SideWinder Precision Pro an W2K

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware (More info?)

I've this SideWinder Precision Pro that I bought few years
ago at the Microsoft campus in Seattle and I have
discovered that it does not work on W2000.

I've already run in some expenses since I bought a Game
Port-to-USB converter (I want to use it on my laptop where
there is no game port connector).

I read on some forum that it should work with the
SideWinder 4.0 software but I see no place where I can get
the software from.

Has anybody managed to get it to work on W2K? How? If the
solution is the SideWinder 4.0 software, where can I get
it from? On Microsoft download site only the v. 3.02 (for
W95 and W98) is available.

Thanks for your help,

Larry

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware (More info?)

Hi Larry,

Unfortunately the device isn't going to work in this way for a couple
reasons. First the forums have misled you. The Sidewinder 4.0 software was
written for the USB only devices. Each software package was written for a
specific device and is quite large which is why you can't find it for
downloading on the MS site. The registry keys for your device are not going
to be correct for use with this software. Second, the USB-to-Gameport
converters don't work for digital devices. The drivers for a digital device
were never written to look for that device on the USB bus. There are some
digital devices like the Microsoft 3D Pro that are capable of working in
analog mode. These devices are usually the ones that they portray as working
with their converter. The 3.02 software isn't necessary for Win2k or WinXP
because the updated drivers (Essentially 3.02+) are in the OS itself. You
can load these drivers by using the Gaming control panel and selecting the
Add... button and choosing Sidewinder (Autodetect) from the list, but these
are only going to work if the device is on a gameport. Your best bet would
be to return the converter and use the money to buy a cheap USB joystick.
You can find many for under $20 that may even have features your device
isn't going to have like keymapping software.

Joshua Smith
DirectInput and OpenGL Test Labs
Microsoft
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"Larry Truppa" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:27aa701c46433$a2e78c90$a601280a@phx.gbl...
> I've this SideWinder Precision Pro that I bought few years
> ago at the Microsoft campus in Seattle and I have
> discovered that it does not work on W2000.
>
> I've already run in some expenses since I bought a Game
> Port-to-USB converter (I want to use it on my laptop where
> there is no game port connector).
>
> I read on some forum that it should work with the
> SideWinder 4.0 software but I see no place where I can get
> the software from.
>
> Has anybody managed to get it to work on W2K? How? If the
> solution is the SideWinder 4.0 software, where can I get
> it from? On Microsoft download site only the v. 3.02 (for
> W95 and W98) is available.
>
> Thanks for your help,
>
> Larry