FS2000 a New Prob!! [Archive]

spannersatcx

8th Jan 2000, 05:24

United Kingdom
Microsoft Limited
Phone: (0870) 60 10 100
Fax: (0870) 60 20 100

Microsoft Technical Support
· Desktop Applications, Home Products, Personal Operating Systems and hardware. 0870 50 10 100
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· Customers phoning from Ireland should dial 706 5353 for technical support.
Pre-Sales Information: Microsoft Connection (0345) 00 2000

Try this page http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/canned.asp?R=d&H=Articles+about+Flight+Simulator+2000&LL=homegame&Sz=flight+and+simulator+and+2000&Fr=0&DU=C&SG=

SYMPTOMS
When you start Combat Flight Simulator, Flight Simulator 98, or Flight Simulator 2000, the computer may stop responding (hang), or you may receive one of the following error messages:
· An Exception 0D has occurrence at 0020c104DE in vxd vip...
· A fatal Exception 30 has occured ...
CAUSE
This behavior can occur if a Creative Labs Sound Blaster AWE 64 sound card is installed in your computer, and the version of the sound driver is older than version 4.38.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, download and install the latest version of the sound driver for your sound card from the following Creative Labs Web site: http://www.soundblaster.com

Flight Simulator 2000: "System Error" When You Attempt to Start the Program

The information in this article applies to:
· Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000
· Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Professional Edition

SYMPTOMS
When you attempt to start Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000, you may receive the following error message:

System error.
CAUSE
This behavior can occur if the following conditions are true:

· An ATI Rage 128 video adapter is installed in the computer.

· Version 4.11.1.2126 of the video driver for the ATI Rage 128 video adapter is installed on the computer.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, obtain and install the latest video driver for the ATI Rage 128 video adapter from the following ATI Technologies Inc. Web site: http://www.atitech.com

Flight Simulator 2000 Troubleshooter

Other Programs That Are Running on Your Computer May Interfere with Flight Simulator 2000
Quit any unnecessary programs that are running on your computer. To do this:
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 tool programs 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 to open the Close Program dialog box.
4. Quit all programs except Explorer and Systray (which are components of Microsoft Windows). To quit a program, click the program, and then click End Task.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to quit all programs except Explorer and Systray

[This message has been edited by spannersatcx (edited 08 January 2000).]

Ironguts

8th Jan 2000, 15:58

10Mb patch!!! My A---e!!! look's like MS have rewritten the whole bloody program!!!

Typical!!!!

Bovingdon

9th Jan 2000, 04:52

If I close everything in the taskbar..will that still come up again when I switch my PC on next time?
Everything worked fine before! Loaded straight up and everything!
Im desperate now, and I miss flying! The WX is crap and now the PC!!
BTW on FS2000 I saw at the Flt Taining Exhibition a demo where you can hear Cabin noise, ie Pax chatting. I didnt get it when I worked the first time. Is it just me?

Stan Sted

9th Jan 2000, 15:25

My 10-year-old son, who became a dab hand at flying the C172 inverted under most London bridges in FS98, is extremely fed up with FS2000 which I got for Xmas because our computer cannot handle it properly.

The note on the box said min requirements 166Mhz, 32MB etc etc and while our machine is 200MHz, has 96MB, plenty of space HD space, the frames rate is so low the sim is like a slide show (2.5 to 8frames pc with lowest density for scenery etc).

I now need to spend about £500-£600 upgrading the computer to run the sim properly. I can say that I am not best pleased with Microsoft for publishing apparently misleading info on the sim packaging.

FS2000 experts reckon you need at least a 500MHz processor, 256MB ram and graphics card with at least 16MB, but preferably 32MB RAM to make it work properly at around 30 frames per sec.

Cheers SS

clownfish

9th Jan 2000, 15:58

Stan, my comments for your remarks here and on the processor thread.

1. I found very little difference with frame rate by having the FS2000 graphic options turned on or turned off.

2. I first ran FS2000 on an AMD K6-2-350 with a 16mb Banshee card. Result=unplayable (frame rate too slow to land the thing).

