Getting Help

Basic Information

Supported Operating Systems

Prepar3D v6 is only supported on Windows 10 and 11.

The default installation directories for Prepar3D and the location of the registry key entries are:

Install Location: C:\Program Files\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v6\

Registry Location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v6

Computer System Requirements

You can find the system requirements for all versions of Prepar3D at http://www.prepar3d.com/system_requirements

Where to Receive the Latest Information

Prepar3D Website

On the Prepar3D website (http://www.prepar3d.com/), you can find out about the latest information related to Prepar3D.

You can Read the latest news
You can Read Release Notes
You can Receive Software Updates
You can Download Free Software

Where to Ask Your Question

Prepar3D FAQ

Our frequently asked questions page (http://www.prepar3d.com/frequently-asked-questions) may answer your questions. Be sure to look there for answers first.

Prepar3D Support Forum

In our forum, your question will be posted publicly, allowing community experts to help you solve your problem.

You can find the Prepar3D forums at http://www.prepar3d.com/forum-5/.
Many questions have already been answered on our forum. If you can't find an answer to your problem, please post it on our forum, so others in the community can help you.

What to Do on Your Own

Update Drivers

Drivers are small software programs that allow your operating system to communicate with the hardware in your computer. Beyond acting as a translator, a driver can also enhance the operation of a particular piece of hardware, such as a video card or a sound card. A damaged or outdated video or audio driver can cause program errors. The manufacturer of your video or audio devices may offer free driver updates on their Web site.

Disable Program Conflicts

When starting Microsoft Windows by using a normal startup, several applications and services start automatically, and then run in the background. These programs include basic system processes, antivirus software, system utility applications, and other software that has been previously installed. These applications and services can cause interference when you install or run a program, such as Lockheed Martin Prepar3D. Consequently, you may receive an error message, or Prepar3D may stop responding.

Performing a Clean Boot

A computer can be set up to perform a clean boot, which prevents other programs from starting automatically.

Note: To complete this procedure, you must be logged on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group.

To perform a clean boot on Windows 7:

Step 1: Start the System Configuration Utility

Click Start, type msconfig in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or provide confirmation.

Step 2: Configure Selective Startup options

In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the General tab, and then click Selective Startup.
Click to clear the Load Startup Items check box.
Click the Services tab.
Click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box.
Click Disable All, and then click OK.
When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

Notes: To return your computer to a Normal startup mode, follow these steps:

Click Start in the Start Search box.
Type msconfig, and then press ENTER.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or provide confirmation.
On the General tab, click Normal Startup - load all device drivers and services, and then click OK.
When you are prompted, click Restart.

Troubleshooting Video Card Support

Prepar3D v6 includes limited down-level DirectX 12 support for DirectX 11 and DirectX 11.1 level hardware provided the GPU has DirectX 12 drivers and supports Tier 2 resource binding. When rendering on down-level hardware, some features may not work. Prepar3D does not officially support any specific down-level device or drivers because it has not been tested thoroughly on legacy hardware. As such, driver or hardware issues may cause Prepar3D to become unstable or even crash when rendering on down-level hardware. If that happens try the following steps:

Only run 2D panel views on down-level devices
If the problem persists, don't place any Prepar3D application windows on the down-level device
If problem still persist, uninstall the down-level device.

If a down-level hardware warning is displayed but the device in question is a DirectX 12 device with 12.0 feature level Tier 2 resource binding support:

There may be an issue with the device drivers. Try installing the latest graphics drivers.
If the problem persists, the Prepar3D installation may have been corrupted. Try uninstalling and reinstalling Prepar3D with any virus scanners disabled.

If the device name in the warning does not look correct:

There may be a driver or power-profile setting that is forcing Prepar3D to run on integrated graphics rather than a high-performance graphics processor. Most laptops and many desktops have integrated graphics support provided by the motherboard or processor. Changing the graphics profile options or disabling the embedded video device should clear up this issue.
The primary graphics driver may be overridden by drivers for USB monitors such as DisplayLink. These displays generally do not support DirectX 11 and may not work with Prepar3D. Try unplugging and uninstalling the monitor drivers if this problem continues.

Current Workarounds for Known Issues

Configuring Multiple Windows Using Multiplayer Mode

Users using Prepar3D Multiplayer modes with multiple displays, windows, or monitors utilizing the "Main Panel" will need to configure the "panel.cfg" file for aircraft they wish to use in the simulation. Other panels and gauges will load and configure correctly from a scenario file, but users wishing to specially place the "Main Panel" will need to create a copy of the Main Panel window with a different identity due to the Multiplayer loading process. Simply create a new [WindowXX] attribute in the panel.cfg file, where XX is the next number in the panel sequence, and copy over all attributes for the main panel for use in the Multiplayer mode view scenario file.

For instance, the Mooney Bravo G1000 panel.cfg file entry for:

[Window00]
file_1024=mooney_g1000_background.bmp
file_1024_night=mooney_g1000_background_night.bmp
size_mm=1024
position=7
visible=1
no_luminous=1
ident=MAIN_PANEL
[...]
window_size=1.000,1.000

Gets copied following the last [Window09] attribute entry and becomes (setting visible=0 as to not be displayed by default):

[Window10]
file_1024=mooney_g1000_background.bmp
file_1024_night=mooney_g1000_background_night.bmp
size_mm=1024
position=7
visible=0
no_luminous=1
ident=COPY_OF_MAIN_PANEL
[...]
window_size=1.000,1.000

In addition, a new line for the [Window titles] attribute should be added to read something like:

Window10=Copy of Main Panel

New views should then be created using the new [Window] instead of the Main Panel directly. Users wishing to have windowed Main Panel functionality in a non-default location while in Multiplayer Mode should use this process in all scenario files from that point on.

Uninstall and Reinstall

If the guidance above has not resolved the problem, it could be that files have been inadvertently corrupted after the Prepar3D installation process. Uninstalling Prepar3D, performing a clean boot of your computer and then reinstall Prepar3D may correct the issue.

- top -