like to see these files right next to each other in windows explorer). Alternatively you can just drag and drop the file while right-clicking(and holding down on the right-click) into it's current folder which will give you the option to 'Copy here', and then give you a 'Copy of (filename)' file. I normally use my own method unless it involves copying more than five files. If it's more than five files then I use the drag and drop method, but that's just me.


I hope this helps.

Cheers


P.S. I might be using this post to make a new thread about JSGME, probably just a straight copy and paste.

P.S.S streb2001, very good to see someone else extolling the virtues of JSGME. I want to let you know I wasn't trying to step on your toes, it's just that it took me a long time to type in my post, between having to run errands and all. Cheers!
 
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OneTinSoldier

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Thank you for the suggestions. i will give those a try after work tonight. What would be very nice though would be to have a single installation file that would install everything in one shot. That way you know it all works together and there is no messing around.

This is exactly what the stock Orbiter installation is! Over time there has been some addons here and there that Dr. Martin Schweiger decided to include in Orbiter. One example is the TransX MFD.


If there is no such thing, maybe I will make it my goal to create one somehow if I ever manage to get my own installation working....

This is very easy to do. Just install all your addons/mods, then I suggest you rename your Orbiter folder to a name of your choosing, perhaps something like 'Orbiter 2006 Edition P1 Customized'.

Then you're all set to archive it. If you have WinZip installed all you have to do is right-click on the Orbiter folder, move up to 'WinZip' in the context menu and select 'Add to Orbiter 2006 Edition P1 Customized.zip', and you're all done. If you're not using WinZip then just use whatever archive utility you have. They all work pretty much the same way, WinRar, WinAce, 7-Zip, etc. If you don't have an archive utility then get 7-Zip, it's free and works like a charm.

Regards
 

chosen_silver

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Thanks to everyone. I listened to all your suggestions and I started a fresh install. I installed each add-on one at a time and tested after each install. It also helped that I read the README files for each of them and found a bunch of prerequisites I had never installed before.

My install runs perfect now, and I had a blast flying around in the jet that piggybacks the shuttle around. That thing is a monster!
 

DaveS

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My install runs perfect now, and I had a blast flying around in the jet that piggybacks the shuttle around. That thing is a monster!
No, it's a perfectly normal 747-100.

NASA owns two Shuttle Carrier Aircrafts(SCAs). The first one is N905NA and was purchased from American Airlines in 1976. The second one is N911NA and was purchased from Japan Airlines in 1990.
 

myles

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Then you're all set to archive it. If you have WinZip installed all you have to do is right-click on the Orbiter folder, move up to 'WinZip' in the context menu and select 'Add to Orbiter 2006 Edition P1 Customized.zip', and you're all done. If you're not using WinZip then just use whatever archive utility you have. They all work pretty much the same way, WinRar, WinAce, 7-Zip, etc. If you don't have an archive utility then get 7-Zip, it's free and works like a charm.

I prefer WinRar, even though after a while, everytime you start it you have to close the purchase box, but you'll get over it. When you're archiving it,(hopefully with WinRar) make it as a .rar file and use the best compression mode. It will take a little longer, but I was backing up an Orbiter installation to a CD, and it was around 700MB, but it compressed into 400MB!!!
 

OneTinSoldier

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Hi Myles,

Ever tried the 'free' 7-Zip utility? It gives you a lot of choices....


Three compression methods:
LZMA
PPMd
BZip2


Dictionary size:
a range from 64 KB to 64 MB


Word Size:
a range from 8 to 256


Solid Block Size:
Non-Solid
a range from 1 MB to 64 GB
Solid


Compression Level:
Store (probably no compression at all)
Fastest
Fast
Normal
Maximum
Ultra


7-Zip opens/works with Zip and Rar files(and many others). I imagine it can compress just as good if not better than those. I'm not sure if you saw it, but I mentioned 7-Zip in my post above, I just didn't go into much detail about it. I had WinRar/WinZip installed at one time, but after getting 7-Zip I don't need them anymore. :)

Cheers
 

OneTinSoldier

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Thanks to everyone. I listened to all your suggestions and I started a fresh install. I installed each add-on one at a time and tested after each install. It also helped that I read the README files for each of them and found a bunch of prerequisites I had never installed before.

