P880 Support
Welcome to the P880 support pages. Here you will find commonly requested files such as game configurations and the latest software and answers to commonly asked questions to help you get the most out of your P880
Q1: When I plug in my controller it installs as an Unknown Device. Why is this?
A1: There could be a few reasons for this. One is if you have Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) and are running an AMD processor with a VIA chipset motherboard. If this is the case then USB devices sometimes won't detect correctly so you can go to the following link for a fix.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=12904 It may also be because the controller is actually faulty or if you are plugging it into an external hub then try plugging it directly into a USB port on the computer itself
Q2: Game Controllers/Gaming Options recognizes that my controller is present but when I click Properties I get the following error message, "An error occurred whilst working with the file c:\windows\system\joy.cpl" What do I do now??
A2:This is a fault with a file on your PC called dinput.dll. Please go to the following link for suggestions on how to solve this.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q188106
If the fix outlined in this article does not help then You need to extract the HID.DLL from the Windows '98 Cabs. To copy this file in to the C:WindowsSystem directory and overwrite the existing HID.DLL please follow the instructions below.
1. Place the Windows98 CD in the drive. Now go to Start then Run and where it says 'Open' enter SFC and click OK.
2. Click on 'Extract one file' and enter HID.DLL. Now click the Start button.
3. Where it says 'Restore from' this should be the location of the Windows 98 CD. So If your CD-ROM drive is letter 'Q' it would read 'Q:WIN98. 'Save file in' should read 'c:/windows/system'. After this click on OK
4. Now it will ask you to back up the HID.DLL file. Make a note of the directory if need be and then click on OK, then click yes to create the Folder.
5. Now restart your PC and everything should now be OK.
If that doesn't work then there are only two other fixes that we are aware of.
The first is to reinstall Windows over the top of itself - this would involve no data loss on your hard drive and does seem to fix the fault in the majority of cases.
If that doesn't work then the only other way is to format your PC's hard drive and reinstall Windows completely.
Q3:I'm trying to use the pad in a first person shooter game like Medal Of Honor, so that it performs similarly to my Playstation/X Box/Gamecube pad. However, I can't seem to get it to work, why is this?
A3 : Games like Medal Of Honor on PC are typically called First Person Shooters (FPS) and they are nearly always set up exclusively for use with the keyboard and mouse. Game Controllers support in these games is either very basic or non-existent because the developers of these games consider them to be best controlled with the keyboard and mouse.
With the latest version of our programming software though, it is possible to get the pad working in these games by assigning mouse and keyboard commands to the analogue sticks on the pad. If you go to the profiles page for the pad you will find various profiles for FPS games - just download them to your C:\Program Files\Saitek\Software directory, as you do with all profiles and they will then appear in the pop-up list you get when you right click the controller icon next to your clock. Just left-click them, as usual to load them into the pad and the pad should then work fine in the game. If you wish to adjust the look sensitivity of the right analogue stick just change the mouse sensitivity setting in the game; likewise, if you want to change whether pushing up on the stick makes you look up or down then simply adjust the Invert Mouse option that is always present in FPS games.
If you can't find a profile for your particular FPS game then simply download the Generic FPS Game profile as this has the sticks set up for basic movement and looking functions and you can then program the other buttons on the pad to do what you need them to in your particular game
Q4: My Controller isn't working in my game, why is this?
or
My controller is not performing correctly in my game, what's happening?
A4: The first thing to check if the controller isn't working in the game is whether it is working in Game Controllers/Gaming Options in Control Panel. You can do this following the instructions in the General FAQ. If it is working okay in there then we know the controller is okay and problem has to do with the game itself.
First, make sure that the game actually supports game controllers, because some PC games just don't (if you're unsure you should contact the game publisher for more info on this).
Secondly, make sure you have correctly enabled the controller in the game's control options screen - most games have an options screen where you have to set up the controls - if this is a little unclear to you then the best people to contact this are, again, the publisher of the game as they will be more familiar with the game's inner workings.
Thirdly, the game may well need an update to correct an existing problem that the game may have shipped with. Always check the game's website to see if there are any updates for it (typically called Patches).
Q5: My d-pad was working fine but when I restart my PC it no longer works when using the digital button to activate it. What can I do?
A5: Some people find that their PC does not correctly activate the driver on restart. To solve this you will need to open the Game Controllers icon in Control Panel and access the Properties for the pad. Test the d-pad by pressing the digital button and when it works, close Game Controllers and play your game - it should then be fine.
Windows XP
Q6: When I load a profile into my pad the icon next to my clock no longer turns green and the profile isn't working. Why is this?
A6: This can happen if you have obtained the latest driver for the pad from Windows Update; you simply need to obtain the latest version of the SST programming software and this will correct this problem. To get this you need to go to the Properties screen for the pad in Control Panel and click the About tab. Click the link on that page to download the latest version of the programming software and install it. Once that's installed the programming software should be working fine.
Q7: What version of Windows do I need to install my USB joypad?
A7: Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP all support USB controllers. Windows 95 or earlier versions will not support your USB controller.
Q8: I have programmed my controller in SGE but when I go into my game none of the programmed functions are working. Why is this happening?
Q8: With some game configurations because of the way that the game loads, the auto-configure program that is part of SGE does not load the profile correctly. This is solvable by manually loading the profile. To do this open up SGE, right-click on the profile that you wish to configure and click Configure Game Now from the drop-down list of options. If a warning appears saying that Auto Configure is going to be disabled then simply click Yes and then run your game - the programmed commands should now work just fine.
Q9: I have installed the P880 and now I find that my system is very unstable - I get Blue Screen crash errors or my PC just suddenly reboots. What is causing this?
A9: We have found that some customers who are running PCs with the latest Pentium 4 processors are experiencing instability issues which are caused by the Hyperthreading component that is present on these high-end processors. We have now released a new driver version for the pad which solves this issue along with a new version of the programming software. You can obtain these updates by doing the following:
With the pad plugged in, connect to the internet and run Windows Update (Start>Windows Update) and let it scan your PC for any available updates (choose Custom Installation when prompted). Once it has finished there should be an update available for the pad in the list of Optional Hardware Updates - add that to the list of downloads and then let it download and install it for you.
Once that's done you will need to get the new programming software too. To get this you need to go to the Properties screen for the pad in Control Panel and click the About tab. Click the link on that page to download the latest version of the programming software and install it. Once that's installed the programming software should be working fine.
