Please help with my TrackIR3 w.Vector expansion

[Ripmaster]

Hello,
A couple of years ago I bought a TrackIR 3 and subsequently the Vector expansion.

I am running XP SP2 on a Core 2 Duo 6600, 2 gigs ram, 8800 GTS SB Audigy 2 ZS etc.

I have both FS2004 Pro and FSX + Acceleration (SP2) installed...lately however the TrackIR has developed a problem.
What happens is that the device gets "forgotten" by the computer and not recognized. At first I could simply unplug the TrackIR USB and then plug it back in, but lately that is not helping any more.

I tried uninstalling and then reinstalling the software, and that works perfect for as long as I play either flightsim during that boot period. As soon as I turn the computer off and then back on, the device is not recognized.

I tried using the file that was posted in here earlier to attempt the registry fix but any time I run it the error message appears: "No device recognized to repair" or something similar.

At last tonight I unistalled, reinstalled, plugged the TrackIR back in...the TrackIR recognized the device, it appeared under USB device manager, and head tracking worked in the TrackIR software but no games would actualize it. Then when I attempted to close the software it would not close gracefully and I had to force it to close.

Any ideas?

Here is my Setupapi.log:

[SetupAPI Log]
OS Version = 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2
Platform ID = 2 (NT)
Service Pack = 2.0
Suite = 0x0100
Product Type = 1
Architecture = x86
[2007/10/26 17:47:32 2284.175 Driver Install]
#-406 Obtaining rollback information for

[Ripmaster]

Bump...

So I still cannot use my TrackIR3. In fact, it is now beginning to cause my wireless USB NIC card to also fail. If I unplug the TrackIR3, no more problems with the NIC.
Under hardware>device manager there is no reported resource conflicts between the two...

My TrackIR3 still will not be recongnized after reboots, or after running the registry fix file posted here...also, I have tried plugging it in on different USB ports, all direct into the motherboard. This only started happening recently...some support would be greatly appreciated as I L~O~V~E my TrackIR and can't fly (or drive) without it!!!

[VincentG]

Please send me the following info......

What is the Serial # of the device?
It should be located on the end of the cable, near the USB plug, or on the underside of the device.

Nature of the issue.

Have you tried the device on another system?

Are you plugging in directly to the system, or are you using a hub?

Have you tried isolating the device on the USB ports?

Have you tried turn off any kind of power save feature for your USB ports?

In the "Device Manager" you can right click the "USB Root Hub"(s), that show, and then select properties. On the power management tab, uncheck the box that allows the computer to turn off the USB port to save power (i.e. uncheck the box). Sometimes that has an impact on the connectivity of the devices.

Could you attach a screen shot of your Device Manager (showing USB), and tracking screen (TrackIR software -> View -> Tracking)?

To make Print Screen work, you must save an image of what's displayed on-screen to the clipboard and then paste it into a document where it can be printed.

Windows Help: Print Screen

To do this, follow this procedure:

1. Maximize the window you'd like to capture.
2. To copy/capture the current window, hold down ALT + Print Scrn at the same time. To capture the entire screen, just press Print Scrn alone.
3. Open a new document in MS Paint, MS Word, MS Photo Editor, or Adobe PhotoShop.
4. Paste the screen shot by holding down CTRL and V at the same time.
5. Save the document as a .JPG or .JPEG file and send it in.

[Ripmaster]

Hello Vincent,
Please don't take this the wrong way, but (in my opinion)your "form letter" response is just another stop-gap approach to solving this problem.

Sure, I will send you the serial number of the TrackIR (I'm at work now, so another delay before I can provide it) but I have already provided many of the details you requested and certainly enough to have gotten started on. I have also described in detail that the TrackIR appears under USB devices but only after a clean install of the SW, subsequent reboots do not show it so what good will screenshots do? It's either there after a fresh SW install, or gone after a reboot.

Also, after the fresh SW install, the TrackIR will show the Vector reflection tabs and track properly; after the reboot the SW simply states something like: "No device detected" so a screenshot of that will be no good either...but like I said, I'm at work and will provide these, - it will just take more time.

One last thing - I did disable USB power saving in device manager - no joy.

So, I'm certainly not trying to be a jerk here, but having come from many years of support myself, I think there was enough in my email(s) to have at least gotten started on. Oh well, just my opinion...so please don't take this as me being hostile!

Still love this product!

[VincentG]

Do you have the latest motherboard bios installed?

Does it have the same issues on another system?

[Ripmaster]

Hi Vincent,
I'm still at work, but yes; I have the latest BIOS from MSI on the MB, which is a P6N-SLI 650i.
Also using the latest version of the nForce driver suite as well...
I have not tried installing the TrackIR on another system (yet) but will do so by tomorrow.

I have also tried using different USB ports (all direct into the PC, not through a hub)

Although device manager does not show any device conflicts, I suspect something is occurring as when the TrackIR is plugged into the PC but not recognized it still causes my USB NIC to intermittently fail. I have absolutely determined that when the TrackIR is unplugged, the NIC works properly...

Thanks!

[VincentG]

Well, I would tend to lean towards some type of USB glich, either with an amperage issue, or the USB part of Windows, but it could be a hardware issue with the TrackIR, so trying it on another system will help isolate it.

[Ripmaster]

Hi again Vincent,
My serial number is: xxxxx
So I am home and tried installing the TrackIR on my laptop...it works. Even after reboots, it continues to be recognized. I even tried switching the USB port, and while XP asked for the driver location again, it gets recognized after every reboot and tracking works.

So, back to the issue on my primary (gaming PC); obviously it has been working until just recently. I wish I could corrolate the outage to a recent change but I can't...so what is next to try?

Thanks for this dialogue discussion, it's at least ruled out hardware failure on the TrackIR unit

[VincentG]

Well, starting to run out of items........

1 - Try an external USB hub, that has it's own power supply.

2 - Reinstall the USB portion of XP.