Dell 8200 L/Top Questions

[Arclight]

Have a Dell 8200 Inspiron L/top.

Quest# 1:

Have the below video card and driver. Is this the latest driver for the card?

Mobility Radeon, ATI,9000,64mb

Driver: ATI 2dvag.dll
Version: 6.13.10.6133

Quest #2: Have a Wingman Extreme J/stick (not a USB connector). On my desk top I connect it to my sound card port.
Cannot find on on the laptop.

Is there anyway to connect a stick to a laptop? The 8200??

Thx

[SkyDog]

There aren't a whole lot of laptops out there that have a 15-pin joystick port. I've got an IBM ThinkPad 600E and a Dell Inspiron 4100, and neither has a joystick port.

There are PCMCIA joystick adapters out there, like this one (http://www.allproducts.com.tw/computer/argosy/01gm-100.html), but they're not very common. It wouldn't surprise me if you had a difficult time locating one to buy. I did a quick search on pricewatch.com, pricegrabber.com, and even ebay, and didn't come up with anything.

...but I did find a USB adapter (http://www.a2zcables.com/a2zcables.storefront/3e627a3d0567e2c8271d424d361d064f/Product/View/UJY1) that might work with your joystick.

If that USB adapter doesn't do the trick, the next best solution might be to replace your old Wingman Extreme with a USB stick. I've got one of the old Wingman Extreme sticks and used to use it all the time for Gunship 2000 & other flight games. It's not going to be an easy task to find a similar quality USB stick without spending a wad of cash.

[Arclight]

SkyDog:

Thx for your help!!. Would this adapter work?


http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?edc=143084

My j/stick is a 15pin male and my laptop is new so I guess I'd need a male USB connector on the other end of the cable-right?

Also, my laptop usb female port looks like the TYPE A in this depiction:

http://www.a2zcables.com/a2zcables.filereader?3e627a3d0567e2c8271d424d361d064f+EN/userpages/24

It "looks" right--think it would work?

Thx
Arc

[SkyDog]

I don't know if it would work. I did a Google search on the part number, and found a whole lot of references -- some of which said the part was specificially for the Microsoft Sidewinder. I don't know if it would work with a different controller.

As for the gender of the adapter, it sounds like you've got the right idea. The adapter would need to be DB-15 female at one end and USB-A male at the other.

If you want to give that Belkin adapter a shot, you can find it for as low as $3 to $4 on some sites, not counting shipping. Just do a Google (http://www.google.com) search on it and follow some of the links.

[Agathron]

I have the same computuer and just went down to the local radioshack and got an adapter. i think it ran about $10 or so, which worked out fine for me.

[Arclight]

Would you happen to have a parts name or parts number?

Thx

[Agathron]

Try this link:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F013%5F000&product%5Fid=26%2D164

I belive that's what i got. Also, i have a quesiton for you. What CD-ROM option did you choose? If it was the Samsung cdr/dvd combo, my drive is painfully slow all of a sudden. it's been gradually slowing down and now while it writes cd's perfectly, and can read audio cd's no problem, it takes forever ot read data cd's and installs off the cd takes quite a bit of time. have you had any sort of similar problem?

[Arclight]

Thx for your help with the part. I have not experienced any problem with my laptop or etc. I have the cd-rw/dvd option. Suggest you make inquiries here http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums They have some great guys who have been great assistance.

Thx

[WolskiDK]

Originally posted by Agathron
Try this link:

[url]Also, i have a quesiton for you. What CD-ROM option did you choose? If it was the Samsung cdr/dvd combo, my drive is painfully slow all of a sudden. it's been gradually slowing down and now while it writes cd's perfectly, and can read audio cd's no problem, it takes forever ot read data cd's and installs off the cd takes quite a bit of time. have you had any sort of similar problem?

I've had this same exact problem.