Game stopped launching after upgrade to Windows 11 (Flight Simulator) "This app Can't open"

Hi, ‎RbLuke,

I hope you are doing well today. Welcome to the Xbox Community. Thank you for reaching out to Xbox Forums. You are having issues installing Flight Sim on PC? I am happy to help and see if we can fix the problem. I will provide a couple of suggestions that are recommended by the Flight Sim support team. I also encourage you to submit a ticket with them and see if they can help solve this issue if the suggestions, I provide do not fix the problem.

Solution 1: Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files If some Windows functions aren't working or Windows crashes, use the System File Checker to scan Windows and restore your files. Sometimes corrupted files can cause issues.

Solution 2: How to restore the sim to its vanilla state

Restoring the sim to its vanilla state is essential when troubleshooting various issues. Before contacting support, restore the sim to its vanilla state and test if the issue persists or not. Friendly reminder that you mod at your own risk.

Solution 3: All versions - Can I choose or change the installation path? (Install on the D: drive instead of the C: drive for instance)

When installing Microsoft Flight Simulator you will first install the launcher/app that contains the core content, then download the packages, including the additional content and marketplace purchases.

Solution 4: Download & Installation issues - Checklist

Please go through the following checklist if you cannot install or update Microsoft Flight Simulator or if you're prompted to install the update again. If the first part of this checklist does not work click on the other levels of install troubleshooting steps

Solution 5: Microsoft Flight Simulator Support

On this page, click submit a request, and you will be able to file a bug with the flight sim support team.

I hope these suggestions help! If this answers your question, please mark the thread as "Answered."

I am getting this same message after upgrading my CPU 13700k/motherboard/RAM, still on Windows 11. I can open other games, just not MS Flight Simulator.

"Microsoft Flight Simulator can’t open because it is offline. The storage device might be missing or disconnected."

I followed the steps above and it did not resolve my issue. XBOX app wants to install it, though it shows another game in there as already installed and playable (Far Cry 5). Can you please help?

Hello there, I can recommend you one more thing before reporting the problem to Microsoft Flight Simulator support.

This is performing an in-place upgrade on your PC, your files and apps aren't going to be deleted after this process:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...

**Another possibility, and if you don't mind testing, is deleting all the third party programs besides Flight Simulator, once deleted, try running the game one more time.

Hello Gegedu,

Thank you for reaching out to the Xbox forums! I understand that you no longer have access to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. To further assist, can you please provide additional details to the following questions?

Are you receiving a specific error code while trying to launch the game or is it refusing to launch at all?
Did you recently receive this error after a Windows update or an update with Flight Simulator?
Are any other PC games refusing to launch or having errors other than Flight Simulator?

In the meantime, I’ll list a couple of articles below that may able to help you troubleshoot.

Game Stability Troubleshooting on Windows 10
Flight Simulator Troubleshooting

Looking forward to your response!

-Tali



[Let us know if this answered your question by tapping "Yes" below]

Here's how I fixed it:

Open your start menu

Right click on Microsoft Flight Simulator

Choose More>App Settings

Scroll down to the "Reset" section

Click both the "Repair" button, and also the "Reset" button.

Re-launch Microsoft Flight Simulator