The mysterious "Creative Gameport" device, again

WH4K

Banned
Very recently, I switched to Windows 7, with the hardware listed in my profile System Spec.

A few times, the "Action Center" has alerted me to a problem with a "Creative Gameport" device not having a driver. In Device Manager, it shows up as a "PCI device" without a driver.

My research suggests that this is a fairly common issue for those using somewhat older Creative sound cards. Apparently, there is no driver for the device; Creative/MS simply dropped support for the gameport device with Windows 7. Some writers were quite irate, as they really wanted to use their gameport in Windows 7.

Thing is, my Audigy 2 ZS doesn't actually have a gameport. I'm pretty sure I know what a gameport would look like, because I previously owned the older SoundBlaster cards that definitely had the old-school, multi-pin joystick connectors (SB Pro, SB AWE 32).

That isn't the case with the Audigy 2 ZS. There simply is no physical connector for a joystick, aka "gameport." All I have are the various 1/8" audio jacks and a FireWire connector (probably for some add-on device I didn't buy).

So what's the deal here?

It's of largely academic interest at this point. W7's Action Center used to bug me about finding a driver for the "Creative Gameport," but I think it finally gave up. I'm still curious why W7 thinks there's a device there that isn't.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Homebuilt
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500
Motherboard
Asus P5E3 WS Pro
Memory
4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz (2 x 2 GB DIMM)
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX+
Sound Card
Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Monitor(s) Displays
NEC AccuSync 120 21" CRT, Samsung BX2440X 24" LCD
Screen Resolution
1600x1200 CRT, 1920x1080 LCD
Hard Drives
Various and sundry SATA I/II HDDs
PSU
850 W
Case
Lancool PC-K7B
Cooling
Standard fans & heatsink
Keyboard
Saitek Eclipse II, Nostromo n52
Mouse
Logitech MX 310
Internet Speed
20 Mbit cable
Other Info
Recently added: NEC/Renesas µPD720200 USB 3.0 card on PCI Express 2.0 1x slot
Your sound card may contain a connector to add a creative game port, my old Audigy 2 had a separate game port slot so the card could take up two PCI slots or you could take it out.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit
CPU
Intel i7 [email protected] Ghz
Motherboard
Asus P8P67 PRO
Memory
G.SKILL Sniper Series 16 GB DDR3 1866Mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia Evga GTX 570, Nvidia Evga GTX 550ti (Fermi)
Sound Card
HT | OMEGA STRIKER 7.1
Monitor(s) Displays
Asus ML228H (1080p LED), 2X DELL 1708FP
Screen Resolution
1080/1920 - Asus 1280/1024 - Dell
Hard Drives
2 TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
750 GB Western Digital Caviar 7200rpm
500 GB HP Pocket Media Drive 5400rpm
250 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
200 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
200 GB Western Digital Caviar 7200rpm
160 GB Western Digital Velicirapto
PSU
Corsair Professional Series Gold AX850 850WATT
Case
NZXT Alpha Black Steel ATX Mid Tower (Window)
Cooling
Cooler Master Hyper N 520
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