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Q134886: Flight Simulator 5.1: Troubleshooting General Sound Problems

Article: Q134886
Product(s): Microsoft Home Games
Version(s): MS-DOS:5.1
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kb3rdparty kbenv kberrmsg kbsound kbimu
Last Modified: 07-MAY-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Flight Simulator for MS-DOS, version 5.1 
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SYMPTOMS
========

Microsoft Flight Simulator version 5.1 supports Sound Blaster Compatible 16-bit
sound cards. When you complete Setup, you may experience one or more of the
following symptoms:

- Stuttering sounds
- Static
- No Sound
- Computer stops responding (hangs)
- Memory parity error

CAUSE
=====

This behavior can occur if the correct IRQ and DMA channels have not been
detected.

RESOLUTION
==========

To resolve this issue, verify your sound card settings and compare them to the
settings in Microsoft Flight Simulator version 5.1. Correct your sound card
settings if necessary.

Verifying Setting in MS-DOS
---------------------------

To verify the sound card setting in MS-DOS, do the following:

1. At the MS-DOS command prompt, type the following and press ENTER

  edit autoexec.bat

  Search for the Set Blaster or Set Sound line and make note the entries for the
  I: and D: lines.

2. Exit the editor by choosing File, and then Exit.

3. Run Flight Simulator.

4. Click Options, and then click Preferences.

5. Click Sound.

6. Change the IRQ and DMA settings to match those recorded in your Set Blaster
  or Set Sound line of the Autoexec.bat file.

If you are using a Sound Blaster 16 sound card and version 3.04 of the Sound
Blaster 16 sound driver, you can use the Diagnose program (located in the SB16
subdirectory) to change the hardware configuration HDMA and DMA settings.

Changing HDMA and DMA Settings from MS-DOS
------------------------------------------

To change HDMA and DMA settings, do the following:

1. At the MS-DOS command prompt, change to the SB16 subdirectory. Type the
  following and press ENTER two times.

  diagnose

2. Select the Base I/O Port option and use the arrow keys to select Autoscan.
  Press ENTER.

3. Select the MPU-401 MIDI Port option and use the arrow keys to select
  Autoscan. Press ENTER twice.

4. Select the IRQ option and use the arrow keys to select Current. Press ENTER.

5. Select the Low DMA Channel option and use the arrow keys to select Current.
  Press ENTER.

6. Select the High DMA Channel and use the arrow keys to select Low DMA. Press
  ENTER.

7. Press F10 to update the system files.

The Diagnose program restarts the computer and configuration is complete.

Early versions of the Sound Blaster SB16 sound card use an MS-DOS program called
Sbconfig.exe to change DMA and HDMA.

Changing HDMA and DMA Settings on Early Versions of SB16
--------------------------------------------------------

To change the HDMA and DMA settings, do the following:

1. At the MS-DOS command prompt, change to the SB16 subdirectory and run
  Sbconfig.exe.

2. Follow the instructions provided by the configuration program. The program
  utility assists you in selecting and testing the following variables:

     Variable                  Select
     --------                  ------

     Base I/O port             Autoscan
     MidiPort address          Autoscan
     DMA interrupt             Current
     8-bit DMA                 Current
     16-bit DMA                Use 8-bit DMA

After you have finished making these selections, Sbconfig.exe restarts your
computer.

Changing Settings in Microsoft Windows 95/98
--------------------------------------------

If the Sound Blaster icon is present in Windows 95 or Windows 98, use the
instructions provided by Sound Blaster. The MS-DOS instructions do not work in
Windows 95/98.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Flight Simulator Setup uses the Set Blaster and Set Sound environment variable
lines in the Autoexec.bat file in MS-DOS or the MS-DOS Mode of Windows 95/98 to
configure its IRQ and DMA settings.

If you are running Windows 95/98 in normal Mode, Flight Simulator Setup uses the
registry to determine the IRQ and DMA settings and may not read the IRQ or DMA
settings from the Autoexec.bat file properly. If Flight Simulator Setup does not
read the IRQ or DMA settings properly, one or more of the symptoms listed in the
symptoms section of this article may occur.

The third-party products discussed in this article are manufactured by vendors
independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding
these products' performance or reliability.

Additional query words: 5.10 fs5 flightsim fltsim flt sim crash lock

======================================================================
Keywords          : kb3rdparty kbenv kberrmsg kbsound kbimu 
Technology        : kbGamesSearch kbFlightSimSearch kbFlightSim510DOS kbSimSearch
Version           : MS-DOS:5.1
Issue type        : kbprb

=============================================================================

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