Hi,

I have a rather old MS Sidewinder FF wheel (USB version) and a brand new computer. When I used the wheel on my previous computer everything went fine (except for the low framerates), but now the wheel has developed a problem.

Sometimes when I shift, the gearbox shifts two gears up instead of one. It mostly seems to happen when I want to shift from 3rd to 4th; then it shifts to 5th instead. I think it also happens when downshifting, but I'm not sure; that happens only exceptionally. This doesn't happen every time; more about once each one or two laps. It's enough to get irritating...

The computer has an Athlon 64 X2 4200+ CPU, 1 GB RAM, an NVidia Geforce 7900 GT and runs Windows XP Home.

I'm guessing it's a timing problem in the driver (I'm using the driver that's builtin in Windows XP), maybe because my CPU is dual core or maybe because the CPU is faster than the driver writers envisioned, but that's just a shot in the dark.

Does anybody have a similar experience, and perhaps even a solution?

Happens to me sometimes too, usually when I'm changing from 3rd to 2nd I get 1st geat *grr*. I don't know if there is any cure for this, at least I have found none...

I have that wheel and i had the exact same problem, it just started to happen out of the blue one day, with no changes to other hardware or software.
I couldn't find the cause of the problem so i went for a radical fix. Basically i opened up the wheel, took out the original paddle switches and glue gunned in some new ones, which are connected to my PC using a Plasma-Lite v2.
Obviously this is a last resort fix, but i thought i'd share it with you so you know the options there if all else fails. Pictures below (Old phone cam = blurry pictures )

New Switches

Old Switches

Wheel In Bits

I sometimes have the same problem, too. If it really gets out of hand you could try to write a key macro (in the SW software thingy, you can record macros) and just add a small delay after a shift, and check the option that this macro doesn't allow running of other macros at the same time, or something like that.

That way, if you find a good value for the delay, you can prevent the double shifts but you're still able to do quick ones yourself.

Or if we get a delay command for LFS scripts, you could do the same just within LFS.

Quote from GFresh :

I have that wheel and i had the exact same problem, it just started to happen out of the blue one day, with no changes to other hardware or software.
I couldn't find the cause of the problem so i went for a radical fix. Basically i opened up the wheel, took out the original paddle switches and glue gunned in some new ones, which are connected to my PC using a Plasma-Lite v2.
Obviously this is a last resort fix, but i thought i'd share it with you so you know the options there if all else fails.

Interesting, but I'm afraid that kind of hardware mod is a bit over my head. I haven't the faintest idea where to get a Plasma-Lite to begin with (I looked at the website -- seems to be a cool device).

Quote from AndroidXP :

I sometimes have the same problem, too. If it really gets out of hand you could try to write a key macro (in the SW software thingy, you can record macros) and just add a small delay after a shift, and check the option that this macro doesn't allow running of other macros at the same time, or something like that.

Hmm, I just tried this but the SW software just crashes when I try to access the Recorder... googling me goes...

Quote from Hyperactive :

Hmm, I just tried this but the SW software just crashes when I try to access the Recorder... googling me goes...

Exactly...

Up till now I hadn't bothered to install 4.0 MS SW FF drivers; I just used the XP ones. Now I finally installed the 4.0 drivers (so now I finally have separate axes for throttle and brake; yeah!), but the software crashes when accessing the recorder, as Hyperactive says.

I know, I have the same problem, but if you start windows in safe mode it works

But I think it only does when I log in under my account, and not the default Administrator. Or the other way round. I forgot already.

HA, got it to work differently:

1. Log in under an account with administrator privileges
   
2. Go to control panel > system (shortcut: winkey + pause)
   
3. Go to tab advanced > performance > settings
   
4. In the new dialog, go to tab "Data Execution Prevention"
   
5. Select "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:"
   
6. Click "Add..."
   
7. Browse to the directory "C:\Windows\system32", then manually enter "joy.cpl" as filename
   
8. Click Open, a new entry will appear, named "Game Controllers Control Panel Applet", with a checked checkbox
   
9. Click OK, etc. and leave the other dialogs. Unlike stated by Windows you don't have to restart.
   
10. The "Recorder" tab will now work.

E: And if that causes any sideeffects in other programs, simply do your "Recorder" changes first, and then you can go back to the "Data Execution Prevention" dialog and restore the old settings.

Quote from AndroidXP :

I know, I have the same problem, but if you start windows in safe mode it works

Aha, yes, indeed, that works.

That means that I now have a working solution to the problem. Thank you!

To summarize, for the record:

1. Install the MS Sidewinder FF drivers 4.0 (I put them at http://ipxroel.dyndns.info/sid ... ack_wheel_drivers_4.0.zip, but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to keep them there forever).
   The drivers are actually written for Windows 98, so if you try to install them in Windows 2000 or Windows XP, the installation procedure complains about it. Just click yes to install them anyway. Note that the drivers are not guaranteed to work in Windows 2000 or XP; some people have luck, some don't. If you have Windows XP, I suggest that you create a system restore point before trying to install the drivers.
   
2. Go to the Recorder in the wheel's properties (in Windows' control panel). If it crashes, try again in another user account or in safe mode (I had to use safe mode). Changes you make in safe mode will still work if you start Windows normally. Or, even better, adjust Windows' Data Execution Prevention settings according to the instruction in AndroidXP's post above this one.
   
3. Assign macro's to the left and right shift paddle; each macro just executes the corresponding paddle action followed by a small delay. I used 150 (I guess those are milliseconds?). Maybe that's a bit slow: if you try to shift very fast, it skips some shifts, but in practice that doesn't seem to be a problem.
   Also don't forget to check the option 'prevent other macros from executing' (or similar, I don't know the exact wording).

Yep, or see my post above, then you can skip the "safe mode" step.

Nice find, androidxp
Hmm, how to make the macros... never used this before


@mods: Maybe worth sticking this thread?

Or you can use AutoHotKey to use your paddles which uses other buttons to do the shifting.

Put this in a .ahk file (create a text file and rename it (with extension) to anything.ahk)):

You need to replace Joy7, Joy8, a and z to the buttons you use for shifting, you can also change Sleep if needed.

Quote from AndroidXP :

HA, got it to work differently:

1. Log in under an account with administrator privileges
   
2. Go to control panel > system (shortcut: winkey + pause)
   
3. Go to tab advanced > performance > settings
   
4. In the new dialog, go to tab "Data Execution Prevention"
   
5. Select "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:"
   
6. Click "Add..."
   
7. Browse to the directory "C:\Windows\system32", then manually enter "joy.cpl" as filename
   
8. Click Open, a new entry will appear, named "Game Controllers Control Panel Applet", with a checked checkbox
   
9. Click OK, etc. and leave the other dialogs. Unlike stated by Windows you don't have to restart.
   
10. The "Recorder" tab will now work.

Great you are my hero from now on
I couldn't get the recorder option back to work again.

I thought it was a joy.cpl problem that came with the logitech drivers because it worked before I installed it or it happend after some xp updates .
And Microsoft had not really an idea they said it's a defective joy.cpl but (changing it etc.) nothing worked.
I never thought of the Data Execution Prevention.

Now it's working like it should be.

Thx for that AndroidXP

Thank you AndroidXP,
You gave me a great gift....

Thank you again and again...