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macpilot

Saitek Pro Yoke, and Peddles Problems HELP !

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I have had both of these for several years and they have been working well. Problems started first with Peddles. The rudder wouldn't center and the foot breaks working the ailerons and elevator. Changed the Peddles to different USB ports with no luck. Installed latest  drivers for Yoke, Peddles and Flight Quadrant. Got the Peddles foot brakes working but the Rudder still wouldn't center. Now my Yoke elevator and ailerons are too sensitive. I can't adjust them to correct it no matter what sensitivity and null changes I make.  

 

Can someone first tell me how to remove the Saitek drivers. They are not listed in the Program and Features listing. There is no SST program listed either that is talked about in other forums. Then maybe I can start from scratch reinstalling.

 

Second if someone can point me to a set of recommended Joystick settings for this equipment I would appreciate it. I've turned my computer off unplugged the devices. Still with problems.

 

What really confuses me is that everything works fine with XPlane 10. Just not with FSX and P3d2

 

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Bill

 

 

Windows  7 Ultimate  64 

FSX Deluxe with acceleration

Intel I7 2.67 GHz

Dram 6GB

GeForce 660 Ti

 

 

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- The Saitek drivers (technically Mad Catz drivers btw) are listed in programs under Smart Technology Programming Software and Saitek Direct Output. Uninstall everything.

 

- Open RegEdit, goto:

 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

 SYSTEM
  CurrentControlSet
   Control
     MediaProperties
      PrivateProperties
        DirectInput (on my install this seems to be in OEM folder)
 
Delete all folders beginning with VID_06A3. When you click on them before you delete them you will see they are associated with Saitek Hardware. 
 
- Restart, reinstall drivers, plug back in
 
- Follow these instructions completely to set the yoke/pedals up in FSX config. Read the instructions very carefully, they are good settings. 
 
 
 
- Personal word of advice: Disable Saitek drivers from running at start up and while FSX is running. Do not allow that horrific SaiFlightSimX.Exe to run either. These Saitek drivers do nothing more than make my controls too sensitive, imparting a weird acceleration effect. FSX is smart enough to read the controllers on its own without such nonsense running in the background, and it will make for an easier to handle yoke or stick. 
 
Hope that helps. Let me know how it goes. 

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BeechPapa,

 

 

Thanks for your detailed reply.

 

I followed your steps to the detail. Unfortunately  with the same results. However, I wasn't able to figure out how to disable Saitek drivers from running at start up and while FSX is running. Nor the SaiFlightSimX.exe. So pardon my confusion but why would I want to install the drivers only to disable them. Wouldn't it been better to not install them at all.

 

Also, how do I disable drivers and SaiFlightSimX.exe.

 

Saitek still works fine with XPlane 10.

 

Please explain my ignorance.

 

Bill

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Hi Bill, 
 
There are some things I should have explained a little better, so will try to do that now:   
Firstly, the RegEdit deletion gets rid of the previous calibration information for the yoke. This allows the yoke to recalibrate itself from a fresh start within Windows (this is different than FSX calibration). I should have mentioned that before telling you to go diving into RegEdit, but the fix is mentioned by Saitek as well, so it's an official method and definitely worth trying when calibration issues are encountered. 
 
Now let’s get to the disable at startup issue…  Installing the drivers but not running them at startup is a little paradoxical but this way you will have the drivers on the system if necessary in case you need to program certain things like LED/Screen brightness via Smart Technology. For the most part, I would try to use FSUIPC instead of the SST software whenever possible for custom switches and such, but it’s helpful to have the drivers on the system in case you need SST for one reason or another. What we don’t want are the Saitek drivers running a slew of exe's in the background that constantly change the input of the yoke and reinterpret it for FSX.
 
So, here we go…
 
Go to the Start Menu, then search for “MsConfig”, then run it. You will see multiple tabs. Goto Startup tab. In startup tab look for all entries under the row “Manufacturer” that say Saitek. There should be two: Saitek SD6/Configuration Software. Uncheck them. If there are any other programs by Saitek in that list, uncheck those too. This is all easily reversed. Click Apply, then Ok, then exit and restart.
 
