With this card installed your joystick card doesn't work properly?

Is there any option in BIOS?
Try disabling COM and PRT and see what it gives.

Nexxen wrote on 2023-06-12, 01:23:

With this card installed your joystick card doesn't work properly?

Is there any option in BIOS?
Try disabling COM and PRT and see what it gives.

I can install my sound card along with this I/O card and same thing happens. Button 3 and 4 are flashing automatically.

There's not much option in BIOS. Only 2 pages with mostly ram option. On the card, everything is disabled except IDE.

Try Memory Wait States not to 0 and see if it changes anything. EMS too.
Guess my expertise ends here. More knowledgeable people coming though 😀

As far as I can tell the gameport breakout cable is connected in reverse. Pin1 appears to be on the left so the red wire goes to the left.

Doornkaat wrote on 2023-06-12, 03:30:

As far as I can tell the gameport breakout cable is connected in reverse. Pin1 appears to be on the left so the red wire goes to the left.

Right. I just tested the both ways and the picture's got revered side. But it doesn't matter. Whether I attach the cable or not, problem persists.

I suspect old capacitors, they may cause shorts interpreted as buttons being pushed...

jedikwon wrote on 2023-06-12, 03:56:

Doornkaat wrote on 2023-06-12, 03:30:

As far as I can tell the gameport breakout cable is connected in reverse. Pin1 appears to be on the left so the red wire goes to the left.

Right. I just tested the both ways and the picture's got revered side. But it doesn't matter. Whether I attach the cable or not, problem persists.

Ah, ok. Too bad, that would have been a very easy fix.😅

Does the problem still exist with the orange breakout cable not attached?

weedeewee wrote on 2023-06-12, 07:07:

Does the problem still exist with the orange breakout cable not attached?

Yes, it does. Without the orange breakout cable, it is still gives me the problem.

Grzyb wrote on 2023-06-12, 05:14:

I suspect old capacitors, they may cause shorts interpreted as buttons being pushed...

Probably you are right. But replacing caps for this card is kinda meaningless as you can buy similar one from ebay for $15-$20.

I hope there is a way to disable the joystick port portion of the card.

jedikwon wrote on 2023-06-12, 17:14:

I hope there is a way to disable the joystick port portion of the card.

Obviously no way to do it using the jumpers.
By removing a chip... I don't know, the game port may be a part of the main chip, but even if it's possible - might as well replace capacitors...

I seriously doubt that capacitors have anything to do with it in this case.

There's a photo of the card. it only shows one electrolytic and a bunch of ceramics.
While I've heard and experienced smd ceramics go short, even open circuit. Those old ceramic disc capacitors would have even more visible damage to produce such effects.
secondly, there's a 556 on the pcb. which is used for the X & Y axis of one joystick, and only one joystick. two ceramics per axis and one for decoupling.
The buttons have nothing to do with those ceramics.
Those behind the parallel port are there for the parallel port. Also nothing to do with the gameport buttons.
The other five chips next to the 556 are receivers & transmitters for the serial ports.

I am thinking this card only supports one joystick with two buttons and no more.

Now it does seem like another multi IO card with the Prime 2C chipset can disable the gameport.
Unfortunately I haven't found any card ,yet , with the Prime 2 chipset that can disable the gameport.
It sure would be nice to find a datasheet for the goldstar prime2 chip.

... I'm posting this already and then trying to find that schematic that was posted recently which I think was for a multi io card. orcad etc... meh.
edit : that was for an smc multi io card, and that card also only has support for one joystick (X,Y) with only two buttons.
download/file.php?id=161014&mode=view

edit2:
jedikwon, Which sound card are you using? Do you have any with an onboard IDE port which can be set as primary IDE ?

edit3: it could be that the 74LS367 serves a similar purpose as the 74LS244 in the SMC multi io schematic. disabling the gameport there might be possible if that assumption is true.
edit4: from looking at the photo it would imply changing the state of pin 1 of the 74LS367. you might need to desolder it and ... connect it to +5v ? Can someone verify this idea ?

Hm. How about desoldering the GLC556, installing a socket and testing with a generic NE556 (-if pin compatible-) ?
It could be that this GLC556 timer IC is broken (the cable was in reverse), causing a short or something.
Maybe it's oscillating wild, causing bus noise etc. - it's a 555 series timer/oscillator, after all. They're magical. 😉
Once it's removed or replaced, things perhaps go back to normal. That way, the card could be saved, maybe.
The diagnostic program says that the button lines are "stable", whatever that really means. So there's hope. 😀

Edited.

