Help! FSX not working on Windows 10

[jschall]

This is a mystery to me, so I hope some of you FSX and computer experts can help me understand it and possibly solve it.

I have been running the Windows 10 Technical Preview on my Dell XPS desktop for many months, with no effect on FSX. I have a Radeon graphics card.

Two days ago, two things happened: there was a Windows Update (I am on the Fast Ring) and also an update to the Catalyst Manager. Subsequently, FSX will only display a black screen in Free Flight mode. The sound works, but there is no display except for a distorted still image of the selected aircraft.

I then uninstalled and re-installed FSX from DVD, but the same problem persists. I rolled back the Radeon driver to no avail.

Desperate, I then installed Steam and purchased FSX Steam Edition. No difference.

Finally I decided to re-install Prepar3D v2.5. It works perfectly.

So, where is the incompatibility? Can I test to see if DX9 or DX10 is installed and working? Could it be the C++ runtime libraries that need updating? You would think the FSX Installer would detect such problems.

Any ideas? Has anybody experienced anything similar?

[Dumonceau]

I suspect that the culprit for that would be DirectX 12 which is coming with the latest build of Windows 10 before the RTM.

Try and find a DirectX 9 that is compatible with the latest version of Windows?

Johan

[jschall]

Thanks for the hint, Johan. Yes, dxdiag.exe tells me I have Directx 12. But FSX and FSX SE can't use it. And Prepar3D - does it not require DirectX, or does it use DirectX 12?

I will try to roll back to DX9...

[Dumonceau]

Thanks for the hint, Johan. Yes, dxdiag.exe tells me I have Directx 12. But FSX and FSX SE can't use it. And Prepar3D - does it not require DirectX, or does it use DirectX 12?

I will try to roll back to DX9...

I'm a Prepar3D user and that uses DirectX11.

Try this download: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109

(https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109)EDIT: this is not a roll back, it simply means that you will have two versions of the DX next to each other. But that shouldn't be any problem!

Or, you could roll back to the previous build of Windows 10, but that is a serious hassle!

Keep me posted will ya? This is interesting! (I work in IT)

Johan

[jschall]

OK, you asked for IT, Johan:

DXError.log
--------------------
[07/16/15 09:17:08] module: DXWSetup(Mar 30 2011), file: dxwsetup.cpp, line: 229, function: CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine


Sections are not initialized.


--------------------
[07/16/15 09:17:08] module: DXWSetup(Mar 30 2011), file: psheets.cpp, line: 705, function: PreinstDlgProc


CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine() failed.


--------------------
[07/16/15 09:21:21] module: DXWSetup(Mar 30 2011), file: dxwsetup.cpp, line: 229, function: CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine


Sections are not initialized.


--------------------
[07/16/15 09:21:21] module: DXWSetup(Mar 30 2011), file: psheets.cpp, line: 705, function: PreinstDlgProc


CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine() failed.


--------------------
[07/16/15 09:22:05] module: DXWSetup(Mar 30 2011), file: dxwsetup.cpp, line: 229, function: CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine


Sections are not initialized.


--------------------
[07/16/15 09:22:05] module: DXWSetup(Mar 30 2011), file: psheets.cpp, line: 705, function: PreinstDlgProc


CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine() failed.

