Troubleshoot graphics issues in Flight Simulator X

Install the latest drivers

If you have graphics issues, such as a black (blank) screen or slow performance in Flight Simulator X, download and then install the latest drivers for your video card.

The video card lets you see graphics on the screen. A driver is software that enables your computer to communicate with hardware or devices. Without drivers, the hardware that you connect to your computer—for example, a video card or a webcam—will not work correctly.

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 ever-changing software technologies.

To download and install the latest drivers, contact the computer or video hardware manufacturer. See the "Additional information" section for more information about how to contact the video hardware or computer manufacturer. To determine whether applicable driver updates are available for download, visit the following Microsoft Windows Update Web site:

http://update.microsoft.comTo identify the name and the manufacturer of the video card, follow these steps on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Vista:

1. Open the Direct X Diagnostic Tool. To do this, click Start , type dxdiag in the Start Search box, and then click dxdiag.exe in the Programs list.

2. Click the Display tab.

3. Under Device, look for Name and Manufacturer.

4. Click Exit.

Portable computer displays in full-screen mode

The video 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 less than expected. To improve the visual experience, follow these steps:

1. On the main menu, click Settings.

2. Click Customize.

3. Move the Global slider on one or more tabs to the right.

Note Adjusting these settings may affect performance.

ATI

On computers that use an ATI video card, you may experience the following issues:

• Use of the ATI Radeon X1800 CrossFire Edition video card may cause the screen to flicker or to appear black.

• The game runs slowly.

• A fatal error occurs when you start the game. The error message indicates the following information:
  

  Problem signature
  
  Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
  
  Application Name: fsx.exe
  
  Application Version: 10.0.61637.0
  
  Application Timestamp: 46fadb14
  Fault Module Name: atiumdag.dll
  Fault Module Version: 7.14.10.523
  Fault Module Timestamp: 46c10882
  Exception Code: c0000005
  Exception Offset: 0004e060
  OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3
  Locale ID: 1033

To resolve these issues, visit the following ATI Technologies Inc. Web site to download the latest driver for your specific video card:

http://www.amd.com

NVIDIA

To download NVIDIA video cards, visit the following NVIDIA Corporation Web site:

http://www.nvidia.comWhen 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.

For certain NVIDIA video cards, the game performance may be slow or choppy. To resolve this issue, try to update the drivers. To do this, visit the following NVIDIA Web site:

http://www.nvidia.com/page/home.htmlIf the issue continues to occur, reduce the game settings to a minimum. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start the game.

2. Click Settings.

3. Click Reset Defaults.

If the issue continues to occur, try to reduce the settings options on the Setting screen by moving the sliders all the way to the left.

S3 UniChrome

On computers that use the VIA S3 UniCrome video card, you may experience the following issues:

• Special effects (fireworks, fire, and so on) do not display correctly.

• The game runs slow

• You receive the following error message when you start the game:

  "Invalid hardware drive detected, flight simulator will not work with your video card verify that you have latest video card driver installed, Flight simulator will now exit"

To resolve these issues, download the latest video drivers. To do this, visit the following S3 Graphics Co., Ltd Web site:

http://www.s3graphics.com/en/drivers/index.aspx If the issues continue to occur, upgrade the video card that is installed on the computer. For more information, see the "Additional information" and "References" sections.

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.

Intel 945, Intel 815, Intel 915, and Intel 845

If you experience slow performance when you use one of the following Intel video cards, set all the game options to Defaults:

• Intel 945

• Intel 815

• Intel 915

• Intel 845

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start the game.

2. Click Settings.

3. Click Reset Defaults.

If the issue continues to occur, try to reduce the settings options on the Setting screen by moving the sliders all the way to the left. If the problem continues to occur, you may have to upgrade the video card. This issue occurs because of the video card drivers. See the "Additional information" section for more information about how to upgrade your video card.