VB 6/DirectX 7 Application Does Not Find USB Joystick When Running Under Windows 7

[yn0tg]

I have a VB 6 SP6 application that uses DirectX 7 to interface to a USB joystick (Logitech Extreme 3D Pro). The application works under Windows XP Pro (32-bit). I've got Visual Studio and the application running under Windows 7 Pro SP1 (32-bit). I've calibrated the joystick under Windows 7. The VB 6 application does not find any DirectX 7 joystick device to connect to. Otherwise, the VB 6 application works (GUI, embedded video, serial channel, Ethernet connections). The VB 6 application must be accessing the dx7vb.dll or it would crash. The joystick disc did not provide a driver. I installed the latest joystick Profiler vendor software from the Web.

I’ve done a few Web searches with no solution. This is my first attempt to use Windows 7 as a platform. I'm not sure what to try from a Windows 7 perspective. Does anybody have a solution to the problem or suggestions?

Thank you

[dilettante]

Visual Basic 6.0 DirectX applications fail to run on Windows Vista and later

An application which requires the DirectX for Visual Basic 6.0 components will not execute on Windows Vista or later.

There are additional hazards involved when compiling VB6 programs on Windows 7 SP1. Compatibility has been broken in a number of areas (most noteably ADO).

[yn0tg]

Is the joystick/DirectX problem only an issue for SP1? The rest of the difficult application issues have been overcome. Is there a workaround for getting the joystick working? Do you know where "DirectX for Visual Basic 6.0 components will not execute on Windows Vista or later" is documented so I can pass it along to the powers that be?

Thank you for the quick response

[dilettante]

This is a problem for all Windows NT 6.x OSs. There is no support for the VB6 DirectX 7 components from Vista onward. See the link above. This was an issue announced in 2006.

Perhaps you might consider joyGetPosEx Function, joyGetDevCaps Function, etc.

[yn0tg]

For whatever reason I missed the link from your first post - sorry. We don't change the OS often - long product life cycle. I'll pass along the news and look into your other options.

Thanks again

[yn0tg]

I used the MSDN information that came with the VB6 software to find a joystick sample (http://support.microsoft.com/downloa...s/joystick.exe). I used http://waybackmachine.org to locate the web page and download the file.

I calibrated the joystick on the Windows 7 PC and started the joystick application in VB6. It did not find a joystick.

Does anyone have any other ideas?