Simviation Forums

My wife bought me Flight Simulator X for Christmas, and I was overjoyed. However, now, when I put the DVD in, nothing happens. When   I double click My Computer, the entire thing locks up and I need to reset the computer. Any ideas as to how to fix this? I really want to play.

I seem to rember that  some others were having trouble with  FSX DVDs not being reconized, etc.
One possible reason was said to be a DVD app such as NERO running in the background and disabling the app was said to solve the issue.

Other than that,  perhaps someone else can help you.

Normally, to ensure that the sim runs with as little issues as possible, I would always do a complete cleanout of my computer. This will allow me to install a fresh version of flight simulator on a fresh system with all the latest updates. However, when it comes to a gaming platform, having the latest video drivers is not always a good thing. In fact, some games actually work better with certain older drivers [ie: IL-2 Series]. So, here is some advice.

If you're going to get the latest version of flight simulator [especially flight simulator] and if you have the time and patience, you should do the following:

1. Clean out your computer. Having a fresh operating system can help lower your chances of experiencing a problem with flight simulator.

2. Always install the "recommended" video drivers. Not the "latest" video drivers. However, the flight simulator series has a habit of always recommending the latest versions.

Please note that these recommendations are not for everyone. Regardless of the fact that this method has worked for me, it may not work for you.

I know this sounds REALLY stupid, but is it actually a DVD drive?  A CD drive can't read a DVD...

Would be nice to know if the problem was solved or not?

Here is a note to all.......some games, and I don't know if FSX is one of them, wouldn't surprise me........that when you try to install, it checks to see if you have any emulating software such as Nero and others. If you do, you won't be able to install. It is another lame attempt to squash the "Pirating" that goes on.

I have NOT been able to find anything on the web concerning FSX and this issue. I would strongly suggest that all apps are shut down prior to trying to install FSX. If FSX won't install and you have NERO or any other "emulating" software, remove it and then try to install FSX.

I would like to know if this in fact an issue with FSX.

Nope, not solved.
I decided to just return it and play FS9. I cleaned out the computer (twice), and I don't have any emulating software in the background. To Blue man, yes it is a DVD drive. Oh well, now I wait until FSXI, or FS11 or whatever it will be called. Thanks to everyone who helped.

OK Try this.

I had same problem - thought that my DVDs were pirated or something, until they worked in another machine.

When I put them into the Dell notebook, nothing - machine wouldn't even shutdown.
Also tried to copy the FSX DVDs to a network share and run from there, and also from a share on the DVD drive.  Whenever I tried to open a folder containing the FSX files, the system would hang.

Issue was with DLACTRLW.EXE

This came from Sonic Software I think.  There is a startup entry in the reg you can remove to fix the problem.

Run REGEDIT or REGEDT32
Go to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
and see if the is an entry called DLA.
I edited the value to point to a ficticious filename.  ie.  It doesn't load the DLA app at startup.

After that, no probs with the install.

This app handles some drive letter access functions but I'm not missing it.

[quote]My wife bought me Flight Simulator X for Christmas, and I was overjoyed. However, now, when I put the DVD in, nothing happens. When

Thank you, harley! It works fine and installs fine now. Thanks again! Now on to tweaking!