Windows 98 Installation & Configuration Handbook

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Configuring Game Cards and Joysticks for Windows 98


by Rob Tidrow

Installing Your New Game Card into Your PC

The first task in getting a game card to work with Windows 98 is installing the new piece of equipment into your PC. A game card is an adapter you install in your computer that enables game software to work with a joystick plugged into the game card. Many sound cards, in fact, have a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)/joystick port included. If your sound card does have this port (see the sound card documentation or look on the card itself), you won't have to bother installing a separate game card. In fact, after you install the sound card, you might have very little (or no) work to do to configure Windows 98. If you have a Plug and Play system and the card is Plug and Play compatible, for example, Windows 98 does all the work necessary to configure your new game card. In this section, you learn how to install your game card into your PC and how to recognize whether your PC and card are both Plug and Play compatible.


TIP: Before you start to configure a new game card or joystick, be sure that you have any relevant documentation handy. You might need to supply information included in the user manual. Also, be sure that you have any floppy disks or CD-ROMs supplied with the device; Windows 98 might need software that is supplied on these.

The steps necessary to install a new game card into your PC follow. Be sure to check the documentation provided with your game card for specific installation instructions:

1. Shut down Windows 98, turn off the power on your PC, and follow the instructions enclosed with the card to install the card into your PC. You should leave the PC plugged in to keep it grounded. You also might want to wear an antistatic wrist strap to eliminate static electricity, which can damage your card. You'll need to remove the PC case to install the card inside the computer.

2.
Turn on your PC and boot Windows 98.

3.
If the game card is a Plug and Play model, Windows 98 notifies you that it has detected and identified the new card. Windows may prompt you for the location of the driver of the game card. This driver probably is located on the floppy disk. If so, enter the path to the driver's location in the dialog box.

4.
If the game card is not a Plug and Play model, Windows 98 does not prompt you for any information. You should start the Add New Hardware Wizard to configure your new game card (see the following section).

Starting the Add New Hardware Wizard

Game cards are identified and configured for use in Windows 98 through the Add New Hardware Wizard. The Add New Hardware Wizard in Windows 98 automates most of the work you had to complete in Windows 3.x and MS-DOS to set up a new game card. This wizard is located in the Control Panel folder.

When you run the Add New Hardware Wizard, select the Sound, Video and Game Controllers option from the Hardware Types listbox, as shown in Figure 31.1. Refer to Chapter 5, "Installing and Configuring New Hardware and Software," for specific instructions on using the Add New Hardware Wizard.

FIG. 31.1 Be sure to select the Sound, Video and Game Controllers hardware type when installing your game card.

Troubleshooting Your Game Card

If your game card does not work properly after installing it under Windows 98, you can perform some basic troubleshooting procedures to get it working. In many cases, the conflict is a result of Windows not enabling the device, a hardware resource being allocated improperly or not at all to your new game card, or a device driver conflict. The following sections discuss these issues in more detail.

Enabling Your Game Card

The following steps show how to use the game card Properties dialog box to enable your game card:

1. Choose Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click the System icon. The System Properties dialog box appears.

2.
Select the Device Manager page.

3.
Click the plus sign next to the Sound, Video and Game Controllers item.

4.
Double-click the specific game card device you want to change. The Properties dialog box for your game card appears (see Figure 31.2).

5.
In the Device Status area on the General page, read the status of the game card. If the Enable Device button is available, click it to enable the game card. The System Settings Change prompt appears, informing you that your hardware settings have changed and asking whether you want to restart Windows now.

If the Device Status area indicates that the game card is working properly, see the following section, "Running the Hardware Troubleshooter."

FIG. 31.2 Use the game card Properties dialog box to modify the card's configuration.


CAUTION: When you enable your new game card, it may disable another hardware device--namely, any with which it is currently conflicting. Be sure to check to see whether the device you're disabling no longer is needed.
6. Click Yes to restart Windows.

Running the Hardware Troubleshooter

After Windows 98 restarts, if your game card is still not working correctly, you can run the Hardware Troubleshooter to help diagnose and fix the problem. Follow these steps to use the Hardware Troubleshooter from your new game card Properties dialog box:

1. Perform steps 1 through 4 in the preceding procedure to open the game card Properties dialog box.

2.
Click the Hardware Troubleshooter button on the General page to start the Hardware Troubleshooting Wizard. (This button does not appear if your hardware does not conflict with your system or if the Hardware Troubleshooter cannot be used to fix your device's problem.)

3.
Read the Hardware Troubleshooting Wizard screen to find out what the Hardware Troubleshooter has diagnosed as the problem with your device and how it plans to fix it. If you want to continue with the Hardware Troubleshooting Wizard, click Next. However, if the Troubleshooter plans to change a setting you do not agree to (such as freeing resources when you are not sure you want this to happen), click Cancel.

