I recently reinstalled WinXP Pro after a format of the drive. I built a new work machine and this one will be totally for gaming and decided to wipe it clean:P4 3Gz1Gb DDR400 ramATI 9800 Pro AIW (Cat 4.6)Audigy 2 ZS sounddirectX 9.0bFS2004 worked flawlessly before the format, but now it won't go past the splash screen!I did a search here and tried most of the suggestions: I uninstalled/reinstalled 3 times so far.MY DOCUMENTS folder hasn't been moved/changed. I deleted the fs9.cfg file to have it rebuild it. I deleted all the scenery.dat files and had it rebuild the scenery database.After an uninstall, I did a registry search for FS9 and FS2004 to delete anything I could find before reinstalling.Anyone else have any suggestions? I've got to get back in the air!!

Have you done a clean stand-alone FS9 install? By that I mean install *only* FS9 *without* any add-on programmes, mods etc...

What do you mean, "won't go past the splash screen"? Does FS9 crash or hang or.....? Are other programs running ok?

Throttle and rdman, FS9 is a clean install on a fresh harddrive (no other programs). I installed UT2004 and Adobe Photoshop as a check and both run fine.As for "it won't go past splash screen"... after the installation of FS9, I try to startup the game and it'll start to load. The DC3 splash screen appears and then the game will hang after a few seconds of HDD activity. Then when I hit CTRL-ALT-DEL, it says the program is not responding. I tried waiting up to 10 mins to see if it'll work through whatever problem it's having. No luck.There are a few threads now where someone formatted their HDD and FS2004 won't run. Maybe we can figure this out, seems like a lot of people have this problem.Eagle

Reinstalling DX9 after the FS2004 install will often cure the "stuck-at-the-splash-screen" problem. Doug

I found the solution shortly before I saw your post. For some reason, it wouldn't correct the problem by just reinstalling DX9, I had to re-register the direct play properties. The part that helped was typing "regsvr32 dpnet.dll" into the RUN command.THIS WAS TAKEN FROM THE MICROSOFT SUPPORT SITE:To verify that DirectX has been installed correctly and that all DirectX files are the correct version, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, and then click Run. 2. In the Open box, type dxdiag, and then click OK. 3. In the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, on the System tab, verify that the DirectX version is version 9.0a or later. If you have an earlier version than 9.0a, go to Method 6 later in this article. 4. On the DirectX Files tab, in the Notes box, verify that the text No problems found appears. Note If problems are found, install the latest version of DirectX. To obtain the latest version of DirectX, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx 5. On the Network tab, verify that the symptoms of a corrupted DirectPlay installation are not present. These symptoms include: * The term "Errors" appears in the Registered DirectPlay Service Providers box. * The Test DirectPlay button is unavailable. * The following error message appears in the Notes box: The registry information for the DirectXPlay8 TCP/IP service provider is missing or damaged. Note If these symptoms are present, quit the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, and then follow these steps: 1. Click Start, and then click Run. 2. In the Open box, type regsvr32 dpnet.dll. 3. Click OK. 4. You will receive the following message: DllRegisterServer in dpnet.dll succeeded. Click OK. 5. Repeat steps 1 through 5 to determine whether the symptoms of a corrupted DirectPlay installation are still present. If so, quit the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, and then install the latest version of DirectX.To obtain the latest version, visit the following Microsoft Web site:http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx

Did you install updated MOBO controller chip drivers, i.e, Intel, VIA, SiS, AMD, ALi, NForce after you reinstalled WinXP? If not, give that a try.Also run the directx diagnostic, Press Start, Run..., type dxdiag, OK. Let the diagnostic stabilize, select the display tab, ensure DirectDraw, Direct3d, and AGP accelerations are enabled. If grayed out, reinstall the MOBO controller chip drivers. Run the DirectDraw and Direct3d test and note any errors.W. Sieffert

Good info. Thanks. - Doug