Sidewinder Game Pad with XP

I recently purchased a new HP Computer with XP Home OS.

My Microsoft Sidewinder Game Pad Software does not contain any drivers to cause my computer to recognize the setup and operation of the Sidewinder....

I have searched Microsoft.com and found a sidewinder section but no information or download that would allow me to install my Sidewinder on XP....

Is there a way I can do this and where should I look for the solution???

 

This is not the reply you wanted but Sidewinder is not compatible with XP. As much as you want it to be and search the internet over, there are no drivers to download. You can use the drivers you have (If you have them) and sometime the Joystick will work. I put up with that for two years. Finally got a little wiser and bought one that is compatiable.

About the time you think all is well, it will not be there one day and it may be a week before it shows up again.

 

Hi Mudd,
You're right,,,,,it wasn't what I wanted to hear ,,,but suspected...another glorious moment for corporate planned obsolescence,,,


I liked the sidewinder because it was easy to set up and use......

What Game Pad did you end up replacing the sidewinder with that is compatable with XP?
How's it performing in comparison?

 

I bought a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro and it works fine. It has more features than the Microsoft but to me most are unnecessary.

It works fine. Not a minute of trouble. Don't remember for sure the price but about the same as the Sidewinder. Don't think you would be disappointed.

 

Hi Mudd,
Thank you very much for the product info....sounds like a good replacement...
I will get one...

All the best,
blakston

 

Hmmm. I have two of them. One's a gamepad and the other's a force feedback joystick. Both of them work fine. Neither of mine are USB. While it's true there's no sidewinder software available for download for them (at least the gameport models) , XP comes with drivers that should work. I never installed any special software. Just installed XP and they worked right from the start. The only thing I'm lacking is the ability to create profiles. Otherwise, all funtions work as they should. If yours isn't working I don't know what the problem is but you should be able to use them minus the profile thingy. Is it a USB or gameport model?

 

Zander

My PC has "no" gameport and I had a Sidewinder that was used that way on Win 98 which was fine. Got the present PC and gave it away to buy a USB. On the box it indicated Win 95, ME and 98. No mention of XP. Bought it anyway and the first time I tried to install it gave me a warning similiar to, "This software will not install properly on Win XP therefore you should cancel installation" or womething like that. I ignored the warning and went ahead anyway. The very first time I tried it, worked like a charm and did so for quite a while. One day when I was going to use it, was gone! The software was still installed but there was no Joystick to be found. About a week later it showed up again. That went on for a year or so and each time I lost it, also lost the game profiles.

Here today, maybe gone tomorrow, just over and over. That's why I retired it to the closet and bought another one.

I have a Dell machine and asked Dell early on what could be my trouble. They gave me the answer, Not Compatible. On their forums the Sidewinder page was full of "why doesn't my Sidewinder run properly on XP?" They all got the same answer.

 

Mudd
I have no doubt you know what you're talking about here. In my case, I never installed any Sidewinder software because I couldn't find any that was compatible. My point was that my Sidewinder hardware was working fine right from the beginning of the XP install even though the software that comes with it isn't compatible (once again, I never installed it). Once I had XP installed and everything running good I tried to find Sidewinder software for it but found there was none available so I left it as it was. XP has drivers that work if you're willing to give up all the extras that the Sidewinder software has. I missed the profiles to begin with but found I could live without them. You can always change things within the game itself. Out of curiousity, did you ever try the add new hardware thing and let XP install what it wanted to or did you try installing the Sidewinder software right away?

 

Zander

I never did use the "Find Hardware ", didn't even think about that. The Joystick(s) came with an installation disk with Drivers.

Were you able to adjust the Joystick, such as; free play, change settings to use different buttons for different things? If so, then I blew it.

My problem with it was the disappearing act. It was like I had never had one in the machine. Went to the file and tried properties on the Joystick and there was nothing. I tried to find it by searching from there and it was not listed amoung all the others. I entered it and the results were "not found on. "

Maybe I messed up. I liked it better than the one I have because it was limber and easily maneuvered. The new one is rather stiff, makes one over or under steer. Guess I'll finally get used to it.

Would try it your way but my Son was visiting last week and mentioned he needed a Joystick for his Win98. Gave it to him.

 

Yes and No. The software XP comes with is pretty basic. You can't change much in the game controller applet in the control panel. It allows you to calibrate the controller and check to see if all of the buttons are working properly and that's about it. Having said that, I've found that I can change most anything from within the control options of the game itself (most, if not all of the ones I have) including the sensitivity (free play).

As to your problems with XP not seeing the controller, it may well have been due to the software that you installed but I really have no way of knowing. I've seen plenty of problems with that on 98. On Win98 it seemed that most of the time somebody had problems with the controller not being seen there would be two instances of it listed in Device Manager. Removing both of them and rebooting would take care of the problem. The way it went was one day it would work and the next it wouldn't. I never did find what actually caused it. I just chalked it up to a bug of some sort. I haven't seen this with XP but if you ever have problems it might be worth checking.

 

Zander

Appreciate your interest in this. To bad I didn't try the problem on the forum before I gave it up. So, it's history now. The Son said it is working fine on his Win98, the replacement is working fine for me. Just out a few dollars.

Thanks again.

 

Zander....

So let me get this straight, I can use my Sidewinder on my XP system????

How exactly do I get it recognized?
I did not install the software because I got a message stating that it wasn't usable....
Could you please give me instructions on how to get it to work....

The connector is the thin rectangle one like what is on a flash device for copying files to upload on another computer.
The computer did recognize something was in the port but didn't know what it was.

 

Thanks for help Arie. From blakston6286's last post it's apparent we're talking USB here. I've only had experience with one (mine) on XP and it's a gameport model. I really wouldn't have know what to tell him/her. At least it's a place to start and we know it should work in XP.

 

I'm using the Sidewinder game-port model. It has worked fine since XP came out. It was only necessary to go to the Game Controllers applet in Control Panel and choose it to autodetect. XP contains the Sidewinder software.

 

Arie...Thank you for the reference to the article on the Sidewinder....I scoured the Microsoft sight and searched any references to the sidewinder but that article never came up....I must have left out something important in the search.

Abraxas...thank you for the valuable info....nice and simple, easy to follow...