Testing joystick on XP - Why is movement registered when centered?

Question

I have a USB 2 Thrustmaster joystick connected to a PC running Windows XP SP 3. I have been testing the joystick using Control Panel->Game Controllers->Properties. However, I find that sometimes (not always), the testing cross-hair moves slightly (judders by a few pixels) when the joystick is in the central position. Does this mean that the joystick is faulty, or is some occasional movement of the cross-hair perhaps normal when the joystick is in a central position?

I've tried recalibrating several times within XP, but this has not made any difference.

Thanks.

Answer 1

I've had a few of Thrustmaster analog sticks (and wheels) in my life, and based on those this is unfortunately "usual".

Also based on the ones I've had, it will probably continue to get worse as years pass.

A couple of them started leaning permanently in one direction, just slightly, regardless of how many times the software was recalibrated.

Sometimes there are settings that allow you to set a bigger 'dead zone' in the centre that can help, but over the years I found those usually were implemented in the games themselves, and not very often.