How to set up multiple monitors for Flight Simulator X and for other Microsoft Games for Windows games

Multiple monitor setup

Before you can set up a multiple monitor display, make sure that your hardware meets the requirements to support this kind of configuration. For more information about these requirements and about the steps to configure your hardware for a multiple-monitor display, see the Microsoft At Home article, “Two monitors are better than one," at the following Microsoft Web site:

Microsoft Flight Simulator X

Flight Simulator X lets you display various cockpit windows on more than one monitor at a time to create a realistic cockpit environment. You can use a center monitor to display the aircraft instrument panel and the outside view ahead of the cockpit, and also use another monitor to display the radio stack, the throttle quadrant, the GPS readout, or any of the other windows that are available on the Views menu.

To set up multiple monitor support for Flight Simulator X, you have to have the following hardware configuration:

• A video card that can support a multiple monitor display
• Two or more monitors

If your video card has only one monitor connection, you will have to install an additional video card or a replacement video card on your computer. After you have the required hardware installed and configured, you have to make some system changes in Display Properties in Control Panel. Refer to the “Two monitors are better than one” article for more information.

Multiple monitor setup information is also available within the Learning Center in Flight Simulator X. To open the Learning Center, follow these steps:

1. Start Flight Simulator X.
2. Click Learning Center.
3. Click the Index tab, and then click the letter D to go to the Display section.
4. Under Display, click Using Multiple Monitors.

To learn more about how to view the game on multiple monitors, see the Using Views topic in the Learning Center.

When you have an additional window open, you can easily move it between monitors. Remember that the radio stack, the throttle quadrant, and the other cockpit elements open in their own window and can be moved. Depending on your system, using multiple monitors may affect system performance.

To move windows between monitors, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the window that you want to move.
2. Click Undock.
3. Drag the window to another monitor.

Important: Although you can view multiple undocked windows on different monitors, you should not let a single Flight Simulator window stretch across multiple monitors because doing this may adversely affect system performance.

Additionally, you can find a wealth of information about Flight Simulator X on Internet forums and on the YouTube Web site (http://www.youtube.com/ (http://www.youtube.com/) ) that can provide some assistance and clarification about how to set up multiple monitors for the game.

To fix a known issue that affect multiple monitor support for Flight Simulator X running in Windows Vista, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Other Microsoft Games for Windows Games

Not all Microsoft Games for Windows games support multiple monitor displays. The following games do not support multiple monitor displays:

• Microsoft Age of Mythology
• Microsoft Age of Mythology: The Titans
• Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe
• Microsoft Dungeon Siege 1.0
• Microsoft Freelancer
• Microsoft Impossible Creatures
• Microsoft Links 2003
• Microsoft MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries
• Microsoft RalliSport Challenge (PC)
• Microsoft Train Simulator
• Microsoft Zoo Tycoon
• Microsoft Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs Expansion Pack
• Microsoft Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania Expansion Pack
• Microsoft Links 2003 Championship Edition

When you play one of the games that are listed in this section, and if you try to drag the game screen to another monitor, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• The second monitor is blank or black.
• The game does not appear on the second monitor.
• The game window from monitor 1 drags onto monitor 2, but the game does not continue to be displayed on monitor 1.
• The game window minimizes to the taskbar, but you continue to hear game sounds.

These games do not have separate windows that you can drag onto another monitor. The windows that you open in the game are part of the program. These games were not designed to have windows that are not dockable.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.