rec.autos.simulators

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

Gary

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by Gary » Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:18:12

As a lot don't (and I have it installed on about 6 XP Pro/SP2 machines
with no issues) there must be a common denominator to the problem,
just need to find out what it is..

G


>It's not his CD.  A lot of people have had this issue.

>-Larry

Ed Medli

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by Ed Medli » Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:29:52

Yea, me too Don. I race a lot of GTL online and some GTR and for me separate
axis' is a must. I might have some sort of conflict between the Logitech and
MS software. I might try the old MS drivers and see how it works out here. I
have kind of gotten away from NR 2003, but might reinstall it one of these
days since I always considered it one of the most versatile sims out there.

Ed

Don Burnett

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by Don Burnett » Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:38:21


Yeah, I had gotten away from sim racing for a least a couple of years, been
mainly flight simming.
Decided I finally wanted to reinstall some racing sims on my new machine,
NR2003 being the first as Nascar has always been my favorite.  Mainly for
offline racing now though.
I want to also reinstall EA's F1CS, and possibly GPL also, and then get
R-Factor and/or GTL.

I suppose I could try intalling the original Logitech Momo, but I really
preferred this MS wheel, especially for NR2003. I probably don't have to
have use of the recorder, just irritating that it does not work.
 I used to have a TSW2, however sold it on Ebay after moving to FF.

I am having some stability issues, my machine is locking up more often than
not when exiting NR2003, but, I have been
getting some random lockups when exiting other games as well, and at other
times alos, think I am going to try a new power supply to rule that out.

Thanks,

Don

Larr

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by Larr » Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:54:02

I tried for almost 2 years.  Good luck :)

-Larry


> As a lot don't (and I have it installed on about 6 XP Pro/SP2 machines
> with no issues) there must be a common denominator to the problem,
> just need to find out what it is..

> G


>>It's not his CD.  A lot of people have had this issue.

>>-Larry

PlowBo

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by PlowBo » Wed, 19 Jul 2006 01:44:48

Don, I could zip and email the drivers I use, but yeah it is version4, and
on mine XP home and PRO systems, it works fine, maybe install it before you
do all the MS updates?  I havent tried to install the wheel, when XP is
already on SP2 version of XP, but I have done it both on home and pro
versions, I have the version 1 wheel & version 2 wheel (red grips)

Yes, mine gave same warning, I said install it anyway, AND  I let it install
the "profiles" from the cd, the profiles included one pretty basic GPL which
I have modified a bit and use for all games, as I hate forgetting to change
the profile when switching games I play...  (gpl, nascar, GTlegends etc..)
but I am finding I rfactor is best to build your own in a way although I
havent run it for quite a while.  and that is done with the part of the MS
sofware that apparently is dead to you at this time (you assign what
keystroke is "emulated" when you press which button).

Maybe, you might reinstall, MAKE SURE the wheel is unplugged until the
Sidewinder install wants it plugged in.  Or maybe your missing the VBruntime
libraries or something (which I had installed usually all the time because
of an app I have, I cant think of what else is going wrong, maybe shutoff
the XP firewall until installed?

drop me an email stingre via yahoo.  (yeah I meant to spell it that way that
is correct).

Don Burnette enlightened us with:





>>> After getting NR 2003 up and running successfully, I installed the
>>> software for my MS Sidewinder FF usb wheel.

>>> I installed the software for the wheel from the cd that came with
>>> it. It is version 4, for the usb wheel. I believe this was the
>>> latest software produced for this wheel? I searched the MS website
>>> , and did not find any later drivers, realizing of course, support
>>> is really not offered by MS anymore for this wheel.

>>> The problem I am having, when I install on my XP Pro installation,
>>> I get a warning message that it may not function properly, as it
>>> recognizes my system as a windows NT/2000 installation.
>>> It works ok, with the exception, of the recorder portion of the
>>> software. If I try and launch the recorder, it closes with an
>>> error message , something about a dll file.

>>> Anyone know, of any later software that was offered for this wheel
>>> for Windows XP, that might still be available somewhere? Or a
>>> workaround for this issue?

>>> I also have the original red Momo I could install and use, assuming
>>> it would work ok in XP, however, for NR2003 I always preferred the
>>> MS wheel, mainly for the increased pedal throw over the Momo.

>>> Any help would be appreciated...

