Combat Flight Simulator/Combat Flight Simulator 2: How to Troubleshoot Joystick Problems (Part 2) (279210)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater
  • Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series 1.0
This article was previously published under Q279210

SUMMARY

This article describes how to troubleshoot joystick issues in Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series and Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater.

NOTE: This article is the second article in a two-part series. To view the first article in this series, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

279208 Combat Flight Simulator/Combat Flight Simulator 2: How to Troubleshoot 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 Combat Flight Simulator or Combat Flight Simulator 2.
  2. On the Options menu in Combat Flight Simulator, point to Settings, and then click Controller assignments.

    On the Options menu in Combat Flight Simulator 2, click Settings. On the Settings screen, click Controller 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 that you want to use for the selected action.

    If you receive a message that a different action is already assigned to the game controller button or axis, click OK, 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 OK.
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 (Combat Flight Simulator 1 Only)

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 Combatfs.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 Combatfs.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 Combat Flight Simulator

To remove and reinstall Combat Flight Simulator:
  1. Insert the Combat Flight Simulator CD-ROM or the Combat Flight Simulator 2 Disc 1 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive. Press and hold down the SHIFT key 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 Combat Flight Simulator or Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2, and then click Add/Remove or Remove.
  5. Follow the instructions on the screen to remove Combat Flight Simulator or Combat Flight Simulator 2.
  6. Delete the Combat Flight Simulator or Combat Flight Simulator 2 folder.

    By default, Combat Flight Simulator is installed in the following folder:

    drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator

    By default, Combat Flight Simulator 2 is installed in the following folder:

    drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator 2

    where drive is the drive letter of the hard disk on which Combat Flight Simulator or Combat Flight Simulator 2 is installed.
  7. Quit all other programs that are running on your computer before you reinstall Combat Flight Simulator or Combat Flight Simulator 2:

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

    Microsoft Windows 2000

    1. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC.
    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.
  8. Click Start, and then click Run.
  9. 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.
  10. 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

Contact the manufacturer of your game controller to inquire about how to obtain and install the latest version of the driver for your game controller.

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 manufacturers of your game controller and 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

To determine the manufacturer and model of your sound card:
  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. Note the manufacturer and model of the sound card that is listed in the Sound, video and game controllers branch, and then click OK.
  6. Close Control Panel.
If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Configure the Sound Card to Use Only One DMA Channel

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 driver on a Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me-based computer to use single-mode DMA, or to configure a native sound 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, refer to 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 driver on a Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me-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:
    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 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.

REFERENCES

This article is the second article in a two-part series. To view the first article in this series, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

279208 Combat Flight Simulator/Combat Flight Simulator 2: How to Troubleshoot Joystick Problems (Part 1)

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/17/2005
Keywords:kbHardware kbhowto kbui KB279210
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