Solutions for this problem exist, but the appropriate solution depends on the OS/hardware involved and whether you are willing to spend some time/money on a hardware adapter.

If you have a Win9x system, then odds are the solution described here will work (and preserve all of the functionality of the MS SideWinder Software):

MS SideWinder 3D Pro Win9x Drivers
http://www.wcnews.com/news/3324

(Thanks to VOGONS and WC CIC for continuing to host this fix.)

If you have WinXP or a later version of MS Windows or you have a Windows machine with no gameport, then you might consider Grendel's USB hardware converter (for 3D Pro, 3D Pro Plus, Precision Pro and Force Feedback Pro):

http://descentbb.net/viewtopic.php?t=7090 (Original Thread)
http://descentbb.net/viewtopic.php?t=12217 (Follow-up Thread)
http://descentbb.com/viewtopic.php?t=3659 (POV Switch Replacement)
http://descentbb.net/viewtopic.php?t=15526 (Summary Thread)
http://code.google.com/p/sw3dprousb/ (Google Code Project)

Hello akula65

Actually im using my Sidewinder in cfs2 - fs9 - and fsx . Running Windows xp - Quad core Processor - and 4gb ram.

I spent a lot of time searching for solutions online but nothing would work - and most of it was for the older versions of Windows .

I was in my final stages of frustration when the magic happened

I thought maybe the info would be helpfull - unfortunatly the Sidewinders are on the last gasp of usage - but I still lide it !!

Johnman

Nifty. I was wondering about that. Has anything similar been done for Gravis pads?

Hello, I'm getting the "Not Connected" Problem, but, the drivers in the linked topic don't work. (Tried all of them). I am running with a Pentium 3 866mhz PC with Windows 98SE.

The FSB of the CPU I am using is 133x6.5. (133mhz) - I'm hoping a driver can be made for my setup. BTW, I am connecting through a Sound Blaster LIVE! PCI Card.

I've also tried the solution in the OP.

i had that problem with game port controllers, the only way i could get around it was to only have drivers for one controller installed at a time.

StrikerMan780, my expectation would be that either the DIVISOR_22 or DIVISOR_21 drivers ('0' folder in both cases) would be the proper set. The 933 MHz Pentium III, 133 MHz FSB, Win98 machine used in development of the replacement drivers had a Sound Blaster Live! 4.1 card, so I doubt that the sound card is the issue (a non-Creative Labs card might make me think differently).

The only thing that I can think of that might be problematic (as far as the driver package goes) is if you are not using the Version 3.02 SideWinder Software package prescribed in the REAME.TXT file and hopefully still available from Microsoft.

If you are using the correct SideWinder Software package, then I would suggest trying the DIVISOR_22 and DIVISOR_21 drivers again ('0' folder in both cases) and rebooting the machine after installing each of the drivers in turn and see what the connection status is.

It IS possible that bus contention related to the Sound Blaster Live! card and other PCI/ISA devices could be causing timing issues on your particular machine. Unfortunately, my drivers only replace timing values in the original drivers, they don't resolve the fundamental problem of the software timing loops that Microsoft used in the original drivers.

By the way, you are the first person to actually indicate that the driver set did NOT work for them, so given how close your system is to the development system I used, I am surprised that you would have this issue. My expectation was that if issues did arise with the drivers, it would be with users who had really fast hardware that was outside the timing range possible with my timing value substitutions.

I think I'm having a similar issue with the MS Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro on my Windows 98 machine that has an Athlon XP running a 100 mhz FSB. Does a similar solution exist for that joystick?

Generally it is frowned upon to 'necropost'. Also, ask old hardware questions in Marvin. This is the DOS games forum.

Moved.

The drivers for the MS Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro do not have the same "not connected" issues due to the fact that they don't use the same software timing loop approach (thankfully). So if you are getting the "Not Connected" message, it has to be for some other reason.

Might be a good idea to test the stick on a different system if possible. Perhaps others can provide some feedback if you would provide additional details (exact system hardware, joystick configuration details, games affected, etc.).

collector wrote:

Generally it is frowned upon to 'necropost'. Also, ask old hardware questions in Marvin. This is the DOS games forum.

I searched for somebody having a problem I thought was similar to mine and thought I'd tag on, which seems more appropriate than just creating a new thread from scratch. I suppose I could've copied all the posts from this thread and pasted them into a new one to add the context.

akula65 wrote:

The drivers for the MS Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro do not have the same "not connected" issues due to the fact that they don't use the same software timing loop approach (thankfully). So if you are getting the "Not Connected" message, it has to be for some other reason.

Might be a good idea to test the stick on a different system if possible. Perhaps others can provide some feedback if you would provide additional details (exact system hardware, joystick configuration details, games affected, etc.).

That's helpful, thank you. This is the first gameport joystick I've tried on my hodgepodge Windows 98 machine so I'll see if I can scare another one up and do some basic troubleshooting before asking for help.