Jo22 there is no mention of the X Y axis fluctuating wildly, only button 3 & 4 not working, which are likely not even connected to the gameport, as well as the XY axis for a second joystick. ffs

weedeewee wrote on 2023-06-12, 19:53:

I seriously doubt that capacitors have anything to do with it in this case. […]
Show full quote

I seriously doubt that capacitors have anything to do with it in this case.

There's a photo of the card. it only shows one electrolytic and a bunch of ceramics.
While I've heard and experienced smd ceramics go short, even open circuit. Those old ceramic disc capacitors would have even more visible damage to produce such effects.
secondly, there's a 556 on the pcb. which is used for the X & Y axis of one joystick, and only one joystick. two ceramics per axis and one for decoupling.
The buttons have nothing to do with those ceramics.
Those behind the parallel port are there for the parallel port. Also nothing to do with the gameport buttons.
The other five chips next to the 556 are receivers & transmitters for the serial ports.

I am thinking this card only supports one joystick with two buttons and no more.

Now it does seem like another multi IO card with the Prime 2C chipset can disable the gameport.
Unfortunately I haven't found any card ,yet , with the Prime 2 chipset that can disable the gameport.
It sure would be nice to find a datasheet for the goldstar prime2 chip.

... I'm posting this already and then trying to find that schematic that was posted recently which I think was for a multi io card. orcad etc... meh.
edit : that was for an smc multi io card, and that card also only has support for one joystick (X,Y) with only two buttons.
download/file.php?id=161014&mode=view

edit2:
jedikwon, Which sound card are you using? Do you have any with an onboard IDE port which can be set as primary IDE ?

edit3: it could be that the 74LS367 serves a similar purpose as the 74LS244 in the SMC multi io schematic. disabling the gameport there might be possible if that assumption is true.
edit4: from looking at the photo it would imply changing the state of pin 1 of the 74LS367. you might need to desolder it and ... connect it to +5v ? Can someone verify this idea ?

There is no IDE connector on motherboard but there is a floppy disk drive controller. The sound card is YAMAHA sound card without IDE pinouts. Even if it has one, I don't think I can use it for HDD.

So you think the 556 chip is malfunction? I can try desolder it completely and see what happens. After that I will try 74LS367 chip too. I am really not expert at this kind of things but at least I know how to solder things.

Jo22 wrote on 2023-06-12, 21:45:

Hm. How about desoldering the GLC556, installing a socket and testing with a generic NE556 (-if pin compatible-) ? It could be t […]
Show full quote

Hm. How about desoldering the GLC556, installing a socket and testing with a generic NE556 (-if pin compatible-) ?
It could be that this GLC556 timer IC is broken (the cable was in reverse), causing a short or something.
Maybe it's oscillating wild, causing bus noise etc. - it's a 555 series timer/oscillator, after all. They're magical. 😉
Once it's removed or replaced, things perhaps go back to normal. That way, the card could be saved, maybe.
The diagnostic program says that the button lines are "stable", whatever that really means. So there's hope. 😀

Edited.

I don't have NE556 nor a socket for it but I will try desoldering the 556 chip. It appears that 2nd joystick axis are also move up and down like crazy in the diagnostic screen.

the timer ICs and their associated circuitry have NOTHING to do with the button inputs, only the axis

maxtherabbit wrote on 2023-06-13, 14:11:

the timer ICs and their associated circuitry have NOTHING to do with the button inputs, only the axis

a) please don't scream, it's unpolite.
b) the diagnosis program said the axis test failed.
So it's not wrong investigating this further.
Maybe the axis can be made work and the gameport can be saved.
c) I know what a timer IC is. I worked with 555s for about 20 years.
From what I learned tinkering with electronics is to never make assumptions.
The most weird things can be the culprit.
Going by logic makes sense, but isn't the last word in wisdom.

Edit: I wasn't being dead serious about a) 😇

jedikwon wrote on 2023-06-13, 06:17:

So you think the 556 chip is malfunction? I can try desolder it completely and see what happens. After that I will try 74LS367 chip too. I am really not expert at this kind of things but at least I know how to solder things.

No, I do not think that, that bad suggestion came from jo22.

I think that your multi io card does not support four buttons. nor a second joystick.
and that it might be possible to disable it by changing the state of pin 1of the 74ls367 chip.