For SaiFlightSimX.exe, this might just be associated with the X52 Pro, which I owned for a while before a yoke. I’m not sure if it’s included with the yoke driver, but there’s a quick way to check: goto ProgramFiles(x86)/Saitek/DirectOutput. If you see SaiFlightSimX.exe in there, it’s on your system and could add to oversensitivity. 
 
There are two ways around this issue: 1) Move SaiFlightSimX from that folder, and put it into another newly created sub-folder named “Invalid” or something so FSX will not be able to find and launch it... or 2) Goto User/AppData/Romaing/Microsoft/FSX and look for exe.dll. Back it up to another folder before doing anything to it at all. Once it’s backed up, open up the original exe.dll in Notepad, and look for an entry that looks like this (my entry was removed a while ago, so I will try my best to recreate what it looked like):
 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252"?>

<SimBase.Document Type="Launch" version="1,0">

  <Descr>Launch</Descr>

  <Filename>SaiFlightSimX.exe</Filename>

  <Disabled>False</Disabled>

  <Launch.ManualLoad>False</Launch.ManualLoad>

  <Launch.Addon>

    <Name>SaiFlightSimX</Name>

    <Disabled>False</Disabled>

    <ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>

    <Path>ProgramFilesx86/Saitek/DirectOutput</Path>

  </Launch.Addon>

</SimBase.Document>

 

You can remove the entry entirely, bit I would suggest just to rename the part in red print above to “True”. That’s all, just delete the word False next to the <Disabled> line, insert the word true for <Disabled>, save the dll file, and exit out. 
 
That should take care of Saitek’s exe files from running in the background, and causing sensitivity issues. Once these exe files are disabled and the yoke is calibrated within FSX (and also the FSX control sensitivity is set according to Saitek’s instructions I linked above) give it a shot in the sim. If I understand correctly, the main issue we’re dealing with now is control sensitivity, right? 
 
- Ethan
 
Edit: I should also mention that the Saitek drivers for yoke/pedals are different from each other. I made the mistake of thinking the yoke driver was the same as the others recently, and after all sorts of issues trying to get SST to recognize it, realized that the X52 Pro, Pro Flight Pedals, and Pro Flight Yoke all have separate drivers (but are all recognized by the same SST software). It's a small point, but it screwed me up before, so thought I should mention it. 
 

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BeechPaPA,

 

 

Again Thanks for your detailed explanation. It was very educational on how things work.

 

Now for the results:

 

I had to use a MS program called autoruns to disable the Saitek drivers. Which I found on MS Web site. Because when I ran MSconfig there were NO Saitek  drivers listed.

 

Disabled drivers from startup and restarted the computer. The first thing I noticed was that the clock on the yoke did not display a time. Just all zeroes. Rechecked that drivers were disabled. They were.

 

I didn't find SaiFlightSimx.exe any where in Saitek Programs(86) folder. Only a folder in there for the Pro Peddles. I then renamed the Saitek folder.

 

Started FSX and went to controls from the main screen. The only thing listed was the Mouse controls no Yoke, Quadrant and no Peddles. Nothing to calibrate.

 

So I stopped. But would this be a good time to use FSUIPC? I have a current registered version. But just never tried to use it for setting up the controllers. Or would it not recognize them either?

 

Thanks as usual.

 

What next?

 

Bill

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Bill, 

 

I think you might have deactivated some required files. I know this can be convoluted, I'm not even sure Saitek themselves understand completely how their own drivers work. Their inability to make elegant software is a big part of the problem. Anyhow... 

 

Do not rename the entire Saitek folder in Programsx86... there are other important things in that folder (like Saitekdirectoutput.dll) that must be there. This is what my folder looks like before hiding SaiFlightSimX, and then after. I understand you don't seem to have SaiFlightSimX.exe in there, but note how I've left the original folder and directoutput.dll alone:

 

Saitek_Folder.png

 

And after hiding:

 

Saitek_Modified.png

 

As you can see, I left the Saitek folder intact as well as the dlls inside of it. If you have renamed the Saitek folder in ProgramFilesx86 (or regular ProgramFiles for that matter) put back the original folder name. 

 

In addition, these are the startup programs I disabled. Make sure you are not disabling background services (which are different than programs) with the tool you are using. 

