Why doesn't my Saitech X45 joystick's throttle work?
Saitek's X36 software still works with Allegiance and gives you throttle control, however new software was made for the X45 which doesn't allow the Z axis to be used as the throttle.
Option One - Simple
One workaround is to map the throttle in the software as the standard Allegiance commands
- eg: throttle 0, throttle 33%, throttle 66% and throttle full.
Mapping these individual keys to the joystick's controls will work, just ensure you read and understand how the advanced programming works in the Saitek software and put in some "null codes" or "stop codes" so your throttle will turn completely off when it reaches that position.
The same tactic can be applied to the hat buttons. Null/Stop codes will be needed to release the button so it doesn't get stuck or conflict with another command on the same hat.
While this method will "get the job done", it's not ideal. There's a much better way.
Option Two - Complete
Another more elegant solution is to use Dhauzimmer's drivers. When Saitek stopped supporting the older X36 software, Dhauzimmer wrote new drivers for Saitek joysticks that picked up where they left off. His X36 driver is compatible with the X45, and even Saitek themselves have linked to his self-made drivers.
- Uninstall the Saitek profiling software (Use Windows' Add and Remove Programs Control Panel applet)
- Run NukeUSB.exe (Available on Saitek software disk or on the web)
- Alternatively, you can remove the drivers manually:
- Click Start->Control Panel->System
- Click the Hardware tab
- Click the Device Manager tab
- While the stick is plugged in, find the Human Interface Devices section
- Right click on Saitek X45 (HID) and select Uninstall
- Reboot your computer
- Download Dhauzimmer's Drivers from his website: http://xdprofile.freebirdswing.org/index.asp
- Download the XD Profile From this site
- Install Dhauzimer's Drivers following the instructions in his readme.txt file
- Drag and drop an XD-Profile file that already has its buttons pre-mapped on to the XD-Profile executable.
- This creates a .bpf file for Dhauzimmer's Drivers to use as a profile
- Drag and drop the newly created .bpf file on top of the XD-Profile executable (this loads the profile)
- --IMPORTANT-- Go to Control Panel-->Game Controllers game controllers under the control panel and calibrate your stick
- Log into Allegiance
Special thanks to Lsrutko for these step-by-step instructions.
If you run into any problems, feel free to post a new topic in the Helpline Forum following the guidelines set in the Read Me First.
Option Three - Best and Even More Complete
Play R5 instead of R4.
At 9 PM BST 12/Aug/2009 a fix written by Imago for this bug was tested by madpeople and proved successful.
