Problem with Saitek X52 Throttle

[_AH_Olds]

I'm having some problems with my X52 (non-pro) throttle. I use the throttle with the MS FFB2 stick, and it normally works fine. Unfortunately, last weekend, the throttle quit working. The blue LED's light up, and I have text on the screen (but no light). XP was saying it couldn't recognize the device, so I uninstalled the drivers (even though it didn't list the throttle, and tried reinstalling the drivers (I have the ones for the X52, not pro). It doesn't recognize the throttle...sometimes the LED's light up, and sometimes they don't. I tried hooking it up to the laptop just to see what would happen, and had the same thing happen...not recognized. Does this sound like a hardware problem (bad USB cable, perhaps), or just drivers? Kinda leaning toward the hardware being the problem...might have to get a new throttle soon.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks, and S!

Olds

[_AH_BBQhead]

S~

Hard to say,, but it sounds like hardware. Maybe the cable is going bad.  I've had that happen to a couple of my X 45's..

[_AH_Olds]

I'll look at that sometime this week...I should have another cable on one of my old sticks. Thanks for the help, BBQ.

[_AH_Olds]

Ok, looked at the cable, and don't see any broken connections inside. Before I go to the "replace cable" route, I've gone through some troubleshooting, and have found this much out:

If I have the throttle plugged in, and the LED's are lit (with text on the screen, but the screen is not lit up), Device Manager lists the device as unknown. with an exclamation point. I also get a "This device cannot start - Code 10". From what I understand, this is commonly a driver issue.

If the throttle is plugged in, and nothing is lit or comes up on the screen, Device Manager lists the device as "Saitek X52 Flight Control System, USB" also with an exclamation point. I still get the Code 10.

I think there should be two devices listed, one for the USB, and one for HID. If I try to run the installation software, it doesn't recognize the throttle, even if device manager has it listed as an X52, with an error.

Could it possibly be something in Windows, or should I start looking at the cable again? This is starting to get frustrating, and I'm getting tired 

[_AH_BBQhead]

S~

In computers a solder doesn't have to look broken to be causing trouble.  With the tiny amount of current running through each wire, any extra resistance can be enough to cause problems. 

  It could just as easily be a problem with one of the traces on the PCB.. in other words.. the circuit board is wearing out.

Sounds like you've tried the software fix.. and when that doesn't work, the next logical step is to look to the hardware as being the cause.