3. I am now using the AMD K7-500 with a 32mb TNT2 card, 192mbPC133 ram and a high speed ATA66 hard drive. Result=playable, but the frame rate halves when it comes across 3D scenery (which looks great).

4. I have seen it played on a K7-700 with a 16mb VooDoo3 graphic card and to date that is the best I have seen.

5. FS-98 runs like greased lightning on any of the above combos.

Stan Sted

9th Jan 2000, 16:10

Thanks Clownfish

Looks like I will have to chuck away existing set up and buy a complete new box of tricks with 700MHz, 256MR Ram Superdooperwhizzo Graphics card with 32MB ram.

All sounds rather expensive. Got any comments on the cheapest possible option with a 700MHz processor?

Usual offer applies...beer or three in return for info...London on Jan 12 or Ash Bash in May!

clownfish

10th Jan 2000, 03:09

Personally, I wouldn't spend anything on an upgrade simply to run FS2000 at this time. Firstly, whilst the program is OK, it will only get better with time as the bugs are sorted out and secondly the price of processors that run the thing smoothly will only get cheaper as the faster come on line. Another point mentioned elsewhere is the new gen graphic cards that take some of the load off the processor.

Summary=the program is not that good that you can't wait six months to affordably run it...IMHO

jfe117

10th Jan 2000, 04:36

I currently run FS2K, Fly!, CFS, FUIII, all with acceptable frame rates.
My set-up is PII 350, 160mb Ram, 32mb TNT2.
All the hints & tips I have seen for all the various fltsims around emphasize RAM, RAM, RAM!
If you can get more system Ram, and a decent sized graphics card Ram, you shouldn't have to scrap your current processor(166mhz or faster).
Having said that, Ram is currently at a high price per mb.

------------------
'I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend, to the death, your right to say it' - Voltaire

[This message has been edited by jfe117 (edited 10 January 2000).]

InFinRetirement

11th Jan 2000, 03:05

On all the forums related to FS2K the same story is as here. The graphics cards are not up to the job.

What I have found is that Voodoo and TNT cards, plus some ATI cards, are causing chaos. The starting point should be getting the latest drivers downloaded from their respective sites.

200mhz will run it, but the Graphics card HAS to be good. You can, if you seek them out, exchange a 200mhz CPU for a higher one.

I use a Matrox Millenium G400 card (currently £85inc VAT ((was higher))) and it suits FS2K perfectly. I get frame rates of over 40-75 with it. I also run a Celeron 400mhz and 128mb of RAM. No more is needed. Certainly not 256mb of RAM!

Bovingdon

11th Jan 2000, 03:40

I can understand problems for those with continuous problems.
However, when I FIRST installed FS2K, it was near perfect! Not even slow either.
Now its wont even start!
I get a spurious msg saying
THIS PROGRAM HAS PERFORMED AN ILLEGAL OPERATION AND WILL BE SHUT DOWN
I dont know why it doesnt work anymore!
Ive Uninstalled and then reinstalled etc. Still no joy! (At £59.99 from PC World, it better be Damned legal!!)
HELP!!

BTW, Any news on the cabin noise thing? (Especially to those with Super performance machines!)

InFinRetirement

11th Jan 2000, 12:25

Bovingdon,

Try this. De-frag before you install FS2K and de-frag after.

It might be a good idea if you scandisk before the de-frag if you haven't done it for some time.

Also, check disc 1. There have been cracked discs from the manufacturer's and MS will replace them.

[This message has been edited by InFinRetirement (edited 11 January 2000).]

spannersatcx

12th Jan 2000, 00:48

Bovington, the price you say indicates you have FS2000 Pro version. Hope I'm not stating the obvious - but - to run FS2000 pro you must have DISK 2 in your cd rom drive and not disk 1. On disk 3 there are extra sound files that can be installed, not sure, but these may contain the sounds you seek. It was also recommended to do a complete install, which is arounf 1GB. It helps to improve speed etc.
There are several read me files on the cd's not sure if they'll help.

