fs9 in windows 8 flight instruments locked until undock?

   Need help with how to unlock the instrument panel.  It is not responding until I undock it but then of course it is running with a windows pane around it.  How do I get it to activate in the docked position?  ( When I say not responding and locked I mean it appears as usual and I can use the engine controls, add power, take off and fly around but the instruments do not go along with the program.  No airspeed, No altitude readouts, No attitude readouts.  But when I undock it everything comes to life and the instruments respond as usual.   Just installed it on a new HP running Windows 8 with a third generation i3 Pentium with plenty of gigs in memory both ram and disc space.  The program runs fine on my old Acer using windows 7.  I would appreciate any help or suggestions.         Thanks   KSAN1