Flight Simulator 2000: Troubleshooting Joystick Problems (Part 2) (244515)

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 that you want to use.
5. Under the Event column, click to select the line for an event that 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 states 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, go 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 that appear 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 correctly.
9. When you finish calibrating and testing the game controller, click OK, and then click OK again.

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

Reduce Sound Playback Quality

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:

1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
2. In the Named box, type fs2000.cfg.
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 that 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 two times, 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, go 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 in 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 where Flight Simulator 2000 is installed.
9. Quit all nonessential 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)

   1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
   2. In the Close Program dialog box, click any program except Explorer or Systray (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.
   3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to quit all nonessential 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 nonessential 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 that appear on the screen to install the program.

If the issue continues to occur, go 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. To do so, visit the following Microsoft Web site: 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.
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.

Additionally, 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: If the issue continues to occur, go 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 cannot 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-based or a Windows 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, expand Audio Devices.
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 go to the "Disable Force-Feedback Effects" method in this article.

To configure a native sound card driver on a Windows 95-based or Windows 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. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
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:
   1. Click to clear the Use Automatic Settings check box.
   2. 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.
   3. 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 go 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.