Q244515: FS 2000: Troubleshooting Joystick Problems (Part 2)

Article: Q244515
Product(s): Microsoft Home Games
Version(s): 
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbenv kbhw kbtshoot fsim kbimu msgame kbHardware
Last Modified: 06-AUG-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Professional Edition 
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SUMMARY
=======

This article is part 2 of the "Flight Simulator 2000: Troubleshooting Joystick
Problems (Part 1)" article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. To view part 1 of
this article, click the article number below:

  Q243981 Flight Simulator 2000: Troubleshooting Joystick Problems (Part 1)

MORE INFORMATION
================

Manually Assign Actions
-----------------------

To manually assign an action to a button or axis on your game controller:

1. Start a new flight in Flight Simulator 2000.

2. On the Options menu, point to Controls, and then click Assignments.

3. To assign events to the buttons on your game controller, click the
  Buttons/Keys tab.

  To assign events to the axes on your game controller, click the "Joystick
  axes" tab.

4. In the "Joystick type" box, click the game controller you want to use.

5. Under the Event column, click to select the line for an event you want to
  assign to a button or an axis on your game controller, and then click "Change
  assignment."

6. On the game controller, press the button or move the axis you want to use for
  the selected action.

  If you receive a warning message that a different action is already assigned
  to the game controller button or axis, click the green check mark to accept
  the new assignment, or click Clear to select a different button.

7. When you finish manually assigning events to the buttons and axes on your
  game controller, click the green check mark.

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Calibrate as a Different Device
-------------------------------

Use the Game Controllers tool in Control Panel to configure your game controller
as a different device.

NOTE: You cannot configure any Microsoft SideWinder gaming device except the
SideWinder Standard or the SideWinder 3D Pro as a different device.

For example, to configure a SideWinder 3D Pro joystick as a 3-axis 4-button
joystick with Rudder/Pedals:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-click Game Controllers, and then click Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro.

3. Click Remove, and then click Yes.

4. Click Add, click 3-Axis, 4-Button Joystick, and then click OK.

5. Click Properties.

6. On the Settings tab, click to select the Rudder/Pedals check box.

7. Click Calibrate, and then follow the instructions on the screen to calibrate
  the game controller.

  NOTE: Axis 3 is the throttle control, and axis 4 is the rudder control.

8. Click Test to verify that the game controller functions properly.

9. When you finish calibrating and testing the game controller, click OK, and
  then click OK again.

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Reduce Sound Playback Quality
-----------------------------

If your sound card is unable to properly process game port signals and high
quality game sounds at the same time, you may be able to work around the issue
by reducing the sound playback quality in the game. To do this:

1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click "Files or Folders."

2. In the Named box, type "fs2000.cfg" (without the quotation marks).

3. In the "Look in" box, click My Computer, and then click Find Now.

4. In the list of found files, double-click the Fs2000.cfg file.

5. If you are prompted to select the program you want to use to open the file,
  click Notepad in the "Choose the program you want to use" box, and then click
  OK.

6. Scroll to the end of the file, press ENTER twice, and then type the following
  lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:

  [SOUND]
  Channels=1
  SamplesPerSec=11025

7. On the File menu, click Exit. When you are prompted to save the changes,
  click Yes.

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Remove and Reinstall Flight Simulator 2000
------------------------------------------

To remove and reinstall Flight Simulator 2000:

1. Insert the Flight Simulator 2000 Disc 1 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive. Press
  and hold down SHIFT when you insert the CD-ROM to prevent the program from
  starting automatically.

2. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

3. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.

4. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000, and then
  click Add/Remove.

5. Click to select the "Remove saved Flight and flight videos" check box.

6. Click Uninstall.

7. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion of Flight Simulator 2000, click
  Yes.

8. Delete the Flight Simulator folder. By default, Flight Simulator 2000 is
  installed in the following folder:

  <drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\FS2000

  where <drive> is the drive letter of the hard disk on which Flight
  Simulator 2000 is installed.

9. Quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your computer. To do this,
  use the appropriate method for your version of Microsoft Windows.

Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows
  Millennium Edition (Me):

  a. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.

  b. In the Close Program dialog box, click any program except Explorer or
     Systray (which are components of Microsoft Windows), and then click End
     Task.

     If you receive a message stating that the program is busy or not
     responding, click End Task again.

  c. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to quit all unnecessary programs that are running on
     your computer.

Microsoft Windows 2000:

  1. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to open Windows Task Manager.

  2. On the Applications tab, click any program, and then click End Task.

     Repeat this step to quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your
     computer.

  3. Quit Windows Task Manager.

10. Click Start, and then click Run.

11. In the Open box, type the following line, and then click OK

  <cd-rom>:\setup.exe

  where <cd-rom> is the drive letter of the CD-ROM drive.

12. Follow the instructions on the screen to install the program.

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Obtain and Install Updated Device Drivers
-----------------------------------------

If you are using version 1.0 of the SideWinder Game Device Software, download and
install the latest version of the SideWinder Game Controller software from the
following Microsoft Web site:

  http://www.microsoft.com/sidewinder

To determine the version of the SideWinder Game Device or SideWinder Game
Controller software installed in your computer:

1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click "Files or Folders."

