zswobbie1

You read too quickly.. The Xbox GamePass is the Beta!Obviously not the sim. For both the DVD version & the download version, before you can play, both will download updates. By pre-ordering, all you get is a small downloader stuff, with which you will be able to download the full version that you have bought, on release day, that will be staggered as per time zones.

CHProducts items are seen as joysticks, so it should not be a problen to assign.

It's all about time zones... Pilots, even virtual pilots, should know about thaose kind of things. Mmm, I wonder if the game downloads and the scenery streaming are all off the same servers? Azure maybe?

Indeed it does. As it is being launched on the 18th, you obviously cannot play or download it until then. Pre-ordering does not let you jump the q!

Or, if you are using Edge, click the ... (three dots on the top right hand side, & then click the + next to ZOOM

Agree, never in umpteen years have I had an issue or a anti-virus moan, & I'm using Defender.

Have you done a virus scan? I've never had an issue or flag from Simviation.

Hi Chris, Dont worry about 'Being behind the times'. You dont have to chase the latest, & FS2004 has more freeware add-ons, & is very much supported here & on other forums. It does not need the latest hardware to work smoothly. Depends on what you want, you will find it with FS2004. I have separate installs for Alaska, Golden Wings, Vintage & a couple of other themes. Just have a look at the FS2004 library right here.. Best of luck.

I've had my CHProducts Yoke & pedals for many years. No issues. But, all depends on finances. That should be your answer..

Hi, & welcome.. 1. Could be better to use a laptop, less hassle & more usefull. 2. FS2004 is perfect for you, & works on most laptops. 3. Yes.. FS2004 works perfectly with Windows 10. I have a few separate installs of Fs2004 in my laptop. No issues at all. Unlike other sims, such as FSX, FS2004 does not need fancy hardware to work well, & there is plenty of freeware scenery & planes out thyere. Also, on the road, you can also take a laptop with you.. More enjoyment. Regards, Robin

I just have to ask.. Why do guys, mostly, say.. 'Personally, I ....'? I see it so often in the forums, A bit redundant? 'Shrug'! Anyhow, I'm sure tthat there will be plenty of downloadable manuals when the time comes. As far as Microsoft 'promising' us? Ermmm.. It's a game? Anyway, we all know that they did not let us down. A bit of a history lesson.. Microsoft, like any company, has directors that are responsible to their shareholders. (there are more MS shareholders than FSX simmers, by the way) If a division is not performing, they are entitled, actually obliged, to take steps to fix things, so the ACES Gaming division was closed down. Did it affect us simmers all that much? lol.. I just have to say it.. Wait for it.. Personally, I do not think so. MS gave us the sim engine, Payware & freeware developers gave us the add-ons that fleshed the sim out, as they have always done. Did Microsoft promise us gamerz anything? Nope, not really. They did not promise that they would regularly release new games. Yes, they gave us Flight! So what, it sank, & the simmerz/gamerz lambasted MS & shed tears over their joysticks. Guys, Microsoft is a multi-billion $ company, we are a bunch of niche' simmerz/gamerz. Personally, I think that we should either buy MSFS, or not. Threatening to hold back buying until Microsoft follows through on promises made.. (huh? Personally, I have not seen any of those, only great videos on the new sim). Remember, at the end of the day, it's only a hobby. (I was going to say game) but personally, I did not think that was wise to do. That would have been too upsetting for some!)

No problem, Andrew. I've been FS2004'ing ever since the darn thing came out! I did a fresh install, then the 9.1 update & also the 9.1 no-cd patch. I then copied the whole folder to a portable drive, into a newly created folder that I've called Default FS backup. I then went to 'My Documents' folder & copied the Flight Simulator folder to the portable drive as well. I now have a complete backup of a fresh install That is the basic way. What I've done as well, is to add whatever scenery & planes that I usually fly into FS2004, making sure that is working well, & then I do the same thing again, backing up the install to the portable drive, into a folder called Working FS2004. This way, if things fall over, I have a basic install that I can copy & paste back. Bear in mind that ofted deleting the fs9.cfg will sometimes sort out issues. When you run the sim again, agter deleting the fs9.cfg, a new file will be created. OK, so now you have a working FS2004 & you want to do a 2nd install. I have a separate install for Alaska, as an example, with only Alaskan themed scenery & aircraft textures. I find that having multiple installs keeps the sims more managable & no chance of scenery conflicts. So, for your 2nd install. Lets do a 'clean'install..... Go to your portable drive, & copy the sim folder called Default FS backup, & paste the whole folder into C:\ Once that is done, rename the newly pasted folder to FS2005, as an example. Open up that folder & remane the FS9.exe to FS2005 for example. Then, right-click that renamed exe & Send to Desktop. Now run that newly pasted exe. All should work, & you now have 2 installs of FS2004 that do not affect each other. This way, you wil still have a clean backup & an easy way to have multiple unique FS2004 installs. Remember that each new sim folder MUST have a unique name, as also the exe. So, I have an Alaska install, a Golden Wings install, Ford Tri-Motor, Vintage, Heritage & a couple more. I hope I have not confused you, Andrew.. It's actually very easy. In fact, I've lost my original set of FS2004 disks, & do all my installs from my portable drive. Give a call if you need any clarification. By the way, I use a copy program called teracopy as a default copy & it's far faster than Microsoft'scopy.

I did the 9.1 update & then promptly saved everything, including the folder in My Documents, to a portable drive. So, There's my backap, & I also use that to set up my multiple FS2004 installs, I have 8! It's easy to do..

I use that system with my scenery texture testing. I did a fresh install, and backed up my scenery folders. so its easy for me to try new global scenery textures, and not to stress if i mess up.

Though a t-shirt "beta tester for MS2002" would have been a decent reward too haha That would have been a good year 18 years ago..

Well said,Dom. Always great to share & do things together.

I'm fortunate to have a CHProducts set of pedals & yoke, as well as a cheapish joystick. For immersion's sake I prefer using the correct controls for whatever plane I'm flying. A stick with a Cessna? Not really. It's really not that expensive, but it really improves the immersion.

A question was asked, on a Facebook Flight Sim page: 'What is Marshalling?' This answer made my day: 'You get given a 5 pointed Star and pin it on your chest then you can shoot bank robbers you can also hire a Deputy.'

Not slamming you at all. The only security issue that I have had is due to me downloading a bad program, but Windows Defender blocked it & Malwarebytes removed it, quicker than it took to type this. FS2004, running in Compatibility mode cannot affect security issues.

No, Mark.. My PC with Windows 10 is secure, as much as it can be. Running a program within Windows 10 in compatibilty mode as no effect, whtsoever, with security issues. They still run within Windows 10, compatibilty mode does nothing at all to compromise security. You should know better, Mark.

Make sure that your throttle is centered... that sorted out the problem for me..on yoke & joystick.

Well, if you pre-ordered, you get free bragging rights. That alone is worth something, as does being an Alpha tester. You want more? have you fully tested the Alpha release & contributed anything? For free, you got the thrill of being part of testing the sim, without paying a cent for doing so.

I had an AthlonXp at one stage, I blew it up by trying to replace the cpu fan. I could have just cleaned it.. I thought I was being clever.. The bios flashed red! lol.. Good days.

Maybe update your graphic drivers or clean your spectacles or monitor screen?

Lol, Mark, if everything was working perfectly, We'll still be on Windows XP. It's not being paranoid, it's being realistic. The normal Windows 10 upgrades have upgraded my security issues, Intel display & other stuff as well. 'Shrug'.