LWFF Help Needed << Long >>

Well, I bit the bullet and bought a LWFF wheel today. (Just as an aside, I bought it at CompUSA only because every other store around here was out of stock. The first one I took home had no installation CD, the Sports Car CD was scratched, neither the wheel nor the pedals were packed in a plastic bag, there was no registration card and the wires etc were all over the box. So, I guess it's obvious that CompUSA just resells returned merchandise without even checking what's in the box! But enough of that complaint....) Obviously, I returned this first unit for a brand new one. unfortunately though, I have had no luck in getting this thing to work. Just to get this info out of the way, I'm running Windows 95, so the LWFF is hooked up to the serial port. My system is a Celeron 300a o/ced to 450, ATI All-in-Wonder with 2 Voodoo2's, 256M RAM. I had a previous version of the Logitech profiler installed, so I at first tried to install over it. This resulted in GPF's. So, to make a very long story moderately short, I decided to uninstall the original Logitech Profiler (and then run regclean.exe to make sure all remnants were gone), and install the downloaded Version 3.3 from scratch. Here's an exact rundown of what I've tried, and what it resulted in: After doing the above, per the install instructions, I installed the profiler software (Version 3.3) before hooking up the hardware. I removed all running programs (thru CNTRL-ALT-DEL) except Explorer and Systray, then ran the installed the profiler software. It installed smoothly, then prompted me to reboot, which I did. Upon rebooting, it prompted me to do the hardware hookup and then to "click Next to verify that the controller is operating properly". To play it safe, I again removed any programs running in the background except Explorer, Systray, Lwemon (a Logitech file that the wheel apparently needs), and Wingman Setup (which I was about to continue running). So, my system was as "clean" as it could get. When I clicked on Next, the progress bar started to move slowly to the right, then jumped almost all the way to the right, and my system locked up solid. I had to do a hard reboot. When I rebooted, I got the following GPF: "Fatal Exception 0E has occured at 0028:D28E8EEE in VXD LUSBVXD" Luckily, I run a utility called GoBack, and I was able to revert my hard drive back to how it was before installing the Version 3.3 profiler. I tried following the exact same procedure for the Version 3.25 profiler which cam on the CD with the wheel, but this resulted in the exact same thing. (The numbers in the Fatal Exception message may have been different.). So now I'm stuck using my original Profiler (Version 3.1), which at least allows me to boot, and recognizes the LWFF. However, I get no FF effects whatsover. Clicking on the various test buttons in the profiler results in no effects being applied to the wheel, even though the settings are set to 150% (the max). I tried both GPL 1.2 (with the proper revisions to core.ini), and Viper Racing, and neither produced any FF effects either. Is it possible that I have a bad wheel? (First a used one, then a bad one!) The wheel does move to the left about 30 degrees upon system bootup, so the motor does work. Both the power light and the other light are on. I apologize for this extremely long post, but I would appreciate any help or suggestions in getting this wheel to work properly, using any version of the Logitech profiler software. Thanks.

BRH <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> Well, I bit the bullet and bought a LWFF wheel today. (Just as an > aside, I bought it at CompUSA only because every other store around here > was out of stock. The first one I took home had no installation CD, the > Sports Car CD was scratched, neither the wheel nor the pedals were > packed in a plastic bag, there was no registration card and the wires > etc were all over the box. So, I guess it's obvious that CompUSA just > resells returned merchandise without even checking what's in the box!