2. In the Named box, type "sw3dpro.vxd" (without the quotation marks).

3. In the "Look in" box, click My Computer, and then click Find Now.

4. In the list of found files, right-click the Sw3dpro.vxd file, and then click
  Properties.

  NOTE: If the Sw3dpro.vxd file is not in the list of found files, the
  SideWinder software is not installed.

5. On the Version tab, note the value on the File Version line, and then click
  OK.

6. Close the Find: Files Named Sw3dpro.vxd window.

In addition, if your game controller is connected to the game port in your sound
card, contact the manufacturer of your sound card to inquire about how to obtain
and install the latest version of the sound driver for your sound card.

For information about how to contact the manufacturer of your sound card, click
the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

  Q60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

  Q60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Configure the Sound Card to Use Only One DMA Channel
----------------------------------------------------

If your game controller is connected to the game port in your sound card, your
game controller may perform better if you configure the sound card to use only
one DMA channel.

NOTE: Some programs are unable to run with only one DMA channel. If you
experience this issue, restore your original sound card settings.

To configure a legacy sound card driver on a Microsoft Windows 95/98-based
computer or a native sound card driver on a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0-based
computer to use single-mode DMA:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-click Multimedia.

3. On the Devices or Advanced tab, click the PLUS SIGN (+) next to Audio Devices
  to expand the branch.

4. Click the sound card, and then click Properties.

5. Click Settings.

6. To configure the sound card to use single-mode DMA, see your sound card
  documentation, or use one of the following procedures:

   - Click to select the Use Single-Mode DMA check box, click OK until you
     return to Control Panel, and then restart the computer.

   - In the DMA Channel (16-bit) box, click Disable, click OK until you return
     to Control Panel, and then restart the computer.

   - In the High DMA box, click Use DMA, click OK until you return to Control
     Panel, and then restart the computer.

  If you cannot use the sound card driver to configure single-mode DMA, click
  Cancel until you return to Control Panel, and then proceed to the "Disable
  Force-Feedback Effects" method in this article.

To configure a native sound card driver on a Windows 95/98-based computer to use
single-mode DMA:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-click System.

3. Click the Device Manager tab.

4. Click the PLUS SIGN (+) next to "Sound, video and game controllers" to expand
  the branch.

5. Click the sound card, and then click Properties.

6. Click the Resources tab.

7. Under Resource Type, locate the Direct Memory Access (DMA) lines. If you see
  more than one Direct Memory Access (DMA) line, configure the sound card for
  single-mode DMA. To do this:

  a. Click to clear the Use Automatic Settings check box.

  b. In the Settings Based On box, click a Basic Configuration that uses only
     one DMA channel setting.

     If you see a conflict message in the Conflicting Device List box, repeat
     this step to select another basic configuration that uses only one DMA
     channel and does not conflict with any other devices.

     If you do not see a conflict message in the Conflicting Device List box,
     click OK, and then click Yes.

  c. Click Close, and then restart the computer.

  If you see only one Direct Memory Access (DMA) line, or if you cannot find a
  basic configuration that uses only one DMA channel, click Cancel, click
  Cancel again, and then proceed to the next method.

Disable Force-Feedback Effects
------------------------------

If you use a SideWinder Force Feedback Pro joystick or SideWinder Force Feedback
Wheel, disable the force-feedback effects. To do this:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-click Game Controllers.

3. Click to select Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Pro or Microsoft
  SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel.

4. Click Properties.

5. On the Settings tab, drag the Force Feedback slider to the Off position.

6. Click OK, and then click OK again.

If this resolves the issue, you may need to call Microsoft SideWinder Force
Feedback Technical Support at (425) 635-7040 for additional assistance with
troubleshooting your SideWinder Force Feedback game controller.

For additional information about how to troubleshoot issues with your SideWinder
force feedback game controller, click the article numbers below to view the
articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q175184 SideWinder Force Feedback Pro: No Forces Felt on Test Forces Tab

  Q175701 No Force Feedback Effects Testing SideWinder Force Feedback Pro

  Q175233 SideWinder Force Feedback Pro Test Is Slow or Does Not Respond

  Q174436 Game Port Resource Settings for SideWinder Force Feedback

  Q174432 Game Port Requirements for SideWinder Force Feedback Pro

  Q173689 SideWinder Force Feedback Joystick Behaves Erratically

  Q175158 Force Feedback Err Msg: Your Gaming Device is Not Connected

  Q175054 SideWinder Not Compatible with Game Port-MIDI Adapter Cable

  Q174437 Joystick Does Not Work or You Cannot Feel Force Feedback Effects

  Q174433 Connecting SideWinder Force Feedback Pro for Best Performance

Additional query words: fsim2k fsim2000 fs2k fs2000 flightsim yoke pedals t-shoot tshoot

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Keywords          : kbenv kbhw kbtshoot fsim kbimu msgame kbHardware 
Technology        : kbGamesSearch kbFlightSimSearch kbFlightSim2000 kbSimSearch
Version           : :
Issue type        : kbprb

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