>>> Thanks,

>>> Don Burnette

>> XP has native support for the wheel. I have never installed any
>> drivers for it since ME. The only difference I have seen is that
>> there is not seperate brake and accellerator axis' anymore. I am
>> fairly sure it had that option before. Try unplugging the wheel,
>> uninstall the drivers and plug the wheel in and let it autodetect.
>> Make sure you have XPSP2 installed too. I have the MS FF USB and a
>> black Momo and actually prefer the Momo. I wish I could somehow use
>> the MS pedals as they are almost bulletproof where the Momo pedals
>> fail frequently. Ed

> Hmm, I could try that, however, I do have the option of setting
> separate brake and accelerator
> axis, which I prefer in NR 2003 , I would hate to lose that
> function...
> Don Burnette

PlowBo

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by PlowBo » Wed, 19 Jul 2006 01:50:08

Well that is the fix, I dont know how to fix it exactly, would seem by your
accounting Larry, that something in SP2 for xp kills it, I have the original
version, and always have installed the wheel early then updated XP.  I plan
to reinstall everything soon, hope I dont get fugged this way in the end
either...

Larry enlightened us with:

> Yep.  Common problem, no fix.

> The 4.0 software was the initial and only software MS ever released. It
> was never updated and never will be.

> Somewhere along the line a particular XP update breaks the Macro
> function. I know of no way to repair it.

> Bear in mind this is the same software MS granted HWQL certification
> to for XP, and they didn't even bother to remove the incompatibility
> warning during installation.  Shows how reliable the HWQL
> certification really is, or how much you can get away with if you own
> the certification :)
> I know your problem well.  I just don't believe there is a fix or
> ever will be.

> -Larry



>> After getting NR 2003 up and running successfully, I installed the
>> software for my MS Sidewinder FF usb wheel.

>> I installed the software for the wheel from the cd that came with
>> it. It is version 4, for the usb wheel. I believe this was the
>> latest software produced for this wheel? I searched the MS website ,
>> and did not find any later drivers, realizing of course, support
>> is really not offered by MS anymore for this wheel.

>> The problem I am having, when I install on my XP Pro installation, I
>> get a warning message that it may not function properly, as it
>> recognizes my system as a windows NT/2000 installation.
>> It works ok, with the exception, of the recorder portion of the
>> software. If I try and launch the recorder, it closes with an
>> error message , something about a dll file.

>> Anyone know, of any later software that was offered for this wheel
>> for Windows XP, that might still be available somewhere? Or a
>> workaround for this issue?

>> I also have the original red Momo I could install and use, assuming
>> it would work ok in XP, however, for NR2003 I always preferred the
>> MS wheel, mainly for the increased pedal throw over the Momo.

>> Any help would be appreciated...

>> Thanks,

>> Don Burnette

Gil

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by Gil » Wed, 19 Jul 2006 11:17:11

My MSFF USB wheel has always worked fine, with my frequently patched XP
installation.

Follow the instructions EXACTLY, as you have to plug the wheel in at
the correct step in the installation.

Another thing to try is to power up the computer with the wheel plugged
in.

Even with my installation, I have to go into the recorder on the
control panel and set my buttons every time I have a racing session.

Get it working, because the N2003 community is thinning out!

Gil

Ed Medli

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by Ed Medli » Wed, 19 Jul 2006 20:41:35

I knew your name was a bit familiar. I have been involved in flight sims for
quite a long time. Flew a C172-R IRL until health problems have grounded me
for awhile. I was a reviewer for one of the well known MSFS sites for a
while too. I had too many irons in the kettle for a long time and just
backed off for a while if you know what I mean....:-). As far as your
problem goes it really acts like it is a driver problem. Sound or video
would be my first guess. After that it is pure speculation. I would probable
look for different or newer chipset/.inf drivers. I think you said earlier
that you turned off 3d sound. Did you add any non-default sound files? I
have found some of those to cause CDTs too. I wish I could help you more.
Wish you luck.

Ed

- Show quoted text -

PlowBo

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by PlowBo » Wed, 19 Jul 2006 22:15:59

No, Gil,

To prove me wrong or you wrong, you would have to understand what Larry and
I meant.  It would seem that if you bought a brand new version (shipped as
XP Sp2) then the wheel wont install the software, because something about
the way the sindwinder installer used a hackable loophole in XP, to install
itself.  Seems now that Larry mentioned it, I read this problem before.  But
I cant recall if anyone found a way around it.  I know I have pre service
pack 1 xp at home and at work.

Gil enlightened us with:

Larr

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by Larr » Thu, 20 Jul 2006 02:48:58

The software will actually install (just ignore the Win98 warning).

The problem is the Macro's tab in the profiler is dead.

Otherwise it works ok.

Luckily, I had my profiles backed up and just copy them over manually.

-Larry


PlowBo

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by PlowBo » Thu, 20 Jul 2006 03:22:04

AH!  good, thanks for clearing that up.  so your profiles do work?  just for
some reason you cant work with them I guess?
Larry enlightened us with:
> The software will actually install (just ignore the Win98 warning).

