Game Voice: How to Improve Performance (268300)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft SideWinder Game Voice
This article was previously published under Q268300 SUMMARY
This article discusses how to improve Microsoft SideWinder Game Voice performance.
If SideWinder Game Voice performance is poor, you may experience one or more of the following issues:
- When you use SideWinder Game Voice to chat, sounds may pause or be
delayed.
- When you press All, Team, or 1-4, you may
experience a delay before the Control Pad lights are turned on.
- When you use SideWinder Game Voice to make voice commands, the
computer may misinterpret or not recognize the commands.
- When you use SideWinder Game Voice to chat, only one person may be
able to talk at a time, or sound may be distorted when two people
talk at the same time.
MORE INFORMATION
To improve performance when you use SideWinder Game Voice, use one or more of the following methods.
Quit Unnecessary Programs
Quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your computer before you use SideWinder Game Voice.
To do this:
- Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
- 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.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 to quit all programs that are running on your
computer, except Explorer and Systray.
Install the Latest Version of Microsoft DirectX
Download and install the latest version of DirectX from the following Microsoft Web site:
For additional information about how to obtain and install the latest version of DirectX, click the article number below
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
179113 How to Download and Install DirectX
Check System Requirements for Game Voice
Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements to run SideWinder Game Voice.
For additional information about the minimum system requirements to run Microsoft Game Voice, click the article number below
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
269776 SideWinder Game Voice: Minimum System Requirements
Update Your Sound Driver
To improve performance and stability when you use SideWinder Game Voice, 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: 65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K
60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P
60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z
To identify the manufacturer and model of your sound card:
- Click Start, point to Settings, and then click
Control Panel.
- Double-click System.
- Click the Device Manager tab.
- Click the PLUS SIGN (+) next to Sound, video
and game controllers to expand the branch.
- Under the Sound, video and game controllers
branch, note the manufacturer and model of your sound card or
on-board sound chip, and then click OK.
- Close all open windows.
Shorten the Delay Time for the Game Voice Software
To shorten the delay time for the Game Voice software, run the software with the "-hp" parameter. To do this, create a shortcut to the Game Voice software if one does not already exist, and then add the "-hp" parameter to the shortcut.
To create a Game Voice shortcut:
- Click Start, and then click Run.
- In the Open box, type the following line, and then click
OK
drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Hardware\Game
Voice
where drive is the drive letter of the hard disk
on which the Game Voice software is installed.
- Right-click the GameVoice.exe file, point to Send to, and then click Desktop
(create shortcut).
- Click OK.
- Close all open windows.
To add the "-hp" parameter to the Game Voice shortcut:
- Right-click the Game Voice shortcut, and then click
Properties.
- Click the Shortcut tab.
- In the Target box, press END, press the SPACEBAR, type
-hp, and then click OK.
NOTE: The "-hp" parameter is not case-sensitive.
The line in the Target box should be similar to the following
"drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Hardware\Game
Voice\GameVoice.exe" -hp
where drive is the drive letter of the hard disk
on which the Game Voice software is installed.
Check for Multiple Instances of the Same Device
If the computer initializes more than one instance of your SideWinder Game Voice, the device may not work properly. To check for multiple instances of your SideWinder Game Voice:
- Click Start, point to Settings, and then click
Control Panel.
- Double-click System.
- On the Device Manager tab, click View devices
by type.
- Click the plus sign (+) next to Sound, video,
and game controllers to expand the branch.
- Under the Sound, video, and game controllers
branch, note the properties for each device that is listed in the
branch. To do this:
- Click a device, and then click Properties.
- Note the device information and settings on each tab in the
device properties dialog box, and then click OK.
Repeat this step to note the properties for each device listed that
is listed in the Sound, video, and game
controllers branch.
- Click OK.
- Close Control Panel.
- Restart Windows in Safe mode. To do this, restart your computer,
press and hold down the CTRL key when your computer completes the
Power On Self Test (POST), and then select Safe Mode on the
Windows 98 or the Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup menu.
- When Windows starts in Safe mode, click OK.
- Click Start, point to Settings, and then click
Control Panel.
- Double-click System.
- On the Device Manager tab, click View devices
by type.
- Click the plus sign (+) next to Sound, video,
and game controllers to expand the branch.
- Under the Sound, video, and game controllers
branch, verify that there are no changes in the list of devices in
the branch. If you see a device that is not in the list of devices
that you noted in step 5, click the new device, and then click
Remove. Repeat this step for each device in the branch that is
not in the list of devices that you noted in step 5.
NOTE: If you see a new copy of a device that is in the list
of devices you noted in step 5, check the properties for each copy of
the device. If the properties for the device match the properties
that you recorded, keep the device. If the properties for the device
do not match the properties that you recorded, remove the device.
- Click OK.
- When you are prompted to restart the computer, do so.
Determine if Your Sound Card Is a Full-Duplex Sound Card
If only one person can talk at a time, or if sound is distorted when two people talk at the same time, your sound card may not be a full-duplex sound card. Make sure that your sound card is a full-duplex sound card.
For additional information about how to determine if your sound card is a full-duplex sound card, click the article number below
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
273883 Game Voice: How to Determine if Your Sound Card Is a Full-Duplex Sound Card
Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 8/6/2002 |
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Keywords: | kbHardware kbinfo KB268300 |
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