GA-7IX and joystick "not connected"

I recently upgraded my system to a GA-7IX main board running an Athlon 550. I put in a SB512 sound board also. Everything else is from my old system.

The problem is that I can't get my joystick recongnized. In control panel>joystick icon I get the MS Sidewinder 3D Pro listed, but under "status" there's a "not connected".

I've done all of the obvious things like removing and reinstalling the joystick, but nothing. I've been the MS site for input devices>joysticks and d/led the updated drivers for the js. I d/led the patch that was supposed to fix my exact problem, but nada....

A computer tech friend of mine said that he had the same problem and fixed it by using a different version Gigabyte main board. Is that what I'm going to have to do or is there a "fix" out there that I don't know about?

Any help would be appreciated...Mike