Doors to Automatic

12th Jan 2000, 03:45

Stan Sted,

My advice for minimum FS2000 requirements would be 500MHzP3, 128MB Ram and 16MB Graphics. As far as I can make out (and I have been studying forums daily since October) the most important factor is CPU speed but all three interact so none of the three factors should be below the above specs. I am running absolutely flawlessly on 700MHz, 256MB and 32MB so whilst this is a top end system it can be done.

Great forum exists at www.microwings.com (http://www.microwings.com)

Hope this info is of use.

Stan Sted

12th Jan 2000, 03:55

DTA

Thanks for that....I am currently studying the computer mags for the cheapest set up.

thanks

SS

kopbhoy

12th Jan 2000, 14:17

I'm running it on a P3 500, 128 mb ram, 32 mb video card (similar to DTA's suggestion), and getting a frame rate of 20 per second in cruise, although if you fly into cloud it'll drop to about 4 per second. Frame rates on landing are usually 15-16.

If you want to check this, hit shift+z twice and it'll display the frame rate in the top left hand corner of the screen.
http://www.simflight.com has lots of useful info on this topic, well worth a look. However it has already been suggested that FS2K is no more than a beta for FS2002 or whatever they're going to call it! :)

It is a lot better than FS98 when it's running smoothly though, but I wouldn't recommend spending a fortune on an upgrade just for this....spend your money on real flying hours instead ;)

Risky.Flyer

12th Jan 2000, 21:55

Bov,
I suffered a similar problem when I first got FS2000. My problem was something to do with corrupted registry entries. The way I got it back running was when re-installing FS2000, to not use the same folder that the original setup was loaded in. When it asks which folder you want FS2000 loaded into, enter c:\fs2000 rather than the c:\program files\microsoft games\fs2000. The setup program will ask if you would like to create that new folder, to which you click yes.
This may not be your problem, and I am certainly no computer wiz, but it is worth a go. Good luck!

Bovingdon

13th Jan 2000, 05:02

Cheers RF...
One of the most useful hints Ive had so far!
(no offence to the others(IFR), but Ive tried those already..I always have disk2 inside and instead if the std installation which worked okay at first, I reinstalled trying COMPLETE installation etc!!)
and yes it is the Pro edition!
Ill give it a whizz tomorrow.
Any idea about the cabin noise? I saw a demo where there was PAX background noise etc. Quite realistic, if I could get it going again.
BTW***WHAT Does that thing with the registry mean? Is my PC buggered now?
cheers again everyone...

Bovingdon

14th Jan 2000, 02:55

Just tried the suggestion of installing to a different directory…still no luck.
Im not happy any more!
Mr. Gates, if you are reading this, whats the problem!?!

clownfish

14th Jan 2000, 04:45

This may not seem helpful, but it works for me. Back-up your data, format your drive and start all over again. I format my drive a couple of times a year anyway and have found it to be the panacea for problems I don't even have (as well as keeping the system running as fast as possible).

Irish Steve

14th Jan 2000, 22:53

Originally posted by clownfish:
Back-up your data, format your drive and start all over again. I format my drive a couple of times a year anyway and have found it to be the panacea for problems I don't even have (as well as keeping the system running as fast as possible).

And that's the reason why I think that Billy is on the move. While that's OK for you, and it is a valid option, when there's maybe 15 or 20 applications on the machine, 10 Gb+ of data, in over 25000 files, to do such a restart is over 2 days work, let alone the complications of then trying to find all the patches that have been applied ( sometines without asking) after the original load of the system. I've never yet got the same result twice when reloading systems, there's always a few files that I can't be sure where they came from or why, and in theory, I'm supposed to know about this c**p. Any of the Microsoft applications , both operating system and end user, have got so bloated with stuff that's of no real interest to the user, it's got the the stage where there is room and need for a mean clean tight and reliable operating system that can be managed without logging on to a web site every couple of days to check for the latest and fastest way to crash your system. I think that Bill is more than a little worried about Linux, and his original plan, let it get big enough to be useful, then buy it out, is no longer a runner, as he's not going to be allowed to go that way any more, the Department of Justice case has seen to that, so now he has to get Microsoft back to producing product that gets good reviews from the people that are not in his pocket, and work when they're loaded, not after the first patch within a week of release.

