Freelancer 1.0: Known Sound Issues (814549)

MORE INFORMATION

General Sound Issues

• When you are playing Freelancer, you may not be able to hear some sounds, such as the characters' voices. To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods:
  
  Note If you have third-party codec packs installed, such as the Nimo Codec pack, see the "Audio Troubleshooting" section in the Freelancer Readme file for additional assistance.

  Method 1: Turn Off 3D Sound

  1. In Freelancer, click Options.
  2. Click Audio.
  3. Click to clear the Use 3D Sound option.

  Method 2: Remove and Reinstall the Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec

  Remove the Codec: Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Sounds and Audio Devices or Sound and Audio Devices.
  3. Click the Hardware tab.
  4. Click Audio Codes, and then click Properties.
  5. Click the Properties tab.
  6. Click Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec, and then click Remove.
  7. Click Yes to remove the codec, and then restart the computer if you are prompted to restart.
  8. Click OK, and then click OK again.
  Remove the Codec: Microsoft Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click MultiMedia or Sounds and Multimedia.
  3. Click the Devices or Advanced tab.
  4. Expand Audio Compression Codecs.
  5. Click Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec, and then click Properties.
  6. Click Remove. When you are prompted to remove the codec, click Yes.
  7. Follow the instructions on the screen to remove the codec.
  8. If you are prompted, restart your computer.
  Reinstall the Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec
  1. Hold down the SHIFT key, and then insert the Freelancer disc into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
  2. Double-click the My Computer icon.
  3. Click the Freelancer disc icon. On the File menu, click Open.
  4. Open the Redist folder.
  5. Double-click the Wmfdist.exe file to install the missing codec.
• When you start Freelancer, you may receive an error message similar to the following:
  Freelancer failed to initialize sound. Verify that your sound card is working and that the latest version of DirectSound is installed. If the problem persists, try reinstalling the game.
  To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for your sound card, or download and install the most recent version of DirectX. To obtain the current version of DirectX, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

  http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/downloads/default.asp

• When you try to play Freelancer, the game sound may not play correctly. To resolve this issue, turn off Hardware Sound Acceleration. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. In the Open box, type dxdiag, and then click OK.
  3. Click the Sound tab.
  4. In the DirectX Features pane, drag the Hardware Sound Acceleration Level slider bar all the way to the left (the "No acceleration" setting).
  5. Click Exit, and then start the game.
     
     If you can now hear the sounds as expected, repeat these steps and increase the hardware sound acceleration level setting one notch, and try again. Do this until the hardware acceleration setting is as high as possible without corrupting the game sound.
  For additional information about how to troubleshoot sound related issues, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  812394 How to Troubleshoot Sound-Related Issues

Specific Sound Issues

SoundBlaster Live!

When you try to play Freelancer with this sound card installed, you may hear static over random in game sounds effects. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers for your sound card. To do so, visit the following SoundBlaster Web site: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

Intel AC'97 Integrated Sound Card

When you try to play Freelancer with this sound card installed, you may experience sound corruption. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for your sound card. To do so, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

nVidia nForce System

When you try to play Freelancer with this sound card installed, the music may play but the sound effects may not play. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent sound drivers for this card. To do so, visit the following nVidia Web site:

Aureal Vortex 2

When you try to play Freelancer with this sound card installed, you may experience that the sound stops playing temporarily during game play. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for this sound card. To do so, visit the following Aureal Inc. Web site:

TB Montego Sound Card (Aureal Vortex Chipset)

When you try to play Freelancer with this sound card installed, a blue screen may appear during the Freeport 8 explosion scene. As of April 2004, drivers to resolve this issue are not available from Aureal Inc. 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.