Greetings good forum dwellers ,, im new to this forum .. I would like to request any help or advice or fixes any of you can offer regarding a problem im having with my original Sidewinder gamepad ( gameport version, not usb )
 
I recently went from a no service pack win2k installation ( on which my gamepad /gameport sidewinder worked fine ) to service pack 3 ..
 
Suddenly i find that my gamepad is not functioning.
 
When I click add in gaming options, and select 'Sidewinder (auto-detect)', it detects it as a Sidewinder 3d pro (which it's not) and the status flickers from 'not connected' to 'OK' every few seconds.
 
After laboriously trawling through the forums i find that Microsoft have removed all support and drivers !! for non USB gaming devices !
 
This removal may have happened in sp1 or sp2 ( at work i have the same problem and its sp2 there ) .
 
Ok so what are my options ?
 
1/ I throw away a great controller because its not a usb device ( a sad option indeed )
 
2/ Uninstall sp3 and go back to my non sp win2k ( not shure how to do this ? nor if i can, as at least sp2 is needed to run some of my work software)
 
3/ I beg you guys to help me find a fix /hack/patch/workaround
 
ThankingYouInAdvance