HI... I am having a problem with my Microsft SideWinder Joystick. It is just a plain black joystick, theres no forcefeedback, no POV hat, just three buttons and a trigger on the stick and four buttons and a throttle on the base. I bought it in January of 2003 at RadioShack. The prbolem im having is that the throttle is screwed up. Ill be playing for example, Combat FS 2 and I'll have the throttle all the way up and it will only say 89%. Sometimes this will "flicker" from 89 to 100 and then down to 77 when I dont even touch it. It started doing this like 3 months ago. I've recalibrated it like 1000 times and unplugged it and plugged it back in into differnet USB ports (it's usb, by the way) and still it keeps doing this. I'm running Windows XP Home Edition and our computers like 3 years old. We got the computer BEFORE I bought the stick... the joystick didn't come with any software, cd's, you simply plugged it in and Window's drivers would detect and install it. Nothing is wrong with moving the slider up and down, its smooth and glides. Is this a software problem, or has my joystick gone to heck? I spent 35 bucks on this and like Isaid its been working fine.

ALSO

Do I need like a software update? Everywhere I go other people are like yeah you need Version 4.0 of the SideWinder controller software, other places say that its only for the force feedback steering whell... what does this program do anyway? Is it just a driver update or is it like a controller management program? Like I said its USB and I have WIN XP so I think id need a different version of the 4.0 software IF thats what I even need. Thanks for all of your help,


Jared Ghioto

AFAIK, there is no version of the Sidewinder software for Windows XP, just use the driver supplied in Windows XP control panel.
I suggest running the Game Controller control panel, click on Properties, then Settings the Calibrate it to fine tune the joystick for your system would be the best path to take.

hi

When you plug a Microsoft SideWinder Standard joystick into the gameport on your Microsoft Windows XP-based computer, the Game Controllers tool in Control Panel does not detect the joystick correctly when you click Microsoft SideWinder (Auto Detect) to add a game controller. The SideWinder is listed as a Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro with a status of Not Connected.

SOLUTION :

To resolve this issue, use the Game Controllers tool to manually add a 2-axis, 4-button joystick. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Game Controllers.
3. Under Controller, click Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro, and then click Remove.
4. Click Add.
5. Click 2-axis, 4-button joystick, and then click OK.
6. Click OK to close the Game Controllers tool.

Best regards
Eirik S

Okay... like I mentioned my joystick is a plug and play USB joystick, and windows xp DID pick it up and automatically install it the first time I plugged it in. It worked fine until like a month ago. Ive recalibrated it and theres no option where you can set the slider so like when its all the way down its automatically 0 or all the way up 100, sorry. Is there anyway to update the drivers?

Thanks,
Jared

Have you tried it on another pc?
Reason I ask, is because it sounds like a hardware not software problem.
Try it on another pc first, just to make sure.
Obviously MS have stopped making these, so you'll have to go to ebay or somewhere to try and pick another one up.
Good Luck

Do you have a VIA chipset mobo? There is a patch out to address an incompatibility between the Sidewinder and VIA USB controllers.

Okay how do I figure out about the chipset mobo? Where do I go to figure out what it is? I will definitely try plugging it into a different computer, I don't know why I didn't think of that...

Jared

I have repaired several joysticks with similar problems. The Potentiometer in that control (throttle) is dirty and dry inside just like a volume control gets in an old stereo. A spray of contact cleaner into the holes in the base of the potentiometer near the shaft and much sliding back and forth of the lever (rotating potentiometer)will cure it. The electrical contact spray cleaner is found at electronic stores. You will need to take the joystick base off to see the potentiometers.