Faking installation of the simulator

Do you want to install MSFS2020 products for use on MSFS2024 without reinstalling the MSFS2020 simulator? Or is MSFS installed on a different computer which you want to keep clear of any additional apps, for example a home-cockpit scenario? These are some of many reasons why you would want to fake installation of MSFS on your primary computer, allowing the Contrail App to detect it and enable installs of your products to a dedicated folder.

You could then manually move your products from this folder to your MSFS2024 community folder or to other computer(s).

Please note this procedure works for many products, which install to the Community folder of your simulator. However, it cannot be guaranteed that it works for all products. If you are having problems with moving a product to a different computer, feel free to contact us!

Here are the steps you can follow to fake the installation of MSFS. MSFS can be either installed via the Microsoft Store or Steam. The game installation folders then differ depending on where you have purchased the simulator. For faking the installation, it does not really matter which folder you choose, but we will list both options below.

1

Microsoft Store Installation of MSFS2020

For faking a Microsoft Store Installation of MSFS2020, follow these steps:

  1. Create the folders C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache
  2. Copy this UserCfg.opt (right click this link and select "Save link as") file and place inside the LocalCache folder
  3. The default path of this file will install your products to "C:\FSContrail". If you would prefer the products to be installed to another location, open the UserCfg.opt file with a text editor (such as Notepad) and edit the path between the " " markers. This path is the Community directory on your system. Products will be installed into this directory
  4. Go to this new path and create the folders Community and Official within it. Example: C:\FSContrail\Community, C:\FSContrail\Official
  5. All steps are now complete. When you next use the Contrail App, any MSFS products you install for the "faked" sim will install into the C:\FSContrail\Community folder (or your customised location). You can then drag/copy them to your desired location
2

Steam Installation of MSFS2020

For faking a Steam Installation of MSFS2020, follow these steps:

  1. Create the folder C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator
  2. Copy this UserCfg.opt (right click this link and select "Save link as") file and place inside the Microsoft Flight Simulator folder
  3. Follow the steps described above from 1.3 onward
3

Microsoft Store Installation of MSFS2024

For faking a Microsoft Store Installation of MSFS2024, follow these steps:

  1. Create the folders C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Limitless_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache
  2. Copy this UserCfg.opt (right click this link and select "Save link as") file and place inside the LocalCache folder
  3. Follow the steps described above from 1.3 onward
4

Steam Installation of MSFS2024

For faking a Microsoft Store Installation of MSFS2024, follow these steps:

  1. Create the folder C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
  2. Copy this UserCfg.opt (right click this link and select "Save link as") file and place inside the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 folder
  3. Follow the steps described above from 1.3 onward

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