Part A: Ensure you have a clean install of CFS 3.1
MAW v1.1 relies on several of the files included with CFS3 in order to function. During the installation process, many important files will be copied from your current CFS3 installation to your new MAW v1.31 installation. Needless to say, if you've tinkered much with your CFS3 over the years, you might run into a few problems.

How clean is clean? What about all those bits and pieces you've been adding over the years? How about that really cool modification you made? For best results, we recommend that you make a fresh installation of CFS3. However, if you're quite sure that you've only ADDED components, such as new aircraft or scenery, and if you're absolutely sure that you HAVE NOT CHANGED any CFS3 components then you can use your existing installation as a baseline.

If you aren't sure, then it is best to create a fresh install. However, you need not worry about destroying your current CFS3 installation. We'll show you how to create a temporary fresh install which you can then delete later on if you need the disk space.

IMPORTANT! Please read!

All our QA testing is done against a stock CFS3.1a. We know what works, what does not work & what is problematic. We have done our best to eliminate those problems within the range of the stock install. Since there are mega possible combinations of 3rd party add-ons there is no way for us to run our QA program against anything but the stock package. We will not be supporting, troubleshooting or advising on problems in the forums for anyone with a non-stock installed MAW package. That may sound harsh but we have patches, add-ons, new Chapters to be released under the MAW umbrella in the coming months & it is just to much effort for us to try to QA test & support non-stock installs.

Step A1: Required Materials
In order to create a fresh install of CFS3, you will need the following.


Step A2: Make Some Notes
Before beginning the installation, let's make a few notes. Specifically:
  • Existing CFS3 Location: Note the location of your existing CFS3 installation, in case you want to keep it but you aren't sure whether it's clean or not. This location is probably something like C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator 3. If you don't have an existing CFS3 location (or don't care about the one you have) then this note isn't very important.

    Now, if you have an existing CFS3 installation, we have to rename it to something different - only temporarily. Using Windows Explorer, change the Exisiting CFS3 Locatio name to something like C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\OLD Combat Flight Simulator 3.

  • Clean CFS3 Location: Find some space on one of your hard drives for the clean install of CFS3 and a future home for MAW. These will live on the same disk together, so you will need a minimum of 6-7GB … and to allow for future add-ons you really should have 10GB. Ideally, this location will be on your D: drive or some other drive than C: For now, we'll assume that your clean CFS3 location will be something like D:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator 3. If you only have a C: drive then let's assume that you will install to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\CFS3.

  • Back Up Your Registry: Installing CFS3 again will over-write the registry entry in your computer. If you already have a primary install of CFS3 and you'd like to keep things that way, then you should make a backup of your registry. Later on, after we've installed MAW, we'll restore these settings. Make the backup as follows:
    1. Click Start, then Run, and then type regedit in the window.
    2. In the window that appears, select File and then Export.
    3. Save it to a name like CFS3_Registry or something like that and make sure you can remember the name. Click Save and you're done.
    4. Later on, we'll use regedit to File - Import the registry file we created.


Step A3: Install CFS3
Insert your CFS3 Disk #1 and select Custom Install. When offered the choice of location, you should enter your Clean CFS3 Location, which might be something like D:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator 3.

If you only have a C: drive, you will want to change the directory to a different name, perhaps something like C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\CFS3. Regardless, write that location down as your Clean CFS3 Location if you haven't already done so.

When asked, replace Disk #1 with Disk #2 and click OK to continue the process. Eventually, you will end up at the installation menu. Select Exit Setup.

Step A4: Install the 3.1 Update
Run the Update 3.1 from wherever you saved it. The file name is CFS3UpdateEng.exe and it's about 4.2MB in size.

Step A5: Install the 3.1a Update
Run the Update 3.1a from wherever you saved it. The file name is ACUpdate.exe and it's about 172KB in size.

Step A6: Install the Mission Builder
Run the mission builder from wherever you saved it. You might not use this right away, but it's always handy to have it ready in case you ever decide to build any missions yourself. The file name is Cfs3mb10.msi and it's about 5.9MB in size.

Step B7: Run CFS3
Start CFS3 by clicking on the icon. Make sure that you're starting your clean CFS3 install and not your existing install. Starting CFS3 creates a bunch of files that will be needed by MAW. Be patient, and let CFS3 start up.

