No sound!!??? - An old timer returning, needs HELP!!!

[Guest hypersonic]

Hi all,Well it has been YEARS but I thought I'd return & revisit my old FUIII, & get a bit nostalgic, & enjoy in once more.So I performed a full install from scratch, & also included the San Fran scenery when prompted to.However, when running the sim. I hear the jet startup sound when the main menu loads. But thats it!I vaguely recall that the icons made a 'noise' when you clicked on them... But most important....Once the sim is running, I hear NOTHING!!? No ambient sounds, no engines, no wind or AI!I've checked all the sliders in the options & ALL are up!.Am I missing something, or is my install a bit stuffed!??Should i scrub the lot & re-install?I'm running on Win2000 sp4, & have had no problems in the past!Any Ideas?P.S. Once i get this running, I will probably need a refresher course on the best addons to update with, to enhance the sim, both in addons & extra params the config file!..Also being 'out of the loop' for so long. I will be most grateful to be 'filled in' on the new & latest stuff to have been developed...I hear rumblings about other Terrains? like the UK (where i am from). & AI additions etc etc......& new tools!???Feels good to be back ... well almost :-) - once i can HEAR the thing!CheersHypersonic (Alistair Lark)

[Guest hypersonic]

P.S. Before you ask...... YES i HAVE installed the UK update patch. :-)Hype

[Guest Motormouse]

I seem to remember 'Lazarus' :-)Did you add the line nomovie to the cfg first?If that doesn't work,delete (save somewhere else) the cfg,then restart the sim,it will rebuild a new cfg.:-wavePeteaccording to Hans Petter and others,its' to do with a missing codecfile in later Windows systems

[Guest Seadog]

You've a fine memory for sound effects, as the icons make a satisfying ka-chunk deadbolt sound when clicked. The video matter referred to in the post above is the absence of the earlier Intel Indeo Video Codecs from later versions of Win XP - don't know about Win 2000 - and the result is inability to play the opening movie video and a subsequent crash to desktop. This, though, is not your problem. I've never heard of this precise problem before. I've used both sound cards and on-board sound chips, and never had that problem, never needed any additional audio codecs. But .... there's always a first time for everything. In my Win XP Pro SP1 installation, I have 11 different audio codecs, for example.If you can hear the jet engine spooling up as the opening menu panel is presented then two things are true for certain - you have gotten past the opening movie, so video codecs aren't an issue, and you have a connection between your sound playback device and FU3, so audio codecs are almost certainly not a problem. The most likely problem is a corrupted installation of the rest of the sound files themselves. This could be due to a random error, or it could be due to a problem your CD reader is having with the disks. My personal strong guess is that it is simply a corrupted installation, so I'd first reinstall after checking the backs of the disks for the usual culprits and cleaning if necessary. If that doesn't stop the problem, I'd next look into cleaning the CD drive itself, compressed air, etc. Despite the presence of a built-in caution message during installation on a Win 2000 setup, there are no known problems of compatibility in that OS with FU3, to the best of my knowledge. Fall back, regroup, and mount the assault again.:-beerchug -Seadog

[Guest hypersonic]

Hi Seadog,Many thanks for the insight... My thoughts as well.Just to add, i went & launched the sim this morning, & I did briefly hear a distorted sound, straight after hearing the 1st icon click, then all went silent. So I think it must be a corrupted install. The sim itself still flies perfectly.I think i will scrub & re-install. As mentioned before, I have had it working on Win 2K in the past no problem.motormouse: Yes I was/am Lazarus.*Grin* - Can't remember that login though.Now to get this beastie working!Al

[Guest Seadog]

One further thought, Al, so long as you are going to the effort of reinstalling, would be to defrag the disk and run a surface integrity check to identify and exclude bad sectors. It's a rarity, to be sure, but so is the issue you have encountered.;-) -Seadog

[Guest hypersonic]

SH*T - This is soooo depressing!Seadog, i have performed a defrag etc. I just finished an other completely fresh install. It seemed to be fine.I then rebooted, & installed the UK patch.When running, i see & HEAR the Electronic Arts & LG logo vids.Then i hear the jet startup sound.But after that, SILENCE :-(No icon noises. The sim appears to run fine, but absolutely silent. Whether im running a training vid, or just flying.One slightly strange thing..... pressing 'e' starts the jet, but does NOT seem to start the prop aircraft. (Am i missing something from past knowledge & need to read the manual.)However all this is acedemic anyway, as it is all in silence, even the jet starting up.) :-((((P*ssed off............HELP!Running Win2000 sp4DirectX 9.0cAl

