Q258496: Games: How to Troubleshoot Setup Problems in Microsoft Games
Article: Q258496
Product(s): Microsoft Home Games
Version(s): 1.0,2.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbenv kbsetup fsim kbimu msgame
Last Modified: 06-AUG-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater, version 1.0
- Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series, version 1.0
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Professional Edition
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Professional Edition
- Microsoft MechWarrior 4: Black Knight
- Microsoft MechWarrior 4: Vengeance
- Microsoft Motocross Madness 2, version 2.0
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SUMMARY
=======
This article discribes how to perform basic troubleshooting for problems that
you may experience when you install Microsoft games.
MORE INFORMATION
================
To troubleshoot the game problems, use the following methods in the order in
which they are presented.
Clean the CD-ROM
----------------
Clean the game CD-ROM to remove dust, smudges, and fingerprints. To do this, use
a CD-ROM cleaning kit, or gently wipe the silver side of the CD-ROM with a soft,
lint-free cotton cloth. Do not use paper cloth which can scratch the plastic and
leave streaks. When you clean the CD-ROM, wipe from the center of the disc
outward. Do not use a circular motion.
Quit Unnecessary Programs
-------------------------
Before you install the game, quit any unnecessary programs that are running on
your computer:
1. On the Windows taskbar, right-click the button for a program, and then click
Close.
Repeat this step to for each button on the Windows task bar.
2. Disable any anti-virus or disk management programs that are installed on the
computer. For information about how to disable these programs, see the
printed or online documentation for the program.
3. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
4. 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 which states that the program is busy or not
responding, click End Task again.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to quit all programs except Explorer and Systray.
Disable Auto Insert Notification
--------------------------------
NOTE: If you disable Auto Insert Notification, your programs no longer start
automatically when you insert the CD-ROM for a program into the CD-ROM drive.
To disable Auto Insert Notification:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click System.
3. On the Device Manager tab, click the PLUS SIGN (+) next to CDROM to expand
the branch.
4. Under the CDROM branch, click your CD-ROM drive, and then click Properties.
5. On the Settings tab, click to clear the "Auto insert notification" check box,
click to clear the DMA check box (if available), and then click OK.
6. Click Close.
7. If you are prompted to restart the computer, click Yes.
If you are not prompted to restart the computer, close Control Panel, and then
restart the computer.
Adjust the CD-ROM Cache Settings
--------------------------------
For additional information about how to adjust CD-ROM cache settings, click the
article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q184410 How to Use Msinfo32.exe to Optimize CD-ROM Cache Settings
Check the Temp Folder
---------------------
To check the Temp folder:
1. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click MS-DOS Prompt.
2. At the command prompt, type "set" (without the quotation marks), and then
press ENTER.
3. Make sure that the path on the "TEMP=" line is a valid, fully defined path.
By default, the TEMP environment variable contains the following path:
<drive>:\<windows>\Temp
where <drive> is the drive letter of the hard disk on which Microsoft
Windows is installed, and <windows>is the folder in which Windows is
installed.
NOTE: The following paths are not valid values for the TEMP environment
variable:
- \Windows\temp
- Windows\temp
4. Make sure that the Temp folder exists. To do this, type the following lines
at the command prompt, pressing ENTER after you type each line
<drive>:
cd \<path>
where <drive> is the drive letter in the path on the "TEMP=" line, and
<path> is the folder path on the "TEMP=" line.
5. If you move to the Temp folder successfully, proceed to the next step.
If you receive a message stating that the Temp folder does not exist:
a. Type the following lines at the command prompt, pressing ENTER after you
type each line:
<drive>:
cd \<windows>
cd temp
where <drive> is the drive letter of the hard disk on which Windows
is installed, <windows> is the folder in which Windows is
installed.
NOTE: If you receive a message stating that the Temp folder does not exist,
type the following lines at the command prompt, pressing ENTER after you
type each line:
md Temp
cd Temp
b. At the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you
type each line:
cd \
edit autoexec.bat
c. Use the DOWN ARROW key to move your text cursor to the beginning of the
SET TEMP= line in the Autoexec.bat file.
d. Type "REM" (without the quotation marks), press the SPACEBAR, press the
END key, and then press ENTER.
e. Type the following line
SET TEMP=<drive>:\<windows>\Temp
where <drive> is the drive letter of the hard disk on which Windows
is installed, <windows> is the folder in which Windows is installed.
f. Press ALT+F, and then press X.
When you are prompted to save the changes, press Y.
6. At the command prompt, type "exit" (without the quotation marks), and then
press ENTER to return to Windows.