My install runs perfect now, and I had a blast flying around in the jet that piggybacks the shuttle around. That thing is a monster!

Hi chosen_silver,

Glad to hear you got everything worked out and are now enjoying Orbiter with addons!


Cheerio
 

n0mad23

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Wow guys,

There's some really useful information you've offered up here. Even for users that aren't exactly newb's anymore.

Streb2001 & OneTinSoldier - I've been meaning to install and try Jones Mod Enabler for a while now, you've both certainly made a good case for it.

Really detailed and useful information in your posts.

Thanks.
 

polaris149Tiberius

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Addon Super Packages

Addon Super Packages

This may not be the best thing to do but in answer to your request for Super Installer Packages, I make MFD super packages. I hope this doesnt break any copyright laws but I did it. I took my favorite "MUST HAVE" MFDs and unzipped them all to a folder called Orbiter. Then I make a zip of that and when I break something Orbiter, I just make a vanilla instance of the latest and gratest Orbiter 2006 and begin to install the MFDs that I have already tested together on a new Orbiter install.

Thats the MFDs.

Scenario and launch platforms will be different.

From what I have found there are several major launch platforms that you might want to play with but not necessarilly together:

CVEL
Vinka's
AMSO
NASSP
Delta Glider IV
Gemini and Mercury
Shuttle Fleet
Im sure there are more but these are the ones I find that dont play well together or some play well with the another but not the others or something of that nature. Hence I did what the affor poster mentioned to do which was to have several different Orbiters available to play with. an 1. Orbiter AMSO

2. CVEL, NASSP, Gemini/Mercury and Shuttle Fleet are all needing Vinka's Spacecraft 1, 2 and 3 some other things like and Earth_1964 so they all seem to play well together if I remember correctly.

3 DG IV and UMMU are made by the same people so your good there in a stand-alone install of Orbiter. I dont know if it plays well with any of the others. I think it does.

I have found that the MFD Orbit sonicboom and localclouds break AMSO and that is all I have found.

I would make these MFD superpackages avail to the public but I dont want to get yelled at for breaking any laws or just plain put in jail.

But you can try the same thing.

Good Luck
 

ryan

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Addon Super Packages

This may not be the best thing to do but in answer to your request for Super Installer Packages, I make MFD super packages. I hope this doesnt break any copyright laws but I did it. I took my favorite "MUST HAVE" MFDs and unzipped them all to a folder called Orbiter. Then I make a zip of that and when I break something Orbiter, I just make a vanilla instance of the latest and gratest Orbiter 2006 and begin to install the MFDs that I have already tested together on a new Orbiter install.

Thats the MFDs.

Scenario and launch platforms will be different.

From what I have found there are several major launch platforms that you might want to play with but not necessarilly together:

CVEL
Vinka's
AMSO
NASSP
Delta Glider IV
Gemini and Mercury
Shuttle Fleet
Im sure there are more but these are the ones I find that dont play well together or some play well with the another but not the others or something of that nature. Hence I did what the affor poster mentioned to do which was to have several different Orbiters available to play with. an 1. Orbiter AMSO

2. CVEL, NASSP, Gemini/Mercury and Shuttle Fleet are all needing Vinka's Spacecraft 1, 2 and 3 some other things like and Earth_1964 so they all seem to play well together if I remember correctly.

3 DG IV and UMMU are made by the same people so your good there in a stand-alone install of Orbiter. I dont know if it plays well with any of the others. I think it does.

I have found that the MFD Orbit sonicboom and localclouds break AMSO and that is all I have found.

I would make these MFD superpackages avail to the public but I dont want to get yelled at for breaking any laws or just plain put in jail.

But you can try the same thing.

Good Luck

All them in one download, thats gotta be 2GB or something, my dad will kill me if i download that much stuff in one go.
 
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