Time will tell, I think things are going to be quite interesting for a while!

------------------
"Irish" Steve

spannersatcx

21st Jan 2000, 00:43

Bovington, re your question on cabin sounds, the only thing I can find is a view from the cabin by doing the following
The cabin views are an option that you can choose when installing FS2K. You
have to make sure to check the option.
SB

In the Fs2000.cfg file in the main directory is a line saying:
See_self=1 Change this to see_self=0 and you will not see interior.

Bovingdon

21st Jan 2000, 03:36

Cheers for that...
Only prob is I can even load up the program.(See above posts by me)
I tried to call PCWORLD where I got the program, but I just get fobbed off to other lines etc. Eventually told I need to call a £1/min line! PANTS!
I tried to reinstall several times, still no luck though. I only get "THIS PROGRAM AS PERFORMED AN ILLEGAL FUNCTION AND WILL BE SHUT DOWN" Does any PC genius know whats it all about? Someone mentioned installing it under a different directory to the default one, alas no luck!
C'mon folks...getting desperate now! (Will trade my copy of FS2K Pro for a couple of jumpseat rides!!

spannersatcx

22nd Jan 2000, 00:37

Bovington, have you installed or uninstalled anything prior to this happening. Trouble with a lot of software is it shares certain files and one that is required by FS2K could of been overwritten and if this file has a later date on it than the one FS2K is trying to install it won't be overwritten. If you can remember what else you put on, uninstall that. If not it really looks like a clean install - back up all important data and reformat your hard drive, sounds viscious but in the end you will end up with a very clean windows environment. Just reinstalling windows probably wouldn't help. Depending on the size of your drive it may be worth partitioning it and installing certain types to certain partitions. For instance drive F could be for all your flying stuff. Doubt very much wether pc world will/can help, past experiences with them not good i'm afraid. Good luck and welcome to the wonderful worl of Microsoft!!!!!!!

Irish Steve

23rd Jan 2000, 17:36

Have you loaded any software off magazine cover discs, such as an Internet Explorer update or similar. Almost certainly, if you have, it's also at the same time installed a newer ( supposedly better) version of Direct X, and FS is notorious for not liking anything other than the version it came with.

If that's the case, a reinstall will probably not fix it, as in this situation, if it finds newer versions of a file, it leaves it there, and it may not offer the option to replace it, and in that case, the problem is not fixed. It may have an uninstall for Direct X ( probably version 7) and if so, do that, then reinstall FS to get the correct drivers again.

Hope this helps.

Regards

------------------
"Irish" Steve

Bovingdon

24th Jan 2000, 03:33

Steve..
Thanks for that.
How do I find if i have a latest version of Direct X?
Unistall FS completely thenuse FIND?

Irish Steve

24th Jan 2000, 05:47

Originally posted by Bovingdon:
Steve..
Thanks for that.
How do I find if i have a latest version of Direct X?
Unistall FS completely thenuse FIND?

Not completely sure, as I have recently made strenuous efforts to prevent my machine from installing Direct X 7! :)

You may be able to find out by having a look at what can be uninstalled in the control panel , add/remove programs option, then look at what it says can be uninstalled. If it mentions Direct X 7, then it's installed it. Other than that, there may be a clue in the updates folder that I think lives in the Windows folder, but there tend to be subtle differences between versions, so I can only provide hints rather than cast iron directions for some of these things.

Hope this helps

------------------
"Irish" Steve

clownfish

24th Jan 2000, 12:38

Bad news is that FS2000 MUST HAVE DX7...but there is a later version DX7-a. That's the one to avoid. Unless you have puposely put it there it won't appear. FS2000 only puts in DX7.

BTW Steve what probs have you have with DX7...to date I have had no problems, whereas previously I got the occasional headache when playing multiplayer games with linked machines (I'm still not brave enough to install DX7a however based on all reports).

clownfish

24th Jan 2000, 13:04

Oops, forgot to answer the question...too find out what version of DX you've got, go into the windows folder and open 'regedit.exe'. Then expand the following:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Direct X/Version

spannersatcx

24th Jan 2000, 13:37

If you don't like messing with the registry, click on start - run type dxdiag and press return and you will see everything you ever wanted to know about Direct X. Have fun.

