Game Plugs

Cannibalizing game port from old computer to use on new computer? Can it be done easily?

My joystick has a game port plug in, and my new computer doesn't have a game port. Can the old computer's game port be cannibalized and installed onto the new computer? Or should I just suck it up and get a usb joystick and be done with it? There's only one game I play on PC that needs the flight sim joystick, and it just seems silly to purchase a new joystick for one game.

Public Comments

1. Yes but you might need drivers for that old port.
2. If you are reasonably handy, it's no big trick to transplant the game card. The big question is, are the operating systems the same? If they are not, you need to find drivers for the game card under the new O/S.
3. Game ports are pretty generic and will more than likely be easily recognized by the OS. It certainly won't hurt to just swap it over....the worst that can happen is Windows won't know what it is.
4. Most aboveboard game ports were on cards that used the ISA bus. Modern computers do not have an ISA bus. Should your game port card use a PCI bus, then your only concern is if the card's manufacturer has drivers available for your version of Windows.