Solving Full Screen Mode Issue in FS9

Get a new puter, there I said it so others won't have to.
To switch between window and full mode just press "Alt" and that'll do it.
Amazing that you can run it at all, I get a low FPS and I have 3x the machine, I'm unhappy with mine but it'll do until the 64bit hardware is all out, about a year from now.
Good luck, stick to aircraft with a low LOD and keep your slides to the left, especially clouds, shadows scenery.
Let us know how you do.

C-GENX wrote:

~S~all...

Wondering if anyone else has had any problems in fs9 with being able to (after a clean initial install) change from windows view to Full Screen Mode.

😳 TY

I have the same problem. I'm not even given the choice of full screen mode. Mine is grayed out also.

I think it is my video card.

Buying a new puter is one option. 🙂

RadarMan wrote:

To switch between window and full mode just press "Alt" and that'll do it.

Using "Alt" is not an option. When full screen is grayed out Alt won't give me full screen.

We may be talking about two different things.
Press the "Alt+Enter" key's on your keyboard (after launching the sim, during flight) and you can switch between full screen and window mode.
I don't know what you mean by it's grayed out, what is and where.
What resolution are you using for the sim and for your desktop.

RadarMan wrote:

We may be talking about two different things.
Press the "Alt+Enter" key's on your keyboard (after launching the sim, during flight) and you can switch between full screen and window mode.
I don't know what you mean by it's grayed out, what is and where.
What resolution are you using for the sim and for your desktop.

No, pressing Alt + Enter will not put me in full screen mode.

What I mean by grayed out is full screen mode is not available. It is dimmed. It can't be selected. When I start a flight and I
select view Full screen is at the top of the list. But it can't be selected.

I run the sim at 800 x 600 and 32 Bit color.

If you run the sim and your desktop at the same resolution how do you know when you are in window mode or full screen mode.
If the tool bar shows at the top of the screen your in window, if it doesn't your in full screen.
Set the sim to a slightly higher resolution than your desktop if your card will let you.
Maybe it's the best your card can do.

😕 Warhawk; sounds like you and I are having the same experience but ME THINX THE RADAR MANG may not understand it fully...., here goes.

For Example: in FS2002 Pro, if you had your (Windows display) set at, say 1024x768 (Most user's typical screen display setting) and ran Flight Simulator, the Splash Screen with the 747 would change to the programs optimum 800x600 res setting, and then you'd be flashed to the Create a Flight/Select a Flight (etc.) page. You'd set yourself up, and when you clicked the Fly Now button the Sim would load all the appropriate files and eventually u'd be on the tarmac wherever...Right?

1. Pressing ALT+ENTER would then toggle the 800x600 Res to be 'shrunk' in to a window (with the regular Close Tab in the top-right-corner/user ability to minimize to the task bar...etc.) and your screen Res would be returned to your regular 1024x768 display OR -
2. PRESSING ALT would bring up (in full scree mode again) the Flight Sim task bar at the Top, thus giving one the option of clicking the View tab under which the first CHECKABLE OPTION is/was 'Full Screen Mode'; In this particular example it is checked (Because you are in Full Screen Mode) with NO WINDOWS TASKBAR AT THE BOTTOM...wanna shrink it and see your taskbar again??...click OR 'Unshade' it, and voila...it become a sizeable/movable window.

RIGHT...??

What Warbird and I seem to be experiencing is the Simulation loading in whatever Res we have our desktop preference set at...BUT the inability to toggle (WITH EITHER KEY COMMANDS or BY MOUSE CLICK)...In fact, in my case...when I go under Control Panel and set my Screen to 800x600 in doesn't correct anything either...

Microsoft Developed Flight Simulator to do this so that resouces that could be used for graphics heavy Mesh and Textures wasn't being wasted on the Taskbar, etc...and so that if needed for short periods of time you could fly while taking care of something else on ur desktop...

🙄 Anyone that is still here reading this can email me a tell me WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR LIFE...(I appologize in advance for boring the rest of you... 😀

Hope Everybody' clear here...cause I think I just forgot what I was getting at...(hoping to clear the muddy waters of sanity with verbal flatulance) 😳

Now I follow you. Your both probably right in thinking that its your (computer) and or video card. Settings because of graphics have changed from 2002 to 2004 and your both suffering from that change.
Seeing the power or lack thereof I wouldn't buy a new card unless you find an inexpensive 64mb PCI one that's just a "little" better than the one's you have.
Bummer!

C-GENX wrote:

What Warbird and I seem to be experiencing is the Simulation loading in whatever Res we have our desktop preference set at...BUT the inability to toggle (WITH EITHER KEY COMMANDS or BY MOUSE CLICK)...In fact, in my case...when I go under Control Panel and set my Screen to 800x600 in doesn't correct anything either...

I hadn't even tried the sim in a higher mode than 800x600. I just did and it runs in whatever mode my desk top is running in
but still in a window and still no choice to change it. I run my desk top in 800x600 normally.

Just as an aside I have both Combat Flight simulator and Combat2 Flight simulator and both of those will fly full screen.

When you start the sim and go to settings there is a box in the display screen that would normally give you options on your
display. If yours is like mine that box is blank.

It's a video card/computer problem I'm sure. I know I need a new video card and more memory. My card is PCI with 64
Meg of memory but an older card. It has been a couple of years since I upgraded my computer. For now I have to live with
what I have.

I'm not complaining, just explaining that the problems you are having seem to be related to the equipment we have. I enjoy
FS2004 a lot and am looking forward to getting better performance from it in the future. Since what I like to fly are light
planes which are slow comparatively to flying jets it isn't the problem it could be.

Anyone who has been around computers for long knows that buying any software that your computer only meets the
minimum requirements for is going to get less than great performance. While mine exceeds minimum requirements it isn't the
latest and the greatest and is lacking for optimum performance.

I believe but have no way of knowing that a new video card would solve the full screen problem.

The CFS are both older than FS9 so they take less of a card to run them.
I guess you've loaded the latest drivers for the card.
I know that it's not polite to say, but live with it, I did until I was able to afford the ATI 9800. My machine (3 years old) isn't powerful by any means compared to today's (P-4-1.5gig-512mbRDRAM), but I live with the occasional "slide show" and squeak out the fps where I can.
I'm forever "tweaking" it and probably will be until a new machine appears on my worktable next year.
Meanwhile enjoy like I and many others do, I fly tail-draggers 90% of the time.

RadarMan wrote:

The CFS are both older than FS9 so they take less of a card to run them.
I guess you've loaded the latest drivers for the card.
I know that it's not polite to say, but live with it, I did until I was able to afford the ATI 9800. My machine (3 years old) isn't powerful by any means compared to today's (P-4-1.5gig-512mbRDRAM), but I live with the occasional "slide show" and squeak out the fps where I can.
I'm forever "tweaking" it and probably will be until a new machine appears on my worktable next year.
Meanwhile enjoy like I and many others do, I fly tail-draggers 90% of the time.

Yes I have the latest drivers for my card. It isn't going to get any better than it is now most likely. The card I have is a
Diamond Stealth card and they went out of business. S3 chip set. I'm certain a new card could improve my performance
some.

I enjoy FS2004. I just live within my limitations for now. I can see an upgrade soon.

What I posted was just to let those who are running older equipment know they can expect to lose some of the features of
FS2004. They aren't alone.