It started with updating my laptop, which I hadn't used for around 6 or 7 months. There were a lot of updates to do, some from HP and others were the standard Microsoft stuff.
Sone installed easily and others were a major with many MS updates showing error codes and unable to remove them. Many stalled installs which would probably remain that way for weeks if you didn't reboot voluntarily. After several hours (and a lot of Googling) I managed to complete it. Little did I know then that that would actually be the easier part of my day. My work Microsoft account required a new password. No less than 12 characters which must include alphanumerics, a special character and no similarity to, or reuse of past ones. That took a while as this password renewal happens so frequently that I'm running out of ideas (at least ones that I don't need to write down, and no you can't just add 1 to the last number!). Of course, the auto fill capability of various browsers and programs still has the old password and so on. It took more than 10 attempts to come up with a new password that met the requirements. Where possible I will use a PIN but even those have limits and authenticator apps are cumbersome when used often. By the end of it I had all but thrown the laptop and iPad out of the window or smashed them on the concrete floor.
To calm down I decided to do a quick flight on MSFS 2020. I should really have known better. On the opening screen there appeared something that I had not seen before. A small screen appeared on top of the MS splash screen requiring a XBox login. I had never seen this before and I could not clear it or even close it in task manager. The sim would not proceed past the splash screen. To add immensely to the frustrations of the day it was not physically possible to enter anything into the required email or user Box. Several restarts with the same thing. Google again with only I hit that was anywhere close. The fix was to continuously tap the enter key as you entered each character of the email address. This took a lot of time due to the many entry errors. I eventually found that I could get the timing to a point where i could press the Enter key and then the required email character successfully..........and then the dreaded "Enter user password" appeared. I had no idea what this one would be so went the forgotten password route. I use steam. Another monumental mission. After finally getting into FS it required updates and had changed many of my settings, as if I were logging in for the first time and doing an initial setup. All of this mucking around took more than 1 1/2 hrs.
I finally managed to get into FS and loaded up the iFly MAX for a quick flight. Alas Fate had not finished with me yet.
Even though I have flown this addon a few times before (following days of trying to sort out the plug-in module), today the CH throttle assignments were not working properly. The spoiler axis and both thrust levers had developed a mind of their own and were glitchy. I checked every assignment and looked for conflicting assignments, checked FSUIPC entries, including removing the .ini file. I removed all other plug in peripherals as well as trying different USB ports. At one point they all worked correctly. I paused for dinner only to return to find that the old behaviour was back. I gave up after enduring almost 8 hours of technological madness. It reinforced my opinion that Microsoft should NEVER be allowed anywhere near aircraft avionic systems.
I still have a broken 737 MAX so I will have to go the support route. I'm not sure they will be that interested as they will pass it off as a sim issue. I could go onto the iFly Discord channel for support but i cant think of many things worse than discord. To try to keep track of a thread or search is rubbish. The day that NZFF moves to Discord will be the day I leave it. It's for teenagers.
Offload over
your gonna be waiting on FSX in the mean time for a LONGggggggg.... time Aharon