DirectX.log

07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: ***** DXWSETUP *****
07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: WinMain()
07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: Bing Bar is already installed, skipping offer
07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: IsIA64(): not IA64.
07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: Unable to get Version on target file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup.dll
07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: Installed file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup.dll
07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: Unable to get Version on target file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup32.dll
07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: Installed file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup32.dll
07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: GetDXVersion(): Unable to get RC string from registry.
07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: DirectX Version: 4.09.00.0904.00
07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: Setup Version: 4.09.00.0904.00
07/16/15 09:17:04: DXWSetup: A newer version of DirectX have been installed already.
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::CDXWSetup()
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::DownloadDXUpdate()
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x1, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x3, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x2, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: OnStartInstall(): DLSize = 81, InstallSize = 0
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: OnStartComponent(): ID = DXUpdate, DLSize = 81, InstallSize = 0, str = %DirectX_Setup%
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: OnComponentProgress(): Phase = 0, Progress = 0
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: OnStopComponent(): ID = DXUpdate, hr = 0x0, Phase = 9, str = %DirectX_Setup%, status = 0x0
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: OnStopInstall(): hr = 0x0, str = (null), status = 0x0
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x3, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: WM_APP_DOWNLOADDXUPDATE
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine()
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine(): Sections are not initialized.
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: PreinstDlgProc(): CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine() failed.
07/16/15 09:17:08: DXWSetup: WM_APP_ENDDOWNLOAD
07/16/15 09:17:14: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::~CDXWSetup()
07/16/15 09:17:16: DXWSetup: CreatePropertySheet() returns -9.
07/16/15 09:17:16: DXWSetup: Deleted file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup.dll.
07/16/15 09:17:16: DXWSetup: Deleted file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup32.dll.
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: ***** DXWSETUP *****
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: WinMain()
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: Bing Bar is already installed, skipping offer
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: IsIA64(): not IA64.
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: Unable to get Version on target file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup.dll
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: Installed file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup.dll
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: Unable to get Version on target file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup32.dll
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: Installed file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup32.dll
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: GetDXVersion(): Unable to get RC string from registry.
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: DirectX Version: 4.09.00.0904.00
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: Setup Version: 4.09.00.0904.00
07/16/15 09:21:13: DXWSetup: A newer version of DirectX have been installed already.
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::CDXWSetup()
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::DownloadDXUpdate()
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x1, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x3, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x2, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: OnStartInstall(): DLSize = 81, InstallSize = 0
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: OnStartComponent(): ID = DXUpdate, DLSize = 81, InstallSize = 0, str = %DirectX_Setup%
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: OnComponentProgress(): Phase = 0, Progress = 0
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: OnStopComponent(): ID = DXUpdate, hr = 0x0, Phase = 9, str = %DirectX_Setup%, status = 0x0
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: OnStopInstall(): hr = 0x0, str = (null), status = 0x0
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x3, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: WM_APP_DOWNLOADDXUPDATE
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine()
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine(): Sections are not initialized.
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: PreinstDlgProc(): CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine() failed.
07/16/15 09:21:21: DXWSetup: WM_APP_ENDDOWNLOAD
07/16/15 09:21:29: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::~CDXWSetup()
07/16/15 09:21:31: DXWSetup: CreatePropertySheet() returns -9.
07/16/15 09:21:31: DXWSetup: Deleted file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup.dll.
07/16/15 09:21:31: DXWSetup: Deleted file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup32.dll.
07/16/15 09:22:02: DXWSetup: ***** DXWSETUP *****
07/16/15 09:22:02: DXWSetup: WinMain()
07/16/15 09:22:02: DXWSetup: Bing Bar is already installed, skipping offer
07/16/15 09:22:02: DXWSetup: IsIA64(): not IA64.
07/16/15 09:22:02: DXWSetup: Unable to get Version on target file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup.dll
07/16/15 09:22:02: DXWSetup: Installed file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup.dll
07/16/15 09:22:03: DXWSetup: Unable to get Version on target file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup32.dll
07/16/15 09:22:03: DXWSetup: Installed file C:\WINDOWS\system32\directx\websetup\dsetup32.dll
07/16/15 09:22:03: DXWSetup: GetDXVersion(): Unable to get RC string from registry.
07/16/15 09:22:03: DXWSetup: DirectX Version: 4.09.00.0904.00
07/16/15 09:22:03: DXWSetup: Setup Version: 4.09.00.0904.00
07/16/15 09:22:03: DXWSetup: A newer version of DirectX have been installed already.
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::CDXWSetup()
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::DownloadDXUpdate()
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x1, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x3, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x2, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: OnStartInstall(): DLSize = 81, InstallSize = 0
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: OnStartComponent(): ID = DXUpdate, DLSize = 81, InstallSize = 0, str = %DirectX_Setup%
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: OnComponentProgress(): Phase = 0, Progress = 0
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: OnStopComponent(): ID = DXUpdate, hr = 0x0, Phase = 9, str = %DirectX_Setup%, status = 0x0
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: OnStopInstall(): hr = 0x0, str = (null), status = 0x0
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: OnEngineStatusChange(): EngineStatus = 0x3, SubStatus = 0x0
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: WM_APP_DOWNLOADDXUPDATE
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine()
07/16/15 09:22:05: DXWSetup: CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine(): Sections are not initialized.
07/16/15 09:22:06: DXWSetup: PreinstDlgProc(): CDXWSetup::InitInstallEngine() failed.
07/16/15 09:22:06: DXWSetup: WM_APP_ENDDOWNLOAD

------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, I cannot install DirectX 9 on Windows 10.

