Vista - Sidewinder Mouse macros not working

OK. First off I had the exact same problem with Habu which is why I bought
the Sidewinder (thinking it was the only way to 'resolve' the issue with the
Habu). Sadly the Sidewinder is less functional... Here is the issue:

Brand new top of line Vista machine and I played with time increments to
rule out the "too quick" issue. With Habu mouse, only single key macros can
be replayed in game (all macros replay normally outside of games) all other
macros do *nothing*.

With Sidewinder mouse all my macros play normally outside games but inside a
game NONE work (not even single key macros). So this works less than the
Habu.

I tried support, for the Habu it was a dead end and for the Sidewinder, it
feels like staring at a wall before you even started (no means to communicate
with support just links to pick from and my issues isn't in any of them).

Being an employee I even tried internal links but in vain...

Can anybody help??? I suspect some kind of all school conflict but removing
other USB devices isn't helping.

I don't know where to turn anymore and I'd rather not solve the issue by
buying a Logitech mouse.