Installing X-Plane

Installation on a Windows PC
To install X-Plane on a Windows-based computer (Windows XP or later), do the following:


 * 1. Insert the first X-Plane DVD into the DVD-ROM drive and wait for it to spin up.


 * 2. If the X-System window doesn’t open automatically, open My Computer and navigate to the drive now labeled XPLANE9 (usually the D drive—see the screenshot below). If the X-System window does appear automatically, skip to step 4.


 * [[Image:1_open_my_comp.png]]


 * 3. Double-click on Installer_Windows.exe to launch the X-Plane installation.


 * [[Image:2_open_installer_copy.png]]


 * 4. When the installer window appears, click Continue.


 * [[Image:3_cont_copy.png]]


 * Note: If the buttons at the bottom of the X-System screen labeled Quit, Go Back, and Continue are not visible, then the system is probably running at a minimal resolution like 800 x 600. Using this resolution will not allow the computer to display the bottom of the X-Plane screen and you will need to force the installer to exit (via Ctrl+Alt+Del) and increase the screen’s resolution in Windows to at least 1,024 x 768.


 * 5. By default, X-Plane will install to the Desktop. Though it can be installed elsewhere (by clicking the Change Destination button), it is strongly recommended that it be placed on the Desktop so that the folder can be found in the future.  When an acceptable location has been selected, click Continue.


 * [[Image:4_choose_dest_deskop_copy.png]]


 * 6. Accept the user agreement and click Continue once again.


 * [[Image:5_accept_copy.png]]


 * 7. Select the scenery that should be installed. Depending on the installer on the disc, either all of the world or none of it will be selected by default.  An unselected tile will appear bleached in color, while a selected tile will have its full color.  For instance, in the image below, only part of North America is selected.


 * [[Image:6_select_scenery_copy.png]]


 * If you are unsure what areas are currently selected, just click Select None to turn everything off. From there, select the individual tiles to install by clicking on them.  Additionally, users may click and drag to select large areas quickly.


 * Note that for regions where no scenery is installed, only oceans and airports will be visible. When you’re finished selecting scenery, click Continue to begin installing.


 * 8. The installer will begin displaying its progress. When the installer prompts you to do so, remove the current disc and insert the next.  Note that installation may take anywhere from thirty to sixty minutes per disc, and that only one X-Plane disc can be in the system at once (the installer won’t recognize a disc placed in a second DVD-ROM).  Installing the complete scenery package will consume about 75 GB of hard drive space and will take between five and six and a half hours to install.


 * 9. When the installation completes, reinsert Disc 1 and go fly!

Additionally, scenery can be added or removed at any point in the future by inserting Disc 1 and re-running the installer. When the X-System installer comes up saying "You already have X-Plane 9 installed on this computer,” click the Add or Remove Scenery button and proceed just like in step 7 above.

Special Considerations for Windows Users
Running X-Plane on Windows requires Microsoft DirectX 9.0c (or later) to be installed. Without this, X-Plane cannot interface with audio and joystick hardware. This free software can be downloaded from Microsoft here. Most newer installations of Windows XP have this installed already, and all copies of Windows Vista and Windows 7 have DirectX 10 (which is more than sufficient) installed by default.

To find out which version of DirectX is currently installed, do the following:


 * 1. Open the Start menu and click Run (alternatively, a shortcut to this is the Windows key + R).


 * [[Image:1_run_copy.png]]


 * 2. Type "dxdiag" (without the quotation marks) in the dialog box that appears and click OK.


 * 3. If a box appears asking if you want to check for signed drivers, click No.


 * 4. The lower half of the window that appears is labeled System Information. At the bottom of that list of stats is the system’s DirectX Version.


 * [[Image:Directx_version_highlighted.png]]

Installation on a Macintosh
To install X-Plane on Mac OS version 10.4 or later, do the following:


 * 1. Insert the X-Plane DVD into the DVD-ROM drive and wait for it to spin up.


 * 2. Double click on the X-Plane DVD icon on the Desktop, then double click the Installer_Mac app to launch the installer.


 * Note: If the buttons at the bottom of the X-System screen labeled Quit, Go Back, Continue are not visible, then the system is probably running at a minimal resolution like 800 x 600. Using this resolution will not allow the computer to display the bottom of the X-Plane screen.


 * 3. By default, X-Plane will install to the Desktop. Though it can be installed elsewhere (by clicking the Change Destination button), it is strongly recommended that it be placed on the Desktop so that the folder can be found in the future.


 * 4. Accept the user agreement and click Continue once again.


 * 5. Select the scenery that should be installed. Depending on the installer on the disc, either all of the world or none of it will be selected by default.  An unselected tile will appear bleached in color, while a selected tile will have its full color.  If you are unsure what areas are currently selected, just click Select None to turn everything off.  From there, select the individual tiles to install by clicking on them.  Additionally, users may click and drag to select large areas quickly.


 * Note that for regions where no scenery is installed, only oceans and airports will be visible. When you’re finished selecting scenery, click Continue to begin installing.


 * 6. The installer will begin displaying its progress. When the installer prompts you to do so, remove the current disc and insert the next.  Note that installation may take anywhere from thirty to sixty minutes per disc, and that only one X-Plane disc can be in the system at once (the installer won’t recognize a disc placed in a second DVD-ROM).  Installing the complete scenery package will consume about 75GB of hard drive space and will take between five and six and a half hours to install.


 * 7. When the installation completes, reinsert Disc 1 and go fly!

Additionally, scenery can be added or removed at any point in the future by inserting Disc 1 and re-running the installer. When the X-System installer comes up saying "You already have X-Plane 9 installed on this computer,” click the Add or Remove Scenery button and proceed just like in step 5 above.

Installation in Linux
Please see the Linux Installation Walkthrough or Linux Installation page.