Basic troubleshooting: How to troubleshoot packages installation & decompressing issues

Packages installation and decompressing issues can be caused by software or hardware. The following troubleshooting steps are particularly useful if you're experiencing the following issues:

• Download "loops" on the same package
• The download stops 
• Download speed drops too low

SEE ALSO

• How to troubleshoot packages installation and decompressing issues - Stuck on "big files"
• How to troubleshoot packages installation and decompressing issues - Stuck on "small" package

 

CHECK AVAILABLE FREE SPACE

Make sure there is enough space to decompress the files. If you are downloading 15 GiB of data, you will need about 30 GiB of free space on the drive.

CHANGE YOUR WINDOWS 10 USER ACCOUNT TYPE TO ADMINISTRATOR

Sometimes running the sim as an admin is not enough. Please ensure that you have full administrative privileges, and permission to make all changes on the computer.

• Open Settings
• Click on "Accounts" then "Family & other people"
• Select your account then click the "Change account type" button.
• Set your account as "Administrator"

 

DELETE THE PACKAGES

• Close the sim
• Navigate to the Package installation folder
• Delete the packages named *.fspatch or *.fspackage 
• Reboot the computer
• Relaunch the sim and try again

Warning: You may need to do this operation several times.

Default installation locations:

Windows Store install:
C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\

Steam install:
C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator\

CHECK YOUR ANTIVIRUS OR ANTI-MALWARE |ANTI RANSOMWARE

Your security software may block the installation of a particular package.

• Temporarily disable your security program(s) before launching Microsoft Flight Simulator
  • To do so follow the instructions from your manufacturer.
• Remove the file from quarantine and whitelist Microsoft Flight Simulator. 
  • follow the instructions from your manufacturer.
• Open Windows Defender and turn off real-time protection.
  • Close Microsoft Flight Simulator
  • In the Cortana search box, type "Windows Security"
  • Open "Windows Security" > "Virus & Threat protection" > "Manage settings"
  • Disable "Real-time protection" and try again

DISABLE IPV6

1. Right-click on the “Network  / Wi-Fi ” icon on the bottom right corner of your screen to open up the menu shown below.
2. Click on Open Network and Sharing Center.
3. In the Network and Sharing Center window, click on Change adapter options. 
4. You will then see a list of network adapters available on your computer.
5. Right-click on your active network adapter (Ethernet or Wi-Fi) and select Properties.
6. In the Properties window, scroll down until you see Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6). 
   Note: If you’re connected to the internet wirelessly, the corresponding adapter should be “Wi-Fi“. However, if you’re connected to the internet via a LAN cable instead, the corresponding adapter should be “Ethernet“.
7. Uncheck the Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) checkbox and click on OK to save the changes.

Now that IPv6 has been disabled on your computer, reboot your computer for the setting to take effect.

Note: If you do not see a significant improvement, we recommend enabling IPv6.

 

USE A VPN 

You may be in a remote location or your bandwidth may be throttled. Try using a VPN (you can find free trials online) to connect to another datacenter or prevent your ISP from seeing what kind of traffic is coming and going on your line. 

CLOSE BACKGROUND TASKS

Allocate more resources to the task. Close any unnecessary background applications and web pages, and disable any overlays (Steam, Discord, etc). Close the launcher, wait a few minutes, then try again.

SLEEP MODE

The download will pause when your primary, secondary, or external hard disk drive goes to sleep. Make sure that your hard drive doesn't go into sleep mode, thus preventing the data to be written on the drive.

 

DAMAGED RAM

Memory errors can cause issues with the installation process. To investigate possible issues with your system memory, please do the following:

• Close all applications on your computer
• In the "type here to search" bar, next to the Start menu type "Memory Diagnostic"
• Click on "Restart now and check for problems"
• Wait for the tool to finish running the diagnostic

Alternatively, you can use memory testing software such as https://www.memtest86.com/