Problem with SideWinder and XP \ VOGONS

Problem with SideWinder and XP

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First post, by MajorGrubert

Posted on 2003-10-27, 22:39

MajorGrubert Offline

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I've got a strange problem with my SideWinder Precision Pro under Windows XP, so I would like to know if someone has seen anything similar to this.

Background: the joystick was working fine for about six weeks under Windows 2000 and XP. I've got copies of Wing Commander 3 and 4 in an auction site and started to play them all over again without problems. The joystick is an old model, with a game port connector and it's plugged to the on-board C-8738 chip. No extra software, just the basic driver provided by the OS, since MS basically dropped suport for old SideWinders under 2000/XP and provides special software only for the newer models with USB.

Two weeks ago i noticed that Windows XP started to show the joystick as "not connected" in the Control Panel. It does not matter if the computer has just been started or if it was previously booted under Windows 2000. Disconnecting and reconnecting the joystick is the only way to get it to work again. All other changes to the Control Panel, such as removing and adding the device again, do not work.

The only recent change to the system was a security patch for Windows Media Player (support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];828026). No other hardware of software installations, other updates, no new drivers, nothing. Just be sure that MS was happy with my current setup, I finally managed to install DirectX 9.0b yesterday, but the problem remains.

Stangely enough, the problem only occurs only under Windows XP. If I boot Windows 2000, no problems, the joystick is always recognized, 10 out of 10 times. I've tried all the articles available at Microsoft and read several messages around about SideWinders not working under XP, but no one is similar to my problem (they are usually related to old SideWinder 3.x software for Windows 9x or problems with USB controllers).

Has anyone around experienced similiar problems?

Regards,

Major Grubert

Athlon 64 3200+/Asus K8V-X/1GB DDR400/GeForce FX 5700/SB Live! 5.1

Reply 1 of 6, by teamster1975

Posted on 2003-10-31, 01:44

teamster1975 Offline

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Have you tried a different joystick 😉
Seriously, try removing the game port completely from the registry and letting it redetect; also, I think there is a setting for polling interrupts? I may be wrong, but I think that's how I cured my Gravis (although the variable resistors are knackered now; it's 10 years old!)

Reply 2 of 6, by cypher-neo

Posted on 2003-11-01, 21:17

cypher-neo Offline

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teamster1975 wrote:

Have you tried a different joystick 😉
Seriously, try removing the game port completely from the registry and letting it redetect; also, I think there is a setting for polling interrupts? I may be wrong, but I think that's how I cured my Gravis (although the variable resistors are knackered now; it's 10 years old!)

I agree. Try letting the computer redetect the joystick. If that doesn't work, I would suggest un-installing the WMP update (perhaps something in that update changed an obscure setting and is mucking up the works...)
If the joystick tends to be lost while you're playing the game, this may be a memory problem. You could Ctrl+Alt+Del after you open the game to adjust the memory allocation the game has (or the memory the joystick uses in its control program). Adjusting the memory to "Above Normal" or "Realtime" could help the computer to remember that you're using the joystick...

Cypher-Neo

Reply 3 of 6, by MajorGrubert

Posted on 2003-11-03, 20:43

MajorGrubert Offline

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teamster1975 wrote:

Have you tried a different joystick 😉
Seriously, try removing the game port completely from the registry and letting it redetect; also, I think there is a setting for polling interrupts? I may be wrong, but I think that's how I cured my Gravis (although the variable resistors are knackered now; it's 10 years old!)

Let me say that I tried almost everything: remove and reinstall the joystick, remove the game port, etc, all of them with and without a reboot between changes. I didn't see any setting about interrupts, there is an article from MS with some instructions about DMA channel settings for the sound card interfering with joystick use, but there is no such setting for my C-8738 chip.

Then you mask ask: why not try another joystick? Because every time I boot into Windows 2000 it gets recognized and works without a problem! The problem only happens under XP and I can't figure out why, so I just unplug the joystick and plug it back, it's annoying but I can still play for a while without spending another afternoon looking for ghosts in the machine.

Regards,

Major Grubert

Athlon 64 3200+/Asus K8V-X/1GB DDR400/GeForce FX 5700/SB Live! 5.1

Reply 4 of 6, by teamster1975

Posted on 2003-11-03, 22:16

teamster1975 Offline

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It's certainly an annoying one! I just found this at microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?sci … kb;EN-US;218615
I don't know whether you've read this article, but it seems quite thorough.
If you can source a different soundcard, it may be worth trying that as well; I know the problem is with XP but maybe by installing a different gameport the problem will be cured.

Reply 5 of 6, by MajorGrubert

Posted on 2003-11-14, 01:51

MajorGrubert Offline

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Just to let you know, the problem is now intermitent. The joystick is detected by Windows XP every now and then, but I can't blame the joystick because Windows 2000 detects it 100% of the time.

teamster1975 wrote:
It's certainly an annoying one! I just found this at microsoft: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?sci … kb;EN-US;218615 […]
Show full quote

It's certainly an annoying one! I just found this at microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?sci … kb;EN-US;218615
I don't know whether you've read this article, but it seems quite thorough.
If you can source a different soundcard, it may be worth trying that as well; I know the problem is with XP but maybe by installing a different gameport the problem will be cured.

Yeah, I did a very thorough review of all the items mentioned (I used to work on tech support, so I must follow the rules myself). Anyway, I believe I'll finally get a decent sound card this Christmas so let's wait and see what happens.

Thanks,

Major Grubert

Athlon 64 3200+/Asus K8V-X/1GB DDR400/GeForce FX 5700/SB Live! 5.1