FS9 and Windows 8

[WarHorse47]

I'm looking at replacing my 9-1/2 year old Dell with a new rig complete with all the whisltes and bells so I can reinstall FS9 and handle FSX.

I'd been warming up to Windows 7.0 from work and my wife's laptop, but now everything comes with Windows 8.0. So essentially I'm looking at jumping from Win XP directly to Win 8.0 when I get a new box bundled with OS and other software installed.

So the first question on my mind is how does FS 2004 work under Win 8? Any issues or complaints? And how about some of the utilities like Aircraft Container Manager?

Thanks in advance
:ernae:
--WH

[falcon409]

It was my understanding that Win8 was primarily an update for the "touch-screen" technology and not much else. Too bad they force the public to use an OS they'd rather not have. Hopefully you have no conflicts at all with FS9 or ACM.
Good Luck! :salute:

[WarHorse47]

Yeah, that's what I've read. In order to use the touch screen technology, you need to order a touch screen monitor. I'm not ready for that yet - I'm still trying to get my fingerprints off my current monitor - LOL.

Not only am I not ready for a touch screen, I haven't warmed up to a wide screen ratio monitor. My current monitor is a standard ratio monitor I puchased for $50 at a government surplus store when my last monitor died. It works just fine, so I'm thinking over if I really need a new monitor at all - and if so, I'll just get one locally. I don't watch movies or DVD's on my computer, so why does one need a wide screen? I use my computer for flight simming, internet and AutoCad and see little advantage to the latest trends in monitors.

Nothing is easy or straightforward these days. :salute:

--WH

[awj112]

From my hands on windows 8, the consensus is right. Outside of the touch mod, It is windows 7+.

[WarHorse47]

From my hands on windows 8, the consensus is right. Outside of the touch mod, It is windows 7+.Soooo, I can conclude at this point that.... :salute:

1. Nobody on the forum has tried FS 2004 under Windows 8.
2. FS 2004 should work fine under Windows 8 if it works fine under Windows 7.
3. Nobody has experience in other FS 2004 utilities under Windows 7 or 8.

Sorry to be so scientific, but the answers will help in my decision making. I still have the option of getting a new computer loaded with Windows 7, but don't know yet if its worth the hassle.

Thanks
:ernae:
--WH

[patful]

I don't watch movies or DVD's on my computer, so why does one need a wide screen?

--WH

I thought the same, but when I fired up my new computer with a 23-inch widescreen last year, I was astounded at the clarity of the VC. Just beautiful. I could never go back to a 4:3 now. They're very reasonably priced.

Pat

[awj112]

Soooo, I can conclude at this point that.... :salute:

1. Nobody on the forum has tried FS 2004 under Windows 8.
2. FS 2004 should work fine under Windows 8 if it works fine under Windows 7.
3. Nobody has experience in other FS 2004 utilities under Windows 7 or 8.

Sorry to be so scientific, but the answers will help in my decision making. I still have the option of getting a new computer loaded with Windows 7, but don't know yet if its worth the hassle.

Thanks
:ernae:
--WH

Sounds about right. I haven't started reinstalling FS 2004 in Windows 7 but I imagine it works like Vista; don't install it in the "Program files" folder since Windows will clamp down on it like a Max sec prison in lock down.

[Sunny9850]

A friend of mine who is not an avid Sim pilot however, has tried FSX on W8 including adding airplanes such as our Constellation series to the sim and it worked with the same caveats as on W7 or any othe OS in FSX
He also installed a couple of scenery areas and that also worked just like in the W7-FSX configuration.

That said, he does not use any auxiliary programs such as ActiveSky etc or spend much time tweaking the sim to be perfect.
FPS did seem a tick higher on the same machine under W8 but that might be more a difference in the graphic settings of one install vs the other.

Cheers
Stefan

[modelr]

There is one program I have that worked great in XP, but does not work in Win7, and that is Abacus' Custom Panel Designer. All of my other programs work fine. Abacus does not seem to worried, for some reason, they have not posted the caveat to the program description, nor posted anything about an update. The one query I sent was never answered.

[Tom Clayton]

If you still have the install files for XP, then you can install it to a virtual machine using something like Oracle's VirtualBox.Once you have the virtual machine set up, you can designate a folder on your physical machine as a "Shared Folder" that displays as a "network place" in your virtual machine. This allows you to seamlessly pass files in and out of the virtual computer.