Hey all!I love the PMDG 747 on the occasion I can get it to load properly, however on most occasions it loads with engines starting and avionics off, no ability to interact with the virtual cockpit except for the throttle. I

Dear Thomas:I would suggest starting with the DEFAULT Cessna- all off. Position her wherever you like. Save that as your start-up flight (I do not recommend replacing your default flight). THEN, once you load THAT flight select the PMDG 747/F. You can THEN go to the PMDG menu and select the cold and dark cockpit state. Then customize your cockpit state to whatever you want and save it as your default PMDG cockpit state. Again, I would recommend against having your default as engines running, all avionics on- but each to their own. Once you have saved your cockpit state, you can revert to it simply by choosing that particular cockpit state whenever you want.Do not just save a PMDG running flight as the way you select this aeroplane. It is a complex simulation and there are countless possibilities for conflicts/issues should you do so.Just don't forget to resave your created default flight after selecting the correct date, every week or so- that way you won't wonder why its snowing in August............don't ask!Best-Carl F. Avari-Cooper BAW0225http://online.vatsimindicators.net/980091/523.png| XP Pro SP3 | 2 x APC UPS | Coolermaster Stacker 830 SE | Gigabyte P35 DS3R | e8500 @ 4gHz | Tuniq Tower 120 | EVGA 8800GT 512MB | Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty | 2 x 1 GB Corsair XMS2 | 2 x 320GB WD Caviar RAID 0 | Corsair HX620W PS | CH Products Yoke-Pedals-Throttle Quadrant | Aerosoft 747MCP-EFIS-EICAS |

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my thread Carl. I appreciate your help. I wanted to do as you've requested, but I have a problem. I don't have a "PMDG menu". I do have a PMDG tag under Addons in the menu bar of FSX, but it only shows "about PMDG" and a "PMDG Sounds" section, neither of which provide me with the option to select the "cold and dark cockpit state". I'm not even interested in a cold and dark cockpit state to tell you the truth my friend. I'd rather just fly this beautiful rendition of the 747 with engines ready to go. I gave it a shot here on the forums. I guess I

Thomas:It definitely sounds like you are missing stuff- I would UNINSTALL and then reinstall (as Admin) and validate again. I would also recommend "thinking" about disabling UAC.....actually I'd recommend XP Pro- but that's another thread ;).Best-Carl F. Avari-Cooper BAW0225http://online.vatsimindicators.net/980091/523.png| XP Pro SP3 | 2 x APC UPS | Coolermaster Stacker 830 SE | Gigabyte P35 DS3R | e8500 @ 4gHz | Tuniq Tower 120 | EVGA 8800GT 512MB | Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty | 2 x 1 GB Corsair XMS2 | 2 x 320GB WD Caviar RAID 0 | Corsair HX620W PS | CH Products Yoke-Pedals-Throttle Quadrant | Aerosoft 747MCP-EFIS-EICAS |

Thanks again you two. I never sent the e-mail, however I did fix my problem. It seems my DLL.XML file was all jacked up. I had to rebuild it. It took awhile, but I now have the tools option, and after uninstalling and reinstalling/patching the 747X she's working like a dream. Evidently that DLL.XML file is pretty important with these complex add-ons. ;)Thomas R. Bye Jr.