Thank you, gentlemen, for your responses. I did go online immediately to look for drivers and it's as p14u2nv said; XP is supposed to read the stick as found new software, but it did not. I should note here that this is a Top Gun Thrustmaster I found at the Salvation Army for less than 3 USD, so I'm now inclined to believe that either the stick or the USB adapter is defective. I should also note that my old MS Sidewinder doesn't work under my current OS either, and those drivers come pre-loaded. I could be that I have to do something in Device Manager that I'm not doing; this is the message I get; that the peripherral is improperly set up - consult Device Manager. I'm using a 20 USD Saitek right now that's completely reliable, but the MS and the Thrustmaster both feel better in my hand (I have some major callouses) than the Saitek.
One other thing: I've had a Logitech XP two times now, and I loved it for three to four weeks, after which it refused to hold a calibration. Has anyone else had this experience? If so, has Logitech done anything about it? I know other games have complained about it on the net, but I wanted to hear from other CFS2 people about the matter.
JAMES