Also go to http://search.miocrosoft.com and put in the details and it may come up with a solution for the error message you get.

[This message has been edited by spannersatcx (edited 24 January 2000).]

Irish Steve

25th Jan 2000, 22:42

Originally posted by clownfish:

BTW Steve what probs have you have with DX7...to date I have had no problems, whereas previously I got the occasional headache when playing multiplayer games with linked machines (I'm still not brave enough to install DX7a however based on all reports).

I've seen lots of reports on the flight sim forum I help with complaining about problems with DirecX7, and the programmer that's working on scenery for a different Sim has cursed it in so many ways, I'd get banned if I repeated it :)

Personally, I've not done too much with FS2000, as I've been very busy on some other work, so some of the comments I've made have been based on the distillation of those comments. It'll be interesting to see what the eventual answer to this one is :)

------------------
"Irish" Steve

NICE1

29th Jan 2000, 07:28

Bovingdon, still having your problem with fs2k mate? I had exactly the same problem as yourself! "This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down"...
I am no computer expert and don't pretend to be one. I called the £1 p/min helpline and came off the phone non the wiser(robin' B'stards)Eventually I got hold of someone at PC World and he assured me that the only way to correct the fault was to re-set your PC to the manufacturers settings (see PC handbook)...a bit harsh I know but it works just fine now!! anyway must dash i'm off to Funchal in my B777 ???!!!!

Bovingdon

16th Feb 2000, 04:12

Clownfish..
Whats wrong with the DirectX ver 7a??
When I checked it, I found a file to be missing. If i post it here, can someone email it to be?

clownfish

16th Feb 2000, 10:05

Bov, I'm still using DX7 as others I know have had unexplained illegal errors causing FS2000 to shut when they have 'upgraded' to DX7a. BTW I had all sorts of problems runnnig this program on my first install, some of which have been mentioned elsewhere on this forum...all have now been resolved and the program is running just as the maker intended. WRT DX7, I actually installed DX7 off a mag cover CD so I could chose not to install it from the FS2000 setup program. Unlikely though it is, the DX7 off the FS setup may be the cause of your problems. And to answer your next question, my initial problems also came after an initial period when everything was working fine.

Bovingdon

17th Feb 2000, 03:30

[Cheers for that mate.
Still no luck with my prob.
*Anyone wanna buy a copy of FS2k? Hardly used!! Im getting no use out of it!
Called MS Supportline, but engineers were busy. They can only call during office hours! (When Most folks are at work duh!!)
Still waiting for their e-mail though!

Ausatco

17th Feb 2000, 04:39

Re DirectX 7.0 and 7.0a

I have 7.0a installed, but dxdiag reports 7.0, so if somehow you got 7.0a, you most likely wouldn't know it!

Also, Bovingdon, in my DirectX setup, dxdiag reports some files as beta versions and warns they could cause problems. Have tried re-installing 7.0 and 7.0a patch, but can't get rid of them!!

Not running FS2k, so no probs with applications (yet)!

Ausatco

17th Feb 2000, 04:43

Bovingdon asked a long time ago - this may be old info now http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/frown.gif...

If I close everything in the taskbar..will that still come up again when I switch my PC on next time?

If they are all set to open on Windows start-up, yes they will. If a prog or file doesn't open or start automatically when you switch on or start Windows, here's how to make it happen:-

Using Windows Explorer, find the program or file and create a shortcut by right-clicking the file or prog and clicking Create Shortcut. The new shortcut will appear at the bottom of the file list. Right click the shortcut and copy. Now place the shortcut in in the Start-Up folder as follows:-

Right click a blank area of the taskbar, click properties, click Start Menu Programs tab, click Advanced, expand the Programs folder by clicking the + sign next to it, scroll to Start Up, click it to open it, right click the right hand pane (with the other shortcuts in it) and click paste.

Done!

