Microsoft KB Archive/303469

Knowledge Base

Combat Flight Simulator 2: Black Screen Appears When You Start the Game

Article ID: 303469

Article Last Modified on 8/13/2007

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APPLIES TO

• Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater

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This article was previously published under Q303469

WARNING:This information is preliminary and has not been confirmed or tested by Microsoft. Use only with discretion.

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to play Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2 and you click FLY NOW!, a black screen appears and the mission does not start. You cannot play Combat Flight Simulator 2.

CAUSE

This issue can occur when your Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2 installation is corrupted.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, uninstall Combat Flight Simulator 2, start Microsoft Windows with a minimal set of drivers, and then reinstall Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2. To do this, follow these steps.

Uninstall Combat Flight Simulator

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. Quit all running programs.
2. On the taskbar, click Start, then point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
3. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
4. In the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, on the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2, and then click Add/Remove.
5. On the Combat Flight Simulator 2 screen that appears, click Uninstall, and then click OK.
6. Follow the instructions on the screen to completely remove Combat Flight Simulator 2.
7. Remove the Combat Flight Simulator 2 folder.
   1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
      
      In Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), click Start, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.
   2. In the Named box, type "combat flight simulator 2".
      
      NOTE: Include the quotation marks in the above search item.
   3. In the Look in box, click My Computer.
   4. Make sure that the Include subfolders check box is selected.
   5. Click Find Now.
   6. Right-click the Combat Flight Simulator 2 folder and then on the shortcut menu that appears, click Delete.
      
      WARNING: This step will delete all saved games in the folder.
   7. On the Confirm Folder Delete message that appears, click Yes.
   8. Quit the Find: Files named Combat Flight Simulator 2 dialog box.

Start Windows with a Minimal Set of Drivers (Clean Boot)

Use the method appropriate for your operating system.

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition

For additional information about how to start Windows Me using a minimal set of drivers, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

267288 How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows Millennium Edition

Microsoft Windows 98

To start Windows 98 using a minimal set of drivers, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type msconfig, and then click OK.
3. On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then click to clear the following check boxes (if available):

   Process Config.sys File
   Process Autoexec.bat File
   Process Winstart.bat File
   Process Win.ini File
   Load Startup Group Items

4. Click OK.
   
   You receive the following message:

   You must restart your computer before the new settings will take effect.
   
   Do you want to restart your computer now?

5. Click Yes.For additional information about starting Windows 98 with a minimal set of drivers, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   192926 How to Perform Clean-Boot Troubleshooting for Windows 98

   NOTE: To later restore your original Startup options, click Normal Startup on the General tab in System Configuration Utility.

Microsoft Windows 95

1. Restart the computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then select Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.
2. At the command prompt, type win, and then press ENTER. Press and hold the SHIFT key until the Windows startup sequence is complete.
3. Turn off any anti-virus or disk tool programs installed on the computer.
   
   For information about how to turn off these programs, see the printed or online documentation for the program.
4. Quit all running programs except Windows Explorer and Systray. To do this, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, click the program that you want to quit, and then click End Task. If you receive a message that the program is busy or not responding, click End Task again. Repeat this step to quit all programs except Windows Explorer and Systray.

For additional information about how to start Windows 95 with a minimal set of drivers, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

177604 Multimedia: Troubleshooting Using Clean Boot of Windows 95

NOTE: To restore your original Startup options, restart the computer normally, and then enable any anti-virus or disk tool programs installed on the computer. For information about how to enable these programs, see the printed or online documentation for the program.

Install Combat Flight Simulator

After Windows restarts, insert the Combat Flight Simulator 2 Disc 1 CD into the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.

The Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2 screen appears.Click Install, and then click Next.Click Customize installation options, and then click Next.If you are prompted to install DirectX Media, click Yes.Click the type of installation that you want (for example, Typical), and then click Change.In the Path box, delete the existing path, and then type the following

drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\CFS2

where drive is the drive letter of the hard disk on which you want to install Combat Flight Simulator 2.Click OK. When you are prompted to create the folder, click Yes, and then click Install. Follow the instructions to install Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2.Restore your original Startup configuration. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type msconfig, and then click OK.
3. On the General tab, click Normal startup, and then click OK.
4. Click Yes to restart the computer.

MORE INFORMATION

The latest version of DirectX is available from Microsoft at the following URL:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/downloads/default.mspx

Additional query words: msgame performance setup installation

Keywords: kbsetup kbconfig kbprb KB303469

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