Combat Flight Simulator/Flight Simulator 98: Aircraft Unexpectedly Stops in Midair with Nose Pointed Straight Down (259191)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series 1.0
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator 98
This article was previously published under Q259191

SYMPTOMS

When you play Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator or Microsoft Flight Simulator 98, your aircraft may unexpectedly stop in midair with the aircraft nose pointed straight down. However, you can still fire your guns, and other aircraft in the game continue to fly normally.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if the following conditions are true:
  • A sound card based on the Vortex Aureal chip set is installed in your computer.
  • The sound driver for your sound card is outdated.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, 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:

65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

If the issue continues to occur, use the following methods in the order in which they are presented.

Reduce Hardware Sound Acceleration in Dxdiag

If you run Combat Flight Simulator or Flight Simulator 98 on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows 2000, reduce the Hardware Sound Acceleration setting:
  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. In the Open box, type dxdiag, and then click OK.
  3. Click the Sound tab.
  4. Under DirectX Features, move the Hardware Sound Acceleration Level slider all the way to the left (the No acceleration setting).
  5. Click Exit.
If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Reduce the Sound Playback Quality

If the issue is resolved when you disable sound in the game, your sound card may be unable to properly process game port signals and high quality game sounds at the same time.

To reduce the sound playback quality in the game:
  1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
  2. If you are running Combat Flight Simulator, type Combatfs.cfg in the Named box.

    If you are running Flight Simulator 98, type Fltsim98.cfg in the Named box.
  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 or the Fltsim98.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 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.
  8. Close the Find: Files Named Combatfs.cfg or Find: Files Named Fltsim98.cfg window.
If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Change the Preferred Playback Device to the Game Compatible Device

To do this:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Multimedia.
  3. Under Playback on the Audio tab, click Game Compatible Device in the Preferred device box.

    NOTE: If Game Compatible Device is not listed in the Preferred device box, see the "More Information" section of this article for information about how to install it.
  4. Click to select the Use only preferred devices check box, and then click OK.
  5. Close Control Panel.
  6. Restart the computer.

MORE INFORMATION

To install the Game Compatible Device:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Modems.
  3. If a modem is not already installed in your computer, proceed to step 4.

    If a modem is installed in your computer, click Add in the Modems Properties dialog box.
  4. Click to select the Don't detect my modem; I will select it from a list check box, and then click Next.
  5. In the Manufacturers box, click 3X.

    NOTE: 3X is not included with some versions of Microsoft Windows.
  6. In the Models box, click 3X 14.4 Data Fax Modem Voice.
  7. Click Next.
  8. Click any port, and then click Next.
  9. Follow the instructions on the screen to finish installing the Game Compatible Device.
  10. Click Finish, and then click Close.
The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/31/2003
Keywords:kbprb kbsound KB259191
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.