Correct. In fact, they should not be reselling returned/opened merchandise at all. But they do all the time. Much of their stock seem to be returned and I rarely buy hardware from there. When I bought my Logitech FF USB wheel I looked for a box which was unopened. Logitech uses clear tape to seal the box. Some stores try to hide this by retaping with clear tape, but if you look closely, you can see whether it is opened or not. I really chewed out a manager at Best buy for reselling a used Logitech FF wheel. 2 stores had a total of 10 Logitech FF units and they had all been opened! I went to a third store and bought the one I have now. As for the rest of your stuff, I would reccomend getting W98 and using the USB port. Performance will be better anyway. -- Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes. cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com

DJR <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:lAXk4.11741$[email hidden]... > Take it back and get the microsoft ff wheel, it works perfect right out of > the box! Also the pedals are much better. No the pedals are not better. Plus the MS wheel uses many more CPU cycles per FF effect. -- Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes. cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com

On January 29 2000, BRH <[email hidden]> wrote: > Is it possible that I have a bad wheel? (First a used one, then a bad > one!) The wheel does move to the left about 30 degrees upon system > bootup, so the motor does work. Both the power light and the other > light are on. under game controllers/properties/settings, you have got autocalibrate ticked? and allow ff ticked also? Im sure you have thought of these easy things though. My wheel when calibrating during bootup moves all the way left and right to the stops, not just 30 deg one way. Good luck. MikeT. -- - Mike Turner [email hidden]

I have "Enable Force Feedback" checked, but there is no oprion for Auto-Calibrate. Maybe that's only available in later versions of the Profiler? (I'm using 3.10) Thanks for your suggestions, though. Mike Turner wrote:

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> On January 29 2000, BRH <[email hidden]> wrote: > > Is it possible that I have a bad wheel? (First a used one, then a bad > > one!) The wheel does move to the left about 30 degrees upon system > > bootup, so the motor does work. Both the power light and the other > > light are on. > > under game controllers/properties/settings, you have got autocalibrate > ticked? and allow ff ticked also? Im sure you have thought of these easy > things though. My wheel when calibrating during bootup moves all the way > left and right to the stops, not just 30 deg one way. > > Good luck. > > MikeT. > > -- > - Mike Turner [email hidden]

BRH wrote: > > "Fatal Exception 0E has occured at 0028:D28E8EEE in VXD LUSBVXD" > I don't know if it applies in your case, but I got blue screens on boot up myself after I installed DX7 with the 3.30 drivers. Once I put in DX7a, all was well again. Good Luck & hope this helps some. -- /Chuck Kandler #70 /ChuckK on Won.net & WinVROC /K&S Racing http://www.fortunecity.com/silverstone/thepits/195 /The box said "Windows 0x5f or better", so I installed LINUX!

Take it back and get the microsoft ff wheel, it works perfect right out of the box! Also the pedals are much better.

I used to have an MSFF and I now have an LWFF. The pedals in the MSFF are significantly better. They have much longer travel, better resistance, are better angled, and just have a much better overall feel. With Win98SE & DirectX 7.0a I didn't get a framerate hit, but you will if you don't have both. The MSFF wheel is very grindy and notchy, has limited FF effects, and didn't have good return-to-center resistance if you turned down the effects. There'd just be this large dead area without any resistance. It also isn't as precise as the LWFF wheel. It has two more buttons (8 vs. 6), but the shifter buttons aren't as good as the LWFF's shifter paddles. Ergonomically, the MSFF has better grooves that fit your hands well, whereas the LWFF is kind of uncomfortable at first. I've taken to curling my fingers under the spokes--kind of awkward--for maximum comfort. The LWFF also needs some tweaking to get it to work well in each game, but when you've got it set up to your tastes it works much better than the MSFF. Wingman Profiler (part of the drivers package) and DX Tweaker are both easily accessible at www.wingmanteam.com and are necessary to ensure good performance from the LWFF. Devin On Sun, 30 Jan 2000 08:32:23 -0600, "Greg Cisko" <no.spam.email.for.me> wrote:

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> >DJR <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:lAXk4.11741$[email hidden]... >> Take it back and get the microsoft ff wheel, it works perfect right out of >> the box! Also the pedals are much better. > >No the pedals are not better. Plus the MS wheel uses many more CPU >cycles per FF effect.

