Microsoft KB Archive/268300

Knowledge Base

Game Voice: How to Improve Performance

Article ID: 268300

Article Last Modified on 1/27/2007

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APPLIES TO

• Microsoft SideWinder Game Voice

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This article was previously published under Q268300

SUMMARY

This article discusses how to improve Microsoft SideWinder Game Voice performance.

If SideWinder Game Voice performance is poor, you may experience one or more of the following issues:

• When you use SideWinder Game Voice to chat, sounds may pause or be delayed.
• When you press All, Team, or 1-4, you may experience a delay before the Control Pad lights are turned on.
• When you use SideWinder Game Voice to make voice commands, the computer may misinterpret or not recognize the commands.
• When you use SideWinder Game Voice to chat, only one person may be able to talk at a time, or sound may be distorted when two people talk at the same time.

MORE INFORMATION

To improve performance when you use SideWinder Game Voice, use one or more of the following methods.

Quit Unnecessary Programs

Quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your computer before you use SideWinder Game Voice.

To do this:

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 stating that the program is busy or not responding, click End Task again.

1. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to quit all programs that are running on your computer, except Explorer and Systray.

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/windows/directx/default.mspx

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:

179113 How to Download and Install DirectX

Check System Requirements for Game Voice

Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements to run SideWinder Game Voice.

For additional information about the minimum system requirements to run Microsoft Game Voice, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

269776 SideWinder Game Voice: Minimum System Requirements

Update Your Sound Driver

To improve performance and stability when you use SideWinder Game Voice, contact the manufacturer of your sound card 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 the manufacturer of your sound card, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

To identify the manufacturer and model of your sound card:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click System.
3. Click the Device Manager tab.
4. Click the PLUS SIGN (+) next to Sound, video and game controllers to expand the branch.
5. Under the Sound, video and game controllers branch, note the manufacturer and model of your sound card or on-board sound chip, and then click OK.
6. Close all open windows.

Shorten the Delay Time for the Game Voice Software

To shorten the delay time for the Game Voice software, run the software with the "-hp" parameter. To do this, create a shortcut to the Game Voice software if one does not already exist, and then add the "-hp" parameter to the shortcut.

To create a Game Voice shortcut:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type the following line, and then click OK

   drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Hardware\Game Voice

   where drive is the drive letter of the hard disk on which the Game Voice software is installed.
3. Right-click the GameVoice.exe file, point to Send to, and then click Desktop (create shortcut).
4. Click OK.
5. Close all open windows.

To add the "-hp" parameter to the Game Voice shortcut:

1. Right-click the Game Voice shortcut, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Shortcut tab.
3. In the Target box, press END, press the SPACEBAR, type -hp, and then click OK.
   
   NOTE: The "-hp" parameter is not case-sensitive.
   
   The line in the Target box should be similar to the following

   "drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Hardware\Game Voice\GameVoice.exe" -hp

   where drive is the drive letter of the hard disk on which the Game Voice software is installed.

Check for Multiple Instances of the Same Device

If the computer initializes more than one instance of your SideWinder Game Voice, the device may not work properly. To check for multiple instances of your SideWinder Game Voice:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click System.
3. On the Device Manager tab, click View devices by type.
4. Click the plus sign (+) next to Sound, video, and game controllers to expand the branch.
5. Under the Sound, video, and game controllers branch, note the properties for each device that is listed in the branch. To do this:
   
   
   1. Click a device, and then click Properties.
   2. Note the device information and settings on each tab in the device properties dialog box, and then click OK.
   Repeat this step to note the properties for each device listed that is listed in the Sound, video, and game controllers branch.
6. Click OK.
7. Close Control Panel.
8. Restart Windows in Safe mode. To do this, restart your computer, press and hold down the CTRL key when your computer completes the Power On Self Test (POST), and then select Safe Mode on the Windows 98 or the Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup menu.
9. When Windows starts in Safe mode, click OK.
10. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
11. Double-click System.
12. On the Device Manager tab, click View devices by type.
13. Click the plus sign (+) next to Sound, video, and game controllers to expand the branch.
14. Under the Sound, video, and game controllers branch, verify that there are no changes in the list of devices in the branch. If you see a device that is not in the list of devices that you noted in step 5, click the new device, and then click Remove. Repeat this step for each device in the branch that is not in the list of devices that you noted in step 5.
    
    NOTE: If you see a new copy of a device that is in the list of devices you noted in step 5, check the properties for each copy of the device. If the properties for the device match the properties that you recorded, keep the device. If the properties for the device do not match the properties that you recorded, remove the device.
15. Click OK.
16. When you are prompted to restart the computer, do so.

Determine if Your Sound Card Is a Full-Duplex Sound Card

If only one person can talk at a time, or if sound is distorted when two people talk at the same time, your sound card may not be a full-duplex sound card. Make sure that your sound card is a full-duplex sound card.

For additional information about how to determine if your sound card is a full-duplex sound card, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

273883 Game Voice: How to Determine if Your Sound Card Is a Full-Duplex Sound Card

Additional query words: side winder swgv gamevoice delay pause chat highpriority

Keywords: kbhardware kbinfo KB268300

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