Unable to launch FSX:SE at all.

[Daddy Cool]

When i try to launch the game through steam i get the error 'An error occured, steam was unable to update the game' and when trying to launch through the .exe, i get a windows error message stating that 'The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect'

This appears to be a windows issue coupled to the 2005 version of the C++ redistributable which actually refuses to install on my system.

I'm considering returning the game and buying X-Plane instead if i am unable to find a solution.

[Silvia Dragoness]

The "side-by-side" thing is a system for Windows to have multiple versions of some libraries (like the C++ Redist) installed at the same time, for different programs that need one particular version or another. So your guess about the C++ Redist being the problem is probably correct. Not sure how to solve that (aside from completely reinstalling Windows), but I hope you get it sorted out.

If you do wind up jumping ship, keep in mind that X-Plane 11 just came out, and don't forget about Prepar3d (which is basically just an updated version of FSX).

[Rogen]

The redistributables the game requires can be found in...

[root install level]\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX\_CommonRedist\

Root install level is wherever steam is installed, for example on my system Steam is installed to multiple drives with the FSX-SE path being...

E:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX\_CommonRedist\

What is your OS ?

[Daddy Cool]

Originally posted by Rogen:

The redistributables the game requires can be found in...

[root install level]\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX\_CommonRedist\

Root install level is wherever steam is installed, for example on my system Steam is installed to multiple drives with the FSX-SE path being...

E:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX\_CommonRedist\

What is your OS ?

I've attempted re-installing the vcredist through the files included and from ones off the internet and both seem exit before completing the install.

Also i'm running 64x Windows 10 Home edition, probably half of the problem.

[Rogen]

Thinking about it it sounds as if Steam is trying to install something, probably the C++ runtimes given that is your error for FSX-SE.

Could be Administrator elevation is a problem. I assume you are a local administator on the machine?

Typically the first account configured on Windows is always an administator acccount though.

Does Steam automatically start with login?

Or do you have an icon to click on?


In any case if Steam is running exit it completely so that the icon in the right hand side task bar system tray is gone.

Browse to the local steam install location (wherever Steam is installed). In my instance it is "D:\Games\Steam\" but your's might be long the lines of "C:\Program Files (x86)\Valve\Steam\".

Right Click on Steam.exe and choose "Run as administrator"

What happens at this point?


There should be an administration elevation request that you click OK to and Steam should then run.

At that point try running the game. What happens?



Assuming all good and well to this point but the error is still occuring.

What version of the 2005 c++ redistributables is installed? Programs and Features will have the details.

You should have both the x64 and x86 releases installed and I have three different version numbers installed.

The x86 release I have two installed, one as version 8.0.56336, the other as 8.0.61001
The (x64) has just the single install and is version 8.0.61000

The 8.0.6100x versions are both recent installs from this year.


As a troubleshooting exersize I would first download the current c++ installs from Microsoft. They'll probably be earlier versions than the ones Steam installs but should install side by side OK.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3387
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=21254


I would then check the Event Viewer for an FSX error.

The Event Viewer can be found by using the right click pop menup of the start menu, choose "Custom Views/Administrative Events"

Scroll to the date/time of when the last fail of FSX was and start reviewing those errors and warnings. Hopefully there will be a clue as to what FSX-SE is looking for and you might see something along the lines of below, however please ignore the FSX path and the version number in the below example as it is just an example.


Activation context generation failed for "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\fsx.exe".
Dependent Assembly Microsoft.VC80.MFC,processorArchitecture="x86",
publicKeyToken="1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b",type="win32",
version="8.0.50608.0" could not be found.
Please use sxstrace.exe for detailed diagnosis.



Fixing the issue may involve the uninstall of all 2005 c++ runtimes, then installing the downloaded c++ runtimes and then letting Steam install what it requires.


Now here is a tricky part.
When Steam installs a game that includes c++ redistributables it sets its own install registry key, this it does to prevent itself from running the redistributables install every time you start the game and you'll need to rename or delete that key to force Steam to re-install.


This is the registry Key Steam sets, if it doesn't exist it means Steam has not installed the required runtimes.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Valve\Steam\Apps\CommonRedist\vcredist\2005

And if you are not comfortable in deleting, a rename should do the trick, see below example where I've rename the 2005 to 2005.old
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Valve\Steam\Apps\CommonRedist\vcredist\2005.old


Now that any 2005 redistributables have been uninstalled, the downloaded ones from Microsoft are installed and the Steam reg key is inactive, try starting FSX-SE, Steam should see their c++ install regkey is no longer there and trigger its c++ install process and all going well the game should start.


