RESOLUTION
To resolve these issues, use the following troubleshooting
methods in the order that they appear in. After you complete each method, test to
see whether the issue is resolved. If the issue continues to occur, go to the
next method.
Verify that your operating system supports your game controller
Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000, and Microsoft Windows XP support both analog and digital game controllers. For best performance, verify that the latest version of the game controller driver for your game controller is installed on your computer.
Examine the game controller connection to the game port
If you use a game port game controller, verify that the game
controller is connected directly to the game port in your computer.
"Daisy-chained" game controllers or game port adaptors can interfere with
communication between the game port and the game controller.
If you
use a USB game controller, verify that the game controller is correctly connected to the USB port in your computer or to a compatible USB hub that is
connected to the USB port in your computer.
If you use a USB game controller, try removing any additional USB devices such as cameras, scanners, or additional game controllers that are not being used.
Note If you are using a RealFlight
game controller, it may conflict with the game's ability to read keyboard commands. Disconnect the RealFlight
game controller as a troubleshooting step.
Disable any profiling software
Many game controllers come with what is known as "profiling software". This software can let you assign actions such as keyboard commands or multiple input "macros" to a single button on your device. Profiling software can sometimes interfere with a game that cannot accept this kind of input. For information about how to disable your profiling software, contact the manufacturer of your game controller.
Note If you use a SideWinder game controller, disable the SideWinder
Game Device Profiler or the SideWinder Game Controller software. To do this,
right-click the
Game Device Profiler icon or the
Game Controller Software icon in the notification area, and then click
Unload or click
Disable.
Confirm that your game controller is assigned to Controller ID 1 or that it is the preferred device
Some games do not recognize game controllers that are not
assigned to Controller ID 1.
To verify that your game controller is assigned to
Controller ID 1 in Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, and Windows 2000, follow these steps:
- Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
- Double-click Game Controllers.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- If the game controller that you want to use is not assigned
to Controller ID 1, click Change.
- In the Game Controllers box, click the game controller that you want to use, and then
click the UP ARROW or the DOWN ARROW to change the Selected ID value to 1.
- Click OK, and then click OK again.
- Quit Control Panel.
To configure your game controller as the preferred device in Windows XP, follow these steps:
- Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
- Click Printers and Other Hardware.
- Click Game Controllers.
- Click Advanced.
- Under Preferred device, select the game controller that you want to use, and then click OK.
- Click OK to close the Games Controllers dialog box.
Calibrate the game controller
If you use a digital Microsoft SideWinder game controller with
Microsoft SideWinder Game Device software version 2.0 or a later version or Microsoft
SideWinder Game Controller software, the software automatically calibrates the game
controller.
To test the calibration for your game
controller in Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, and Windows 2000, follow these steps:
- Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
- Double-click Game Controllers.
- On the General tab, click the game controller that you want to test in the Game Controllers box, and then click Properties.
- On the Test tab, test all the functions for your digital SideWinder game
controller, click OK, and then click OK again.
- Quit Control Panel.
To test the calibration for your game controller in Windows XP, follow these steps:
- Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
- Click Printers and Other Hardware.
- Click Game Controllers.
- Under Installed game controllers, click the controller that you want to calibrate, and then click Properties.
- On the Settings tab, click Calibrate, and then follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
If you cannot calibrate your game controller,
or if your game controller does not function correctly when you test it, Microsoft Windows
may not be able to communicate correctly with the game controller. If this is
true, contact the manufacturer of your game controller for information about
how to configure the device correctly in Windows. You may also have to obtain
and install the latest version of the game controller device driver.
Test the game controller in the game
If you calibrate and test the game controller successfully, start Flight
Simulator to test the game controller in the
game. If the issue continues to occur, calibrate the device in Flight Simulator.
To do this, follow these steps:
- Start Flight Simulator.
- On the main screen, click Settings.
- Click Calibrate Joystick.
Note If Calibrate Joystick is not available, click Enable Joystick, and then click Calibrate Joystick.
Reset the default actions
To reset the default actions assigned to the game controller,
follow these steps:
- Start a new flight in Flight Simulator.
- On the main screen, click Settings.
- In the Controls box, click Assignments.
- On the Buttons/Keys tab, click Reset defaults.
- On the Joystick Axes tab, click Reset defaults.
- To determine whether the default events are selected for your
4-axis game controller, verify that the Axis settings for each event match the settings in the following
table.
