Hardware & Technical *Probable* X52 weirdness

[Jakester13]

Good evening!

This is quite a strange problem, and I wonder if you have any ideas:

Recently, for no apparent reason, I have started to get the following happening during Elite (I plug in X52, select profile, start launcher, launch ED):

In-game the mouse cursor (where present) drifts by itself. Sometimes not initially, but increasingly during almost all sessions.

If I engage headlook, then that drifts too. Sometimes down, sometimes to the left, and sometimes up.

However, I can at least play the game fine except in menu situations or where I use the mouse... if I stick to the X52 controls, it is OK.

Now the next issue is when I exit ED, the mouse continues its drifting behaviour, and furthermore when I try to move or click it, there's an error "beep" and it feels like I am fighting another mouse-user.

There's no option but to use the keyboard to shut down Windows, and then that hangs on the "Windows is shutting down" screen till I press reset.

All is fine until the next time I play ED.

I guess step 1 is just plugging in the X52 for a bit, and then see if it affects anything without ED running. (I'll save and return with results in case it hangs the PC again)

EDIT: Yep, it hangs the PC without the help of ED, both USB 2 and 3 plugs. What's next... re-install Saitek's *ahem* software?

Thanks! [cool]

 

[Gortron]

I have similar issues with my X52 and have had since it was about two weeks old (but couldn't be bothered with the hassle of returning it).

Mine was constantly drifting from right to left and up and it was so bad I had to disable the little mouse nipple in the settings (which was fun with the mouse moving all the time even on the desktop). That was fine for about a year then a few months ago it started scrolling hard right to left about every other time I start up or restart the PC and I have to unplug the damn thing and plug it in again even though the mouse function is disabled.

I have no idea what is causing it and really should try reinstalling the buggy software for it. Anyhoo, you are not alone!

 

[d8veh]

I've had the mouse constantly going downwards all the time. I could move it normally, but as soon as I stopped, the pointer headed for the bottom of the screen before I could click on anything. This came and went a few times. I never found out what exactly caused it to start or what fixed it. I think it might be something to do with the position of the pointer when you open ED. It has tombe either within or outside the ED window or space. Once started, it continued even after I closed ED until I unplugged the X52. I now use Virpil sticks, so the problem has gone.

I'm sure it's something yo do with the two devices trying to position the mouse at the same time. Maybe it happens when one device is trying to position the pointer off the screen, so try centering using both devices.

 

[Jakester13]

Cheers for the responses...

I did find a load of forum posts about this issue, and also realised I am running the pre-Logitech software. I downloaded and installed the post-Logitech software, but now both versions end up running when I plug the X52 in.

Problem is: I can't seem to find where to uninstall all the stick's drivers and to start again from scratch. And as soon as I plug in the sticks, my mouse misbehaviour begins, and I am doomed to reboot via the reset button.

Hmmm.... I am going to keep digging.

 

[metatheurgist]

You don't mention what version of windows...device manager -> HID devices (I think). Right-Click, uninstall both saitek devices. Sadly it only shows when the stick is plugged in.

This is going to sound out there...but I've discovered that my GPU driver affects my x52 (NVidia). I can't imagine why but it does. A while ago the stick would start drifting (mild) or start flickering the LEDs and just do it's own thing (extreme). After a long line of tests I reinstalled the GPU drivers (rolled back to old, reinstalled current). Fixed it.

Then my old stick died. After 3 replacements (yeah x52 quality), my current stick would flicker the leds and the MFD. If I started the control panel for the stick it would stop. But when I unplugged it would lock the USB (no unplugged noise), kill all input, and stop the computer from shutting down properly (sound familiar?).

Rather than do anything about it I waited for the next GPU update (since they seem to happen every month now). I'd just leave the stick plugged in and unplug it after I shut down.

Last week I think I upgraded to the latest drivers. Now, 50% of the time when I plug the stick in it works perfectly. the other 50% the leds will flicker mildly and I know if that happens I can't unplug the stick until after I've shut down. It's an improvement I guess.

So, maybe try rolling back and reinstalling the GPU?

In another thread someone reported using the older drivers and software and it was better.

 

[Jakester13]

Good info, thanks! I've uninstalled the Saitek Magic Bus... and installed the Logitech version. Not sure I did it properly, and the problem (of unplugging X52 causing the need for a hard reset) remains.

But, I hadn't thought of just leaving the X52 plugged in until I shut down... not bad!

Win7...

Ho hum. Oh, and I had no other symptoms on the stick itself. Or, wait, yes my 'D' button on the throttle stopped working and I fiddled with the control panel a bit and got it working again, but no other problems.

o7

 

[PIXEL]

Same issue here.. Never been able to stop the cursor moving across the screen at startup... (hard left)
Only solution I have is to move the mouse nipple thing (on the speed controller) in all axis till it stops moving on it's own.
Love to hear if anyone has found a reason why this happens..

 

[Shadowdancer]

The "mouse nipple thing" is a really bad implementation via a rubber-dome D-pad behind the little stick. The bad thing is that the rubber mat with those domes can shift or even rotate so it will decalibrate the nipple or completely break it. The only real solution in that case would be to open the throttle grip and put things back where they belong (or just kill that useless part altogether), but good luck with that. I would assume that there are guides with pictures on the DCS forums if you're feeling lucky.

 

[Artemis257]

have you tried increasing the dead-zone for the mouse? my old x52 would drift all over the place (mouse, x/y yokes, twisty) but then I punished that stick until it died. I increased all the deadzones to just outside their reading areas, and in extreme cases I would unplug/plug it back mid-flight which would force a hard re-init to the drivers (not recommended....).

 

[PIXEL]

^ Will dis-assemble the throttle when I have nothing else better to do - good advice

re the deadzones.. yes as y'olde x52 non pro gets older them there dead zones do sooo need to be adjusted for sure on the main axis's but on the mouse axis?... umm i don't think it'll be that effective as the above - or my twiddling technique (-:

 

[Artemis257]

^ Will dis-assemble the throttle when I have nothing else better to do - good advice

re the deadzones.. yes as y'olde x52 non pro gets older them there dead zones do sooo need to be adjusted for sure on the main axis's but on the mouse axis?... umm i don't think it'll be that effective as the above - or my twiddling technique (-:

I was talking about using the windows setup for USB controllers to adjust the deadzones. Typing 'USB game controller' into the start menu search on win7 or 10 will bring up the game controllers menu, then it's a select-and-set in their properties. of course pulling the rig apart and cleaning/replacing the potentiometers would work too, I guess. :-D