[Dumonceau]

Ok, just did some reading. What might also help is rolling back your catalyst drivers.

Here is a link, but I just tried it on my windows 10 test laptop

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/restore-driver-previous-version#1TC=windows-7

Will be checking here again!

Johan

[Dumonceau]

In the meantime, I have a question for you: what is the version number of your catalyst and what GFX card do you have?

Johan

[patful]

Hmm...not sure I like the sound of this. I've signed up for Windows 10, but read that on the Home version, it will update everything automatically without my input. I always screen all updates before allowing them, don't want them changing any hardware drivers without my permission. So you were getting the same frame rates/performance with Windows 10 before? I have Windows 7, am curious if I'll regret updating.

[Dumonceau]

Hmm...not sure I like the sound of this. I've signed up for Windows 10, but read that on the Home version, it will update everything automatically without my input. I always screen all updates before allowing them, don't want them changing any hardware drivers without my permission. So you were getting the same frame rates/performance with Windows 10 before? I have Windows 7, am curious if I'll regret updating.

Nono, it definitely is the drivers working with DirectX. Apparently there are no problems with Nvidia, but AMD/ATI does have some problems.

Johan

[jschall]

In the meantime, I have a question for you: what is the version number of your catalyst and what GFX card do you have?

Johan

Johan, my graphics card is AMD Radeon R9 200 (Engineering Sample WDDM v2.0). Driver version is 15.200.1023.7, 2015-06-02.

I will try to roll it back...

Thanks again for your collaboration.

[patful]

Nono, it definitely is the drivers working with DirectX. Apparently there are no problems with Nvidia, but AMD/ATI does have some problems.

Johan

Thanks! I do have a GeForce video card, but still have the onboard AMD sound. I did notice that my sound went south when I let Windows update it before my last re-formatting. Won't make that mistake again. If it works, don't fix it.

Pat

[WarHorse47]

It would be good to know what works and what doesn't work with Win 10 and FSX.

I have a AMD Radeon HD 7870 running with an older Catalyst version under Win 8.1.

Although I've signed up for Win 10, I don't plan to install it until I feel comfortable that it will not cause issues with FSX.

Pls. keep us informed, or perhaps make this thread a sticky as we get closer to the Win 10 release for the rest of us.

Thanks.

[jschall]

Ok, just did some reading. What might also help is rolling back your catalyst drivers.

Here is a link, but I just tried it on my windows 10 test laptop

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/restore-driver-previous-version#1TC=windows-7

Will be checking here again!

Johan

I logged in as administrator, and I was able to roll back one version, to 15.200.1023.5, 2015-05-22. But still the same problem with FSX - black screen.

And I still cannot install 9.

[gradyhappyg]

Did you make sure during your reinstalls that your FSX, FSX/SE cfg. were deleted? I had a similar issue a while back after updating my AMD drivers and after much trial and error figured out that the FSX cfg. file was corrupted by the update. Try letting FSX build a new one by renaming the old one.

[jschall]

Did you make sure during your reinstalls that your FSX, FSX/SE cfg. were deleted? I had a similar issue a while back after updating my AMD drivers and after much trial and error figured out that the FSX cfg. file was corrupted by the update. Try letting FSX build a new one by renaming the old one.

Thanks for the suggestion. I deleted FSX_SE.cfg as well as any FSX.cfg copies on my Hard Disk. Made no difference - FSX_SE cannot use DirectX 12, and this latest version of Windows 10 will not install DirectX 11 or 10.

[patful]

Thanks for the suggestion. I deleted FSX_SE.cfg as well as any FSX.cfg copies on my Hard Disk. Made no difference - FSX_SE cannot use DirectX 12, and this latest version of Windows 10 will not install DirectX 11 or 10.

