Joystick Help

[IanHenry]

I've been having problems with my Thrustmaster HotasWarthog. For some reason the computer is not recognising the stick, but itstill see's the Throttle. I found a help topic on the Thrustmaster websitegiving suggestions on how to rectify this, but it didn't work. I've even re-formattedand re-installed my computer, but still the problem persists. I've written toThrustmaster's support for help, but I'm seriously thinking that the sticksdied.
My next decision (unless Thrustmaster's support can performa miracle) is what do I replace it with. As I see it I have two options:
<o:p> </o:p>
A. Buy a new Thrustmaster stick as I won't need the throttlepart of it, it should cost about £150
or
B. Buy a Saitek X-55 Rhino,again about £150.
Frankly, I've never really "gelled" with the Warthog, (am I the only one whodosen't love them?) I've never liked it as much as my Saitek X52 pro that itreplaced, so I'm looking for opinions from people who've had an X-55 Rhino.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.


Ian

[StormILM]

I've had my X-55 for nearly a year and a half now, no problems at all with fairly heavy use. Having compared the X-55 side by side with the Warthog, I feel the latter has some overall/general superior quality points(many of the switches of the X-55 are lower quality than the Warthog) but then again, there are things about the X-55 I like better. So yes, there are some trade-offs but for the money, I prefer my X-55. I do read my fair share of complaints from people who have both the X-55 and Wathog and understand the common denominator of hardware failures and bad luck with some bad units and parts that slip through QC (or lack thereof). I will say this regarding the X-55, many of the complaints I have addressed seemed to center around many folks having issues getting it set up/programmed to work with different sims/games. I can attest that the X-55 does need to be fine tuned with an individual PC and sim/game to get the most out of it. For me and my setup, everything in FSX goes through the X-55 except what I used my mouse for. In your case, not sure what the age or warranty of the Warthog is but IMO, for that price they should honor a fairly long warranty or at least a low cost repair/replacement. I recall Saitek (pre-Mad Catz days) switching out defective X-52's either free or at a very low replacement cost

Hope you get squared away soon!

[Cees Donker]

I have a X-55 Rhino HOTAS since two weeks. I don't know how I managed without out it! :jump: But: you'll have to buy a registered version of fsuipc to get it to work properly.

:dizzy:

Cees

[roger-wilco-66]

I also have the Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog, never had a problem so far. I know no other device that has a more authentic feel.

I'd check a few things before dumping it:

- where do you plug in the device (hub or directly to a mainboard USB socket) ?

- if it is plugged directly, did you check the energy consumption? There is only a certain amount of mA the internal hub can deliver. I also deactivate the energy saving function of all the USB hubs in the device manager.

- in the device manager, check if you have an entry "unknown" device" if you hook up the controller to your computer. If so, the port may be blocked. You may activate "show blanked out devices" in the device manager (<-- or so, I don't know the proper english menu item as I work with a german Win version).

- to rule out (or in...) that the stick is defective, I would connect it to another computer and check if it is recognized and installed properly.

Generally, I feel that hooking the controllers to a dedicated hub with an own power supply was the best and the most relieable solution. One thing that can play havoc on a USB configuration is pulling off all the usb device on a running system and re-connect them on different ports.



HTH,
Mark

[maikchaos]

Hi

maybee this can help

Install actual driver
http://ts.thrustmaster.com/eng/index.php?pg=view_files&gid=1&fid=3&pid=311&cid=1 (http://ts.thrustmaster.com/eng/index.php?pg=view_files&gid=1&fid=3&pid=311&cid=1)
After that, do this:
http://ts.thrustmaster.com/download/accessories/pc/hotas/manual/HOTAS_Warthog/Firmware_update/Warthog_Firmware_procedure_Online_v1_ENG.pdf (http://ts.thrustmaster.com/download/accessories/pc/hotas/manual/HOTAS_Warthog/Firmware_update/Warthog_Firmware_procedure_Online_v1_ENG.pdf)
Then:
http://ts.thrustmaster.com/faqs/eng/thr_eng_00139.pdf (http://ts.thrustmaster.com/faqs/eng/thr_eng_00139.pdf)
If still not working:
http://ts.thrustmaster.com/faqs/eng/thr_eng_00140.pdf (http://ts.thrustmaster.com/faqs/eng/thr_eng_00140.pdf)

Hope it works for you too, you can also contact the TM-support to repair the Joystick, hope the stick is still in guarantee-time :jump:

Regards Maik

[IanHenry]

Many thanks for all the suggestions. I've tried plugging the stick into another computer, but it still doesn't show up in the Games Controllers panel.
Funny thing is,when I plug it into the USB, it does start installing the drivers, thus giving the impression that the computer knows it's there.

Mark, the device is plugged directly into the computer. Regarding switching the USB's toPower Save mode, I've looked in the device manager but can't see the option todo that.

Maik, I've gonet hrough all the steps you've suggested and still no joy.
I'm awaiting a response from Thrustmaster's Tech help, but, from memory I don't think their the quickest in that dept.

Ian

[IanHenry]

I've finally managed to solve the problem with my Warthog joystick. After a couple of days trying to update the firmware, I found this article on the internet:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=131954

Post No10seemed to indicate several potential problems so I tried the suggestions, and..... it didn't work!
The next thing that I tried, out of desperation (maybe I should have tried it earlier!) was tosimply install the drivers with the computer in safe mode, and yes the firmwareinstalled successfully this time, so all in now well.

Less impressiveis Thrustmaster's support (or lack of), after four working days and two e-mails, they still haven't replied, with the exception of automated replies to the messages. I'm not very impressed with that, and I think I'll be bearing that in mind when I'm next in the market for some hardware.

Ian

[StormILM]

Ian, glad you got that sorted out!!!

I'm in a bit of a quandary myself, not with my hardware or X-55, but with using my Bandicam program that I use to make my FSX videos. The program & FSX now suddenly seem to not cooperate with one another after my PC rebuild and there's little knowledge/help base available. Frustrating as can be dealing with bugs and loose nuts and bolts!!! Anyhow, thanks for updating us, that info is now added to my knowledge base in case any other users I know have a similar issue with their Warthog.

[IanHenry]

Unbelievably Thrustmasters "support" got back in touch with me 3 weeks after I e-mailed them. They even want proof of purchase for the stick which I bought several years ago! It's not as though it's a piece of software that could have been pirated, you've either bought one or you haven't.

I'm not impressed with them and I really can't imagine I'll be buying anything of them again for the foreseeable future.


Ian