Thinkpads Forum

I travel extensively and enjoy using Flight Simulator on my Thinkpad 60s. I recently purchased the new FSX and it will not load on the Thinkpad. Other forums that I've seen seem to indicate that a number of people are having the same issue but that there does not appear to be a solution yet. I wonder if anyone on this forum may have an answer.

You must have SP2 and (at least) Net1.1 for FSX to load.
Another FSX issue, what a suprise.

Thanks for the reply. I have SP2 but don't know what Net 1.1 is . . .

tjtropp wrote:Thanks for the reply. I have SP2 but don't know what Net 1.1 is . . .

It's a "run-time" library framework for applications coded in .Net to run in systems that don't have the libraries.

More details and download:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... laylang=en

You can also get it via Windows Update. Look under Optional installs.

I love it when you guys talk that way! Thanks for your help.

I run FSX on my T42p. IT takes about 13GB of HDD space! A speedy 7200rpm drive is recommended for rapid loading and less seconds waiting

There is obviously a problem with the newer Thinkpads. Other forums have many reports of inability to install the program. I tried downloading Net 1.1 and it made no difference. I've tried the DVD drive in the docking station for my X60s and it doesn't respond and I tried plugging in a different DVD drive and it does not respond. Neither Microsoft nor Lenovo will respond to inquiries on this problem.

You probably have looked around at the many flight sim forums, it's not only Thinkpads that may have installation issues with FSX. Have you asked about your problem on any of the forums? More likely to find a solution there than from MS or Lenovo.
Just a long shot here; is your computer set up so you are the Administrator?
I know you have to have SP2 and Net1.1, because I tried to install the FSX demo on my PC without Net1.1 and it would not install.

Yes, I'm the administrator on the system. The strange thing is that FX9 runs just fine on this system but it simply won't recognize the DVD for FSX.

Strange.

There are a lot of unknown questions regarding the validation system on FSX because you don't need to have the disc in the drive like you did with FX9 and the CFS sims. Any chance the drive you have may be causing issues like with older optical drives that cannot read discs that do not have the proper menu structure that newer drives have no problem with? If you put the disc in, can you see anything at all using the "Explore" choice on the right click menu?

Thanks for your help. No, I can't see anything on the drive because it locks the system. I've tried two drives, both of which are less than a year old, and the same thing happens.

How about a defective FSX DVD? Can you have a look at the DVD on a PC?

I installed the game with Net 2.0 first installed on my T42p.
I don't know which problem do you guys are running into

I returned the original FSX Deluxe and exchanged it; same result. So I also purchased an FSX Standard and tried that one; same result.

Try turning off Autorun for your DVD drive, just to see if you can explore the disc and rule out strange formatting incompatibilities.

How do I turn off autorun?

I use TweakUI, there's other ways through Windows, I think.

There are other ways, but a quick one is to right click on the optical drive, then select properties, then select "Take no Action: under the AutoPLay tab.

I ran into this problem on a T60p. My solution was to uninstall Sonic DLA. You can use the drive properties to disable it but as I don't use it I just got rid of it.

I saw this problem on another forum and that was their solution - from what I gather it is a problem with other DVD's and CD's as well.

Incidentally I would like to hear from anyone who plays FSX regularly on their T60p. I am looking for someone optimal settings - i am working through that now but there are so many that it makes it difficult to get them perfect.

Thanks for the suggestion; I'll give it a try.

iantjones wrote:Incidentally I would like to hear from anyone who plays FSX regularly on their T60p. I am looking for someone optimal settings - i am working through that now but there are so many that it makes it difficult to get them perfect.

I'm amazed anyone can run FSX on a laptop. I'd love to buy it but I'm afraid that even on my P4 3.4C, 2G PC3200 RAM, ATI X800XT desktop it will be a slide show at all but minimal settings.
There are a ton of tweaks, it would be a job to figure which ones would be best for each system, but I guess that would be part of the fun.

Ian: You're a genius. I removed the check mark on the DLA tab for the D drive and the program loaded immediately. It runs very nicely on my X60s as long as keep the scenery and graphics at a minimal level.

Thanks for your help.

ronbo613 wrote:

iantjones wrote:Incidentally I would like to hear from anyone who plays FSX regularly on their T60p. I am looking for someone optimal settings - i am working through that now but there are so many that it makes it difficult to get them perfect.

I'm amazed anyone can run FSX on a laptop. I'd love to buy it but I'm afraid that even on my P4 3.4C, 2G PC3200 RAM, ATI X800XT desktop it will be a slide show at all but minimal settings.
There are a ton of tweaks, it would be a job to figure which ones would be best for each system, but I guess that would be part of the fun.

Couple things...

As of 2002 discs aren't required for running (at least my 2002 copy and my FSX copy dont need discs)

Uninstall Sonic DLA before ever complaining of drive incompatibilities on a Thinkpad. It is evil malicious software and should die a quick and painful death (only quick because a long death would be more painful for me).

On FSX, lowest settings result in a very high framerate. It is simply a slow process of testing to see what can be enabled.

You can also simply diable the Sonic program by unchecking the box in the properties of the DVD drive.

Howdy all:

The ThinkPads are not gaming Laptops. They were designed for business people. They can't be expected to play every game on the market. There are however Laptop units that are made for gaming and multimedia and IMB is not the brand of choice.....

ThinkPads are great all around workhorse units, but that's about it. I would say consider yourself lucky if you are able to play a game here and there for entertainment, but don't expect miricles....

Just my 2 cents..................

You are correct but it's nice to have something like Flight Simulator to offer some entertainment while on a business trip. I've gotten FSX working fairly well now as long as I keep the graphics set fairly low. I have a 1.66 GHz and 1meg of RAM. Do you suppose increasing the RAM would allow for more graphics or does that have to do with the speed of the processor?

One of the big complaints about FSX is that it does not utilize dual core technology(at least at this stage of the game) so as with any recent computer game, you want the best CPU and video card you can afford and FSX really chews up the RAM. One of the more common performance tweaks is software that frees up computer memory so FSX can use it. Since memory is about the easiest thing you can upgrade on a laptop, adding RAM would be my first choice. Laptop CPU and video card upgrades are more of a project.
It's true that laptops aren't really gaming machines, but when I'm on the road somewhere, I don't mind breaking out the computer for a CFS2 session. It may not be able to run the most recent games, but it can run some of the older favorites, no problem. The T30 I have is actually more powerful than the Athlon 2500+, 512MB RAM desktop I'm typing this on(it does have an ATI 9800Pro hand-me-down video card, though).

I wonder if my X60s can take more than the 1 meg of memory that I presently have in it; I'll check.

My X60s is running 1.5 GB...

Apparently you can upgrade the X60s to as much as 2 gigs. How does FSX run with 1.5 gigs? I have 1 gig and have to keep the graphics pretty low.