Well, that probably seals the deal for me. If you can't install 10 or 11, you probably can't install 9.1 either. No Windows 10 for me.

[Dumonceau]

Well, that probably seals the deal for me. If you can't install 10 or 11, you probably can't install 9.1 either. No Windows 10 for me.

Older versions of DirectX will become available and will be made compatible with windows 10 after the release to the market.

M$ are now concentrating on getting things to work with DX12. You can't really blame them for that. Older versions of Dx are a thing of the past.

But hey, be my guest, keep on running Win7 or even WinXP till you die. Hell, you people still insist on running FSX...

I on the other hand will ditch Windows 7 as soon as Windows 10 comes out.

[patful]

I've already signed up for Windows 10, but my computer's sole purpose is the flight simulator. What could I run besides FSX? Not a student, professional, or developer, can't bring myself to lie to purchase a copy of P3D.

[Dumonceau]

I've already signed up for Windows 10, but my computer's sole purpose is the flight simulator. What could I run besides FSX? Not a student, professional, or developer, can't bring myself to lie to purchase a copy of P3D.

Then, like most of us, you will just have to be patient until M$ irons out the bugs.

Johan

[Jafo]

When a game actually comes out designed for DX12 there might be half a reason to go for Win 10.

If you are into 'older' games there is exactly ZERO reason to 'upgrade' [their word, not mine] to 10.

To date, 7 has been the pinnacle of MS's efforts OS-wise as usage % and adoption rates demonstrate, compared to any other.

8 and 8.1 are a joke [although the heads that rolled probably won't agree].

At best, 10 is what 8 SHOULD HAVE BEEN, just as 7 is what Vista SHOULD HAVE BEEN.

....and Win Me should NEVER have been RTM...;)

[patful]

Then, like most of us, you will just have to be patient until M$ irons out the bugs.

Johan

I'm sure I'll take the plunge eventually, but will patiently wait for everyone else to install and report any problems. Of course, everyone else is probably thinking the same thing. :adoration:

[Dumonceau]

When a game actually comes out designed for DX12 there might be half a reason to go for Win 10.

If you are into 'older' games there is exactly ZERO reason to 'upgrade' [their word, not mine] to 10.

To date, 7 has been the pinnacle of MS's efforts OS-wise as usage % and adoption rates demonstrate, compared to any other.

8 and 8.1 are a joke [although the heads that rolled probably won't agree].

At best, 10 is what 8 SHOULD HAVE BEEN, just as 7 is what Vista SHOULD HAVE BEEN.

....and Win Me should NEVER have been RTM...;)


I agree. With this difference, if a game stops evolving, I'll eventually ditch it. Which is exactly what I did with FSX.

Johan

[expat]

This has me worried. I applied for W 10 - for free - after a tip off about the offer on this forum. Now it says it will install after 29 July when I am notified. Not sure if I will be given the option or not, and even if I am, I am concerned one of my family or me might accidentally make the wrong click and poof! gone will be my working FSX. Suggestions?

[Jafo]

This has me worried. I applied for W 10 - for free - after a tip off about the offer on this forum. Now it says it will install after 29 July when I am notified. Not sure if I will be given the option or not, and even if I am, I am concerned one of my family or me might accidentally make the wrong click and poof! gone will be my working FSX. Suggestions?

Uninstall some updates currently on your machine....

Probably these ones...depends whether it's 7 or 8...

KB2952664
KB2990214
KB3021917
KB3035583

THIS LINK PROVIDES MORE INFORMATION FOR WINDOWS 8 http://www.ghacks.net/2015/04/17/how-to-remove-windows-10-upgrade-updates-in-windows-7-and-8/

[dougbr2005]

Hmm...not sure I like the sound of this. I've signed up for Windows 10, but read that on the Home version, it will update everything automatically without my input. I always screen all updates before allowing them, don't want them changing any hardware drivers without my permission. So you were getting the same frame rates/performance with Windows 10 before? I have Windows 7, am curious if I'll regret updating.