I'm replacing a dead Thrusty T2 with a LWFF and am under the impression that the NEW models in the RED boxes have improved pedals (I understand probably not optimal, but improved...) 1-Are guys talking new or old logitech pedals here in this thread? 2-Are the CH pedals that everyone says to use with this wheel really that much better? (I mean they are still games, right? if so...) 3-Since the wheel and CH pedals are USB, can we just slap 'em in to the separate USB ports and GO?! Sorry, but my old T2 is OLD and I've been out of the FF loop, well since it was born, and this thread has me curious...besides I found the website to order the replacement parts for my T2 and I can always go back to what works... Thnks, KJ

> I'm replacing a dead Thrusty T2 with a LWFF and am under the impression that > the NEW models in the RED boxes have improved pedals (I understand probably > not optimal, but improved...) > 1-Are guys talking new or old logitech pedals here in this thread? The new Logitech pedals are identical to the old ones except that they have added slightly stiffer springs. The stiffness is now reasonable, but there is still isn't enough travel in the pedals, at least for a game as sensitive as GPL (it's very hard to make the fine adjustments you need to keep from locking up under braking or getting too much wheelspin on acceleration). For less sensitive games, like Nascar Legends or SCGT, they work reasonably well. The CH pedals have a MUCH larger range of motion, reach really makes it easier to control the car in GPL for the reasons I listed above. The CH pedals don't have very stiff springs either, but lots of people put squash balls or nerf balls under the brake pedal for a more realistic feel. I just have the non-USB version so I don't know if having two USB devices would make a difference. Most sims don't see more than one controller, however. The only one that I have that lets you use all your devices is GPL. Even NASCAR Legends doesn't seem to do this, and it was made by the same company (Papyrus). -- ***************************************************** David A. Ewing *****************************************************

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> >> 3-Since the wheel and CH pedals are USB, can we just slap 'em in to the > > separate USB ports and GO?! > I just have the non-USB version so I don't know if having two USB devices would > make a difference. Most sims don't see more than one controller, however. The > only one that I have that lets you use all your devices is GPL. Even NASCAR > Legends doesn't seem to do this, and it was made by the same company (Papyrus).

What a meant was that I have the non-USB version of the CH Pedals (the LWFF is USB, of course). I think most people have the same setup. Does anybody have the new CH USB pedals and the LWFF? -- ***************************************************** David A. Ewing *****************************************************

> > >> 3-Since the wheel and CH pedals are USB, can we just slap 'em in to the > > > separate USB ports and GO?! > > I just have the non-USB version so I don't know if having two USB devices would > > make a difference. Most sims don't see more than one controller, however. The > > only one that I have that lets you use all your devices is GPL. Even NASCAR > > Legends doesn't seem to do this, and it was made by the same company (Papyrus). > What a meant was that I have the non-USB version of the CH Pedals (the LWFF is > USB, of course). I think most people have the same setup. Does anybody have the > new CH USB pedals and the LWFF? Thanks for the reply, I mainly drive N3(like the internet race feature, warpy as they may be...) and NFS(always trying to see if the Vette's and 911's match the real deals in my garage, and they never do!), so I don't think the pedals will be that big of a deal, but if I don't like 'em, I'll chuck 'em in favor of some CH pedals. I like speedways, but I'm not a 'dega head like most on the CD side of the racing servers, (I play the patched versions) and I enjoy shorter tracks and to some extent the road courses, but my T2 brake pedal hasn't always been incredibly accurate so the transition time will probably be minimal. Matter of fact, I have NEVER liked the way that braking works on wheel controllers, and I probably won't until some kind of "seat-of-the-pants" FF device is invented. I have turned REAL laps down at Road Atlanta in a racing 'Vette(C5R), and nothing touches REAL S.O.T.P. G-forces. There is only so much a phony speedo and tach can tell you about your cars attitude during breaking, no? I mean do sims actually implement fade over time? The ones I drive don't seem too. I've run Bristol on N3 FULL length, and the brakes were working at the end just like the beginning, and they didn't even glow during the replays...enough ranting, sorry. I find it curious, however, that 2 games from the same company (Papy) would not work the same way with multiple controllers. They must be taking their lead from MS on that deal ; ) Thanks again for the info, I think the stock LWFF will suffice for now, at least until Chevy calls again... edb