I am running MSFS (MS Store version) on a very robust PC system and have been plagued by extremely slow or indefinite startup behavior for quite some time. I normally start using the button in MSFS Addons Linker, but the behavior is the same when using the MSFS icon on the desktop. My workaround has been to wait for the initial screen photo to appear and music to start, and then close MSFS with either the X-icon button or with Task Manager, and then restart MSFS. The second time loading, MSFS starts in what I would consider a normal time frame - maybe 5 minutes in total to the World Map - Options - etc. main screen page.
On more closely watching the startup process, I have discovered that on the first startup attempt, the white overlayed text labeled “Installation Manager”, which then checks for updates with a spining dial, never appears at all. This results in MSFS never completing the startup, forcing me to close MSFS and start it again. On the second try, the Installation Manager does appear and checks for updates, and MSFS then proceeds through the startup to get to the main screen.
This happens every first attempt to start MSFS after booting up the computer. I always have to close MSFS and restart it. The second try always works.
What would be the cause of this? Why won’t the Installation Manager update check work on the first startup attempt?
I’m having the same problem since December, and while it was slow (5 minutes) before, now it’s 10-15 minutes. A black screen for most of the time, then the “normal” startup screens and installation. Something has changed dramatically since the last update…any ideas, anyone? I’ve got a 6 month old computer with i9 processor and 1TB SSS. Once started, it works fine, but starting up is a nightmare.
Well, after much research and trial and error, I finally found the cause of my slow MSFS startup. It turns out that I have some Alienware/Dell software on my system, I believe it is called Alien FX, which is managing my Alienware wide screen monitor. Inside Alien FX is a power setting that one would think would relate only to the monitor but apparently controls the overall Windows power mode. So even though I had set the power mode in Windows to Balanced, the Alien FX software would each time shortly after boot up (and shortly after each time I manually reset the Windows power mode) switch the setting to Power Saver. The Windows Power Saver mode causes the CPU to revert to its lowest clock speed shortly after boot up and no longer dynamically speed up even in the face of high CPU loads. So, MSFS and everything else was starting and running with my CPU at 800 MHz. Once I changed the power mode within Alien FX to Balanced, my CPU speed began running at dynamic speeds up to its maximum burst speed of 5.3GHz.
MSFS now starts in 2 to 3 minutes, which seems like lightning fast to me after a year of suffering with slow speed starts (at least 10 minutes). And, as a bonus, once the flight plan is entered, loading to the departure airport is also faster. And in addition, the micro-stuttering at areas with complex scenery, like some large airports, is gone. And, MSFS seems to be checking for updates and proceeding through the start up process on the first attempt now. (That may be something fixed in the latest MSFS update, however.)
With all of these performance improvements lately, I am pretty much a happy camper now!
I only noticed the CPU clock speed because I had installed a monitoring program, Core Temp, that displays CPU core temperature readings and CPU clock speed in the System Tray.
For others who have very slow MSFS startup, you may want to check whether your system has any software running that includes power functions. A good place to see what’s running is on the Start Up tab and the Processes tab in Windows Task Manager. Also, find a way to see the actual CPU speed at any time. CPU-Z and Core Temp are some options to do this. There are of course also BIOS settings that regulate CPU power and speed levels, but I don’t think those are helpful to this issue as they are mainly about when the CPU goes to a slower speed or to sleep without any load.