If you're downloading them from the website via Internet Explorer or some other browser, the default download location is (from what I remember);
C:\Users\user\Documents\Downloads
That is one of the quirks with Vista where previous versions of Windows allow you to download and place it anywhere. I'd recommend you install Aces High to some other place than in the Program files as HTC has suggested.
Here is some text to read up on.
We're now finding that Vista users who are installed under the Program Files folder are unable to download terrains. We are finding that there is no suitable workaround to just reinstalling the new base download into the new default path which is no longer under Program Files. This will fix your problems with terrains not downloading and settings disappearing or changing. It will still require you to run as an administrator when using the autoupdater to download a new patch.
Again, if you are a Vista user who has the game installed in Program Files, most likely the old default path of c:\Program Files\HTC\Aces High II, it will save you and us a lot of headaches in the future to remove your current version and install the new base download into the new default directory.
Vista users now longer have to run the program as administrator in order to successfully use the autoupdater if they do not have Aces High installed under the Program Files folder. If you still have AH installed under Program Files in Vista, we strongly recommend uninstalling AH and reinstalling the base download into the new default directory.
Vista users now longer have to run the program as administrator in order to successfully use the autoupdater if they do not have Aces High installed under the Program Files folder. If you still have AH installed under Program Files in Vista, we strongly recommend uninstalling AH and reinstalling the base download into the new default directory.
3) Where are my files and folders for the game?
Vista/Windows 7, by default, places all files and folders created after the installation of any program in the "Program Files" directory into a virtual store directory.
It's a new feature of Vista/Windows 7 called 'User Access Control' (UAC). Vista/Windows 7 hides the folder from you, but you can find it, for example, in C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\HTC\Aces High II, where username is replaced with your Vista login ID. The folder AppData is hidden so you have to manually type it in the path box.
If you find the above to be undesirable, then you might want to simply install the game into another folder, not in the "Program Files" directory. In Vista/Windows 7, UAC only works on files installed in the "Program Files" directory. We have also discovered UAC will hamper game performance and might corrupt the game data files. We strongly advise choosing another installation path for the game, such as "C:\Games\Aces High".
What follows is the manual method to get around the problem if you did allow the game to be installed in its default location.
If you want all your files back where they used to be, then you would have needed to run the game installer using a right-click and selecting "Run as Administrator" option.
After that, you would have to right-click on the Aces High start up ICON and select "Run as Administrator" every time you wanted to run the game, unless you set the game to "Run as Administrator" all the time. To do this, you right-click on the Aces High start up ICON, and select "Properties". Under the "Compatibility" tab, select the "Run this program as an administrator" option, This will make all the game folders and files to be stored in their normal path locations.
However, any files you had before will not longer be used. So you may want to copy the folders and contents of the UAC path above to the original root folder location of Aces High II before you set the option to run the game as an administrator. This will preserve all your settings.
Another upside to checking the option to run the game as an administrator under Vista/Windows 7 is it will allow the game's auto-updater to work correctly. Vista/Windows 7 blocks the creation of any executable file in the game's root installation folder unless it is run as an admin. This prevents the auto-updater from working correctly.
Please keep in mind, we have no control over these new features. We cannot change options in your operating system configuration. All we can do is try to provide ways to work within the framework Microsoft decides to give everyone.