Help on using two devices on the game port

["The Manuel"]

I have a cheap digital joypad ($10) and just bought a cheap analog joystick ($10).  In order to keep it cheap, I'll probably build Stephan Hans's circuit to feed and automaticlly switch both joystics into my PC's game port.
However, there is a problem.
I'm using Windows XP and the first time I installed the driver for my new cheap analog stick, Windows asked me to remove the driver for the other pad I had just removed.

How can I get around this?
Can I have two drivers loaded simultaneously?
Is anyone using more than one device on the PC game port?

Any help will be appreciated.

Regards.

[u_rebelscum]

I have a cheap digital joypad ($10) and just bought a cheap analog joystick ($10).  In order to keep it cheap, I'll probably build Stephan Hans's circuit to feed and automaticlly switch both joystics into my PC's game port.
However, there is a problem.
I'm using Windows XP and the first time I installed the driver for my new cheap analog stick, Windows asked me to remove the driver for the other pad I had just removed.

How can I get around this?
Can I have two drivers loaded simultaneously?
Is anyone using more than one device on the PC game port?

Any help will be appreciated.

Regards.

The gameport cannot handle a digital and an analog joystick plugged in at the same time due to signal conficts.  XP might have extented the limit to the driver level, too.

Joystick combos a gameport can handle:

• two analog joysticks (max four buttons)
• two same brand digital joysticks with drivers that can do two+ joysticks

["The Manuel"]

Thanks for the help.

I was thinking more along the lines of disconnecting one controller and connecting the other one.
The problem with this is that, apparently, I have to uninstall the driver of the old pad and install the driver of the new one and calibrate every time i switch joystics.

Any way to get around the driver problem?

[u_rebelscum]

Thanks for the help.

I was thinking more along the lines of disconnecting one controller and connecting the other one.
The problem with this is that, apparently, I have to uninstall the driver of the old pad and install the driver of the new one and calibrate every time i switch joystics.

Any way to get around the driver problem?

Sorry, I'm not sure how to get around it, but when I said "XP might have extented the limit to the driver level, too", I was guessing XP makes sure the hardware problem doesn't happen by refusing to install drivers of incompatable joystick hardware in the same port at the same time?  But I don't have XP, so I can't test it.  I glanced the windowsXP web site but could not find any help there.

I know in winMe/98/95, I could unplug one 'stick and plug in another like you want to, but XP is more strict in drivers sharing resources (one reason it doesn't crash as much )

Can anybody with XP test this out?

["The Manuel"]

I think I might have to resort to looking at alternatives.
One such could be to try and wire the digital pad's switches to my I-Pac.
I was thinking maybe I can buy a female game port connector, connect the pad to it, and from there, wire all inputs to the same I-Pac terminals to where I have my first player arcade controls wired.
What I'm not sure is whether the inputs in a digital game pad each have pin in the connector associated with it, or if there is some kind of matricing/multiplexing going on.
If that is the case, I won't be able to do what I want.

[Howard_Casto]

Yes it's a matrix.(assuming it has more than 4 buttons) So that idea don't work.  Btw using an ipac to re-wire a joystick seems kind of silly.  Why wouldn't you use an ipac on a nice set of arcade controls?

[TheManuel]

Btw using an ipac to re-wire a joystick seems kind of silly.  Why wouldn't you use an ipac on a nice set of arcade controls?

Yes it would be kind of silly, wouldn't it?
I already have arcade controls (competition joysticks).  That's why I have an I-Pac in the first place.
Howeve, I do play some emulated Nintendo and Super Nintendo games and I like to use a pad for those.  Hence the reason I did not want to get rid of it just to have the analog stick.
Anyway, I decided to return the analog stick and buy a USB one.  That should take care of the whole thing.

Thanks a lot for the information of the matrixed buttons.
That makes sense with what I found while mucking around with the game pad's insides.