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Q279210: CFS/CFS 2: Troubleshooting Joystick Problems (Part 2)

Article: Q279210
Product(s): Microsoft Home Games
Version(s): 1.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbui 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 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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:

  Q279208 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" (without the quotation marks).

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):

  a. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.

  b. 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.

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

Microsoft Windows 2000:

  a. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC.

  b. 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.

  c. 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:

  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

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:

  a. Click to clear the Use Automatic Settings check box.

  b. 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.

  c. 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.

If this resolves the issue, you may need to call Microsoft SideWinder Force
Feedback Technical Support at (425) 635-7040 for additional troubleshooting
assistance with your SideWinder Force Feedback game controller.

For additional information about how to troubleshoot issues with your SideWinder
force feedback game controller, click the article numbers below to view the
articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q175184 SideWinder Force Feedback Pro: No Forces Felt on Test Forces Tab

  Q175701 No Force Feedback Effects Testing SideWinder Force Feedback Pro

  Q175233 SideWinder Force Feedback Pro Test Is Slow or Does Not Respond

  Q174436 Game Port Resource Settings for SideWinder Force Feedback

  Q174432 Game Port Requirements for SideWinder Force Feedback Pro

  Q173689 SideWinder Force Feedback Joystick Behaves Erratically

  Q175158 Force Feedback Err Msg: Your Gaming Device is Not Connected

  Q175054 SideWinder Not Compatible with Game Port-MIDI Adapter Cable

  Q174437 Joystick Does Not Work or You Cannot Feel Force Feedback Effects

  Q174433 Connecting SideWinder Force Feedback Pro for Best Performance

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:

  Q279208 Combat Flight Simulator/Combat Flight Simulator 2: How to
  Troubleshoot Joystick Problems (Part 1)

Additional query words: msgame cfs cfs2 combatfs joy stick game controller device side winder tshoot trouble shoot

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbui kbimu msgame 
Technology        : _IKkbbogus kbGamesSearch kbCombatFlightSim2 kbCombatFlightSim kbCombatFlightSimSearch kbSimSearch
Version           : :1.0
Issue type        : kbhowto

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

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