here's a new pain/wrinkle: with a PCI512 card and 4 speakers, after fs2002 loads i only have the "rear" speakers, and in the audio properties it shows "desktop speakers". i change to quadrophonic speakers and all is well. if i exit fs and restart fs i'm back to the 2 speaker setting. ONLY happens with fs. about 75% of the time. tried going to creative site a few minutes ago and get a server error trying to get to the support page. aanyone else have this experience? tt

The problem you are experiencing is due to a (addon) gauge associated to the aircraft you are using. I had this problem with my Klipch 5.1 system and worked with MS Tech people on it. The conclusion was that there is an older gauge, pre-FS2002 that is not compatible with quad or surround sound equip and is re-setting your system to the "desktop speakers". The default FS2K gauges are compatible with mutli-speaker systems.The only way to correct this is to delete the gauge or replace it with one that is more recent. If you have a panel program, i.e. FS Panel Studio or other, you can, by process of elimination, find the gauge(s) that is causing this problem.I have found that gauges written, for example as gaugeXX=737-400!Oil, with the ! is compatible, those without the ! generally kickout the speakers. This isn't always true, a poorly written gauge with the ! could kickout the speakers as well, but this will give you a starting point where to begin your search for that wily gauge causing the problem. Also, look for gauges dated 1998-2000. I have found a few to be problematic with mutli-speakers in FS2 and 4K even though the panel package said FS2K or FS9 compatible.Note: these early gauges are not disfunctional in their intended state, they just create some problems with systems that have more than 2 speakers, otherwise they function just fine.Hope this helpsBP

Thats one excellent answer BP.Russell.

Thank you. :-) Bill

thank you indeed, now to work. tt

this would also explain why it doesn't happen all the time. thanks again. tt