> The problem is the Macro's tab in the profiler is dead.

> Otherwise it works ok.

> Luckily, I had my profiles backed up and just copy them over manually.

> -Larry



>> No, Gil,

>> To prove me wrong or you wrong, you would have to understand what
>> Larry and I meant.  It would seem that if you bought a brand new
>> version (shipped as XP Sp2) then the wheel wont install the
>> software, because something about the way the sindwinder installer
>> used a hackable loophole in XP, to install itself.  Seems now that
>> Larry mentioned it, I read this problem before.  But I cant recall
>> if anyone found a way around it.  I know I have pre service pack 1
>> xp at home and at work. Gil enlightened us with:
>>> My MSFF USB wheel has always worked fine, with my frequently patched
>>> XP installation.

>>> Follow the instructions EXACTLY, as you have to plug the wheel in at
>>> the correct step in the installation.

>>> Another thing to try is to power up the computer with the wheel
>>> plugged in.

>>> Even with my installation, I have to go into the recorder on the
>>> control panel and set my buttons every time I have a racing session.

>>> Get it working, because the N2003 community is thinning out!

>>> Gil

Gary

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by Gary » Thu, 20 Jul 2006 04:24:01

I'm sure that would be acceptable to Don, could you outline the
proceedure Larry? It works fine on my machine, I could create the
profile here and send it to Don, or it it's asimple txt file he could
just create it..

GP


>The software will actually install (just ignore the Win98 warning).

>The problem is the Macro's tab in the profiler is dead.

>Otherwise it works ok.

>Luckily, I had my profiles backed up and just copy them over manually.

>-Larry

Larr

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by Larr » Thu, 20 Jul 2006 04:31:57

That's correct.

Profiles you copy over that are complete will work.  You just can't do any
changes or it crashes.

-Larry


> AH!  good, thanks for clearing that up.  so your profiles do work?  just
> for some reason you cant work with them I guess?
> Larry enlightened us with:
>> The software will actually install (just ignore the Win98 warning).

>> The problem is the Macro's tab in the profiler is dead.

>> Otherwise it works ok.

>> Luckily, I had my profiles backed up and just copy them over manually.

>> -Larry



>>> No, Gil,

>>> To prove me wrong or you wrong, you would have to understand what
>>> Larry and I meant.  It would seem that if you bought a brand new
>>> version (shipped as XP Sp2) then the wheel wont install the
>>> software, because something about the way the sindwinder installer
>>> used a hackable loophole in XP, to install itself.  Seems now that
>>> Larry mentioned it, I read this problem before.  But I cant recall
>>> if anyone found a way around it.  I know I have pre service pack 1
>>> xp at home and at work. Gil enlightened us with:
>>>> My MSFF USB wheel has always worked fine, with my frequently patched
>>>> XP installation.

>>>> Follow the instructions EXACTLY, as you have to plug the wheel in at
>>>> the correct step in the installation.

>>>> Another thing to try is to power up the computer with the wheel
>>>> plugged in.

>>>> Even with my installation, I have to go into the recorder on the
>>>> control panel and set my buttons every time I have a racing session.

>>>> Get it working, because the N2003 community is thinning out!

>>>> Gil

Larr

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by Larr » Thu, 20 Jul 2006 04:32:34

If you have working profiles backed up, just copy them to the profiles
folder in the sidewinder program files folder.

-Larry


> I'm sure that would be acceptable to Don, could you outline the
> proceedure Larry? It works fine on my machine, I could create the
> profile here and send it to Don, or it it's asimple txt file he could
> just create it..

> GP


>>The software will actually install (just ignore the Win98 warning).

>>The problem is the Macro's tab in the profiler is dead.

>>Otherwise it works ok.

>>Luckily, I had my profiles backed up and just copy them over manually.

>>-Larry

Don Burnett

MS Sidewinder FF usb Wheel help

by Don Burnett » Thu, 20 Jul 2006 10:36:48


Thanks Ed.
As far as the stability issue, as far as I know, I have all updated drivers
for video and sound, plus the most recent motherboard drivers as well. I
just have a sneaky suspicion, I may have a failing or inconsistant power
supply, I have ordered a new Antec 550W from Newegg, should be waiting on me
when I get back home from out of town this week. I'll put that in, and
either it will fix the stability, or not, and if not then I at least know it
wasn't the power supply :).

As far as NR2003, I turned on 3d sound, it was set off at default and I was
getting some crazy F1 type sounds in replay window at the race screen. I do
not have any non-default sound files, it is  a clean install of NR2003 with
the main patch, I forget the version number as I don't have access to my
home computer at the moment.

Thanks for the feedback,

Don


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