Airport doesn't appear

[danch53]

I purchased the Reagan National Airport for FS9 several days ago and installed the Addon Manager, which did appear within FS9. I entered my serial number and the Addon Manager indicated that the airport was activated. However, only the default airport shows up on my screen. I have not seen anything that would seem to provide me with additional guidance for resolving this issue. Should I re-install? Since I made the purcahse four days ago and am excited about the product, I am very, very anxious to begin using it. I would appreciate very much any assistance you could give.

Thank you,
Dan

[virtuali]

If you are using Vista or Windows 7, try to uninstall the scenery, and reinstall as administrator.

[danch53]

My platform is Windows XP. Do you still recommend the uninstall/reinstall?

[virtuali]

Under XP, it shouldn't be necessary. Has the scenery been added to the Scenery Library ?

[danch53]

No, the scenery is not in the scenery library.

[virtuali]

This is very strange: try to uninstall and reinstall as admin.

Or, just add the scenery manually. Note that, KDCA requires 2 Scenery Layers:

Airport
Terrain

They should be in this order so, the Airport has to be on top, the terrain just below it. The normal path for the two areas are:

Airport:

YOUR_FS9_FOLDER\cloud9\WASHINGTON

Terrain:

YOUR_FS9_FOLDER\cloud9\WASHINGTON\terrain

[danch53]

I'll try to describe what I am seeing. Although the Addon manager tells me "the product is active," and that the "backup registration key is saved in c:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Cloud9_Washington.reg," the only thing I am seeing there is an icon which, when clicked, asks if I want to add information on c:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Cloud9\Washington.reg to the registry. I clicked "yes" a few days ago but could not tell if that had any effect.

Also, I went into my Remove Programs function in Control Panel and saw nothing identified as Cloud 9, Dreamteam, DCA, etc. So I am at a loss as to how to uninstall. And if I reinstall, how would I do that without being charged again?

Whew! This is very complicated! I really do want this product, but I am quite confused as to how I go about obtaining it. But let's keep trying, and thank you for your patience and help.

[virtuali]

I'll try to describe what I am seeing. Although the Addon manager tells me "the product is active,"

It means your Scenery is active, and everything is correct from an activation/registration point of view.

I clicked "yes" a few days ago but could not tell if that had any effect.

There wasn't any need to do it, but of course it didn't do any harm either. That's your BACKUP registration file, the one and only use for it, is to be able to Reinstall the scenery in the future, on a different PC (or on the same PC, if you reinstall Windows), without typing the Serial Number manually, it doesn't do anything more than this.

You don't need this file now. And you can even lose it. The only bad thing that will happen if you lose it, is that you will have to *manually* type you Serial Number, for a future reactivation after a Windows reinstall or a new PC.

Also, I went into my Remove Programs function in Control Panel and saw nothing identified as Cloud 9, Dreamteam, DCA, etc. So I am at a loss as to how to uninstall.

Sorry for asking the obvious but, this looks like you just bought and activate the scenery, but you haven't INSTALLED IT!! That's why you don't see it, and why you don't have it in the installed programs list in the Control Panel.

It's perfectly possible to

And if I reinstall, how would I do that without being charged again?

As explained on the Home Page and FAQ, the download is always freely available. You can uninstall/reinstall an UNLIMITED number of times, if on the same hardware. If you change hardware, you can do it up to 6 times. And if you finish those 6 activations, the only thing you'll have to do, is to send an email to support to ask for a reactivation, and ONLY if *less* than 90 days have passed since the last time you get a new activation, otherwise a reactivation is automatic without emailing to anyone, even after you finished your 6 activation.

Never, EVER, you'll have to re-purchase again.

Whew! This is very complicated! I really do want this product, but I am quite confused as to how I go about obtaining it.

No, it's very simple. You are probably accustomed to the "first pay, then install". And, even worse, the "pay for re-download" or "lose your installer, and you are screwed up..." way of doing things.

We don't like this methods: here, you FIRST install, TRY the scenery and THEN you decide if it's worth your money.

Of course, nobody *force* you to check the Trial before buying. You *can* buy before installing but, of course, if you want to see the scenery, it's not enough to just buy it and activate it, you need to install it first.

[danch53]

Thanks for your reply. What do I do now? It sounds like I need only install it. OK, great, but how do I do that? Really, I need a step-by-step direction for that. The instructional material on the website may be easily understandable to you, but, honestly, its instruction is very vague to me.
When I bought the airport, I clicked the "Buy" button and made the purchase directly from the Cloud 9 store (I attempted to do the trial, but it appreared that nothing happened when I did that). I assumed that I would receive some guidance for the download/install/etc. All I received was the information showing my name, address, serial number, order number, etc ... that was all. Nothing about how to access it. I was lost!

