Article: Q279858
Product(s): Microsoft Home Games
Version(s): 2.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbimu
Last Modified: 12-JUN-2001
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Midtown Madness 2, version 2.0
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SUMMARY
=======
When you run Microsoft Midtown Madness 2, you may experience one or more of the
following symptoms:
- The game controller may behave erratically.
- The game controller may not respond.
- The pedals do not respond correctly.
This article is part 1 of a series of two Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that
present a systematic approach to troubleshooting game controller problems.
Q279849 Midtown Madness 2: Game Controller Problems Troubleshooting (Part 2)
MORE INFORMATION
================
Perform the troubleshooting procedures in the order in which they are presented.
After you finish each method, test to determine if the issue is resolved. If the
issue continues to occur, perform the next procedure.
Verify That Your Operating System Supports Your Game Controller
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millenium
Edition (ME) and Microsoft Windows 2000 operating systems support both analog
and digital game controllers. For best performance, verify that the latest
version of the game controller driver for your game controller is installed on
your computer.
The following table lists the SideWinder game controllers that are supported by
each version of Windows:
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Game Controller | Windows 95/98/Me/2000 | USB | GamePort |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder standard | Yes | No | Yes |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder 3DPro | Yes | No | Yes |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Game Pad | Yes | No | Yes |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Sidewinder Plug and Play Game Pad | Yes | Yes | No |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Sidewinder Game Pad Pro | Yes | Yes | No |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder FreeStyle Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Sidewinder Dual Strike | Yes (incompatible with Windows 2000) | Yes | No |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Joystick | Yes | Yes | No |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Precision Pro | Yes | No | Yes |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Precision Pro 2 | Yes | Yes | No |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Force Feedback Pro | Yes | No | Yes |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Force Feedback Pro 2 | Yes | Yes | No |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel | Yes | No | Yes |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Precision Racing Wheel | Yes (incompatible with Windows 2000) | Yes | No |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
NOTE: Support for all current USB (Universal Serial Bus) gameport and USB-only
SideWinder game controllers is included in Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows
2000.
Check the Game Controller Connection to the Computer
----------------------------------------------------
If you use a gameport game controller, verify that the game controller is
connected directly to the gameport in your computer. Daisy-chained game
controllers or gameport adapters can interfere with communication between the
gameport and the game controller.
If you have more than one game controller plugged into your computer (one plugged
into a gameport and the other plugged into a USB port), Midtown Madness 2 will
only recognize the gameport controller. In order for Midtown Madness 2 to
recognize the USB controller, disconnect the other controller from the
gameport.
If you use a USB game controller, verify that the game controller is connected
properly to the USB port in your computer or to a combatible USB hub that is
connected to the USB port in your computer.
If you are using a USB joystick, disconnect all the game devices from your
computer except the game device that you want to use to play the game.
Disable the SideWinder Game Device Profiler
-------------------------------------------
If you use a SideWinder game controller, disable the SideWinder Game Device
Profiler or SideWinder Game Controller software. To do this, right-click the
Game Device Profiler icon or the Game Controller Software icon in the status
area of the taskbar, and then click Unload or Disable.
Install the Latest Version of Microsoft DirectX
-----------------------------------------------
Download and install the latest version of DirectX from the following Microsoft
Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/directx/homeuser/downloads/default.asp
For additional information about how to obtain and install the latest version of
DirectX, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
Q179113 How to Download and Install DirectX
Verify That Your Game Controller Is Assigned to Controller ID 1
---------------------------------------------------------------
Many games cannot recognize a game controller if it is not assigned to Controller
ID 1. To verify that your game controller is assigned to Controller ID 1, follow
these steps:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Game Controllers icon.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. If you have a gameport joystick or a game pad plugged in, unplug it and then,
in the Game Controller window, remove it.
5. If the game controller that you want to use is not assigned to ID 1, click
Change.
If the game controller that you want to use is assigned to ID 1, skip to to
the next method.
6. In the Game Controllers box, click the game controller that you want to use,
and then click the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW to change the Selected ID value to
1.
7. Click OK. Click OK again.
8. Close Control Panel.
Confirm the Version of SideWinder Game Controller Software
----------------------------------------------------------
If you use a SideWinder USB-only game controller, verify that version 4.0 or
later of the SideWinder Game Controller Software is installed on your computer.
If you use a gameport game controller or a hybrid gameport/USB game controller,
verify that version 3.02 or earlier of the SideWinder Game Device Profiler or
the SideWinder Game Controller software is installed on your computer.
If you use both SideWinder USB-only game controllers and SideWinder gameport or
hybrid gameport/USB game controllers, make sure that versions 4.0 or later and
3.02 or earlier of the SideWinder Game Controller software are installed on your
computer.
