MORE INFORMATION
General troubleshooting information
Install the latest drivers
If you are experiencing graphics issues, a black (blank) screen, or slow performance in Flight Simulator X, download and then install the latest video card driver.
The video card lets you see graphics on the screen. A driver is a piece of software that enables the operating system (Microsoft Windows) to communicate with the hardware in the computer. A driver acts as a translator between your hardware and the operating system. The latest driver for your video card can enable more efficient use of your video card features to improve the performance of the game. Generally companies release their drivers regularly for the cards to keep up the pace with the ever-changing software technologies.
To download and install the latest drivers, contact the computer or video hardware manufacturer. See the "References" section for more information about how to contact the video hardware or computer manufacturer. To see whether applicable driver updates are available for download, visit the following Microsoft Windows Update Web site:
To view a video presentation about how to install the latest video card drivers from the Windows Update Web site, see the
"Additional information" section.
To identify the name and the manufacturer of the video adapter, follow these steps:
- Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag, and then click OK.
- Click the Display tab.
- Under Device, look for Name and Manufacturer.
- Click Exit.
Graphics hardware error messages
| Error Message | Resolution |
The drivers currently installed for your video card may cause your computer to stop responding when Flight Simulator is running. Click Yes to search for newer drivers, or No to continue. | To resolve this issue, contact your graphics hardware manufacturer to obtain and install the latest version of the driver for your graphics hardware. For information about how to contact your hardware manufacturer, see the "References" section. To see whether applicable driver updates are available, visit the following Windows Update Web site: For information about how to download the latest drivers by using the Windows Update Web site, see the "Additional information" section. |
Flight Simulator is not working with your video card. Verify that you have the latest video card drivers installed for your video card. Flight Simulator will now exit. | This issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true:
- Your video card does not meet the minimum system requirements for Flight Simulator X.
- Flight Simulator X cannot correctly initialize DirectDraw or Direct3D to display the game.
- The DirectX installation is corrupted.
To resolve this issue, use one or more of the following methods: - Determine whether the graphics adapter on the computer has 32 megabytes (MB) or more of memory. To do this, follow these steps:
- Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag, and then click OK.
- Click the Display tab.
- Under Device, verify that the Approx. Total Memory value is 32 MB or more.
The graphics adapter must have 32 MB of memory for Flight Simulator X to work correctly. If your graphics adapter does not have 32 MB of memory, you must upgrade your graphics hardware to run Flight Simulator X. For information about how to contact your hardware manufacturer, see the "References" section.
Note The graphics memory value that appears in the DirectX Diagnostics Tool may be slightly less than the actual total because the DirectX Diagnostics Tool uses some of the graphics memory. - Turn on the Direct3D Acceleration feature in the Microsoft DirectX feature. To do this, follow these steps:
- Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag, and then click OK.
- Click the Display tab.
- Next to Direct3D Acceleration, click Enable, and then click Exit.
To learn how to turn on the Direct 3D Acceleration feature, click Play to view this streaming media demonstration:
- Install the latest version of DirectX on the computer. To download and to install the latest version of DirectX, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
If the issue continues to occur, you must perform troubleshooting steps to identify the actual cause of the issue.
For more information about how to troubleshoot this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
191660
Games: The DirectDraw option or the Direct3D option is unavailable when you start games for Windows
|
General graphics issues
Portable computer displays in full-screen mode
The display cards on some portable computers may let you select a resolution that is larger than the LCD device can support. In these cases the view may be truncated when you run Flight Simulator in full-screen mode. To see the full-screen image, either reduce the resolution or use windowed mode (press ALT+ENTER). Driver updates do not resolve this issue.
Press ALT+TAB
Pressing ALT+TAB to switch between Flight Simulator X and another program minimizes Flight Simulator X to the task bar. In some instances, Flight Simulator X may not restore to the desktop or take a long time to restore. To enable the correct behavior, exit Flight Simulator X, and then restart the computer.
Visual Experience with AMD processors
The initial visual experience on a computer that has an AMD processor may be lower than expected. To improve the visual experience, follow these steps.
Note Adjusting these settings may affect performance.
- On the main menu, click Settings.
- Click Customize.
- Move the Global slider on one or more tabs to the right.
Hardware-specific graphics issues
ATI
To download ATI video cards, visit the following ATI Technologies Inc Web site:
When you use the ATI Radeon X1800 CrossFire Edition video card, the screen may flicker or appear black.
NVIDIA
To download NVIDIA video cards, visit the following NVIDIA Corporation Web site:
When you use NVIDIA video cards, you may experience the following issues:
- Fireworks have defined, square borders and appear blocky when you use the NVIDIA GeForce2 video card. This issue occurs with all driver versions.
- De Havilland Beaver windows appear opaque in spot plane view on computers that use NVIDIA GeForce2 video cards.
- Dolphins may not appear in Missions on computers that use GeForce2 GTS or GeForce2 Pro 32 MB video cards.
S3 UniChrome
To download the S3 UniChrome video card, visit the following S3 Graphics Co., Ltd Web site:
When you use the S3 UniChrome video card, you may experience the following issue:
- Special effects (fireworks, fire, and so on) do not display correctly on computers that use S3 UniChrome video cards.
S3 Deltachromes
If you experience issues when you use the S3 Deltachromes video card, try to update the drivers. If the issue continues to occur, you may have to upgrade the video card.
Additional information
For more information about how to update your graphics adapter drivers by using the Windows Update Web site, click
Play to view this streaming media presentation:
The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
REFERENCES
For information about how to contact a graphics hardware or software manufacturer, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
65416 Hardware and software vendor contact information, A-K
60781 Hardware and software vendor contact information, L-P
60782 Hardware and software vendor contact information, Q-Z
Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.