Installing on Windows

On Windows, Deneb Aero runs inside WSL 2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux), which is part of Windows. The installer sets up WSL the first time, imports Deneb Aero for your user and adds it to the list of installed apps.

Requirements

  • Windows 10 version 2004 or later, or Windows 11, 64-bit.

  • An Intel or AMD processor.

  • Virtualization enabled in the PC’s firmware (BIOS or UEFI setup). It is called Intel VT-x, Intel Virtualization Technology or SVM Mode (AMD), depending on the PC.

Installing with the installer

  1. Open the Download page in the Studio on the website (see Installing Deneb Aero).

  2. In the Windows 10 or 11 section, select Download the installer. The file is named DenebAero-<version>-Setup.exe.

  3. Open the downloaded file.

  4. If Windows shows Windows protected your PC, select More info, then Run anyway.

  5. If WSL is not yet turned on, the installer asks for an administrator’s permission to turn it on, then asks you to restart Windows. After the restart the installer opens again by itself and continues.

  6. If WSL has less memory than larger analyses need, the installer asks:

    Deneb Aero runs in WSL, which has 8 GB of this PC's 16 GB. Larger analyses need more.
Let WSL use up to 12 GB (a limit, not a reservation)? [Y/n]

    Answer Y unless you need to keep the memory for other WSL programs. The setting is written to .wslconfig in your user folder once.

  7. On the last page of the installer, keep Open Deneb Aero selected and select Finish. The Studio opens in your browser.

Installing from PowerShell

As an alternative to the installer, copy the PowerShell command shown on the Download page. It has this form:

irm https://.../windows | iex

Paste it in a PowerShell window and press Enter. The command performs the same steps as the installer.

The icon by the clock

While Deneb Aero runs, its icon is shown in the notification area by the clock. Double-click it to open the Studio. Right-click it for Open Deneb Aero and Quit Deneb Aero. Quitting while a run or a flight is in progress asks for confirmation; the run resumes from its last checkpoint when you open Deneb Aero again.

If the installer stops with an error

Message

What to do

WSL is not installed / WSL is not set up yet

Open PowerShell as administrator, run wsl --install --no-distribution, restart Windows, then run the installer again.

Virtualization is turned off in this PC’s firmware

Restart into the BIOS or UEFI setup, turn on virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD SVM Mode), save and restart.

Windows’ Virtual Machine Platform is on, but Windows does not start its hypervisor

Open PowerShell as administrator, run bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype auto and restart Windows.

Hyper-V Host Compute Service … is disabled

Open PowerShell as administrator and set the service vmcompute to start manually, as the message describes, then restart.

This beta of Deneb Aero needs 64-bit Windows on an Intel or AMD processor

Windows on Arm is not supported.

See also Troubleshooting.

Next step

Sign in and connect this computer to your account: Connecting This Computer.