Bob Church SOS!

[Bahger]

Well, I did the unplug/uninstall/reboot/download/install dance as instructed and all went well, with both devices recognised in Windows and the CH installer updating all drivers for root/Aux 1 &2/keyboard, mouse etc.

Then I opened CM 3.5. Familiar GUI, all user-made maps preserved but when I Test/Calibrate...

... "There are no active devices"

Help!

I do not want to be screwing with my registry. Maybe I should call Michael. It looks to me that I cannot have both CH products and SP2.

[531_Ghost]

You went here? (http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1073) and couldn't find your answer?

S/F
Ghost

[Bahger]

Originally posted by 531_Ghost@Nov 8 2004, 05:12 PM
You went here? (http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1073) and couldn't find your answer?

S/F
Ghost
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[/quote]
Yes, I did that. I do not have sufficient faith in my level of computer wizardry to feel confident about bumbling around in the Registry. I'm wondering if there might be a patch on the way. I'm a little queasy about lobotomising my PC, I'm sure you can understand.

[531_Ghost]

Roger that, well, I'm sure Michael could talk ya thru it ;)

[Bob Church]

Hi Bahger,

Well, the registry thing is the only way we've found to get fix it. If you're not comfortable doing it on your own, and I can certainly understand that. Calling Michael is probably the best thing to do. There isn't any "patch" for it in the works. As far as we can determine, it isn't the Control Manager install that causes the problem. It's just a victim. I mentioned that your case was interesting because it's the first one I've seen where the device failed on an existing installation, you were seeing the problem on a V3.0 install that worked initially.

I don't know why the stick ended up needing to be redetected. Sometimes Windows just seem to do move things, maybe you added a new bit of hardware and that changed the enumeration order, maybe SP2 itself caused it to enumerate in a different order, maybe it got plugged in to a new port, any number of things can cause it. For whatever reason it went back to being a straight Windows device, which is normal, and once it did that you started seeing the SP2 "There Are No Active Devices" problem with your existing V3.0 installation. The only thing was, your throttle was still in it's original position, didn't need redetection, and so it was still seen by the Control Manager. That stops the "No Active Devices" message because it finds the throttle, but otherwise it's exactly the same thing.

When you did the 3.5 update, the throttle moved back to being a regular Windows device too and so it disappeared. That's when you saw the "No Devices" message, but you already had the problem before you did the uninstall of 3.0 and install of 3.5. That means that when SP2 got installed, or maybe something that was updated as a result of SP2 being installed, or maybe something that was installed after CM 3.0 but before SP2, pulled the FighterStick out from under the 3.0 installation. Probably the people that reported the problem as happening during the 3.5 install were seeing the problem before the 3.5 uninstall, too, but if none of their devices moved and then needed redetection, the problem went unnoticed.

When 3.0 was first installed, it would detect the devices just fine. I can't go back and look, but the thing the Calibration button click does is to basically to do the tail end of the install again, and that must have worked for you when you installed 3.0 since your FighterStick was originally working. Anyway, I'm as certain as I can be that the detection logic was working immediately after the 3.0 install. Then you updated to SP2 and the device disappeared. CM 3.0 didn't do anything that it hadn't been doing since the day you first installed it. With the earlier cases where 3.5 was installed and the system went down, it wasn't really clear whether it was the SP2 install or the uninstall of 3.0/install of 3.5 that triggered the problems, but I think in your case the evidence is pretty strong that it wasn't the CM itself that caused the problem to occur. 3.0 was working, you installed SP2, 3.0 stopped working.

You also expressed some concern that you wouldn't be able to run 3.5 and SP2. That doesn't seem to be the case, I wouldn't worry about it. Everyone that's done the registry fix is running them together just fine as far as I know, and we also know that once the registry is fixed and 3.5 is working under SP2, you can install and reinstall 3.5 all day long and it works just fine. The fact that it's version 3.5 doesn't really have anything to do with it. It's just whatever happens to be installed when you do the SP2 update that has trouble. If you go back to 3.0 right now, it won't bring your devices back. You'll still get the error.

Anyway, as I said, the only way we know to get around it is the registry fix. I'd give Michael a call and have him talk you through it, the whole thing only takes about 5 minutes and so far as I know everyone that's done that hasn't had any more problems with SP2, new devices, etc.

- Bob

The StickWorks
http://www.stickworks.com

[Bahger]

Many thanks, Bob. FS9 can be made to work fine with input devices mapped in-game but any serious combat sim requires CH's configuration software so I had better sort this out even though I'm not heavily involved in any one particular sim right now. One of these days I'm going to give Falcon a whirl and that's a lot of buttons to push!

[Buster_Dee]

I just found this post following an internet search. I had given up on CH Manager, not realising the SP2 might have caused it. In fact, My scanner dropped out as well. Anyway, things are picking up at my vSquadron (242), and I can't improve without getting back to using the manager (I get "killed" faster than I can find keyboard commands). It sounds like the suggestions might even fix my USB scanner (another thing that's pressing on me, as I do some 3D modelling, and the inability to scan in plans is really putting a crimp on my projects).

Anyway, just a question in the way of clarification. My Universal Serial Bus Controllers in Device manager include 4 Intel® 82801EB USB Universal Host Controllers and 1 Intel® USB2 Enahanced Enhanced Host Controller (plus a TrakIR entry). Did you mean they ought to be deleted as well (there's nothing in there mentioning CH stuff)? Also, did you mean all USB deviced should be unplugged and redetected? I'd be glad to hit them all on the chance that my scanner might finally pop back in (it worked on my brother's PC).

Any help would be appreciated.

[Bob Church]

Hi Buster_Dee,

I didn't write the original, Michael did, so I'm not sure. I think he meant to remove the Host Controllers. Host Controller control the USB ports. The USB ports talk to the controllers. If you delete the Host Controllers, you essentially delete the entire USB system and I think that's what Michael was aiming at.

It's probably a good idea to unplug the devices first, and to run CHDelete and delete any devices that may have been installed before you do it. Then a restart should get them reinstalled. You might also drop by the USB Mans page:

http://www.usbman.com

and see what his recommendations are insofar as BIOS settings, etc. It's the best place for getting the basic information that I know.

Good luck with it!

Best regards,

- Bob

The StickWorks
http://www.stickworks.com