DOCUMENT:Q314225 06-AUG-2002 [homegame] TITLE :FS2002: How to Optimize Game Performance PRODUCT :Microsoft Home Games PROD/VER:: OPER/SYS: KEYWORDS:kbimu ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this article applies to: - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Professional Edition ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY ======= This article tells you how to configure Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 and your computer for optimal game performance. MORE INFORMATION ================ To configure Flight Simulator 2002 and your computer for optimal game performance, use the following methods in the order in which they are presented. Check Your Hard Drive for Errors -------------------------------- To check your hard drive for errors, use one of the following tools. ScanDisk: ScanDisk for Windows (Scandskw.exe) is a disk-checking and repair tool. ScanDisk works with Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, and Microsoft Windows Millennium. ScanDisk checks the integrity of your media (including hard disks and floppy disks), and ScanDisk repairs most problems. If you want ScanDisk to repair most errors without prompting you, click to select the Automatically Fix Errors check box. To run ScanDisk, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click ScanDisk. 2. Select the options and features that you want to use, and then click Start. Chkdsk: Chkdsk is a command-line tool for Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows 2000, and Microsoft Windows XP. Chkdsk scans volumes on the hard disk and repairs physical problems, such as bad blocks. Chkdsk also repairs logical structure errors, such as lost clusters, cross-linked files, or directory errors. NOTE: Run Chkdsk from a command prompt rather than from Windows Explorer. When you run Chkdsk from a command prompt, Chkdsk is displayed correctly. To run Chkdsk from a command prompt, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, and then click Run. 2. In the Open box, type "cmd" (without the quotation marks), and then press the Enter key. 3. To display the status of the disk in the current drive or volume, type the following at the command prompt chkdsk where is the letter of the drive or volume that you want to check. 4. Press ENTER. NOTE: For more information about how to run Chkdsk, consult the online Help in Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. Defragment Your Hard Drive -------------------------- When a program is installed on your computer, the program's files may be stored in multiple, noncontiguous locations on your hard disk. This is called fragmentation. If your hard disk is fragmented, programs on your computer perform slowly. The Disk Defragmenter tool optimizes the performance of your computer by reorganizing the files on your hard disk into contiguous blocks. When the Disk Defragmenter tool completes the defragmentation of files on your hard disk, the performance of your programs is faster because the files are arranged close together. NOTE: You can use your computer while Disk Defragmenter is running. However, your computer operates slowly, and the defragmentation process restarts if the contents of the drive that you are defragmenting change. To run the Disk Defragmenter tool, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter. 2. Click the drive that you want to defragment, click OK, and then click Yes. Disable the Weather Options --------------------------- During a flight, you can also disable the weather options to increase frame-rate performance. To do this: 1. While in a flight, click World on the menu bar, and then click Weather. 2. Click "Clear all weather". 3. Click Yes, and then click OK. Quit Unnecessary Programs ------------------------- To increase the amount of available system resources, quit all unnecessary programs before you start Flight Simulator 2002. To quit all unnecessary programs, use the appropriate method for your version of Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Windows 98: 1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. 2. 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 that states that the program is busy or not responding, click End Task again. 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your computer. Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP: 1. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC. 2. 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. 3. Quit Windows Task Manager. NOTE: Some programs start automatically every time that you restart your computer. For information about how to quit these programs, see the printed or online documentation for the program. For additional information about how to quit programs by using clean-boot methods, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q192926 How to Perform Clean-Boot Troubleshooting for Windows 98 Q267288 How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows Millennium Edition Q281770 How to Perform Clean-Boot Troubleshooting for Windows 2000 Q310353 How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows XP Optimize Your Hardware Configuration ------------------------------------ NOTE: Before you attempt to configure your video hardware, please read the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: Q309638 Flight Simulator 2002: Known Video-Related Issues Update Your Video or Sound Card Drivers: 1. Contact your video hardware manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain and install the latest version of the video driver for your video adapter. 2. Contact your audio hardware manufacturer 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 your video or sound card manufacturer, 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 Configure Your Display Adapter: If updating the video drivers does not help, change the display settings. Set the display color palette to the lowest setting that is supported by the game. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. 2. Double-click Display. 3. Click the Settings tab. 4. In the Colors box or the Color Palette box, click High Color (16-bit). 5. Click OK. 6. If you are prompted to restart the computer, click Yes. Change Installation Options --------------------------- There are three types of installation: Complete, Compact, and Custom. All of these installations use cabinet files (.cab files). A .cab file is a single file that stores compressed files in a file library. "Cabbed" files are compressed files; they are stored inside .cab files. Complete Installation: The Complete installation is the default installation. It is a full installation of all files. All compressed scenery files are decompressed after they are copied to the drive. This option requires approximately 2.1 gigabytes (GB) of free space and an additional 400 to 500 megabytes (MB) of space in which to decompress the compressed files. Compact Installation: A Compact installation requires approximately 700 MB of free space. It should only be chosen if there are no other options available to you, including the smallest possible Custom installation. All Scenery is left in a compressed format (in a .cab file) on the CDs. There is an impact on performance, due to the necessity of decompressing and copying those scenery files to the hard drive. Custom Installation: When you do a Custom installation, some scenery files remain compressed. You can choose how many scenery files you want to decompress. The more scenery files that are copied to the drive and decompressed, the better the performance is in those areas of the game. Scenery remains compressed on the CD or the hard drive performs slowly, exhibits stuttering, and may require disk-swapping when you move from region to region in the game. If you want to increase or decrease the size of your Custom installation, or if you want to change between compressed and uncompressed scenery, you need to uninstall and reinstall the game. 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. REFERENCES ========== For additional information about how to optimize video performance in Flight Simulator, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q314652 Flight Simulator: How to Optimize Video Performance Additional query words: msgame ====================================================================== Keywords : kbimu Technology : kbGamesSearch kbFlightSimSearch kbFlightSim2002 kbFlightSim2002Pro kbSimSearch Version : : Issue type : kbhowto ============================================================================= THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY. Copyright Microsoft Corporation 2002.