in TIE 98 my keyboard and x55 will cut out every now and then sometimes it will come back, other times it will not, requiring to task manager and close the app because I can't get out of the game.

Sometimes it's keyboard

sometimes it's the stick

sometimes it's both.

all the time, it is aggravating. :1

seems to happen when music stutters or cuts and comes back. Anyone else notice it happen during those times?

You sure it's not your USB hardware? My USB joystick works fine, but I'm using a laptop with a built in keyboard.

nothing wrong with my hardware, as soon as the app is shut down forcefully the keyboard works and all the stick's axis' work.

I've experienced the same issue. Usually it's the joystick and only for a few seconds, but just a little while ago my keyboard stopped working in-game completely. Also, joystick buttons that are remapped (in the joystick driver/software) to keyboard keys would not respond, but "normal" joystick buttons worked fine. Finally had to ctrl+alt+del just to get out of the game.

after trying to find what was causing it and having no luck and then trying to deal with it, I said screw it and dug out my 95 collector's CD and copied my pilot over. I wouldn't have bothered but I just spent a lot of money on a hotas stick to play this game again, so by golly I'm going to play this game again to justify my expenses.

Rather disappointed in the sketchy support we've been getting regarding playability issues.

I've read that GOG's launcher causes some issues. Try running the game directly (TIESTART.EXE)

I have, I get a shifted palette where all the colors go wrong. I tried the registry fix someone else posted here and it didn't do anything.

This will sound dumb, but open the Windows Screen Resolution dialog before playing, leaving it open. It works for a surprising amount of old games that have palette issues.

Failing that, kill explorer.exe once you've launched the game. GoG's launcher does this (or suspends it) automatically. Explorer in windows 7 likes to change the system palette back to its own, overriding the game's. It will at least let you see if your controllers work fine in the game when not launching through GoG's launcher.

If that's too ugly, there's another tool out there called w7ddpatcher.exe by Mudlord, which adds other registry tweaks (unrelated to the registry fix you might have seen) that helps with the color issues in most 8-bit games.

bumping this since I'm still having usb cutting out from time to time.

Is this a constant problem, or does it pop up randomly?

I ask because I've had it on a few missions, but aborting and restarting the mission clears it up.

How are your devices hooked up? What's your system configuration?

It's your hardware, like it or not. Software alone can't generate this phenomenon, outside the drivers being bad. Power drain beyond the specs of the USB port/hub *CAN* do this (as could a faulty USB port/hub or drivers). Try unplugging a few things in advance. See if you can reduce the problem to a point where it no longer happens.

I currently have 2 HDDs and a CH Fighterstick hooked up to my (Sabrent) USB hub. No issues whatsoever.

ho usb hubs. all usb devices directly into the pc. all wireless ones (mouse and keyboard) are fully charged.

the stick has keyboard keys mapped to it, if it was one device cutting out, it's one thing, but when it happens all usb freezes, sometimes it will unfreeze and sometimes all functionality is retained, other times the stick works, directx stick button maps work, but anything keyboard related will not return. that includes any keyboard buttons mapped to the stick.
And it's ONLY responsiveness in the application. the keyboard will still respond to ctrl alt delete to bring the task manager up.

It randomly occurs and so far the only way for me to regain functionality is taskmanager kill the app and restart. On the few occasions it's happened at the end of a mission and I had to ram a plt or mothership to end the mission, the issue still persisted until I was able to kill the app.

Does this happen in anything else that uses this USB device? Any other games or any other software?

Other boilerplate :
- Your OS?
- Your flightstick?
- PC manufacturer?

It sounds like the chip for the USB or the USB port itself has issues. I'm sure you've already done this, but have you updated the drivers for the USB port? You can find out what you'd need by looking under Device Manager, assuming you're on some variation of Windows.

I have one computer (a Dell with AMD chip) that occasionally has similar issues. But it's not a specific thing that causes it. *Anything* hooked up to the front USB ports will on occasion make the mouse cursor start stuttering until I hit Ctrl-Alt-Del upon which the computer will beep and require a restart. My educated guess on this machine is that the USB front hub is faulty. It sounds like this may be the case with your machine.
See above.

I'm also having this issue. I'm running Win7 64 Professional. Using a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro (usb wired). Keyboard is also a bloody Logitech (wireless). My machine is a quad-core HP Phenom. Sometimes the joystick craps out for a few seconds...but more importantly, my keyboard stops responding and makes those almost-done-hard missions very...very...very aggravating.

Exact same thing happens to me.