My Microsoft Side Winder game pad won run with Windows XP. Why?
First off which side winder game pad do you own? If you own the type that has a game port then that one isn’t compatible with Windows XP and last we knew Microsoft isn’t going to update the drivers for that game pad. If you have the sidewinder gamepad with the USB plug then try downloading new drivers and try again. If your still have issues then I recommend you return it where you got it.