Running Microsoft Train Simulator on Windows 10 and 11

Microsoft Train Simulator shipped in 2001 for Windows 98, ME and 2000. Two decades later, plenty of people still have the discs, and the questions in the Train-Sim.Com MSTS FAQ are still the questions people ask. Here is what to expect when installing it on Windows 10 or 11.

The short version

• MSTS can often be installed and started on modern Windows, but results vary from PC to PC and nothing is guaranteed.
• The usual stumbling blocks are the disc's copy protection, installing into Program Files, and old DirectX expectations.
• If you mainly want to drive your MSTS routes and trains, Open Rails runs the same content without needing MSTS to work at all.

Install outside Program Files

MSTS writes into its own folder all the time: activities, saves, consists and add-ons all live under the install directory. Modern Windows protects C:\Program Files, and writes there are silently redirected to a per-user "VirtualStore" folder, which makes add-ons appear to install but then vanish from the game. Install to a plain folder such as C:\MSTS instead. This one change avoids a large share of the "my route doesn't show up" problems from the old forums.

The disc and copy protection

Many early-2000s retail games used disc copy-protection drivers that current versions of Windows no longer load. If the installer runs but the game refuses to start, or complains about the disc, that is the likely cause. There is no supported fix from Microsoft. This is the main reason many people now keep the MSTS content and drive it in Open Rails.

Compatibility settings and DirectX

• Right-click the program, open Properties → Compatibility, and try "Run this program as an administrator" and a Windows XP compatibility mode.
• MSTS expects the legacy DirectX 8/9 runtime components. Microsoft's "DirectX End-User Runtime" installer adds the missing legacy files on Windows 10 and 11.
• Very high display resolutions and refresh rates confuse the game's display setup. If it crashes at start-up, try a lower resolution, or windowed mode where available.

Updates, utilities and add-ons

The community built an enormous toolkit around MSTS: route and activity editors, AI traffic tools and thousands of downloads catalogued in the Train-Sim.Com file library. The How To section covers activity building, AI traffic and the route editor step by step. Those tutorials assume a working MSTS install, but the file formats they describe are the same ones Open Rails reads.

When to give up and switch

If you have spent an evening on compatibility settings without success, stop there: copy your ROUTES, TRAINS and GLOBAL folders somewhere safe and follow our Open Rails guide. Your routes, rolling stock and activities come with you, and the physics and graphics are better.

Behaviour depends on your exact Windows build, drivers and MSTS disc version.