Event | Axis |
Elevator axis | Y |
Ailerons axis | X |
Rudder axis | Z Rotation |
Throttle axis | Slider |
If the default event is assigned to an axis but
the event behaves in reverse--for example, up instead of down, or right instead
of left, click to select or click to clear the check box under the Reverse column for that axis. - Click OK.
Rebuild the config (cfg) file
To rebuild the Flight Simulator config file, press and hold down CTRL+SHIFT as
you start Flight Simulator and start a new flight. Continue to hold down
CTRL+SHIFT until the game is in Cockpit view.
Note When you rebuild the config file, some of your joystick
settings may change.
If your game controller is installed correctly
and the Devices.cfg file contains the default settings for your game
controller, Flight Simulator adds the appropriate
entries for your game controller to the config file.
The
Devices.cfg file contains the following game controllers:
Generic
Generic Game pad
Mad Catz Panther XL
Gravis GrIP MultiPort
Logitech ThunderPad Digital
Microsoft SideWinder Freestyle Pro
Microsoft USB SideWinder Game Pad
Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel
INTERACT Vortex 3D (General 2)
Logitech CyberMan 2
Thrustmaster NASCAR Pro w/combined pedals
Logitech WingMan Warrior
Logitech WingMan Extreme Digital
INTERACT Vortex 3D (Flight Simulation)
Spacetec SpaceOrb 360
Creative Game pad
Gravis Game pad
Gravis GrIP
Gravis Analog Joystick
Gravis Analog Pro Joystick
Thrustmaster Formula T1/T2 without adaptor
Thrustmaster Flight Control System
ThrustMaster Attack Throttle
Logitech WingMan Light
Logitech WingMan Extreme
Logitech WingMan
Logitech ThunderPad
CH Flightstick
CH Flightstick Pro
CH Virtual Pilot
CH Virtual Pilot Pro
CH Flight Sim Yoke LE
CH Flight Sim Yoke PC (Win98)
CH GameStick 14
CH GameStick 3D USB
CH GameStick 3D
CH Force FX Joystick (analog mode)
Suncom Sceptor LCD
Suncom SFS Flight Controller USB
Suncom SFS Throttle and SFS Flight Controller with Left grip
Mad Catz Panther DX
Microsoft SideWinder game pad
Microsoft SideWinder
Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro
Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Pro
Microsoft SideWinder Precision Pro
Microsoft SideWinder Precision Pro (USB)
Microsoft SideWinder Dual Strike
CH FLIGHT SIM YOKE USB
CH PRO PEDALS USB
CH Pro Pedals USB Rudder Pedals
Microsoft SideWinder Precision 2
Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback 2
SideWinder Precision 2 Joystick
SideWinder Force Feedback 2 Joystick
Note If your game controller is not defined in the Devices.cfg file,
Flight Simulator may not assign any actions to
the buttons on your game controller. To manually assign actions to the buttons
on your game control device, see the "Manually assign actions" section.
Install the latest version of Microsoft DirectX
To download and install the latest version of DirectX, visit the
following Microsoft Web site:
For additional information about how to obtain and install the latest version
of DirectX, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
179113
How to download and install DirectX
Manually assign actions
To manually assign an action to a button or to an axis on your game controller, follow these steps:
- Start a new flight in Flight Simulator.
- On the main screen, click Settings.
- In the Controls box, click Assignments.
- To assign events to 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.
- In the Joystick type box, click the game controller that you want to use.
- In the Event column, click the line for an event that you want to assign to a button or to an axis on your game controller, and then click Change assignment.
- On the game controller, press the button or move the axis that you want to use for the selected action.
Notes- If you receive a warning message that states that a different action is already assigned to the game controller button or to the axis, click the green check mark to accept the new assignment, or click Clear to select a different button.
- When you finish manually assigning events to the buttons and axes on your game controller, click the green check mark.
Configure the game controller as a different device
Use the
Game Controllers tool in Control Panel to configure your game controller as a different device. These steps will only work with analog controllers. USB devices cannot be configured as a different device.
For example, to configure a SideWinder 3D Pro joystick as a three-axis, four-button joystick with rudder-pedals, follow these steps:
- Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
- Double-click Game Controllers, and then click Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro.
- Click Remove, and then click Yes.
- Click Add, click 3-Axis, 4-Button Joystick, and then click OK.
- Click Properties.
- On the Settings tab, click to select the Rudder/Pedals check box.