The following table lists the SideWinder game controllers that are supported by
each version of the SideWinder Game Controller software:
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Game controller | Version 4.0 | Version 3.02 or earlier |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Game Pad Pro | Yes | No |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Sidewinder Plug and Play Game Pad | No (does not require any software) | No |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Dual Strike | Yes | No |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder 3D Pro | No | Yes |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Game Pad | No | Yes |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Plug and Play Game Pad | No (does not require any software) | No |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Joystick | No | No (does not need software) |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Precision Pro | No | Yes |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Precision Pro 2 | Yes | No |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Force Feedback Pro | No | Yes |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Force Feedback Pro 2 | No | Yes |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel | No | Yes |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Freestyle Pro | No | Yes |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SideWinder Precision Racing Wheel | Yes | No |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
If you use one of the SideWinder game controllers listed in the table, visit the
following Microsoft Web site to determine if a software update is available for
your game controller:
http://www.microsoft.com/sidewinder/
To determine the version of the SideWinder Game Device or SideWinder Game
Controller software that is installed in your computer, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
2. In the Named box, type "sw3dpro.vxd" (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, right-click the Sw3dpro.vxd file, and then click
Properties.
NOTE: If the Sw3dpro.vxd file is not in the search results, the SideWinder
software is not installed.
5. Click the Version tab. Note the value on the File Version line, and then
click OK.
6. Close the search results window.
Calibrate the Game Controller
-----------------------------
If you use a digital Microsoft SideWinder game controller with version 2.0 or
later of the Microsoft SideWinder Game Device software or the Microsoft
SideWinder Game Controller software, the software calibrates the game controller
automatically.
To use version 2.0 of the Microsoft SideWinder Game Device software to test the
calibration for your digital SideWinder game controller, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Game Controllers.
3. Click the Test tab. Test all of the functions for your digital SideWinder
game controller, and then click OK.
4. Close Control Panel.
To use version 3.x or 4.0 of the Microsoft SideWinder Game Controller software to
test the calibration for your digital SideWinder game controller, follow these
steps:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Game Controllers.
3. Click the General tab. In the Game Controllers box, click the game controller
you want to test and then click Properties.
4. Click the Test tab. Test all of the functions for your digital SideWinder
game controller, and then click OK. Click OK again.
5. Close Control Panel.
If you use an analog game controller, or if you use a Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro
or a Microsoft SideWinder game pad with version 1.5 of the SideWinder Game
Device software, you may need to calibrate the game controller manually. To do
this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Game Controllers.
3. In the Controller column, select the gaming device that you want to
calibrate, and then click Properties.
4. Click Calibrate, and then follow the instructions on the screen to calibrate
the game controller.
If you use a SideWinder 3D Pro with version 1.0 of the SideWinder software,
and you are prompted to press a button on the controller, press a button on
the joystick rather than on the joystick base.
NOTE: Because of differences between analog game controllers, you may notice a
certain amount of deviation between the graphic display for the joystick
position and the actual joystick movement. This is normal and does not affect
the callibration of the game controller.
5. When you receive a message indicating that you have successfully calibrated
your device, click Finish.
6. Click the Test tab. Test all of the functions for your game controller, and
then click OK.
7. Close Control Panel.
NOTE: In SideWinder Game Device version 1.5, the calibration option is
unavailable unless you install Midtown Madness 2 with DirectX 7.0a.
If you cannot calibrate your game controller, or if your game controller does not
function properly when you test it, Microsoft Windows may be unable to
communicate properly with the game controller. If this is true, contact the
manufacturer of your game controller for information about how to configure the
device correctly in Windows. You may also need to obtain and install the latest
version of the game controller device driver.
If you calibrate and test the game controller successfully, start Midtown Madness
2 and test the game controller in the game. If the issue continues to occur,
calibrate the device in Midtown Madness 2. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Start Midtown Madness 2.
2. On the Main menu, click Options, and then click Contol.
3. In the Control drop-down list, click the controller that you want to use in
the game. If you are using Gamepad choose Gamepad, if you are using Joystick
choose Joystick, if you are using Steering Wheel or Force Feedback Wheel
choose Steering Wheel.
4. On the Control Options screen, click Calibrate.
5. Verify that the game controller that you want to use appears in the Game
Controllers box.
NOTE: If the Game Controllers box contains a different game controller, click
the game controller, and then click Remove.
6. In the Game Controllers box, click the game controller that you want to use,
and then click Properties.
7. Click the Settings tab. Move the sliders to the settings that you want to
use.
8. Click OK. Click OK again.
Reset the Default Actions
-------------------------
To reset the default actions assigned to the game controller, follow these
steps:
1. Start Midtown Madness 2.
2. On the Main menu, click Control, and then click Customize Controls.
3. Click Defaults. If you are prompted to restore the original settings, click
OK.
4. To determine if the default events are selected for your game controller,
verify that your settings match the settings in the following table:
+---------------------------------+
| Event | Axis |
+---------------------------------+
| Throttle Axis | Joy Y-axis UP |
+---------------------------------+
| Brakes | Joy Y-axis-Down |
+---------------------------------+
For additional informationabout troubleshooting game controller problems, click
the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q279849 Midtown Madness 2: Game Controller Problems Troubleshooting (Part 2)
REFERENCES
==========
For additional information about game controllers, click the article number
below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q273808 Midtown Madness 2: List of Controllers on the Control Options Screen
Is Incorrect
Additional query words: kbimu homegame msgame
======================================================================
Keywords : kbimu
Technology : kbHomeProdSearch kbGamesSearch kbMidtownMadSearch kbMidtownMadness2
Version : :2.0
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