Need help, MS FF wheel install ate my joystick...

Hi, just installed the MS Sidewinder FF wheel on my system - after doing so my joystick shows "not connected" in Game Controller properties. System Info: Dell Dimension 4100 933 mHz PIII 256 mb sdram 133 mHz bus SoundBlaster Live! Value GeForce 2 GTS, DDR, 64 mb MS Sidewinder Force Feedback Wheel, USB Thrustmaster F16 FLCS/TQS Sidewinder 3.02 (from SW gamepad) and 4.0 (from wheel) software Windows ME DirectX 8 (Installed from Nascar Racing 4) After installing the 4.0 software for wheel, and connecting it the system sees the wheel but no longer sees the joystick. Nothing I do has displayed the joystick status as "OK". The only way I can get it back is to do a System Restore to a time before installing the Sidewinder 4.0 software. I *have* found if I do a Restore, and connect the stick *without* installing the 4.0 software, both stick and wheel report "OK" as status, but the wheel appears as a 2-axis, 2-button joystick and none of the FF config options are available. Installing 4.0 enables all the FF stuff, but kills my joystick. So I think this software is at fault. Can anyone give me an idea where to go here? I've been at it about 18 hours now and exhausted everything I know to do. Searched MS Knowledge Base and couldn't find anything. Searched this group & couldn't find anything. Any help much appreciated, I'd hate to take the wheel back but I have about 15 flight sims, and only 1 racing game, so I can't give up my stick & pedals. But the wheel is AWESOME for Nascar 4 ;) TIA for any help, Lee

Hi there, I'm answering this from memory here, and I'm currently on my work computer, so please bear with me. I installed a Thrustmaster Digital Wheel last week and went to use my F-22 /TQS setup yesterday and found that the control pannel would not show an OK for my flightstick. I tried about everything to get it to work, and finally solved the problem by looking in the device manager. I saw two entrys under sound, video and game controllers called "HID Compliant Game controllers" (NOTE: this is the part I don't remember if this is exactly what they were called...). ANyway, I don't recall them being there before and I don't know what they do, so I selected 'properties' for each of them in turn and checked the box that says "disable in this hardware profile". That solved my problem and my flightstick HOTAS shows 'OK' now and works fine. You might check to see if you have a similiar deal.. Good luck, Tony "Lee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> Hi, just installed the MS Sidewinder FF wheel on my system - after > doing so my joystick shows "not connected" in Game Controller > properties. > > System Info: > > Dell Dimension 4100 > 933 mHz PIII > 256 mb sdram > 133 mHz bus > SoundBlaster Live! Value > GeForce 2 GTS, DDR, 64 mb > MS Sidewinder Force Feedback Wheel, USB > Thrustmaster F16 FLCS/TQS > Sidewinder 3.02 (from SW gamepad) and 4.0 (from wheel) software > Windows ME > DirectX 8 (Installed from Nascar Racing 4) > > After installing the 4.0 software for wheel, and connecting it the > system sees the wheel but no longer sees the joystick. Nothing I do has > displayed the joystick status as "OK". The only way I can get it back > is to do a System Restore to a time before installing the Sidewinder 4.0 > software. > > I *have* found if I do a Restore, and connect the stick *without* > installing the 4.0 software, both stick and wheel report "OK" as status, > but the wheel appears as a 2-axis, 2-button joystick and none of the FF > config options are available. Installing 4.0 enables all the FF stuff, > but kills my joystick. So I think this software is at fault. > > Can anyone give me an idea where to go here? I've been at it about 18 > hours now and exhausted everything I know to do. Searched MS Knowledge > Base and couldn't find anything. Searched this group & couldn't find > anything. Any help much appreciated, I'd hate to take the wheel back but > I have about 15 flight sims, and only 1 racing game, so I can't give up > my stick & pedals. But the wheel is AWESOME for Nascar 4 ;) > > TIA for any help, > > Lee

Hi, OK, checked it out. Under 'sound video & game controller' properties the wheel adds 2 entries for Microsoft SIdewinder Force Feedback Wheel (USB) and also one for Microsoft Sidewinder Virtual Keyboard. This is close as I could come to what you're describing - disabling any of these disables all three, disconnects the wheel and still don't allow me to get an "OK" status on the joystick/hotas. Oh well, back to troubleshooting I guess ;) But thanks for the suggestion man, I appreciate it! Regards, Lee On Mon, 12 Mar 2001 10:08:30 -0500, "tones" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>Hi there, > >I'm answering this from memory here, and I'm currently on my work computer, >so please bear with me. I installed a Thrustmaster Digital Wheel last week >and went to use my F-22 /TQS setup yesterday and found that the control >pannel would not show an OK for my flightstick. I tried about everything to >get it to work, and finally solved the problem by looking in the device >manager. I saw two entrys under sound, video and game controllers called >"HID Compliant Game controllers" (NOTE: this is the part I don't remember >if this is exactly what they were called...). ANyway, I don't recall them >being there before and I don't know what they do, so I selected 'properties' >for each of them in turn and checked the box that says "disable in this >hardware profile". That solved my problem and my flightstick HOTAS shows >'OK' now and works fine. You might check to see if you have a similiar >deal.. > >Good luck, > >Tony >

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