7. If you made any changes, restart the computer.
Empty the Temp folder
---------------------
To empty the Temp folder, use the appropriate method for your version of
Windows.
Windows 95:
1. Click Start, and then click Shut Down.
2. Click "Restart in MS-DOS mode", and then click OK.
3. At the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you
type each line:
<drive>:
cd \<path>
where <drive> is the drive letter in the path on the "TEMP=" line, and
<path> is the folder path on the "TEMP=" line.
4. At the command prompt, type "del *.tmp" (without the quotation marks), press
ENTER, and then press Y.
5. At the command prompt, type "exit" (without the quotation marks), and then
press ENTER to restart the computer.
Windows 98:
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools,
and then click Disk Cleanup.
2. In the Drives box, click the hard disk on which the Temp folder is stored,
and then click OK.
3. In the "Files to delete" box, click to select the "Temporary files" check
box.
4. Click to clear the check boxes for any files that you do not want to delete,
click OK, and then click Yes.
Check for Real Mode (16-bit) CD-ROM Drivers
-------------------------------------------
Make sure that you are not using a real mode (16-bit) driver for your CD-ROM
drive. The games requires a protected mode (32-bit) CD-ROM driver.
To determine if a real mode (16-bit) CD-ROM driver is installed instead of a
protected mode (32-bit) CD-ROM driver:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click System.
3. Click the Device Manager tab.
4. Locate the CDROM branch.
If the CDROM branch does not exist, your CD-ROM drive uses a real mode CD-ROM
driver.
5. Click OK, and then close Control Panel.
To determine if a real mode CD-ROM driver is installed in addition to a protected
mode CD-ROM driver, examine the Autoexec.bat file for a line that refers to the
Mscdex.exe file:
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type "sysedit" (without the quotation marks), and then click
OK.
3. In the Autoexec.bat window, look for any lines that refer to the Mscdex.exe
file.
If a line that refers to the Mscdex.exe file exists, a real mode CD-ROM driver is
probably installed on your computer. Contact the manufacturer of your CD-ROM
drive for information about how to remove the real-mode driver for your CD-ROM
drive.
If a line that refers to the Mscdex.exe file does not exist, contact the
manufacturer of your CD-ROM drive to inquire about how to verify that the CD-ROM
drive is installed corretly, and to inquire about how to obtain and install the
latest version of the protected mode (32-bit) Windows 95/98 CD-ROM driver for
your CD-ROM drive.
For information about how to contact the manufacturer of your CD-ROM drive, click
the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K
Q60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P
Q60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z
Check for Duplicate CD-ROM Drives
---------------------------------
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click System.
3. On the Device Manager tab, click the PLUS SIGN (+) next to CDROM to expand
the branch.
4. In the CDROM branch, click your CD-ROM drive, and then click Properties.
5. Record the device information and settings on each tab in the device
properties dialog box, and then click OK.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each device in the CDROM branch.
7. Click OK.
8. Close Control Panel.
9. Restart the computer in Safe mode. To do this, use the appropriate method for
your version of Microsoft Windows.
Windows 95:
Restart the computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press
the F8 key, and then select Safe Mode from the Startup menu.
Windows 98:
Restart the computer, press and hold down the CTRL key after your computer
completes the Power On Self Test (POST), and then select Safe Mode from the
Startup menu.
10. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
11. Double-click System.
12. On the Device Manager tab, click the PLUS SIGN (+) next to CDROM to expand
the branch.
13. Verify that there are no changes in the list of devices in the CDROM
branch.
If a new device appears in the branch that did not appear in the list of
devices that you noted in steps 4 and 5, click the new device, and then
click Remove. Repeat this step for each device in the branch that did not
appear in the list that you noted in steps 4 and 5.
NOTE: If you see new copies of a device that appeared in the list that you
noted in steps 4 and 5, check the properties for each copy of the device. If
the properties for the device match the properties that you recorded, keep
the device. If the properties for the device do not match the properties
that you recorded, remove the device.
14. Click OK.
15. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click OK.
Additional query words: msgame flightsim fsim fs2000 fs2k install setup cd fs2002
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Keywords : kbenv kbsetup fsim kbimu msgame
Technology : _IKkbbogus kbGamesSearch kbFlightSimSearch kbMotocrossSearch kbCombatFlightSim2 kbCombatFlightSim kbCombatFlightSimSearch kbFlightSim2000 kbMotocrossM2 kbFlightSim2002 kbFlightSim2002Pro kbSimSearch
Version : :1.0,2.0
Issue type : kbhowto
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