Author Topic: Installation of GSX Pro for MSFS for regular user  (Read 3789 times)

m3a2r1

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Installation of GSX Pro for MSFS for regular user
« on: December 16, 2022, 05:04:15 pm »
Hello, firstly I need to say that I have to use regular user account for some reasons. I've got administrator account only for escalating privileges not for daily using and this will not change.
So I've installed GSX Pro and can't use it, it's in trial mode. I've activated it with "qlmlicenseWizard /settings "GSX Pro 3.0.lw.xml" and for a moment this worked for me (when I ran couatl as admin) but after restart it still doesn't work.
Can you tell me what I should do to run it properly? If admin rights is only one method, I want my money back, I won't use game product which has full privileges to my computer. No properly and securely developed game needs admin privileges to run.

virtuali

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Re: Installation of GSX Pro for MSFS for regular user
« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2022, 05:24:25 pm »
There's a post on the forum titled "How to Get GSX Pro Working for MSFS 2020 in Non-admin Account"

https://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,28730.msg187338.html#msg187338
« Last Edit: December 16, 2022, 05:28:38 pm by virtuali »

m3a2r1

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Re: Installation of GSX Pro for MSFS for regular user
« Reply #2 on: December 16, 2022, 05:38:01 pm »
Thanks, it works like a charm.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2022, 06:20:23 pm by m3a2r1 »

virtuali

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Re: Installation of GSX Pro for MSFS for regular user
« Reply #3 on: December 16, 2022, 06:20:45 pm »
Thank you and one question. Will it be working without admin rights? Or your advice is that I have to use admin account?

If you followed the instructions in that post, it would be clear you don't have to be admin to run the program itself, as for point #4, which instruct to remove the user account from the administrators groups.

My PERSONAL opinion is that, on a typical PC used for flight sim by a single user, running with a limited account cause more issues that the supposed security benefits, since you'll run in full permission lots of installers anyway that wouldn't work otherwise so, it's not as if these couldn't possibly be "dangerous", but it's not as if you have much choices: if an installer need to change/install any system-wide library ( like a .NET update ) or set permissions for regular users, it MUST run with full permissions, otherwise it will simply not work, and I'm quite sure you'll found most of the installers out there works like this, asking for the admin password when ran with a limited user account.

Limited users account are more useful when more users share the same PC, so you might decide to give, for example, limited permission other users you might not known what they are installing.

However, that doesn't change the fact that GSX, on its own, doesn't require to be run as admin. It's only the FSDT installer that does, because it's installing things that cannot be installed otherwise so, the real reason of the procedure explained in the linked post is that:

- When you momentarily grant admin permission to your user account, you allow the installer to set the proper registry keys and activate the product on YOUR user, because the user you install GSX with will be the same you run GSX with.

- Instead, if your user has limited permission when you run the installer, the installer will ask for the admin user/password, meaning it will work as a DIFFERENT USER ( named "Administrator", which is not you ), and will operate in the Administrator user account folders and registry, so when you go back to your normal user, it won't work, because all that stuff has been setup for another user, the Administrator.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2022, 10:40:37 pm by virtuali »

m3a2r1

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Re: Installation of GSX Pro for MSFS for regular user
« Reply #4 on: December 16, 2022, 07:28:09 pm »
I know, I'm IT admin so I don't use full privileged accounts for daily using, it's my own rule and I respect it :)