CougEr001,
Does your joystick show up in Windows control panel under Gaming Devices? Can it calibrate properly in there?
If yes, the next step is to check Aces High. Enter the game and from your clipboard select Setup. You should be able to configure your joystick settings from there.
Let me know if you are still having problems and I'll see what I can do.
BTW, I have loaded DX 8 on at least 4 machines in the last month and have had not a single problem with any of them. As a trainer, I monitor these boards for issues folks are having. The only issue I have seen with DX8 is that it may cause problems with Roger Wilco. I have not heard one single report where DX8 caused the kind of problems you mention. However, DX7.0a should work fine too. You do have 7.0a right? Oh, and what OS and version are you running? You didn't mention it above.
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Lephturn - Chief Trainer
A member of The Flying Pigs
http://www.flyingpigs.com "A pig is a jolly companion, Boar, sow, barrow, or gilt --
A pig is a pal, who'll boost your morale, Though mountains may topple and tilt.
When they've blackballed, bamboozled, and burned you, When they've turned on you, Tory and Whig,
Though you may be thrown over by Tabby and Rover, You'll never go wrong with a pig, a pig,
You'll never go wrong with a pig!" -- Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow"