loki

It's related to the MSFS disc set available in some regions. The licence validation isn't working somewhere, and the sim seems to fall back to looking for a disc. Not very a very clear error message.

Microsoft has some tips to try in the help article below. https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015985699--Please-insert-the-Microsoft-Flight-Simulator-Game-Disc-Error-message

The big factor is whether they have photogrammetry data for the area or not, and whether or not they have hand built scenery. Larger cities in Western countries are more likely to, while smaller towns and other countries are more hit and miss. If they don't have the photogrammetry data for an area, they have an AI process for generating buildings. For places that aren't covered well with the default scenery, look for an add-on. Don't see Wheeling, but there are others for West Virginia. https://flightsim.to/discover/Wheeling?s=West+Virginia&category=0&sorting=0&page=1&filter=

That does depend on where you live and whether they have the data for it. I was able to find my place quite easily. Yep, the default aircraft missing opening doors is a bit of a miss, though third party aircraft have them.

Umm, that's not what I said at all. I was responding to the idea that MSFS doesn't have any vintage aircraft available, and never will. If your current sim works well for you, enjoy and have fun! And if you ever do want to check out MSFS, know that there are plenty of older aircraft available, including a B-25, with more on the way. https://flightsim.to/file/54276/north-american-b25-mitchell/419903

Why would you have doubts when there are more and more historical aircraft coming out for MSFS all the time? https://wing42.com/product/bleriot-xi/?v=3e8d115eb4b3 https://msfsaddons.com/2023/11/08/our-updated-list-of-aircraft-currently-available-for-microsoft-flight-simulator/ On a different tangent, how about a cardboard Spitfire? Plenty of different add-ons for MSFS out there. Do FS9 and FSX have more add-ons available? Sure they do, but that's because they've had a bit of a head start.

Firefox worked fine but Edge blocked a file for me. Something about the site triggered Microsoft's Defender SmartScreen. While it is possible for those of us downloading to file a report through Edge to say the file is safe, the best solution is for the owners to file a report with Microsoft to get the site cleared. Telling people to simply ignore the warnings isn't a great long term solution as sooner or later someone will ignore a legitimate warning. Microsoft Defender SmartScreen Frequently Asked Questions

Sure, everyone has a budget and it is relative. However, to characterize MSFS as requiring a supercomputer costing many thousands of dollars to run well is far from accurate. $1,500 would get you a very decent system for the sim. MSFS has never required the Lamborgini of PCs to get good performance. https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/2PTwrH/enthusiast-intel-gamingstreaming-build Or, as I mentioned above, an Xbox Series X for $500 and a set of Thrustmaster controls would work quite well too for under $1,000. The minimum internet connection speed for the sim is 5mbps, though I wouldn't realistically want to run it on anything below 20mbps. This is certainly one of the biggest limits to the sim, and anyone with a slow connection, or no connection at all, would want to look elsewhere.

I think you missed my point. MSFS only needs about a 50Mbps connection to run well, and those 200Mbps or faster options would be more than enough for the sim. My comment about fiber was in response to the claim one needs the fastest internet connection possible.

The point is that you don't need to spend a lot to run MSFS 2020. And Xboxes are basically specialized PCs these days too, and not like Nintendos or Ataris of ages past. If you want to run the sim on a desktop PC, you also don't need to spend a lot either.

A $500 Xbox and a 50Mbps internet connection can run MSFS2020 quite well. You don't need a Cray super computer to run the sim at reasonable rates or a 1GBps fibre internet connection.

I don't believe content purchased through the Marketplace can be transferred. https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017706059-Microsoft-Flight-Simulator-FAQ

32 bit apps, like FS9, are capped at using 2GB of memory by default. When you start loading up more detailed scenery, aircraft etc. in the sim, it can quickly fill up this 2GB, leading to the OOM error you got. The 4GB patch lets the sim use up to 4GB of memory, the max for a 32 bit app.

It's still in development. https://fselite.net/content/flybywire-simulations-shares-new-a380-cockpit-tease/ https://fselite.net/content/flybywire-shares-new-a380-previews/

What's the full name of the GPU you currently have? You've left out the key part of the GPU model to know where you're starting from. A GPU with more video RAM would help, but the main spec to focus on is the actual GPU used on the video card. A low end GPU with 16GB can quite easily be outperformed by a higher end one with 8 or 12GB, for example. What's your budget range? What version of P3D are you running? With multiple monitors a higher end GPU, like a Radeon RX 7700 or GeForce RTX 4070 or higher, would probably be better. As for refresh rates, more than 60Hz is only relevant if the sim will be running at more than 60FPS. Monitors or TVs with AMD's Freesync or Nvidia's G-Sync variable refresh rate features can be useful though (you need to match the monitor to the GPU though).

Good to see you found the sim that works for you! For reference, which version of P3D were you using? I wouldn't expect an RX570 to handle the latest versions very well.

While some developers/publishers do allow for transferring non-Steam licences to Steam, FSX isn't one of them.

Not sure what is causing it, but others have reported the same issue in the New Forum Software forum.

What anti-virus are you using?

Do you have a VPN running?

Microsoft wasn't going to offer it on disc until Aerosoft pushed for it. Apparently they saw enough demand from people who wanted something physical to put on the shelf. Given the nature of the sim, having a disc in the drive isn't even the biggest issue. It still needs to download the uploads when you install, so the discs don't save you from the need for an internet connection. As for the security issues, presumably the MSFS discs use a more modern and supported DRM scheme, not the old one they dropped support for (SafeDisc/SecuROM).

Don't have the disc version, however, if you have linked it to your account (maybe done during your previous attempts) I think you can just go to the Microsoft Store app and install it directly from there. You will still need to have disc 1 in the drive to fly though. https://helpdesk.aerosoft.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4574437978653-Does-the-boxed-version-of-Microsoft-Flight-Simulator-include-a-download-or-Steam-key

It's looking like the issue happened in Boeing's Renton plant. Still best to wait for the final NTSB report, but it isn't looking good for Boeing. Not sure the airlines will soon forget about this. United and Alaska are losing money on these planes and may well change future purchases.

The door plug issue looks to affect 737-900ER aircraft as well.

I think both of those solutions would have caused the same problem. When you verify local files with Steam games, it will reset all files back to the what they were on a clean install, including resetting config files in the FSX directory back to their original defaults (files created after install, like the FSX.cfg in the Documents folder should be fine though). One would need to back up the config files first, and then restore them to avoid losing any changes. Calypso, do you happen to have a backup anywhere of the FSX config files?