Microsoft KB Archive/823629

= The game performance may be unexpectedly slow when you play Flight Simulator 2004 - A Century of Flight =

Article ID: 823629

Article Last Modified on 11/14/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: Century of Flight

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SYMPTOMS
When you play Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 - A Century of Flight, the game performance may be unexpectedly slow.



RESOLUTION
To increase the speed of the game performance, use one or more of the following methods in the order that they appear.

Method 1: Verify the video, the processor, and the Random Access Memory (RAM) system requirements
Verify that your computer meets or exceeds the video, the processor, and the RAM requirements to play Flight Simulator 2004 - A Century of Flight. To do this, follow these steps.

Note Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.
 * 1) Open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. To do this in Windows Vista, click Startvistastartbutton.jpg], type dxdiag in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.

To open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool in Windows XP and earlier versions, click Start, click Run, type dxdiag, and then click OK.
 * 1) Click the System tab, and then note the values next to Memory and Processor.
 * 2) Click the Display tab or the Display 1 tab, note the value next to Approx. Total Memory, and then click Exit.

Compare the values on the computer to the values that are listed in the systems requirement section of the product documentation. If your computer does not meet the minimum system requirements, contact your computer manufacturer for more information about how to obtain computer updates and upgrades. If this method does not improve game performance, go to Method 2.

For more information about the Flight Simulator 2004 - A Century of Flight system requirements, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

823627 Flight Simulator 2004: Minimum system requirements

Method 2: Analyze and compare the computer that you are using to other computers
To analyze the gaming performance of your PC and to view the ranking of the system relative to other computers that are on the market, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://gameadvisor.futuremark.com/gameadvisor/service/

For more information about the Windows Game Advisor, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx

If your PC ranks low, you may be able to improve the performance of the game by using the methods that are listed in this article. However, you may have to update your PC's hardware for optimal performance. For information about how to update the computer's hardware, contact the manufacturer of the computer.

Method 3: Download and install the 9.1 update
To obtain the most recent update, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=92cf4b8c-ea69-476b-a276-618c4ab52aaf&DisplayLang=en

Click to select the language for the version of Flight Simulator 2004 that you have installed, and then download the update. After the download is completed, locate the download, and then open it to install the update.

Method 4: Adjust target frame rate to unlimited
If the frame rate is limited to a specific number, it does not spend any more resources than the resources that are required to render the selected frame rate.

To adjust the frame rate so that the computer can use all the resources, follow these steps:
 * 1) Start Flight Simulator 2004.
 * 2) Click Settings.
 * 3) Click Display.
 * 4) On the Hardware tab, move the target frame rate to Unlimited.
 * 5) Click OK, and then test the settings.

Method 5: Reset the game to default settings
If you have changed the settings in Flight Simulator and would like to change them back to the default installed settings, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Start, click All Programs, and then click Microsoft Games.
 * 2) Click Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004, click Troubleshooting, and then click Reset Defaults.

Method 6: Change the installation options
There are two types of installations: Express and Custom. The Custom installation requires that you select a Complete installation or a Compact installation. All installations use cabinet (.cab) files. A .cab file is a single file that stores compressed files in a file library.

Express installation

 * This default installation requires approximately 3 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space and an additional 400 to 500 megabytes (MB) of space to decompress the compressed files.
 * This installation installs the complete program to :\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9.
 * This installation decompresses all the compressed scenery files after they are copied to the drive.

Note The value for the previous reference to  must indicate the letter of the first partition that contains sufficient space to install and to run Flight Simulator 2004.

Custom Installation: Complete

 * This installation requires approximately 3 GB of free hard disk space.
 * You can use this installation to perform a full installation to the folder and to the partition of your choice.

Custom Installation: Compact

 * This installation requires approximately 1.8 GB of free hard disk space.
 * The Compact installation leaves most of the scenery on Disk 4. This installation does not include the High Detail Satellite Photo Textures for the following locations:
 * Dallas, Texas
 * Denver, Colorado
 * Oshkosh, Wisconsin
 * St. Maarten, Caribbean
 * A Compact installation performs at a lower level than both the Express installation and the Custom Complete installation.

If this method does not improve game performance, continue on to Method 6.

Method 7: Adjust the level of graphic detail
To adjust the level of graphic detail, follow these steps:
 * 1) In Flight Simulator 2004 - A Century of Flight, click Settings on the main menu, and then click Display.
 * 2) Click the Scenery tab.
 * 3) In the Global Scenery Quality drop-down list box, select a lower setting, and then click OK.
 * 4) Repeat steps 1 through 3 for the Global Aircraft Quality drop-down list box on the Aircraft tab and the Global Weather Quality drop-down list box on the Weather tab.

If this method does not improve game performance, continue on to Method 7.

Method 8: Adjust the in-game screen resolution
To adjust the resolution in the game, follow these steps:
 * 1) In Flight Simulator 2004 - A Century of Flight, click Settings on the main menu, and then click Display.
 * 2) Click the Hardware tab.
 * 3) From the list of available display resolutions, select a resolution setting that is lower than the current resolution setting, and then click OK.

If this method does not improve game performance, continue on to Method 8.

Method 9: Lower air traffic density
Flight Simulator 2004 - A Century of Flight displays a certain number of artificial intelligence aircraft. The number depends on your video card and the speed of your processor. The more artificial intelligence aircraft that appear, the harder your computer must work to keep track of their flight path and visuals. To increase performance, you can lower the number of artificial intelligence aircraft. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) In Flight Simulator 2004 - A Century of Flight, click Settings on the main menu, and then click Traffic.
 * 2) Move the Air traffic density slider to the left to select a lower setting, and then click OK.

If this method does not improve the game performance, go to Method 10.

Method 10: Improve the game performance
For more information about how to improve game performance, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

815069 Games: How to improve game performance

Note Moving the GPS or ATC windows to the second screen of a Dual Monitor setup may reduce overall performance. If this issue affects you, Microsoft Product Support recommends that you leave these windows on the main screen. To learn more about troubleshooting games in Windows Vista, follow the instructions in the &quot;Troubleshoot game problems&quot; topic in Windows Vista Help and Support. To view the topic, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Start vistastartbutton.jpg], and then click Help and Support.
 * 2) In the Search Help box, type Troubleshoot game problems, and then click Search Help.
 * 3) Click the appropriate topic.

Additional query words: FS2004 FlightSim Sim performance speed

Keywords: kbconfig kbprb KB823629

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