[Guest Seadog]

Al,You've got me a bit stumped on the audio, but first, about e for engine start. Unless you've fiddled with flt3.cfg, you should see a screen message telling you to press e to start the engine and that is for props as well. If you don't see that message, then there's more wrong with the installation than meets the eye. You shouldn't have to be in deep memory recall mode; it should be right there on the screen in front of you.You say you've run this successfully before under Win 2000. Was it then running under SP4? Sometimes Microsoft is a bit too helpful with service packs, and installs replacement drivers that are actually not as good as your current ones. Was it running on the same computer you are using now? Are your audio drivers up to date? Do you use a sound card or an on-board audio chip? Have you run DXdiag.exe and checked audio functionality? Have you tried turning down hardware audio acceleration in the DXdiag sound tab by stages?That's enough for now. Let's just take it a few steps at a time.:-) -Seadog

[Guest fu3]

Al,I run FU3 under both 98SE and Win2K. I had this problem with my previous motherboard - many games that used 'Sound Blaster' settings simply didn't recognise the on-board AC97 audio, even with 'sound blater emulation' on. My first solution was to disable it and plug in my old Sound Blaster AWE card. This fixed it and I ran it that way for 2 years. Recently, after upgrading and giving my old PC to my Daughter, I removed the SB card and switched the internal sound back on. Assuming that she wouldn't be using any 'legacy' applications, I didn't re-enable 'sound blaster' emulation on the motherboard. Funny thing is, the sound now works in FU3 (yes, she does have ONE 'legacy' app it seems)!!!The old motherboard is an Azza KT3AV, running an Athlon XP1700+. I agree with what Seadog says too - if you've installed any updates, reinstall your motherboard drivers. After installing SP4 on my new system (Gigabyte Athlon64), my CD player became choppy and distorted and WinAmp refused to run. Wave files sounded terrible when played from the folder (which was the only way they'd play...). I also kept on getting some strange message about 'high speed USB device connected to low speed port' which I thought was strange, given that the motherboard has 8 high speed USB ports on it!When I put the Gigabyte 'Motherboard' install CD in the drive, it came back saying that niether the USB drivers nor AC97 (audio) drivers were installed :-grrSo, try reinstalling the motherboard drivers and, if your motherboard has 'legacy Sound Blaster' support, turn it off ;)So far, mine hasn't missed a beat :-wave

[Guest hypersonic]

YES!!!!Hi All,Many thanks for the input.I did as Jon suggested, as I am indeed running with a newer pci sound card. I've now created two hardware profiles. One that disables this new card & runs using the old (built into the motherboard) card. & the other is visa versa (for my pro-audio work).Hey Presto - I have sound!!!!!Now all i need to do is get the addons re-installed, both the best of the old ones & the new ones!? (Any suggestion on the new ones?) Especially the addon regions (UK etc) As this was one of the great "If onlys" when i was last flying FUIII.Also, any advice on the cfg file? I seen to recall weather engancements, but also able to add the plane shadow!??? etcCheersAl

[Christopher Low 5,353]

Al,If you are looking for a Seattle regional upgrade pack that upgrades the taxiway lines, lighting systems, AI parking spots etc. at all of the existing airports, and adds seventeen new REAL airfields, thousands of trees, and electricity pylons throughout the region....then download my Seattle 2005 pack from the FU3 file library. A link to this can be found in the "SIMPLE BUT ESSENTIAL LIBRARY LISTINGS" thread on this forum. Lots of other links to various add-ons can also be found here.Just make sure to follow the instructions carefully, particularly if you have the outer terrain scenery installed.I would also recommend Ansgar Avermeyer's high detail AI Pack, since this will enable you to see far better looking AI planes flying around FU3 airspace. Hopefully, the latest version of this pack will be available in the not too distant future. Over to you, Ansgar..... ;-)Chris Low.

[Guest hypersonic]

Excellent Chris, I shall do this!! :-)Is that param I seem to remember in the config file, that added extra airfields that LG hid, still needed??Or are these seventeen extra airfields you're talking about, the same thing??CheersAl