Flight Simulator 98/2000: How to Enable 3D Hardware Acceleration (174251)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Professional Edition
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator 98
This article was previously published under Q174251

SUMMARY

This article describes how to enable Direct3D hardware acceleration in Flight Simulator 2000 or Flight Simulator 98.

Flight Simulator is not configured to run in Direct3D mode automatically, even if a DirectX-enabled 3D video adapter or accelerator card is installed in the computer with a compatible driver.

Microsoft does not supply the drivers for Direct3D-enabled video adapters. However, DirectX Setup may install an updated version of your video driver when you install Flight Simulator.

NOTE: Not all Direct3D-enabled video adapters support Direct3D hardware acceleration in Flight Simulator 2000 or Flight Simulator 98. To run Flight Simulator 2000 in Direct3D mode, your 3D video adapter must be fully compatible with Direct3D 7.0 or later. To run Flight Simulator 98 in Direct3D mode, your 3D video adapter must be fully compatible with Direct3D 5.0 or later.

You may need to change certain driver settings to configure your 3D video adapter to support Direct3D hardware acceleration in Flight Simulator. For information about how to do this, please contact the manufacturer of your video adapter.

MORE INFORMATION

To enable your 3D video adapter to run in Direct 3D mode, use the appropriate method for your version of Flight Simulator.

Flight Simulator 2000

  1. Read the Readme.txt file located on the Flight Simulator 2000 CD-ROM to learn any last minute information about your video adapter.
  2. Start Flight Simulator 2000.
  3. Change the view to Full Screen mode. To do this, press ALT+ENTER, or on the View menu, click Full Screen.
  4. On the Options menu, point to Settings, and then click Display.
  5. On the Hardware tab, click to select the Enable hardware acceleration check box.
  6. In the Device box, click the 3D video driver you want to use.

    NOTE: If no Direct3D driver is available, DirectX does not recognize your 3D video adapter. If this is the case, reinstall the video driver for your Direct3D-compatible video adapter, or reinstall DirectX 7.0 or later.
  7. In the Resolution box, click the screen resolution you want to use, and then click the CHECK MARK button to return to the cockpit.

Flight Simulator 98

  1. Read the Readme.txt file located on the Flight Simulator 98 CD-ROM to learn any last minute information about your video adapter.
  2. Start Flight Simulator 98.
  3. Change the view to Full Screen mode. To do this, press ALT+ENTER, or on the View menu, click Full Screen.
  4. On the Options menu, click Preferences.
  5. Click the Display tab.
  6. Click Display Options.
  7. Click the Hardware Acceleration tab.
  8. Click to select the Enable hardware acceleration check box.
  9. In the Fullscreen device box, click Primary Display Driver (Direct3D) or the 3D video adapter or accelerator card you want to use.

    NOTE: If no Direct3D driver is available, DirectX does not recognize your 3D video adapter. If this is the case, reinstall the video driver for your Direct3D-compatible video adapter, or reinstall DirectX 5.0 or later.
  10. In the Fullscreen mode box, click the screen resolution you want to use, and then click OK until you return to the cockpit.
In certain versions of DirectX, you can use the DirectX Setup tool (Dxsetup.exe) to turn Direct3D hardware acceleration on or off. To do this:
  1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
  2. In the Named box, type dxsetup.exe.
  3. In the Look in box, click My Computer, and then click Find Now.
  4. In the list of found files, double-click the Dxsetup.exe file to start the program.
  5. Click to select the Direct3D hardware acceleration enabled check box, and then click OK.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/13/2003
Keywords:kbdisplay kbenv kbhowto kbpending KB174251
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.