Knowledge Base

Midtown Madness 2: Troubleshooting Game Controller Problems (Part 1)

Article ID: 279858

Article Last Modified on 3/29/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Midtown Madness 2

This article was previously published under Q279858

SUMMARY

When you run Microsoft Midtown Madness 2, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

The game controller may behave erratically.
The game controller may not respond.
The pedals do not respond correctly.

This article is part 1 of a series of two Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that present a systematic approach to troubleshooting game controller problems.

279849 Midtown Madness 2: Game Controller Problems Troubleshooting (Part 2)

MORE INFORMATION

Perform the troubleshooting procedures in the order in which they are presented. After you finish each method, test to determine if the issue is resolved. If the issue continues to occur, perform the next procedure.

Verify That Your Operating System Supports Your Game Controller

The Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millenium Edition (ME) and Microsoft Windows 2000 operating systems support both analog and digital game controllers. For best performance, verify that the latest version of the game controller driver for your game controller is installed on your computer.

The following table lists the SideWinder game controllers that are supported by each version of Windows:

Game Controller	Windows 95/98/Me/2000	USB	GamePort
SideWinder standard	Yes	No	Yes
SideWinder 3DPro	Yes	No	Yes
SideWinder Game Pad	Yes	No	Yes
Sidewinder Plug and Play Game Pad	Yes	Yes	No
Sidewinder Game Pad Pro	Yes	Yes	No
SideWinder FreeStyle Pro	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sidewinder Dual Strike	Yes (incompatible with Windows 2000)	Yes	No
SideWinder Joystick	Yes	Yes	No
SideWinder Precision Pro	Yes	No	Yes
SideWinder Precision Pro 2	Yes	Yes	No
SideWinder Force Feedback Pro	Yes	No	Yes
SideWinder Force Feedback Pro 2	Yes	Yes	No
SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel	Yes	No	Yes
SideWinder Precision Racing Wheel	Yes (incompatible with Windows 2000)	Yes	No

Note Support for all current USB (Universal Serial Bus) gameport and USB-only SideWinder game controllers is included in Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows 2000.

Check the Game Controller Connection to the Computer

If you use a gameport game controller, verify that the game controller is connected directly to the gameport in your computer. Daisy-chained game controllers or gameport adapters can interfere with communication between the gameport and the game controller.

If you have more than one game controller plugged into your computer (one plugged into a gameport and the other plugged into a USB port), Midtown Madness 2 will only recognize the gameport controller. In order for Midtown Madness 2 to recognize the USB controller, disconnect the other controller from the gameport.

If you use a USB game controller, verify that the game controller is connected properly to the USB port in your computer or to a combatible USB hub that is connected to the USB port in your computer.

If you are using a USB joystick, disconnect all the game devices from your computer except the game device that you want to use to play the game.

Disable the SideWinder Game Device Profiler

If you use a SideWinder game controller, disable the SideWinder Game Device Profiler or SideWinder Game Controller software. To do this, right-click the Game Device Profiler icon or the Game Controller Software icon in the status area of the taskbar, and then click Unload or Disable.

Install the Latest Version of Microsoft DirectX

Download and install the latest version of DirectX from the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.mspx

For additional information about how to obtain and install the latest version of DirectX, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

179113 How to Download and Install DirectX

Verify That Your Game Controller Is Assigned to Controller ID 1

Many games cannot recognize a game controller if it is not assigned to Controller ID 1. To verify that your game controller is assigned to Controller ID 1, follow these steps:

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click the Game Controllers icon.
Click the Advanced tab.
If you have a gameport joystick or a game pad plugged in, unplug it and then, in the Game Controller window, remove it.
If the game controller that you want to use is not assigned to ID 1, click Change.

If the game controller that you want to use is assigned to ID 1, skip to to the next method.

In the Game Controllers box, click the game controller that you want to use, and then click the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW to change the Selected ID value to 1.
Click OK two times.
Close Control Panel.

Confirm the Version of SideWinder Game Controller Software

If you use a SideWinder USB-only game controller, verify that version 4.0 or later of the SideWinder Game Controller Software is installed on your computer.

If you use a gameport game controller or a hybrid gameport/USB game controller, verify that version 3.02 or earlier of the SideWinder Game Device Profiler or the SideWinder Game Controller software is installed on your computer.

If you use both SideWinder USB-only game controllers and SideWinder gameport or hybrid gameport/USB game controllers, make sure that versions 4.0 or later and 3.02 or earlier of the SideWinder Game Controller software are installed on your computer.

