Hi Bob
Many thanks for very detailed reply! I quote:
there is also a Steam-based version of FSX, and it will run your FSX add-ons just as FSX Gold did in nearly all cases. FSX:SE (Steam Edition) was released in 2014 under a contract with Dovetail Games, 5 years after ACES Studios was closed by Microsoft, and has since been taken back under Microsoft's wing after the contract with Dovetail expired. FSX:SE was recompiled for the final 32-bit Windows platforms (Win 7 & 8), repackaged to incorporate all of the FSX service packs, and eliminates some of the config tweaking we had to do in the old days. It installs directly from Steam online without disks. Even a modest modern gaming laptop with a discrete GPU should be able to run FSX:SE quite well.
Having just looked at my receipt it would appear as if I have the above version. I already had a Steam account so I just purchased the bog standard version and downloaded it. The machine in point is a DELL Latitude 7390, I 7 8650,16GB, 256GB NVME, FHD, Backlit Kybd,Thunderbolt, W11. Not really intended for flight sims! But it was just too hot at home today to investigate further. I have to say I'm intrigued about your mention of being able to use my previously owned software with this version, how does that work please?
Max