FSX Demo on Windows 11: Mouse cursor shows as a black square and clicks do nothing

That “black square cursor + no clicks” in the FSX/Acceleration-era stuff is almost always a Windows 11/modern GPU compatibility issue with how FSX is trying to draw the mouse (hardware cursor) and its old UI layers.

Try these in order (they’re quick and reversible):

1) Run the demo in a basic compatibility mode

1. Close the sim.
2. Right‑click the FSX Demo shortcut (or the FSX.exe in the demo folder) -> Properties -> Compatibility.
3. Check Run this program in compatibility mode for and pick Windows 7 (or Windows 8 if Win7 doesn’t help).
4. Also tick:
   • Disable fullscreen optimizations
   • Run this program as an administrator
5. Apply, then launch the demo again.

2) Toggle windowed mode vs fullscreen
Sometimes the cursor/UI behaves in one mode but not the other on newer Windows builds.

1. Start the demo.
2. Press Alt+Enter to switch between fullscreen and windowed.
3. Test whether the normal pointer returns and whether menus become clickable.

3) Force a different display scaling behavior
High DPI scaling can break old DirectX UI hit-testing (you “click” but it lands somewhere else / nowhere).

1. Same Properties -> Compatibility page.
2. Click Change high DPI settings.
3. Tick Override high DPI scaling behavior and set it to Application.
4. OK/Apply, re-test.

4) Confirm the menu isn’t simply hidden
FSX menus normally appear when you tap Alt. Even if you can’t click, it’s a useful test.

• Tap Alt once and see if a menu bar appears at the top.
• If it appears, try keyboard navigation (arrow keys/Enter) just to confirm the UI is alive.

If none of the above changes anything, I need a bit more detail to narrow it down:

• Are you running the original FSX Demo download from Microsoft, or a Steam/boxed FSX install?
• Does this happen in both fullscreen and windowed mode?
• What GPU are you on (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel), and are you using any special overlays (GeForce Experience overlay, Xbox Game Bar, etc.)?
• When you press Alt, do you ever see the menu bar flash or appear?