Hopefully we'll hear from you soon and all will be resolved.


Cheers

[Daddy Cool]

I followed your advice and un-installed all current 2005 redists and installed the ones you provided from the Microsoft website, they seemed to install correctly as they appeared in the Programs list moments later.

I then moved on to renaming the 2005 registry key to .old as you recommended and then ran steam as an administrator (i am the local admin and only user on the PC btw). Ran FSX-SE and it did begin to install the redists it needed until an error popped up stating that something was already installed on the system (the x86 version i beleive since the x64 bit installed without trouble) and the second time the game attempted to start, it bought me back to the same error. 'An error occured while updating Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition (unknown error).

Trying to run the game via .exe also gives the same 'side by side' error.

[Rogen]

OK, What happens if you run the Steam x86 c++ installer manually?

Does it give any messages?

The Event Viewer logs will have some details of what happened.

[Daddy Cool]

Running the installer in the FSX folder gives the same 'another version of this product is already installed' error and the Event Veiwer has the error

Windows Installer reconfigured the product. Product Name: Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable. Product Version: 8.0.61001. Product Language: 0. Manufacturer: Microsoft Corporation. Reconfiguration success or error status: 1638.'

[Rogen]

What message is in there for FSX-SE ?

[Daddy Cool]

'Activation context generation failed for "F:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX\fsx.exe". Dependent Assembly Microsoft.VC80.MFC,processorArchitecture="x86",publicKeyToken="1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b",type="win32",version="8.0.50608.0" could not be found. Please use sxstrace.exe for detailed diagnosis.'

Pretty much the same thing you described.

[HeavyHemi]

Edit...after my rant, I did a complete forensic nucking of the program from the Windows file sytem and registry. Reinstalled clen and Aok now.

[Rogen]

HeavyHemi, This is clearly a Windows issue as they are Microsoft's runtimes.

Big Smoke, OK what versions of the 2005 C++ runtimes are installed ?

[Daddy Cool]

Originally posted by Rogen:

HeavyHemi, This is clearly a Windows issue as they are Microsoft's runtimes.

Big Smoke, OK what versions of the 2005 C++ runtimes are installed ?

Both the files i downloaded are 8.0.50727.42 and the one steam installed which is a x64 is 8.0.61000

Is windows thinking the latest 86x version is installed when it isnt? Or it's somehow corrupt or something?

[Rogen]

Yes it does seem there is a level of corruption present, given it's not actually installed but Windows thinks it is.

There are a couple of things we can try.

First is open a CMD using Run as administrator, the right click power menu option should have it.

Then type sfc/scannow

This is the Microsoft Sytem File Checker and it will try and find/fix corrupted system files. Might take a while and it's not perfect but it is the next step to take and please feel free to repost and keep us updated as steps are completed.

If it doesn't find and repair any corrupted items we can try the following commands.


DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Checkhealth

This first will check for corruption and should be a pretty quick indicator of anything.


DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth

This second will perform a fullscan of the Window image for corruption, will take a bit of time.


DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

This one can a fair amount of time, maybe double what the Scanhealth option takes.

When this one finishes restart the machine and try running steam and FSX-SE again.


Let us know what happens.

[HeavyHemi]

Originally posted by Rogen:

HeavyHemi, This is clearly a Windows issue as they are Microsoft's runtimes.

Big Smoke, OK what versions of the 2005 C++ runtimes are installed ?

Nope...sorry. I wasn't a windows file. I completely unistalled FSX, nuked every related FSX file in Windows and nuked every FSX related entry in the registry. Reinstalled clean and it fired up perfect. So, either I had a registry issue that wasn't corrected by the installer, or their were legacy leftfovers that were conflicting somewhere. I'm in the process of installing REX and GEX addons. So far so good.
I'm running it on a 4K JU7100 Sammy 50" on a X99 6850K on a 1080Ti GPU. Nothing I throw at it drops it under 60 FPS at the max settings.

[Rogen]

??? I was talking about Big Smoke's issue...

But happy to hear you've resolved your issues with a clean install :-)