Oh silly me!
I "fixed" the .fcr file problem on my system. What I did was to leave the "start recording automatically if you fly" option ON and then take an aircraft for a spin meaning that I wasn`t even climbing above the altitude set in the options for that automatic recording.
Let`s say you have checked the automatic recording option for "below 7000" and then run your sim, press record, take off, climb 500 feets than exit the program and check whether the FCR recorded the flight. IT WONT! That selection you made in the settings requires you to climb above that specific altitude and then go below it irregardless of the altitude you press "record" at. It will start recording as soon as you go below 7000 for this case.
If you leave that option "unchecked" you can literally record any portion of any flight with a single press of the record button!
Hope this helps!
Note: However rendering still NOT WORKING for P3DV5.
Cheers.