Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 Drivers

[Julian R.]

hey everybody,

I'm desperately looking for drivers for my Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 so
that it works with Vista.
I called Microsoft Support several times, but they simply told me that my
product is not in the "life cycle" anymore...
Is there ANY workaround? I don't wanna spend big bucks on a new joystick
(btw if I had bought a logitech 2 years ago, I could still use it today).
Are there maybe some unofficial, fan made drivers ? Or can I use the XP
drivers?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Julian R.

 

[pvdg42]

hey everybody,

I'm desperately looking for drivers for my Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 so
that it works with Vista.
I called Microsoft Support several times, but they simply told me that my
product is not in the "life cycle" anymore...
Is there ANY workaround? I don't wanna spend big bucks on a new joystick
(btw if I had bought a logitech 2 years ago, I could still use it today).
Are there maybe some unofficial, fan made drivers ? Or can I use the XP
drivers?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Julian R.

Have you tried installing the drivers in XP compatibility mode? It may be
worth a shot. I was able to get an older "no longer supported" Visioneer
scanner going that way.

 

[EdricBF]

Hi

There's something going wrong with your system, I guess, if you use a USB MS
FFB2 joystick. My Sidewinder FFB2 USB has been recognized and operates
flawless on nativer drivers since Vista Beta last year, both 32- and 64-bit
versions. I even dropped a Saitek Evo FFB because it couldn't operate as
good as the Sidewinder... I run Vista Ultimate 64-bit and FFB2 works great
on Flight Sim X, LOMAC and IL-2 1946 (Forgotten Battles). No xtra drivers
installed.

Edric

 

[Rich Hackney]

Mine works fine - Vista does recognize it with is own Vista drivers and I
use in FS X and many other games.

 

[Julian R.]

hi,

thank you for all your replies
All of a sudden, it works...I just plugged it in and Vista installed the
drivers.
However, Force Feedback does not work and what bothers me most is that the
back-to-center force is disabled in all my games even if I disable force
feedback)
Any help?

 

[EdricBF]

You see? Something is wrong and it is not related to drivers for FFB2. I
mean that everything should work natively. Force feedback should be there...

 

[Drew]

Sidewinder was old and being phased out by Microsoft when xp came out...Why
on God's green earth would you expect it to still work ??...

 

[Drew]

Microsoft sold off sidewinder yrs ago when for a while they decided to get
out of gaming peripherals altogether...These days the only Microsoft gaming
products are for xbox or made by somebody else..I had the force feedback
steering wheel which I loved but it also did not work well with
Vista....gave it to my son for his xp machine and I use Logitech's G25
wheel....as far as joysticks I use Saitek's x52 flight system for my flight
sims

 

[bumble]

I thought this would be a place to look for help . But it looks like , Nobody
knows the answer .I wonder would it be possible for those at microsoft to try
and sort out this problem with the force feedback and the windows vista .I
fly flight sim the latest version and I was looking forward to pushing the
limits with my new computer new game and new add on version for that game but
alas the hardware what was a microsoft product has let me down . perhaps lets
just hope some sorts out this mess

 

[Jerry Quimby, MOUS]

I have to agree with bumble. The joystick should work. I'm not going to trash
a perfectly good joystick and buy a new one every time Microsoft decides to
release another version of the OS. Gates can afford to do that. I can't. Yet
another reason to piss on Vista.

I thought this would be a place to look for help . But it looks like , Nobody
knows the answer .I wonder would it be possible for those at microsoft to try
and sort out this problem with the force feedback and the windows vista .I
fly flight sim the latest version and I was looking forward to pushing the
limits with my new computer new game and new add on version for that game but
alas the hardware what was a microsoft product has let me down . perhaps lets
just hope some sorts out this mess

 

[jakeromain]

What's really frustrating to me is that My precision 2 works on my old system
with vista and not with my new gateway with the pre-installed vista! Please
find an answer to this. This is still the best joystick made...the people
that made it even thought so.. they molded their signatures on the INSIDE of
the bottom plastic...

 

[derek409]

I have just found this post. A Big Thank You. After struggling for weeks to
det my Sidewinder FF2 to wor, to no avail, this link did the trick. I have
seen many complaints about this and this is the only one that worked. Again
Thanks.

 

[bumble]

At last I can now say I have a force feedback 2 USB working in Combat flight
simulator 1 ,while using Vista as an operating system .
This might not be the best way of doing it but this has worked for me , so
please read on and try it.
1st do a clean install of your cfs 1 game on your new Vista computer.Do not
add the force feed back soft ware.
2nd Explore and find your CFS, COMBATFS.CFG file . now copy this file
from old XP computer .
3rd remove the file CFS, COMBATFS.CFG file from your Vista computer.
4th now add the file , what you have copied from your Xp computer to your
Vista computer.
5th Right click your cfs icon on your Vista desk top and go to properties
,look at compatibilaty ,please make sure the game is set for running in
windows xp service pack 2 .
6th go into game and Do not pay any attention to messages about your
joystick changing. If it stops working when you enter a game, click on
ALT/Options/Settings/Customize Controls/highlight where your joystick should
be, (it may be a X/Y/X or anything else, just highlight it.) Then go to
assignments and open it. Click OK/OK and everything should be OK.
7th Do a restart of your new computer then try it , this worked for me .
I would like to add these results are not all my own but they are from a
friend of mine .
A fellow player and V pilot from the Allied Air Corp .AAC_Johnny.
Without his help. I would like to say .I would not be writing this today .
It also just goes to show those of us who fly the vertial skies will
continue to fly and enjoy the game of flight simulator be it combat or modern
..

I thought this would be a place to look for help . But it looks like , Nobody
knows the answer .I wonder would it be possible for those at microsoft to try
and sort out this problem with the force feedback and the windows vista .I
fly flight sim the latest version and I was looking forward to pushing the
limits with my new computer new game and new add on version for that game but
alas the hardware what was a microsoft product has let me down . perhaps lets
just hope some sorts out this mess

 

[EURO_AMShades]

Interesting thread; CFS1 is the only game for me, and FFB2 the only stick.

I built my Vista machine a year ago and have been unable to get my FFB2
working properly in the Vista environment.
Unfortunately, I built this system because my XP system had a freak
gardening accident resulting in much smoke and tears.
This means I have no XP .cfg file.
Is there a way of creating one?
I've been thinking of going back to XP (SP2) just so's I can get back into
this game.

¤§¤

EURO_AMShades (RedSkwirrell)

 

[bumble]

Hello shades , nice to see you still are around I am sure this problem can
be worked around .Contact me on my msn just put a H instead of a B and you
know who i am . I must ask is that little furry friend of yours still around
.. all the best bumble.

 

[Frank]

Can anyone tell me how to make the Sidewinder Force Feddback Pro work on
Windows XP? I can only find the software for 95/98 on the website and I no
longer have the CD to load it. Thanks