Maybe I have overlooked the instructions for getting the scenery up and running, I really don't know. I just want to find out EXACTLY what I need to do to access the scenery. Thank you for you response, and I look forward to hearing from you.

[virtuali]

I don't see how this is any different comparing to any other Windows program:

- Download the installer from the Cloud9 Web page of this site:

http://www.fsdreamteam.com/products_cloud9.html

- The download is a single executable file. Just execute it, it will automatically install inside FS9.

- When FS9 starts, it should be added to the Scenery Library, you can go there to confirm this.

- In the Windows Control panel, an entry for Cloud9 Washington will be created, in case you need to Uninstall it, for any reason.

[danch53]

Thank you for your reply. Here's what I did:
-Went to the Cloud 9 download page and clicked on the link (Washington National DCA 1.01) beside the icon for the product.
- A box came up asking if I wanted to run or save the file. I selected Run.
- The download started, but a message came up that said "Windows has found a problem with this file." It says the file was blocked because "it does not have a valid digital signature that verifies its publisher." My only option was to select "OK." Then the download stopped.

Also, I checked the Scenery Library but found nothing for Washington National DCA. Also did a serach for Washington National DCA but turned up nothing.

One question I have: You asked me to download the installer from the Cloud 9 web page. I had earlier downloaded the Addon Manager (v. 1.74) but did this again just to be sure. Just to make sure, I am asking if that is indeed the installer you referred to?

[virtuali]

-Went to the Cloud 9 download page and clicked on the link (Washington National DCA 1.01) beside the icon for the product.
- A box came up asking if I wanted to run or save the file. I selected Run.

That's the problem: you shouldn't "run" the file while downloading, but FIRST save it on your hard drive, THEN run it from it, only when the download is finished.

This is because the file is digitally signed so, it's impossible for Windows to verify its signature until the file has been downloaded entirely. Happens with every Windows program that has a digital signature, it's not something specific to FSDT installers.

- The download started, but a message came up that said "Windows has found a problem with this file." It says the file was blocked because "it does not have a valid digital signature that verifies its publisher." My only option was to select "OK." Then the download stopped.

That's exactly what happens if you don't save it first.

Also, I checked the Scenery Library but found nothing for Washington National DCA. Also did a serach for Washington National DCA but turned up nothing.

That's quite normal: how do you expect to find it there, if the download hasn't finished and its installer hasn't run yet ?

One question I have: You asked me to download the installer from the Cloud 9 web page. I had earlier downloaded the Addon Manager (v. 1.74) but did this again just to be sure. Just to make sure, I am asking if that is indeed the installer you referred to?

The Scenery Installer. The Addon Manager doens't contain the scenery! It's a 1.5 MB file that contains only the .DLL needed by the scenery, but if you want to see the Scenery, you need to install the Scenery, which comes with the Addon Manager as well. The only need to download the Addon Manager separately, is to be able to update an older installation, without downloading the whole scenery again. But, since you haven't downloaded the Scenery yet, you need to download the Scenery first.

[danch53]

I just had a chance to apply your latest instructions, and it works. The product looks great, and I am very glad to have it. Thank you for your help.

I will offer a word of advice. You can ignore it if you like or act upon it, as you like. Either way, it's very sound advice and offered with the best of intentions:

Give serious consideration to adding a quick and brief set of instructions with the products on the Cloud 9 site. Honestly, there's almost nothing there now in the way of guidance, and your customer is left to guess, as I certainly was, especially if he has not purchased these products from Cloud 9 before. Once the problem was identified, it was a very easy installation. But the problems WOULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED had some guidance been given up front. I have downloaded airports from several other vendors and have had no problems - ever - because I had some guidelines to go by. It would not only be a favor to your paying customers, but it would be a good investment for you in terms of your time, would it not? You would not be having to waste exchange after exchange identifying and correcting a problem that, as in this instance, could have been very easily avoided. 

Anyway, that's my customer feedback. You may take it or leave it, but I hope you will give it strong consideration. Again, thank you very much for your help in identifying the problem. I know I will enjoy the product.

[virtuali]

Anyway, that's my customer feedback. You may take it or leave it, but I hope you will give it strong consideration. Again, thank you very much for your help in identifying the problem. I know I will enjoy the product

It's not a problem adding information. However, our experience shows that, the more information you put to read, the less chance people will read it. The reinstall process, for example, is *clearly* explained in detail in the manual, the FAQ page AND the sticky post on this forum, but I keep getting daily email about people asking how to reinstall, to which I reply by simply repeating what was written on the manual in the first place...