Well, you all probably think I took my information and ran.  Not so.  pmb, you were right.  I have just spent 4 days on microsoft support chat tring to get things going.  I won't bore you with all the details except to say my problems started because while i was downloading MSFS I had a power bump which kicked me off the download.  I could not start again because it said I already had it.  So, I got support on chat and that began a long (maybe total of around 27 hours) time with them.  Finally, at the last, they told me I was going to have to reinstall Win 10 because earlier, one of them had installed a TEST account, and I could only log in to it.  During the win 10 reinstall, the computer tried to restart (normal), and it would no longer do anything.  I mean it just sat there with a power light on the Tower, and nothing else.  No monitor, no nothing.  They kept trying to tell me it was a hardware problem (Bull), and they could not fix it.  Fortunately, I have a Dell with their warranty, so I then called them.  Their tech support person kept telling me I had a bad monitor but I have two monitors, and both were acting exactly the same, so I knew that was not true. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told he would call me back within 30 minutes.  He did, and it took him about 15 minutes to diagnose the problem and about 30 seconds to twell me how to fix it!  So, I'm finally back up!  No thanks to Microsoft.

Now, I have downloaded MSFS and all updates, but I have a question.  First, I'm not sure I downloaded the right one.  It says something about "Digital", which I didn't see before.  And, is there anyway to get the gsame icon on my desktop independent of the ms store?

 

On 2/20/2023 at 2:05 PM, pmb said:

I bought the Premium Deluxe, notably because of the added planes, including the Steam gauge C172. It also contains some additional upgraded airports like a good OMDB Dubai. A few of them became obsolete when I bought Payware later, and this may strike some more over time, but I still found it worth for myself.

There is no annual cost involved, for no edition. I think the only exception is the X-Box game subscription, but you probably are not looking for this one.  

All editions are "latest". When MS releases new Sim/World Updates they all are updated in parallel. Again one exception. Should you go for the Aerosoft 10 DVD box, this is certainly outdated and will require a lot of updates.

There is a basic decision to make, and this is important as some addons you bought via the integrated marketplace can't be transferred later: Buy via the MS Store (or a reseller of the MS Store version) or via Steam. You will get differing opinions and experiences here. I myself was once burnt by the Store version, returned it, bought the Steam version and am more than happy since. 

Kind regards. Michael

pmb, please see my latest post on page 4  You were right about Microsoft!

 

Edited February 24, 20233 yr by wyodeacon

27 minutes ago, wyodeacon said:

Now, I have downloaded MSFS and all updates, but I have a question.  First, I'm not sure I downloaded the right one.  It says something about "Digital", which I didn't see before.  And, is there anyway to get the gsame icon on my desktop independent of the ms store?

 

Find it in the Start Menu, right click and select "Pin to Start" which creates a big icon to the right in the start menu. Click on that new icon and drag it out to the desktop.

1 hour ago, wyodeacon said:

pmb, please see my latest post on page 4  You were right about Microsoft!

To bring things into balance, there are people who have the MS Store installation working from the beginning and never had an issue. However, my impression from observing several fora over the last 2 1/2 years is, there are more MS Store users with serious issues than Steam users. (The only loophole with Steam is, do NEVER Check files.)

I was in the MSFS alpha which was MS Store only and wanted to support further development of MSFS, thus I opted for a MS Store installation of the release version. I made the pre-installation to a non-standard place a few days before release, which, however, was not found when the full installation was about to start. I'll spare you more detail. Finally, I wrote a 3pp report to apply for money back, which was only granted after I went to PayPal's buyer's protection, which acted promptly.

As I said, no issues with the Steam version since.

Kind regards, Michael

2 hours ago, pmb said:

I made the pre-installation to a non-standard place a few days before release, which, however, was not found when the full installation was about to start.

This appears to be a recurring problem.. MS will try to install content to the default location at every turn, and if you do not catch it, you now have two side by side installs.

I have helped several users recover from this, and as you indicated, it is not a simple task for the uninitiated..

 

As I've said many, many times: Premium Deluxe version, Microsoft Store. 

Thank you, Glenn Fitzpatrik, pmb, and everyone else for the great advice.  Now if I can just learn how to do everything, I'll be golden!  I have the Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo setup, so it will take a while,.

Question:  I'm waiting for a HDMI to USB cable to show up before trying to get my Honeywell Alpha and Bravo running with MSFS.  While I'm waiting I have been messing around inside MSFS trying to get more familiar, and I'm wondering:  When I push controls, the pop-up is for an XBOX controller.  Is that normal, or did I download the wrong version of MSFS?

2 hours ago, wyodeacon said:

When I push controls, the pop-up is for an XBOX controller.  Is that normal, or did I download the wrong version of MSFS?

The controls section is confusing at best.. this is "normal"..

2 hours ago, Bert Pieke said:

The controls section is confusing at best.. this is "normal"..

Thanks!  That makes me feel better. :>)