 

Startup_Saitek.png

 

Notice that the only things I disabled on startup are the profiler.exe and SaiMfd.exe... both are exe files (not dlls) that are inessential to the core function of the yoke while you are in FSX, and the yoke became much easier to control once these were disabled. If you look under the Command column, you can see they are part of the Smart Technology folder not Saitek folder. The profiler.exe can be helpful to set custom options, but it doesn't need to run 24/7. Same for SaiMfd.exe. What exe files did you specifically disable with the MS tool you downloaded? 

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BeechPaPA,(Houston) we have a problem!

 

My folder looks nothing like yours. Since I can't figure out how to make a copy of mine and paste it here. I'll type it.

 

My FSX is on another computer and Email is on this one. I know how to copy and past but for some reason it won't work on this forum.

 

C:\programFiles(86)/Saitek

 

Pro Flight Panels (FOLDER)

 

 Inside folder:

SaiPanels  (Application)

SaiPanels.exe.Manifest (MANIFEST file)

SaiPanelsFS9 (Application)

SaiPz55 (Application)

SaiPz69 (Application)

SaiPz70 (Application)

 

There is nothing else.

 

In MSCONFIG Startup there are NO Saitek manufactures listed.

 

Below are the drivers I disabled with autoruns

 

SaiH0763

SaiH0BAC

SaiH0C2D

SaiMini

SaiNtBus

 

Would it be asking too much for us to talk to each other maybe by phone. Because of the complexity were running into?

 

Thanks Bill 

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Hi mac,

I saw the title of this thread and thought I might be able to help.

Seeing as the problem is with both FSX and P3d2 I'm doubtful. Someone at FlightSim was having control problems and I posted some info that I thought might be helpful there.  It might be helpful to you in pinpointing the problem as well.  Post #6 in this thread is what I'm referring to:

http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?280447-satiek-and-ch-reversed

Jim F.

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Bill, 

 

I'm sending you a PM with my phone number in it. Don't worry, we'll figure this out eventually. Jim's info might hold a solution, but first let's get the basics back in order for the drivers, make sure FSX is getting some kind of input, and proceed from there.

 

Ethan

 

Edit: Looking at your folder list closer, I have a feeling these might be dated drivers. PM sent, so we'll talk about this soon.

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jandjfrench,

 

Thanks for asking. No the problem with the sensitivity has not been solved. The rudder is solved. We have even tried to setup the yoke in FSUIPC and still too sensitive. If I turn the yoke right just a little it jumps all the way to the right. The is true with the left and elevators. Only a problem with FSX and P3d. XPlane works fine. Don't know what to do next.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

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Hi Bill,

Sorry to hear that.  I don't have either the Saitek yoke or pedals so I can't verify this but I've heard that the neither the Saitek software nor FSUIPC are needed for FSX ( I do have a Saitek 3D Pro joystick that works without additional software).  The only suggestion I have is to disable all software that's not MS, and in the Control Panel make sure the yoke and pedals work properly (they should).  If so, as I suggested in the thread which I referenced, remove the existing references in Standard.xml to all the Saitek hardware and letting FSX add the references anew.

We know that things worked fine for several years so it's something recent.  Good luck!

As this post has been re-located to a rather obscure location you might get more results by asking at another forum (FlightSim, simviation, SOH, FSDeveloper, etc.)

Jim F.

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jandjfrench,

 

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Post 6 in the flightsim thread solved the problem. I removed all traces of Saitek Yoke and the Yoke is working fine.

 

I'm going to try the same thing with P3d.

 

Bill

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Hi Bill,

Glad to hear that it worked.  I was almost certain that it would, but that the problem was with both FSX and P3d had and, still has me, perplexed.  With my setup the problem's occurred twice.  The first time I identified it I hand edited the Standard.xml to correct it, and it took hours.  After you get all the buttons programmed the way you like, back up the Standard.xml.  I didn't do this the first time it happened, the second, yes.

That it did happen with both FSX and P3d is a valuable clue as to what the cause is.  The OS must be reporting the device info to the programs incorrectly in some way.  Thanks for posting.  

Jim F.

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