4.
On the next Hardware Troubleshooting Wizard screen, you are given further information about what is wrong with your hardware device. Click Next.

5.
In the example shown in Figure 31.3, the Hardware Troubleshooting Wizard displays devices you can disable to free resources for your new game card. Click More Choices to examine more devices you can disable. Click Cancel if you don't want to disable any of the choices, or select a device to remove and click Next. Be sure the device you remove is one you do not want to use again.

FIG. 31.3 Any device you remove must be reinstalled before you can use it again under Windows 98.

6. (If you clicked Next in step 5 to disable a device.) Click Next to disable the selected device. If Windows cannot free the resource or disable the selected device, you are prompted to select a different device. Otherwise, Windows removes the device and prompts you to restart Windows. Click Yes to restart Windows.


NOTE: After Windows restarts, if your new game card still does not work, check the game card Properties dialog box; make sure that the Disable in This Hardware Profile check box is not enabled (refer to Figure 31.2).

Updating Your Game Card Device Driver

Another change you can make to get your game card working is update its device driver. Use the following steps to update your game card driver:

1. Display the game card Properties dialog box.

2.
Select the Driver tab (see Figure 31.4).

3.
Click Upgrade Driver. The Upgrade Device Driver Wizard starts.

4.
Click Next. The next wizard screen appears, presenting you with two options (see Figure 31.5). Selecting Search for a Better Driver Than the One Your Device Is Using Now (Recommended) instructs Windows to look for a driver newer than the one currently installed. Click Next to see a list of locations where Windows will look for new drivers; choices include Floppy Disk Drives, CD-ROM Drive, Microsoft Windows Update, and Specify a Location (see Figure 31.6). Clear the check box for location(s) you don't want Windows to search. If you keep the Microsoft Windows Update check box enabled, you need a dial-up or direct link to the Internet. Click Next to begin your search, and follow the specific instructions when Windows locates a new driver.

FIG. 31.4 The Driver page for your new game card.

FIG. 31.5 You can have Windows search for a new game card driver or instruct Windows to create a list of drivers residing in a specific location.

FIG. 31.6 Windows 98 will look for a new driver in various locations, including the Internet.


NOTE: If Windows locates a driver that matches the one already installed for your device, you'll see a wizard screen recommending that you keep the current location. You can click Next to finish the Upgrade Device Driver Wizard or Back to install a specific driver, as discussed in the following steps.
If you want to manually select a new game card driver, select the Display a List of All the Drivers in a Specific Location, So You Can Select the Driver You Want option. This option instructs Windows to create a list of drivers from which you can select the new keyboard driver. The following steps assume that you have selected this option.

5.
Click Next. The Update Device Driver Wizard screen shown in Figure 31.7 appears. In the Models listbox, select the model that matches your keyboard. If your model is not listed and you have a new driver on a disk, click Have Disk and specify where this new driver is located.

FIG. 31.7 Windows 98 shows a list of manufacturers and models that might match your installed game card.


TIP: The Models listbox displays the keyboard models compatible with your hardware. Make sure that the Show Compatible Hardware option is selected. If the keyboard you want to set up is not on the list, you should select the Show All Hardware option. The list changes to show all such keyboards.
6. Click the Next button. You are prompted to insert the disk that contains the new driver. Click OK after you insert the disk, or click OK if the disk already is inserted (such as a CD-ROM or your hard drive).

7.
After the driver is installed, you are returned to the Update Device Driver Wizard. Click Finish.

8.
You are prompted to restart Windows 98 to finish the driver update. Click Yes to restart your computer.

Calibrating Joysticks with the Game Controllers Applet

After you configure your new game card, attach a joystick (or other gaming device, such as a game pad) to the connections available on the game card. Joysticks are hardware devices used primarily for games. Your game card (or your sound card, if your game adapter is part of a sound card) has a 15-pin D-shell-type socket into which you can connect the male end of the joystick cable.

After you attach a joystick to the game card, you're ready to calibrate it to work with Windows. In Windows 98, the Joystick applet (which was introduced in Windows 95) in the Control Panel has been replaced with the Game Controllers applet. This applet enables you to configure and test game controllers (including joysticks and game pads).


NOTE: PC game pads are similar in function to joysticks, but they resemble game pads used with game systems, such as SEGA Genesis and Nintendo 64. You can use the information presented in this section to set up and calibrate many game-pad devices. You should consult your game-pad manual or online documentation for additional instructions for your specific game pad, however.

Connect your game port (which is a 15-pin port on the back of your computer), and attach your joystick's game-port connector to it. Next, install the joystick software based on the instructions accompanying the joystick. Reboot Windows 98 to finish the installation process.