You can cancel your Win 10 reservation by right clicking on the small Icon for the Win 10 upgrade bottom right of your taskbar and select check status a popup will appear and you can select to cancel the reservation. This will stop the automatic update until your sure this issue can be resolved. Hope this helps you!:biggrin-new:

[Dumonceau]

It appears that the DX12 in the latest build of Windows 10 is not backwards compatible with either DX9 or 10. Which is strange, because on my Windows 7 machine, there is only DirectX11 and I can run FSX and FS9 on it without any problem whatsoever.

My conclusion would be that the DirectX 12 in this build is only backwards compatible with DX11, given that the Op can run Prepar3D v2.5 on it without any problem.

I doubt very much though that Microsoft will shoot themselves in the foot by not addressing this after recently having sold the FSX franchise to Dovetail.

Has someone over here ever done the test with FSX/DX10 and Windows 10?

Johan

[flaviossa]

DirectX packages aren´t backward compatible by itself. If you want to use DX9 you have to download and install dx9 runtime. The same for each dx distro. if you have a win7 that runs dx9, it must be installed sometime by some game,update,etc. Does anybody here installed the dx9 package already to test?

https://www.microsoft.com/pt-br/download/details.aspx?id=34429

I will only test windows10 after it´s official release, so can´t comment further now :encouragement:

[Dumonceau]

Thanks Flaviossa! maybe this could be the solution for the OP!

Johan

[jschall]

Thanks Flaviossa! maybe this could be the solution for the OP!

Johan
No, I found the real solution. I selected "Use DirectX 10 Preview" in the Settings page. Now FSX_SE is working, finally.

I hope the moderator can add [SOLVED] to the title of this thread.

[WarHorse47]

No, I found the real solution. I selected "Use DirectX 10 Preview" in the Settings page. Now FSX_SE is working, finally.

I hope the moderator can add [SOLVED] to the title of this thread.Prefer not to close this thread, thank you. I don't use DirectX 10 Preview and I'm running FSXA. I'd like to know how FSXA works (or not) with Win10 as it will help me determine if and when I should go to Win10. Thanks.

[flaviossa]

In fact it´s not the real solution because you´re running in dx10 now. Not dx9 as like 80% of FSX users do. If someone with the same error as op, please, try executing the dx9 runtime and see if the problem is gone?

An addendun to my previous post, please run this too as it´s a complement to the dx9.0c to the latest standards (By the time it was released):
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109

[flaviossa]

The final dx9 version should read: 9.29.1974

If you prefer, there is a web installer too:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

There is a little tool that checks if dx9.0c is intalled in your machine:
http://breakthrusoftware.com/html/onlinedocs/kb/installkb/DXTester.html
(Don´t worry, the .EXE file is virus free, i already tested and used it)

[Dumonceau]

No, I found the real solution. I selected "Use DirectX 10 Preview" in the Settings page. Now FSX_SE is working, finally.

I hope the moderator can add [SOLVED] to the title of this thread.

With all due respect, that is not a solution, but rather a workaround. Warhorse is right!

Please keep this thread open for people using older flightsims!

Johan

[dhazelgrove]

M$ did something similar to this during the Win8 preview phase.
They changed the display drivers so that FSX (and FS9, briefly) wouldn't work, and we had to wait until the final launch version became available.

When the final launch happened the display drivers were suddenly backwards-compatible and FSX (and FS9) worked again.
The only problem then was that installing Win8 rewrote the registry - so we had to install FSX (and FS9) from scratch - losing a lot of add-ons.
Do you all have every single installer for all your add-ons?

I remember ranting about it in this forum (and the M$ forum) at the time.

Nobody can tell me if installing Win10 will do that again - and I'm definitely NOT installing Win10 unless it can be demonstrated that it leaves P3D, FSX (and FS9) workable after installing.
I have spent far too much to risk it.

Dave

[jschall]

I was able to install DirectX 9 using @flaviossa's link, and the DXTester program shows it is installed. DXDiag still shows DirectX 12, though.

I unchecked the "Preview DirectX 10" option, and tried to run FSX_SE. It was still a black screen, untill I switched to Windowed display. Lo! and behold, the display works in windowed mode. I switched back to full screen mode, and it kept working.

So, finally, DirectX 9 can be installed on Windows 10, but NOT from the Web installer.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this solution!

[flaviossa]

Thanks for your report jschall. It helps when win10 is released and people will step on this situation.