Hi Everyone 

More time on my hands now plus the launch of the incredible looking new MSFS means that after 15 years or so I'm able to, and have decided to, return to a passion that I've had all my life and now finally have more time to indulge, flight sims.

My new PC arrives tomorrow (Intel I7 - 10700k 5.1 GHZ, RTX 2080 Super, 32GB DDR RAM) and as I live in a rural area unfortunately I only have 20MBS 4G internet connection  (and I'm no windows expert, current/last one was Windows XP !).

I'm planning to buy and install MSFS tomorrow (from MS store) once I've set the new computer up and so - having read a lot of horror stories on forums - was wondering whether anyone has any good advice or tips on the best way to try and ensure a trouble / stress free installation, or any material I can referencer to help/guide me and whether there's any rookie mistakes I should avoid ?

Thanks in advance for any help ! :-)

Paul

Hello,

Before installing Fs 2020,

Check W10 version : 2009 (also named h2)
Then be sure W 10 is fully updated ( check for updates and recheck after updating)
Then do cleanmgr to remove all W10 update packages.

Do not forget an antivirus and an anti malware before surfing the internet.

You can now safely install Fs 2020. Best is to use an SSd or NvMe N2 disk
 

There are some very important things. Make a clean instalation of Windows 10, upgrade it to the last version and NEVER USE an external cleaners, like CCleaner, Tune Up or similar softwares and NEVER USE an external antiviruses, like Avast, AVG, ESET... only use an integrated Defender. If you will follow this recommendation, you will don't get any problems with instalation of MSFS.

Edited November 4, 20205 yr by ludekbrno

also  if you are going to use a dedicated drive for MSFS then go through the install CAREFULLY.. there are 2 seperate places in the install which will ask you where you want to put it....  the first is the base opearating system.. the second is all the main stuff....   ensure that you don't just keep hitting enter during the install and check and double check..  otherwise you may get registry errors..  problems with long file names and issues in determining which is the correct community folder to use 🙂

Graham

Agree with ludekbrno - do not install antivirus. Windows Defender that comes with Windows is perfectly sufficient, even superior to some of the heavy, bloated and incredibly intrusive (to the operating system) anti virus big brand name products you pay extra for. Snake oil.

Get your Windows OS updated to the latest version before doing anything. Update all drivers, especially your GPU. A few reboots to let thing settle. Install all your controllers and related drivers first such as flight stick etc before installing the sim.  Go with Steam version if you can. Definitely change the instal directory, do not accept the default with the illogically long default folder and file path structure. Something like C:MSFS will do perfectly.

Good luck!

I opted for Steam. Had a spare 500 GB ssd and created steam library on it as M://msfs. Using Developer mode I can see the folders being tracked by sim. The Community folder tracked by MSFS is M://msfs/Community, not that related folder in the C:/Users/appdata path. The other two folders tracked are all on the M ssd not in C:/Users/ appdata path

Hi All 

Thanks for the great advice, much appreciated !

Ludekbrno & RaptyrOne - in respect of never using installing external anti virus software - I've just read that my PC (from a company called ChillBlast) comes with BullGuard antivirus pre-installed on a 90 day trial, though it needs to be activated.  

So I guess when I start up my machine for the first time I need to make sure I don't activate the BullGuard subscription and uninstall the programme before re-starting the machine?

Paul

27 minutes ago, PaulW1882 said:

Hi All 

Thanks for the great advice, much appreciated !

Ludekbrno & RaptyrOne - in respect of never using installing external anti virus software - I've just read that my PC (from a company called ChillBlast) comes with BullGuard antivirus pre-installed on a 90 day trial, though it needs to be activated.  

So I guess when I start up my machine for the first time I need to make sure I don't activate the BullGuard subscription and uninstall the programme before re-starting the machine?

Paul

To remove all doubt .. uninstall it and any sort of bloatware as soon as the PC arrives. 

 

Before I did anything I created a folder called FS2020 in the root of C:\FS2020. Then during the install pointed MSFS 2020 at that folder. That way the Community folder is C:\FS2020\Community, which seems to make for a cleaner install rather than relying on the default MSFS 2020 folder structure. Luckily I have yet to have a CTD.

John

 

This shouldn't be needed if your rig is new but make sure nothing is overclocked (RAM, CPU, GPU).

Edited November 4, 20205 yr by Jean-Paul

As you're planning on going the MS Store route, also make sure that your Microsoft account, MS Store and Xbox account are all set up and working.

Some troubleshooting posts on the official site (hope you won't need them):

https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015760660-Download-Installation-issues-Windows-Store-troubleshooting

https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015910560-Can-I-choose-or-change-the-installation-path-

Thanks again all !

Dylan - I'm now considering going down the Steam route given that a number of people here have recommended that way

Add me to the recommendations. I understand a lot of users have the MS Store running fine, but not me. I installed the pre-install (before Aug. 18th) outside of C which led to nothing than trouble with the protected directories when it came to the proper install. Returned it, got money back, bought the Steam version and I'm a happy camper since.

No guarantee, but that's my experience.

Kind regards, Michael

Yea, i run the MSStore version. Its kind of ok, but its overly complicated. Just navigating the msstore can be a pain, nothing makes much sense as to what is what when you get msfs2020. Just use steam 🙂

3 hours ago, PaulW1882 said:

with BullGuard antivirus pre-installed on a 90 day trial, though it needs to be activated.

That's the first thing you need to get rid of, a Trial antivirus. Do you know they subsides part of the cost of the Windows license to PC makers, just to being chosen to be preinstalled, so they can sell you a subscription in 90 days ?

The worse I've seen from this kind of bloatware ( not specifically BullGuard, it was another I don't recall the name ), is that as soon the Trial ended, the antivirus started to purposely spit out lots of false positives, to scare the user he was infected, trying to trick him into renewing the subscription. Not an urban legend, I've seen this first hand on my brother-in-law PC, since he called for help when everything started to misbehave. Removed the bloatware, reactivated the default Windows Defender, and everything started to work again, the PC wasn't infected of course...

Edited November 4, 20205 yr by virtuali