- Click Calibrate, and then follow the instructions that appear on the screen to calibrate the game controller.
Note Axis 3 is the throttle control, and axis 4 is the rudder control. - Click Test to verify that the game controller functions correctly.
- When you finish calibrating and testing the game controller, click OK, and then click OK again.
Reduce hardware sound acceleration
If your sound card cannot correctly 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, follow these steps:
- Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag in the Open box, and then click OK.
- Under DirectX Features, move Hardware Sound Acceleration Level two notches to the left to Basic.
- Click Exit.
Remove and reinstall Flight Simulator
To remove and reinstall Flight Simulator, follow these steps:
- Insert the Flight Simulator Disc 1 CD into the CD drive.
- Press and hold down SHIFT when you insert the CD to prevent the program from automatically starting.
- Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
- Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
- On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Flight, and then click Add/Remove.
- Click to select the Remove saved flight and flight videos check box.
- Click Uninstall.
- When you are prompted to confirm the deletion of Flight Simulator, click Yes.
- In Microsoft Windows Explorer, delete the Flight Simulator folder.
By default, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 - Century of Flight are installed in the following folders:drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\FS2002
drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\FS2004
Note In these folder names, drive is the drive letter of the hard disk where Flight Simulator 2002 or Flight Simulator 2004 - Century of Flight is installed. - Quit all the programs that are running on your computer that you do not need. To do this, use one of the following methods:
- In Windows 98 or in Windows Millennium Edition, follow these steps:
- Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
- In the Close Program dialog box, click any program except Explorer or Systray, and then click End Task. Explorer and Systray are components of Microsoft Windows.
Note If you receive a message that states that the program is busy or is not responding, click End Task again. - Repeat step b to quit all the programs that are running on your computer that you do not need.
- Quit Windows Task Manager.
- In Windows 2000 or in Windows XP, follow these steps:
- Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC.
- On the Applications tab, click any program, and then click End Task.
- Repeat step b to quit all the programs that are running on your computer that you do not need.
- Quit Windows Task Manager.
- Click Start, click Run, type cd-rom:\setup.exe, and then click OK.
Note In this example, cd-rom is the drive letter of your CD drive. - To install the program, follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
Obtain and install updated device drivers
If your game controller is connected to the game port on 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:
65416 Hardware and software vendor contact information, A-K
60781 Hardware and software vendor contact information, L-P
60782 Hardware and software vendor contact information, Q-Z
Configure the sound card to use only one DMA channel
If your game controller is connected to the game port on your sound card, your game controller may perform better if you configure the sound card to use only one DMA channel.
Note Some programs cannot run with only one DMA channel. If you experience this issue, restore your original sound card settings.
To configure an earlier sound card driver on a Microsoft Windows 98-based computer to use single-mode DMA, follow these steps:
- Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
- Double-click Multimedia.
- On the Devices tab or on the Advanced tab, expand Audio Devices.
- Click the sound card, and then click Properties.
- Click Settings.
- To configure the sound card to use single-mode DMA, see your sound card documentation, or use one of the following methods:
- Click to select the Use Single-Mode DMA check box, click OK until Control Panel is displayed again, and then restart the computer.
- In the DMA Channel (16-bit) box, click Disable, click OK until Control Panel is displayed again, and then restart the computer.
- In the High DMA box, click Use DMA until Control Panel is displayed again, and then restart the computer.
To configure a native sound card driver on a Windows 98-based computer to use single-mode DMA, follow these steps:
- Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
- Double-click System.
- Click the Device Manager tab.
- Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
- Click the sound card, and then click Properties.
- Click the Resources tab.
- 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, follow these steps:
- Click to clear the Use Automatic Settings check box.
- In the Settings Based On box, click a basic configuration that uses only one DMA channel setting.
- Use one of the following methods:
- If you see a conflict message in the Conflicting Device list, repeat this step to select another basic configuration that uses only one DMA channel and that does not conflict with any other devices.
- If you do not see a conflict message in the Conflicting Device list, click OK, and then click Yes.
- Click Close, and then restart the computer.
Disable force-feedback effects
If you use a SideWinder Force Feedback Pro joystick or a SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel, disable the force-feedback effects.
To do this, follow these steps:
- Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
- Double-click Game Controllers.
- Click Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Pro or click Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel.
- Click Properties.
- On the Settings tab, drag the Force Feedback slider to the Off position.
- Click OK, and then click OK again.