Sidewinder Force Feedback Compatibility

[Simon]

recently upgraded pc but have had difficulty connecting a
sidewinder force feedback wheel. The wheel connects via
old style joystick plug while new pc is all USB. Have
acquired suitable adaptor but when i try to install the
sidewinder software, i'm told it installs drivers
incompatible with xp and installation won't complete. The
software i have is game controller v3 and xp wasn't
around when i originally bought the wheel.
Any help/advice greatly appreciated

 

[Nick Kritselis [MS]]

Simon,

Windows XP comes with the Sidewinder software included. Once you've plugged
the device into your system, you should only have to go into your Control
Panel Game Controllers applet, click the ADD button and choose MICROSOFT
SIDEWINDER (AUTO DETECT). If this doesn't work for you, please post a reply
that includes your DXDiag text and we'll try to work with you to resolve
this issue.

To reply with a dxdiag text:
Click on Start -> Run and type 'dxdiag' in the run box, then click 'Ok'.
When the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window appears you will see tabs across the
top click each tab and run the diagnostic tests on each. Then click the
'Save All Information' button, which will create a text file on your system
where you specify, as in My Documents or Desktop. Open that text file, copy
the contents and paste it to a reply.

 

[David]

I was having the same trouble with my SWFF2 and when I
tried to add the MS Sidewinder at the control panel I got
a pop up: "game port drivers are not properly configured.
Consult the Device Manager". This is out of my league,
now what?????????

-----Original Message-----
Simon,

Windows XP comes with the Sidewinder software included. Once you've plugged
the device into your system, you should only have to go into your Control
Panel Game Controllers applet, click the ADD button and choose MICROSOFT
SIDEWINDER (AUTO DETECT). If this doesn't work for you, please post a reply
that includes your DXDiag text and we'll try to work with you to resolve
this issue.

To reply with a dxdiag text:
Click on Start -> Run and type 'dxdiag' in the run box, then click 'Ok'.
When the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window appears you will see tabs across the
top click each tab and run the diagnostic tests on each. Then click the
'Save All Information' button, which will create a text file on your system
where you specify, as in My Documents or Desktop. Open that text file, copy
the contents and paste it to a reply.
--
Thanks,
Nick Kritselis [MS]
--
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

recently upgraded pc but have had difficulty connecting a
sidewinder force feedback wheel. The wheel connects via
old style joystick plug while new pc is all USB. Have
acquired suitable adaptor but when i try to install the
sidewinder software, i'm told it installs drivers
incompatible with xp and installation won't complete. The
software i have is game controller v3 and xp wasn't
around when i originally bought the wheel.
Any help/advice greatly appreciated

.

 

[Joshua Smith [MSFT]]

David, The steps that Nick suggested will only work for gameport devices.
The "Add..." button only exists because gameport devices have no way of
telling the system they have been plugged in. USB devices can. For your
device all you should have to do is plug it in and you will get a controller
listed in your Game Controllers control panel. If not then we need to
troubleshoot why your USB ports are not detecting the device. If you have a
VIA USB controller then you will probably have to install the VIA update
before it will work. Here is a starting point in helping you look. Without
knowing you hardware I can't guarantee that it is though.
http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2

You can also use the 4.0 Software disk that came with your device to install
the key mapping software. It is safe to ignore the install warning about not
being made for Windows 2000.

If none of this works let me know we can look into it further.

--
Joshua Smith
DirectInput Test Lab
Microsoft
-----

Get Secure! www.microsoft.com/security

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights

I was having the same trouble with my SWFF2 and when I
tried to add the MS Sidewinder at the control panel I got
a pop up: "game port drivers are not properly configured.
Consult the Device Manager". This is out of my league,
now what?????????

-----Original Message-----
Simon,

Windows XP comes with the Sidewinder software included. Once you've plugged
the device into your system, you should only have to go into your Control
Panel Game Controllers applet, click the ADD button and choose MICROSOFT
SIDEWINDER (AUTO DETECT). If this doesn't work for you, please post a reply
that includes your DXDiag text and we'll try to work with you to resolve
this issue.

To reply with a dxdiag text:
Click on Start -> Run and type 'dxdiag' in the run box, then click 'Ok'.
When the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window appears you will see tabs across the
top click each tab and run the diagnostic tests on each. Then click the
'Save All Information' button, which will create a text file on your system
where you specify, as in My Documents or Desktop. Open that text file, copy
the contents and paste it to a reply.
--
Thanks,
Nick Kritselis [MS]
--
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

recently upgraded pc but have had difficulty connecting a
sidewinder force feedback wheel. The wheel connects via
old style joystick plug while new pc is all USB. Have
acquired suitable adaptor but when i try to install the
sidewinder software, i'm told it installs drivers
incompatible with xp and installation won't complete. The
software i have is game controller v3 and xp wasn't
around when i originally bought the wheel.
Any help/advice greatly appreciated

.

 

[Joshua Smith [MSFT]]

Simon,
Unfortunately what you are trying to do is not going to work. The
gameport to USB converters only work for analog devices. The drivers for the
Force Feedback Wheel specifically need a gameport to find the device. Also,
the drivers use the MIDI portion of the gameport to send force information
to the controller, so you would not get forces anyway. If you cannot afford
a USB wheel I would suggest returning the adaptor and getting a sound card
with a gameport so you can use your existing wheel a little longer. However,
gameport support is pretty much dead in the game controller industry. No
major manufacturer has had a gameport only device for almost 4 years now.
You might be better off with a new USB wheel. There are lots of good ones
out there, and you would get keymapping software with most of the that is
not available for your existing wheel.