Microsoft Flight Simulator FAQ

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How to stop redownloading packages every time you launch Flight Sim

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When launching Microsoft Flight Simulator, the launcher searches for the packages installed on the machine and offers to download recent updates. If the launcher cannot find the packages anymore or if they are out of date, it will download the entirety of the mandatory content.

The packages might be out of date when:

  • Your information is out of sync
  • You missed one or several updates
  • You imported packages from a previous installation

The launcher might not find the packages when:

  • The UserCFG file is set to Read-Only
  • The package installation folder was changed without updating the UserCFG file.

 

CHECK YOUR SYSTEM AND PROFILE SETTINGS

 

CHECK THAT THE USERCFG FILE ISN'T SET TO READ-ONLY

You can check the file properties by right-clicking on the file and choosing Properties. If the Read-only attribute is checked, uncheck it and click OK.

By default, you'll find the UserCfg.opt at the following location:

Microsoft store version

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache

Steam version

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator

 

ADMIN RIGHTS

Ensure you have administrator rights to make changes to 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"

 

UPDATE THE USERCFG FILE

Make sure that the UserCFG file points to the correct installation folder. 

  1. Find the folder where your Official and Community packages are installed (for example D:\MSFS)
  2. Close Microsoft Flight Simulator
  3. Navigate to your UserCfg.opt file
  4. Open the UserCFG.opt file with Notepad
  5. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and delete the last line (for instance:)  
    • InstalledPackagesPath "C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages")
  6. Copy-paste the path to the folder where your packages are installed OR Launch Microsoft Flight Simulator. You'll be prompted to choose the installation path.
  7. Click "Install Package Path" and select the folder where your packages are installed.
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