The following table lists the SideWinder game controllers that are supported by each version of the SideWinder Game Controller software:

Game controller	Version 4.0	Version 3.02 or earlier
SideWinder Game Pad Pro	Yes	No
Sidewinder Plug and Play Game Pad	No (does not require any software)	No
SideWinder Dual Strike	Yes	No
SideWinder 3D Pro	No	Yes
SideWinder Game Pad	No	Yes
SideWinder Plug and Play Game Pad	No (does not require any software)	No
SideWinder Joystick	No	No (does not need software)
SideWinder Precision Pro	No	Yes
SideWinder Precision Pro 2	Yes	No
SideWinder Force Feedback Pro	No	Yes
SideWinder Force Feedback Pro 2	No	Yes
SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel	No	Yes
SideWinder Freestyle Pro	No	Yes
SideWinder Precision Racing Wheel	Yes	No

If you use one of the SideWinder game controllers listed in the table, visit the following Microsoft Web site to determine if a software update is available for your game controller:

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/sidewinder/default.mspx

To determine the version of the SideWinder Game Device or SideWinder Game Controller software that is installed in your computer, follow these steps:

Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
In the Named box, type sw3dpro.vxd.
In the Look in box, click My Computer, and then click Find Now.
In the list of found files, right-click the Sw3dpro.vxd file, and then click Properties.

Note If the Sw3dpro.vxd file is not in the search results, the SideWinder software is not installed.

Click the Version tab. Note the value on the File Version line, and then click OK.
Close the search results window.

Calibrate the Game Controller

If you use a digital Microsoft SideWinder game controller with version 2.0 or later of the Microsoft SideWinder Game Device software or the Microsoft SideWinder Game Controller software, the software calibrates the game controller automatically.

To use version 2.0 of the Microsoft SideWinder Game Device software to test the calibration for your digital SideWinder game controller, follow these steps:

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click Game Controllers.
Click the Test tab. Test all of the functions for your digital SideWinder game controller, and then click OK.
Close Control Panel.

To use version 3.x or 4.0 of the Microsoft SideWinder Game Controller software to test the calibration for your digital SideWinder game controller, follow these steps:

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click Game Controllers.
Click the General tab. In the Game Controllers box, click the game controller you want to test and then click Properties.
Click the Test tab. Test all of the functions for your digital SideWinder game controller, and then click OK. Click OK again.
Close Control Panel.

If you use an analog game controller, or if you use a Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro or a Microsoft SideWinder game pad with version 1.5 of the SideWinder Game Device software, you may need to calibrate the game controller manually. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click Game Controllers.
In the Controller column, select the gaming device that you want to calibrate, and then click Properties.
Click Calibrate, and then follow the instructions on the screen to calibrate the game controller.

If you use a SideWinder 3D Pro with version 1.0 of the SideWinder software, and you are prompted to press a button on the controller, press a button on the joystick rather than on the joystick base.

Note Because of differences between analog game controllers, you may notice a certain amount of deviation between the graphic display for the joystick position and the actual joystick movement. This is normal and does not affect the callibration of the game controller.

When you receive a message indicating that you have successfully calibrated your device, click Finish.
Click the Test tab. Test all of the functions for your game controller, and then click OK.
Close Control Panel.

Note In SideWinder Game Device version 1.5, the calibration option is unavailable unless you install Midtown Madness 2 with DirectX 7.0a.

If you cannot calibrate your game controller, or if your game controller does not function properly when you test it, Microsoft Windows may be unable to communicate properly with the game controller. If this is true, contact the manufacturer of your game controller for information about how to configure the device correctly in Windows. You may also need to obtain and install the latest version of the game controller device driver.

If you calibrate and test the game controller successfully, start Midtown Madness 2 and test the game controller in the game. If the issue continues to occur, calibrate the device in Midtown Madness 2. To do this, follow these steps:

Start Midtown Madness 2.
On the Main menu, click Options, and then click Control.
In the Control drop-down list, click the controller that you want to use in the game. If you are using Gamepad choose Gamepad, if you are using Joystick choose Joystick, if you are using Steering Wheel or Force Feedback Wheel choose Steering Wheel.
On the Control Options screen, click Calibrate.
Verify that the game controller that you want to use appears in the Game Controllers box.

Note If the Game Controllers box contains a different game controller, click the game controller, and then click Remove.

In the Game Controllers box, click the game controller that you want to use, and then click Properties.
Click the Settings tab. Move the sliders to the settings that you want to use.
Click OK. Click OK again.

Reset the Default Actions

To reset the default actions assigned to the game controller, follow these steps:

Start Midtown Madness 2.
On the Main menu, click Control, and then click Customize Controls.
Click Defaults. If you are prompted to restore the original settings, click OK.
To determine if the default events are selected for your game controller, verify that your settings match the settings in the following table:

Event	Axis
Throttle Axis	Joy Y-axis UP
Brakes	Joy Y-axis-Down

For additional information about how to troubleshoot game controller problems, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: