People often try to uninstall and reinstall oziTarget when they hit problems. That usually changes nothing, because deleting the program folder doesn't remove the user data and configuration files Windows keeps locked away. Here are better ways to clean things up.
Reset with startup.txt
In your oziTarget application folder there's a file called
Startup.txt.
On launch, oziTarget reads it for instructions — normally used during an
update to either update or reset your settings. It contains a
//Update
or //Reset
line; removing the //
executes that command at startup.
- Reset forces settings back to default values and can clear errors caused by a faulty setting.
- Update reloads all application setting values, typically after a new version.
Open startup.txt
in Notepad, change the first line to read
Reset,
and save. On next launch oziTarget flushes the user settings file back
to defaults. (Check your Windows updates are finished first.)
The scorched-earth option
The more extreme fix is to manually delete the hidden app-data folders Windows creates. This takes some Windows skill, so proceed with caution and make sure oziTarget is shut down first.
- Turn on “Hidden items” in Windows File Explorer (usually under the View tab).
-
Navigate to
C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\oziTargetand delete everything in it — this removes corrupted data files. -
Then go to
C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\Sean_Kavanaghand delete all files and folders there — this is where user settings live.
On restart, oziTarget recreates any files it needs and you should be back up and running.
Windows shutdown vs reboot
To boot quickly, Windows saves system state on shutdown and restores it next time — so a “shutdown” is more like a deep sleep, and it can helpfully restore a broken driver too. Choosing Reboot clears this and starts Windows with a clean kernel and memory.
You can force a true shutdown every time by disabling Fast Start: Control Panel → System and Security → “Change what the power buttons do” → “Change settings that are currently unavailable” → uncheck Turn on fast startup → Save changes. Or hold Shift when selecting Shut down for a one-off clean shutdown. It's good practice to fully shut down your flight computer before every flight.
Windows updates
Disable or pause Windows updates at the start of a competition, or the night before you fly. Make sure all updates have finished, reboots are done, then pause — this stops long updates trying to run over questionable Wi-Fi in briefing or on the launch site, which can cripple your computer when you need it most.