Spannersatcx wrote

3. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to open the Close Program dialog box.
4. Quit all programs except Explorer and Systray (which are components of Microsoft Windows). To quit a program, click the program, and then click End Task.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to quit all programs except Explorer and Systray

Be careful! Some programs listed here may be components that are essential to your Windows system. My list includes a sound-card driver, a mouse driver plus others that I cannot recognise. Anyone know what OSA and Stimon do? While closing programs like this in a trouble-shooting exercise I came close to a complete system crash. The machine wouldn't close down. When I did a cold boot (the good ol' power switch) it couldn't see the hard drives. Got it going with a start-up disk, but now don't take too many risks in the CTRL-ALT-Del department!

spannersatcx

17th Feb 2000, 19:18

STIMON Still Images Device Monitor
OSA Microsoft Office Wrapper

If you want to close down individual items at start up for trouble shooting rathar than ctrl alt del. Go to start > run > type msconfig go to the start up tab and untick anyprograms you don't want to run at startup.

[This message has been edited by spannersatcx (edited 17 February 2000).]

Ausatco

18th Feb 2000, 17:28

Thanks, Spanners

InFinRetirement

19th Feb 2000, 01:27

Each time I open this thread I am amazed that there are, apparently, still a lot of 'problems' with FS2k. I have never had a probelm with it, from the day I installed it - but there are a few things you should do first before you load it.

1. Go to Start | Programmes | Accessories | System Tools | Disc Cleanup. Click on it and get it to work. If you go on the internet you pickup quite a lot of crap and you must get rid of it on regular basis. You'll get a lot of cookies too. Then you must a de-frag, and a FULL scandisk wouldn't harm anything either. I do all the above every week.

2. I am convinced that 'dirty' puters are the cause of a lot of problems and I come across them a lot.

3. Load FS2K and de-frag after. This sorts out the files better than anything can.

4. Now that it's out get the appropriate patch for your version. Pro to Pro and Standard to Standard. Vital that the right one is used. Pro is over 10mb, the other is over 8mb. Go to Microsoft.com | games | FS2000 for them.

5. Now DirectX. This is the meat and gravy of Microsoft games. You must use them and update them, and FS2K benefits greatly from DX7a, it will not cause any problems, unless you ALREADY have one.

6. Get to your manufacturer sites. Modems, Graphics cards, sound cards etc., and download driver updates. There are many more than you imagine and I make a habit of visiting each relevant site once a week.

7. Have you got the guts to make FS2K sing? 64mb of RAM is not good enough. 200mhz CPU won't cut it. 8mb of graphics card will struggle and if the sell by date of your motherboard has expired you are in trouble. And have you checked the BIOS settings.

8. Do you visit forums? Some concerning the manufacturer's you use, and some concerning FS2K. You should, there is an amount of information at these sites that will often answer any questions you have. Some have an archive of previous questions. So, for example try www.avsim.com (http://www.avsim.com) - go to the forums and look for MS Simulator, Project Freeware and you will find like minded people who have problems.

Finally, FS2K is great. Add-ons are coming thick and fast, for greater enjoyment. Don't be put off. There is nothing wrong with it. I am afraid it's your puter and you must find the answer within.

If I can be of any help e-mail me.

spannersatcx

19th Feb 2000, 11:31

So what are the best BIOS settings?
P11 350 128mb ram Creative Geforce annihilator 32mb (using Nvidia drivers) SB PCI64 Abit BE6-2
all with latest drivers

[This message has been edited by spannersatcx (edited 19 February 2000).]

PPRuNe Towers

19th Feb 2000, 17:10

Hmmmmmm, for those reading this thread and not yet embroiled in creating machinery with the computing power of an entire university just to run FS 2000 how about plan B?

1)Get an old 386 or 486 now being used as a door stop by one of the hotshots.

2)Install IFT Pro or one of the other DOS based sims. Don't worry, you can run it within a nice friendly Windows environment.

3)Quietly get on with enjoying velvety smooth, colour graphics while the others download patches 33% of the size of the entire PPRuNe site and all its archives.

4)Occasionally hang you head in shame for improving your flying skills rather than becoming a systems diagnostician.

------------------
Regards from the Towers

[email protected]