305: THE NEW SAITEK DRIVERS PART

1: INSTALLATION
SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 | TOM TSUI

Normally, driver installation should be no more than pointingand-clicking on the mouse. Saiteks new ProFlight drivers,
ProFlight_FSX_Plugin_7_0_40_9_x64_Software and
Saitek_Pro_Flight_Instrument_Panel_7_0_40_9_x64_Full_pfw,
however, might need a little tweak.
Some friends said to me that the installation of these two
drivers was as easy as snapping fingers. However, there were
others telling me the opposite. To be more exact, their FIPs
wouldnt start up after the installation, even though all the
other Saitek gears work as usual.
To me, both statements are true since I experienced both
extremes myself over the last few days.
On my Windows 10 system, I just needed to click on the two
drivers one after the other. Then the upgrade was done. The
whole process took me about 45 mins including pre-run
preparation and data backup, and post-installation data
recovery.
However, the same installation procedure didnt work on my
two other Windows 7 computers (Home & Professional, 64-bit),
on which I was testing the same installation in response to
those who reported failure in following my Windows 10
installation steps.
After scuffling for nearly a day, I finally managed to trace what
had gone wrong and found out how to avoid it. One of the
causes is very likely due to the difference in Windows operating
system. But I dont have another Windows 10 computer to
verify my guess.

Anyway, followings are the revised installation steps I put

together based on the various testings I conducted during the
day. They are good for both Windows 10 and Windows 7
systems, upgrade or fresh install.
IMPORTANT:
As mentioned above, the installation results vary from
system to system. You could run the drivers as usual first.
Then come back to mine if any problem is encountered.
Although it is not absolutely necessary, you are STRONGLY
RECOMMENDED to firstly backup your whole system (or at
least your System Drive) using Windows Image Backup or any
third-party software such as Acronis True Image before
proceeding with my installation steps below. This will secure
the integrity of your system in case unexpected errors are
encountered during installation and can prevent further
damages.
Note that Windows System Restore Point may not be always
good enough to recover a system from errors.
Step 1)
Download the installers of the two new drivers under Plugins
section on Saiteks Drivers and Software Page here.
(For 64-bit System)
Saitek_Pro_Flight_Instrument_Panel_7_0_40_9_x64_Full_pfw.exe
ProFlight_FSX_Plugin_7_0_40_9_x64_Software.exe
Step 2)
Backup the two current DirectOutput folders from the
following directories to another location on the computer.
C:\Program Files\Saitek\DirectOutput
C:\Program Files (x86)\Saitek\DirectOutput
DO NOT mix the contents of these two folders even though
they have the same folder name. I normally rename the
backup of the first DirectOutput folder asDirectOutput01, the
second as DirectOutput02.

Step 3)
Make a backup copy of the current exe.xml under the
following directories whichever appropriate.
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed
Martin\Prepar3D v2
These two locations are where
the fsx.CFG and Preapar3D.cfg stay.
Step 4)
If SPAD is installed, remove its entry from the exe.xml file
(NOT from the backup).
Because SPAD has conflict issues with the new drivers.
Step 5)
Unplug all connected Saitek hardware from the system, if any.
Then, uninstall all Saitek drivers found by Programs and
Features in Control Panel.
Reboot the computer when above is done.
Step 6)
After the computer restarted,
Go to C:\Program Files\Saitek\
Delete the DirectOutput folders and the contents inside.
Then, go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Saitek\DirectOutput
Delete the DirectOutput folders and its contents inside as
well.
The deletion of these two folders are necessary because the
new installer seems not always be able to overwrite the old
drivers in these two DirectOutput folder correctly. It
happened many times on my Windows 7 computers. Making it
a major reason why the FIPs dont show up after the upgrade.
Afterall, backup of them was done earlier.

Step 7)
Now right-click to run the first driver
Saitek_Pro_Flight_Instrument_Panel_7_0_40_9_x64_Full_pfw.ex
e as administrator.
This will create a new DirectOutput folder with all the latest
FIP drivers under the C:\Program Files\Saitek\ directory.
Step 8)
Then, right-click to run the second driver
ProFlight_FSX_Plugin_7_0_40_9_x64_Software.exe as
administrator as well.
This will create another new folder called ProFlight FSX Plugin
with all the new drivers needed for the Saitek gears under the
C:\Program Files (x86)\Saitek\ directory.
Step 9)
Go to this newly created C:\Program Files
(x86)\Saitek\ProFlight FSX Plugin directory.
Rename the newly created SaiFlightSimX.xml to
SaiFlightSimX_Default.xml
Step 10)
Then copy back the original SaiFlightSimX.xml and all its
related gauge folders and bitmp files from DirectOutput02 to
this ProFlight FSX Plugin folder.
Step 11)
Except the FIPs, plug in all the other Saitek gears back to the
computer one by one.
This step may invoke further driver installation for the
respective Saitek hardware.
Step 12)
Start up FSX or P3D.
Step 13)
Then turn on the power of the USB Hub on which the FIPs are
connected.
Wait until the LEDs on the FIPs stop flashing.
Step 14)
Plug in the USB Hub to the computer.

It may take awhile for the new drivers and FSX/P3D to initiate
the connection of the FIPs the very first time. The FIPs will
eventually show up and display the gauges one by one.
Installation is now complete.
==========
Why the fuss of writing such a long piece describing how to
install the new Saitek drivers?
Its mainly because the driver has now implemented an
important feature to allow the FIPs to start up in specific order
from now on.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the story.
Note again that your mileage may vary and I cant guarantee
my installation procedure described above fixes your issue
equally well. However, I hope they might still shed some lights
on resolving the issue you are facing at least.