Elvas Tower: MSTS Registry - where is it? - Elvas Tower

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MSTS Registry - where is it? Rate Topic: -----

#11 User is offline   Hobo 

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Posted 07 July 2015 - 02:54 PM

Marcus - I have 1 install from the MSTS Discs . I have 7 other copies or rather partial copies of that install on other drives . Each copy has it's own name for different countries or regions . Each copy has it's own routes and Trainsets etc . Conbuilder is installed along with Shape Viewer , TGATools , and Routes ON/OFF on one of the drives ( My Working Drive ) . The only time that it might be used is for automatic installs and You can change that to any copy that you want at the time of install . If I'm installing a new route then I install it to the Original Install of MSTS if it's not a stand alone route. After install I move it to the copy I want to run it from . They all run BIN which goes along with the copy of the Original Install .
Do a registry backup before you play around then restore the good registry if things get screwed up .
I don't know if this is helping you or not . I'm trying !

#12 User is offline   Genma Saotome 

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Posted 07 July 2015 - 08:22 PM

View Postmarkus_GE, on 07 July 2015 - 06:02 AM, said:

Where does MSTS put its registry entries?


The correct answer depends on the version of windows you are using as well as whether you set up a custom profile from train.exe in your graphics card control panel.

Use the find function in regedit. If it turns up multiple locations (I had three for a while) you'll need to play around with something like the window size of RE for the purpose of making each registry hive unique. Then run RE and see which variant appears. That one is then the correct answer to your question.

#13 User is offline   markus_GE 

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Posted 08 July 2015 - 10:40 AM

View PostHobo, on 07 July 2015 - 02:54 PM, said:

Marcus - I have 1 install from the MSTS Discs . I have 7 other copies or rather partial copies of that install on other drives . Each copy has it's own name for different countries or regions . Each copy has it's own routes and Trainsets etc . Conbuilder is installed along with Shape Viewer , TGATools , and Routes ON/OFF on one of the drives ( My Working Drive ) . The only time that it might be used is for automatic installs and You can change that to any copy that you want at the time of install . If I'm installing a new route then I install it to the Original Install of MSTS if it's not a stand alone route. After install I move it to the copy I want to run it from . They all run BIN which goes along with the copy of the Original Install .
Do a registry backup before you play around then restore the good registry if things get screwed up .
I don't know if this is helping you or not . I'm trying !


Yep, that´s helping - it shows to me, that BIN can be copied and does not need to be installed to each and every MSTS install completely - replacing the files in a clean install with BINned ones is fine, then :pleasantry:


View PostGenma Saotome, on 07 July 2015 - 08:22 PM, said:

The correct answer depends on the version of windows you are using as well as whether you set up a custom profile from train.exe in your graphics card control panel.

Use the find function in regedit. If it turns up multiple locations (I had three for a while) you'll need to play around with something like the window size of RE for the purpose of making each registry hive unique. Then run RE and see which variant appears. That one is then the correct answer to your question.


I already found it (in Win7, according to the instructions in one of the links to TS.com posted above).

The multiple location thingy is something I´ll have to look into, but as you said, search should be fine.

Then, it´s all an export-to-reg-script and save-to-secure-location question - after all, all I want is to have backups of ALL my MSTS / ORTS data - and REG settings are data :bigboss:

Cheers, Markus

PS: Don´t wonder if I don´t reply for two weeks now - I´m going on vacation, and my time to stop by here will be VERY limited.

#14 User is offline   Mike B 

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Posted 08 July 2015 - 07:35 PM

My experience has been that MSTS has no need of the registry to run. Once it's installed, the only time MSTS itself needs the registry is to uninstall. May not be quite true, but I haven't found a situation where the registry is involved.

I have a base MSTS directory that is installed from the CDs (used for some commercial routes that DO look at the registry for the MSTS location, plus a few odds n ends that don't fit other schemes well), then several other "mini" routes for key areas or subjects (L&PS, which I use generically for traction lines so BCER is there too), PRR-ER (big enough to be by itself), ATSF (Transcon and and freeware Surfliner routes), UPSP (pretty much what it says), and Rockies (Tennesee Pass, Rollins Pass, Joint Line, etc.). None of the "minis" actually "install" MSTS - they're just created using the L&PS or PRRER installers (which copy the necessary parts of MSTS from the base directory found using the registry) or Route-Riter. Each set of routes is entered using a standard shortcut to the trains.exe file in the appropriate spot. It all works fine, which tells me the registry isn't really needed in normal operation. And ORTS very nicely recognizes each of the minis when told where to look (but only finds the base directory by itself because that's where the registry points).

Also, when re-installing to set up a new or cleaned-up base MSTS, I've found that I can do the basic MSTS install and MS updates, then simply copy over a fully-patched train.exe from a backup (along with any other things like routes etc. needed in the base install), works fine. So there's no registry fix needed, really, for BIN or backed-up routes/trains unless you want to have their uninstall option available. With adequate backups, do you?

When uninstalling MSTS, it apparently uses the registry to find whatever it dumped into your system folders and yank that too, except for things like DirectX that can stay (and you let it install DX8? Why?). There aren't very many such things.

So, overall, my read is that MSTS really doesn't use the registry at all, except to set things up for eventual uninstallation. IOW, don't worry about it, set up your shortcut(s) to train.exe as described in the Instructions here and elsewhere, and enjoy.

Cheers? :bigboss:

-M

#15 User is offline   charlie 

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Posted 09 July 2015 - 07:18 AM

View PostMike B, on 08 July 2015 - 07:35 PM, said:

My experience has been that MSTS has no need of the registry to run. Once it's installed, the only time MSTS itself needs the registry is to uninstall. May not be quite true, but I haven't found a situation where the registry is involved.

If it's there, MSTS uses the registry every time you start it, and the main install registry also serves for any mini install.

If you have no registry entries, settings that you have made in Options (Realism, Driving Aids, Keyboard, Sound, Display, Advances Display, etc.) will not have been recorded anywhere, and you must fix them up every time you fire the sim up...

regards,
charlie

#16 User is offline   OTTODAD 

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Posted 10 July 2015 - 05:59 AM

Hi Markus !

A re-install of MSTS from it CDs restores the default MSTS Registy settings, using the instal path chosen at the time of installing it !

It can be found by doing a REGEDIT Search for hwrenderer, showing its main key above it.

As far as I know only users can modify it. EXPORTing its Registy key will save it to a *.REG key file which can be used to restore your settings in case something corrupts it !

Take care, Otto.


#17 User is offline   markus_GE 

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Posted 23 July 2015 - 11:35 AM

Hi Guys,

I´m back from vacation and now catching up on the forums, which will take at least another day (already spent 90% of today for catching up). Only after that I will take the time to digest all the above information, because it will only become relevant when I get back to moving to my new PC - and that can wait until I´ve caught up on the forums ;)

In the meantime, :D a lot to all of you for your comments and the time you took to write them :)

Cheers and ´till later, Markus

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