MCG Pro Twist - brake, twist, and analog sticks not recognized

[Hollandex]

Just got my Mk.III MCG Pro Twist in today. I updated the firmware, clicked the DEFAULT button in VKBDevCfg, and then went on to Calibration. The very first calibration worked fine but I forgot to calibration the analog stick. So, I entered calibration again and, from this point forward, the analog stick, twist, and brake level all stopped registering with the software. So now, my $400 stick only has X and Y axes. To make matters worse, when I check the buttons, only about half of them are registering with the software.

So, here I am, with a $400 stick that has 2 axes and about 5 buttons available. I tried reflashing the firmware, clicking that DEFAULT button, and doing calibration numerous times now. No joy. I also opened the stick up to see if any plugs came loose but they all seem to be in place.

Any thoughts before I ask for a refund?

[fallout9]

There's no need to flash a brand new joystick. Post a screenshot with Profile/Axes charts.

[Hollandex]

I had a feeling it wasn't necessary since VKBDevCfg showed the same version. But I figured it couldn't hurt since issues were happening.

FWIW, if I plug it into a different USB port, it starts to work again. And then it stops working as before. I've also tried uninstalling the "HID-compliant game controller" and "USB Input Device" drivers for the stick, deleting zconfig.ini, rebooting, and trying again. But no luck. Once it begins failing on a USB port, it forever fails on that USB port.

[fallout9]

There's something blocking it, like a third party software you've installed. Do you have another computer available to test?

[Hollandex]

I'm not sure what it would be. This is literally a brand new computer. I've installed 3 games and the necessary drivers for my monitors/keyboard/mouse/speakers.

[fallout9]

Some third party drivers are interfering sometimes with VKB's native software. If you don't have another computer/laptop around try to boot in safe mode and try again.

[Hollandex]

It seems to work fine in Safe Mode. At this point, should I reinstall all the drivers for all my USB devices and see if that helps? It's just my keyboard, mouse, and headset.

[fallout9]

Take it step by step, install one by one and find out which one's blocking it.
FYI some other users reported random conflicts with Razer, Aorus and Logitech software. It's not happening in all cases though, it's pretty random.

[Hollandex]

I've reinstalled every driver I can think of. Still no luck with the stick functioning properly for any extended period of time.

Edit: I just tried uninstalling drivers, one by one. None of them made the stick work. So I reinstalled drivers, one by one. Still doesn't work.

At best, I can reboot into safe mode (which makes it work again) then reboot back into regular Windows. At that point, the stick works again and I can calibrate it and use it. Until I unplug it and plug it back in. Then it's busted again until I do the whole safe mode thing again.

Clearly it's not playing nice with something but I still have no idea what. It's not the drivers for any of my other USB devices.

[fallout9]

Use the joystick on another computer, that would confirm the issue is coming from either your computer or from the joystick.

[Hollandex]

I don't have another computer to try this on. Just this one.

[fallout9]

Open VKBDevCfg while NOT in Safe mode, navigate to Global, then External, then External Devices (on the left side). Click on the base name (just beside the External Devices tab) and click on the Stat button in the lower left side. Arrange the new window next to the main VKBDevCfg window, take a screenshot with both windows visible and post it here. Do the same for the grip - click on the name of your grip, then click on Stat and post that screenshot too.