After Windows 98 reboots, use the following steps to calibrate your joystick using the Game Controllers applet:

1. Choose Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click the Game Controllers icon. The Game Controllers dialog box appears (see Figure 31.8). Your new joystick should appear in the Game Controllers listbox.

FIG. 31.8 Use the Game Controllers applet to calibrate your new joystick.

2. On the General page, select the joystick you want to calibrate in the Controller column.


TIP: If your joystick does not appear in the Game Controllers listbox, click Add to display the Add Game Controller dialog box (see Figure 31.9). Find the type of joystick you want to set up in the Game Controllers listbox and click OK.

FIG. 31.9 The Add Game Controller dialog box enables you to add a new joystick.

3. Click Properties to display the Game Controller Properties dialog box.

4.
Select the Test page (see Figure 31.10). Test the functionality of your joystick by moving the joystick and watching the Axes section. The plus-sign (+) indicator in the Axes section should mimic the movement and rotation of your joystick. Also, move the hat-switch button (if available) on your joystick and watch the Point of View Hat section. The movement of the arrow indicator (which only appears when you start moving the hat switch) should mimic the movement of the hat-switch button. Finally, click each joystick button to make sure that the corresponding light in the Buttons section lights up.

FIG. 31.10 Use the Test page to test your game con-troller's functionality.

If your joystick functions properly, click OK twice. If it does not function properly, continue these steps.

5.
Select the Settings page.

6.
Click Calibrate to calibrate your joystick. The Calibration dialog box for your joystick appears. Figure 31.11 shows the SideWinder 3D Pro Calibration dialog box, which appears if you use the Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro joystick. Follow the instructions on the Calibration dialog boxes to calibrate your joystick. Click Next after you perform each action. In the last Calibration dialog box, click Finish to complete the calibration procedure. (The actual number of Calibration dialog boxes you see depends on the model of the game controller you have installed.)

FIG. 31.11 The Calibration dialog box enables you to set your joystick's center position, range of motion, and point-of-view hat.

7. Enable the Rudder/Pedals check box on the Settings page if your joystick includes an attached rudder or pedal device.

8.
Click OK to return to the General page of the Game Controllers dialog box.

9.
Click OK to save your settings.


TIP: To remove a game controller, select the controller name and click Remove. The Remove Controller confirmation box appears, asking whether you are sure you want to remove the selected controller. Click Yes to remove it.


NOTE: Microsoft manufactures a line of gaming devices called SideWinder; it offers the SideWinder Standard and SideWinder 3D Pro joysticks and the SideWinder game pad. These devices are designed to work well with Microsoft games developed for Windows 98. Many users find that these products do not work perfectly with games produced by other manufacturers, however. Some of the problems range from users having to recalibrate the joystick each time they reboot the system to Windows 98 not recognizing the game card when playing certain games.

One of the best ways to get information about a specific problem you are experiencing with these products is to join the Microsoft Hardware Products newsgroup at

microsoft.public.microsofthardware.products

You also can read the Frequently Asked Questions page for SideWinder 3D Pro at

http://www.microsoft.com/HardwareSupport/SideWinder/content/faq/


Changing the Game Controller Port Driver and ID Settings

Windows 98 enables you to set a specific port driver for a game controller. This capability is handy if your joystick or game pad requires a specific port driver that Windows does not set up automatically. Also, you can assign a game controller an ID, which certain games use to identify your game controller.

To set the ID and port driver settings, follow these steps:

1. Choose Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click the Game Controllers icon. The Game Controllers dialog box appears.

2.
Select the Advanced page (see Figure 31.12).

FIG. 31.12 You use the Advanced page of the Game Controllers dialog box to set controller IDs and port drivers.

3. In the Controller ID's column, select an ID you want to assign to a controller. If the ID for your controller is correct, you do not need to change it.

4.
Click Change to display the Change Controller Assignment dialog box (see Figure 31.13).

5.
In the Game Controllers listbox, select the game controller you want to assign to the ID that appears in the Selected ID field.

6.
Click OK to return to the Advanced page.

7.
In the Port Driver drop-down listbox, select the port driver your game controller port requires. If the port driver is correct, you do not have to change it.

8.
If you are experiencing modem problems while playing online games, disable the Poll with Interrupts Enabled check box.

FIG. 31.13 You use the Change Controller Assignment dialog box to assign new controller IDs.



TROUBLESHOOTING: I use the Microsoft SideWinder Game pad device under Windows 98, but I cannot get it to work with MS-DOS. Why not? The Microsoft Gamepad is designed to work with Windows 98 and sends digital-signal values to the joystick port. These digital signals are interpreted by a device driver in Windows 98. These drivers do not exist for MS-DOS. There is no word from Microsoft as to whether it will release updated drivers or terminate-and-stay resident (TSR) programs to work with MS-DOS.


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