Nightmare

J

JohnS95

Bit poster
Hello, basically I'm trying to run the microsoft 2020 flight sim on a macbook pro. My wife bought me the sim for my birthday in April and I've been trying to get it working ever since.
1st hurdle with my 2019 MBP was it didn't have the graphics and was getting too hot on the old FSX sim... A friend suggested an eGPU.
So I bought a Razor core X eGPU and a AMD GPU.
2nd hurdle was there wasn't enough SSD capacity for the mighty 150GB the sim requires to install.
3rd hurdle, I couldn't get my eGPU to work in bootcamp.
So I bought an M1 MPB with 1TB/ 16gb.
4th hurdle, no more bootcamp!
So then i found Parallels - seems better than bootcamp but...
Meanwhile I bought Windows 10 Home...
5th hurdle, I can't figure out how to enter the windows product key.

Arggh!

Please help, my hair's falling out.
 
Parallels only works with the ARM version of Windows 10, not the other Intel-based versions.
You have to join the Windows Insider program and download the ARM specific version of Windows to get a successful install. You can then use the same License Key that you bought for Windows Home to activate Windows 10 for ARM.

Go to insider.windows.comand register if you're not already registered. Then download Windows here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewARM64 and create a new VM.
 
SamS4 said:
Parallels only works with the ARM version of Windows 10, not the other Intel-based versions.
You have to join the Windows Insider program and download the ARM specific version of Windows to get a successful install. You can then use the same License Key that you bought for Windows Home to activate Windows 10 for ARM.

Go to insider.windows.comand register if you're not already registered. Then download Windows here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewARM64 and create a new VM.
Click to expand...
MichaelH63 said:
Unfortunately not, it needs to be a Pro key. (Unless something changed recently.) Fortunately activation isn't necessary.
Click to expand...
Yes. That fits! I just didn't want to buy a Parallels subscription before knowing I could get windows to work fully.
Now I'm stuck with a Windows Home key I no longer need.
Why don't Parallels say this?
Thanks
 
Nightmare continued...
So I've now bought Parallels and I've bought Windows 10 Pro.
Still can't download MSFS2020 from MS or Xbox. Says problem their end.
Couldn't contact; request call back from MS; says problem their end.
Tip from a friend: disagree with a payment, that worked, we managed to get a human on the phone!
MS spent 2 hours last night going through my machine. Still no fix.
He concluded, the problem is with Parallels and or the windows insider program Win 10 for ARM. He attempted to leave the insider program and install a fresh Win 10 and it said Win10 can't be installed on this PC.

So this game, my wife has bought me, is the most expensive gift ever. In terms of value for money, I've not even seen its splash screen!
 
Well that's interesting. However, it is running FSX simulator/ GeoFS simulator and it's currently downloaded 55GB of Forza motorsport 7.
I can confirm they run much better than on my '19 MBP.
 
@JohnS95 you poor sod! I wish you or someone else had done some research before diving in like this.

The biggest error was jumping onto M1, since that will never work -- unless you turn back (e.g. reuse your x86 Mac or get a gaming PC) you're more likely to get it working via Xbox Cloud Gaming.

In terms of making it work with Parallels, you were nearly there with the eGPU idea. (For Boot Camp, you have to read ALL the Apple Support pages for recommended hardware, and closely stick to it -- but don't worry, since Parallels gives a lot more flexibility for a certain amount of overhead, and as someone who plays MSFS 2020 through Parallels regularly, I can recommend it at a pinch -- because I believe Flight Simulator is about landscape detail, not frame rate -- one of the few AAA games where frame rates aren't vital. Parallels lets you upgrade to Windows 11, for instance).

1. Get your disk space supply up -- disk space is cheap! External is fine. Parallels' flexibility here helps again.
2. Get your eGPU working.
3. If necessary, tell Parallels to move your Boot Camp to a virtual disk

Anyway this works. I live with two Macs these days, one is a whatever-latest-M-series Mac happens to be affordable, and the other is a legacy Intel Mac that I "soup up" as far as it will go. Since I use (used) multiple displays before, it wasn't hard to switch to multiple Macs. If the Mac Intel era comes to an end in a way that makes it hard to keep using, I'll either switch it out for a gaming PC (some nice "mini" ones now, as reviewed by the YouTuber who worked on Windows 95) or I'll try that Xbox Cloud Gaming if it's still around by then, and if it is, it'll be even better performance than ever.

CK.
 
P.S. one great trick I use it to have a 4KTV or 8KTV (small one) as a computer monitor for the gaming, then set the PC output to a really low frame rate as possible (e.g. 24fps), then get the TV to interpolate it back to 60fps (and 120fps, you can't tell really). This is the OMG-wicked "soap opera effect" but really useful. TV manufacturers invented this because so many internet videos take 50fps-60fps content and cut it down to 30, 25 or 24 and they never should do that. So use it!

Similarly -- this gets really nice -- the 8KTVs have SUCH good upscaling for certain types of content, and landscapes / textures in Flight Simulator are a classic use case. So even though you might "only" achieve 3840x2160 levels of detail, you can pump out 8K equivalent without even trying. Just match your Windows output (or Mac+Windows output) to the best resolution you like to play the game in terms of frame rate, e.g. 1920x1080 or 2560x1440, then let the TV keep scaling it up for you.
 
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