If you aren't sure where CFS3, just right-click on the icon and select Properties. The path will be shown in the window.

When CFS3 is started and you're watching that P-47 sitting on the airfield, exit CFS3. That's all you needed to do.

Part B: Removing Previous Versions Of MAW

If you installed a previous version of MAW, it should be completely removed from your system before proceeding with installing the new version to ensure there's no possibility of conflicts between the old files and the new files. Follow these steps:

Step B1
Locate the MAW game folder and completely delete it (drag the whole folder to the trash can, there are no registry entries to worry about). By default, the MAW game folder will be located at:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\ CFS3 Mediterranean Air War

Once located, delete the whole "CFS3 Mediterranean Air War" folder. You may need to allow your system to show you the contents of your Program Files directory to find the old game.

Step B2
Locate the MAW application data directory and completely delete it. The location of the directory will depend on which version of Windows you're using:

Win2000/XP Users ~

C:\Documents and Settings\XXX\Application Data\Microsoft\ CFS 3 Mediterranean Air War (where XXX = your user name)

Win98/Me Users ~

C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\ CFS 3 Mediterranean Air War

Vista Users ~

C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\ CFS 3 Mediterranean Air War (where XXX = your user name)

Once located, delete the whole "CFS3 Mediterranean Air War" folder. You may need to allow your system to show hidden files and folders to be able to see the paths above.

Step B3
Open your My Documents folder and delete the whole "CFS 3 Mediterranean Air War" folder.

Part C: Install MAW v1.31

Installation Method One (Recommended)

Use this method if you plan to keep MAW on the same hard drive and in the same location as your original CFS3 game.

1) If you're downloading the installation parts, ensure you've got all of them and placed them all in the same folder before proceeding. At a minimum, the folder should have the following files:

2) Either from the DVD you received, or from the download folder, double click the MAWsetup_v1.3.exe program. The first of the two installers with launch.

3) Click the Next button on the welcome screen.

4) Read the information then click the Next button.

5) Read the terms on the license agreement. If you agree, select the "I agree with the above terms and conditions" item then click the Next button. If you don't agree with the terms, click the Exit button.

6) Review the installation path carefully before proceeding . The first installer needs to place a small program in your original Combat Flight Simulator 3 folder which will copy all the necessary files to the new game folder. None of the files in your original game are altered in any way .

The installer will detect where your Program Files folder is and add the default CFS3 path which usually looks like:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator 3

or

D:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator 3

If you've installed your original CFS3 game anywhere but the default location, click on the "..." button next to the displayed path and locate the Combat Flight Simulator 3 folder then review the new path to make sure it's correct. For example:

D:\My Flight Simulators\Combat Flight Simulator 3

When the path is correct, click the Next button.

7) Confirm the installation by pressing the Start button.

8) The Desert Rats MakeMaw utility will start and you'll see several hundred messages showing the files being copied in another window.

When this is complete and the window closes, click the Next button on the End page.

9) Click the Exit button. A few moments later the second installer will run.

10) Click Next on the welcome screen of the second installer.

11) Read the information then click the Next button.

12) Read the terms on the license agreement. If you agree, select the "I agree with the above terms and conditions" item then click the Next button. If you don't agree with the terms, click the Exit button.

13) Review the installation path carefully before proceeding . The second installer needs to place all the new Desert Rats content into the new CFS3 Mediterranean Air War folder created by the first installer.

The installer will detect where your Program Files folder is and add the default MAW path which usually looks like:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\CFS3 Mediterranean Air War

or

D:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\CFS3 Mediterranean Air War

If you've installed your original CFS3 game anywhere but the default location, the new CFS3 Mediterranean Air War folder will be in the same location as it. Click on the "..." button and locate the CFS3 Mediterranean Air War folder then review the new path to make sure it's correct. For example:

D:\My Flight Simulators\CFS3 Mediterranean Air War

When the path is correct, click the Next button.

14) Confirm the installation by pressing the Start button. Several thousand files will be installed in the MAW game directory. Please be patient.

15) Near the end of the installation, a web page will automatically open which will provide you with more information and list the credits of the many, many contributors to the project. Please take a moment to read this information then click the Next button on the End page of the installer.

16) Click the Exit button. A few moments later the MAW Config utility will automatically run. It takes a while but it's important you let it complete before starting the MAW game.

Installation Method Two

Use this method if you plan to move the MAW game folder to another location or drive. Do not follow these steps if you already installed MAW using Method One.

1) If you're downloading the installation parts, ensure you've got all of them and placed them all in the same folder before proceeding. At a minimum, the install folder should have the following files in it:

2) Double click the dr_makemaw_v1.3.exe program.

Click the Next button, read the information on the next panel and then click Next again.

3) Read the terms on the license agreement. If you agree, select the "I agree with the above terms and conditions" item then click the Next button. If you don't agree with the terms, click the Exit button.

4) Review the installation path carefully before proceeding . The first installer needs to place a small program in your original Combat Flight Simulator 3 folder which will copy all the necessary files to the new game folder. None of the files in your original game are altered in any way .

The installer will detect where your Program Files folder is and add the default CFS3 path which usually looks like:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator 3

or

D:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator 3

If you've installed your original CFS3 game anywhere but the default location, click on the "..." button and locate the Combat Flight Simulator 3 folder then review the new path to make sure it's correct. For example:

D:\My Flight Simulators\Combat Flight Simulator 3

When the path is correct, click the Next button.

7) Confirm the installation by pressing the Start button.

8) The Desert Rats MakeMaw utility will start and you'll see several hundred messages showing the files being copied in another window.

When this is complete and the window closes, click the Next button on the End page.

9) If you'd like your MAW game folder to be in a location that's different from the default location, move all of its contents to the desired location before proceeding with the next step. For example, move the whole folder from C:\Program Files\Microsoft Game\CFS3 Mediterranean Air War to E:\Special Games\CFS3 Mediterranean Air War.

10) Double click the dr_cfs3maw_c1_v1.3.exe program.

Click the Next button, read the information on the next panel and then click Next again.

12) Read the terms on the license agreement. If you agree, select the "I agree with the above terms and conditions" item then click the Next button. If you don't agree with the terms, click the Exit button.

13) Review the installation path carefully before proceeding . The second installer needs to place all the new Desert Rats content into the new CFS3 Mediterranean Air War folder created by the first installer.

The installer will detect where your Program Files folder is and add the default MAW path which usually looks like:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\CFS3 Mediterranean Air War

or

D:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\CFS3 Mediterranean Air War

If you've your original CFS3 location or if you moved the MAW game folder anywhere but the default locations, you'll need to locate CFS3 Mediterranean Air War folder for the installer. Click on the "..." button and locate the CFS3 Mediterranean Air War folder then review the new path to make sure it's correct. For example:

E:\Special Games\CFS3 Mediterranean Air War

When the path is correct, click the Next button.

14) Confirm the installation by pressing the Start button. Several thousand files will be installed in the MAW game directory. Please be patient.

15) Near the end of the installation, a web page will automatically open which will provide you with more information and list the credits of the many, many contributors to the project. Please take a moment to read this information then click the Next button on the End page of the installer.

16) Click the Exit button. A few moments later the MAW Config utility will automatically run. It takes a while but it's important you let it complete before starting the MAW game.

Post Installation

When the second installer exits, it will automatically launch the MAW Config utility. The first time it runs it can be quite slow so please be patient and allow the program to work. Similarly, with over 19,500 files distributed in over 3,200 folders, the first time you run the game it may take a few minutes to build its file indexes and to generate the over 2,200 required "bdp" files before you're presented with the in game menus. Again, patience pays off .

During the installation, six desktop shortcuts are installed to make it easier for you to configure and run MAW as required:

You can also access the programs from the "CFS3 Mediterranean Air War" folder in the Start Menu.

 

Removing the CFS3 Mediterranean Air War Game

If you decide you'd like to remove the MAW game from your system, follow the steps below.

1) Locate the MAW game folder and delete it. There are no registry entries to worry about.

2) Locate the CFS3 Mediterranean Air War Application Data folder and delete it.

3) Locate the CFS 3 Mediterranean Air War folder in My Documents and delete it.

 

Help & Additional Information

Several support documents are included with MAW to help you get more out of the game. To access the documents, select them from the "Support Documents" folder in the "CFS3 Mediterranean Air War" folder of your Start Menu:

For further assistance, visit the MAW Discussion Forum at Netwings:

http://forums.netwings.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=26

Have fun with MAW!