Xbox 360 Wireless Controller will not connect to PC

I am unable to get my Xbox 360 wireless controller to connect to the wireless
receiver under Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit. The wireless controller is
using a standard battery pack. My PC is running a eVga's Nvidia 680i
motherboard, which is controlling the USB ports. The wireless receiver plugs
directly into one of the motherboard's rear USB ports.

If I power the controller on before I turn on (or reboot) the computer, the
controller will connect when Vista boots, but I am unable to play game with
the controller. Launching Solitaire, for example, causes the joystick to
connect and the green light highlights the top left quadrant of the menu
button (1). This sounds good, but I can not control the game...

If I boot up Vista then turn on the controller, all four lights on the menu
button lights blink and never stop. At this point the controller is not
listed in the "Game Controllers" control panel. I can re-sync the controller
to the wireless receiver, but the menu button lights still blink and the
controller will still not show up in the "Game Controllers" control panel.

The very first time I installed this controller, I was able to play
solitaire with it. After a reboot, nothing. I may have used a different USB
port when I moved the receiver to the other side of my desk. Returning the
receiver on the original USB port doesn't help.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi,

If you run msconfig from the search box, is the xbox receiver program
enabled on the startup tab?
Is the receiver's light lit when the system finishes loading?
Dumb question perhaps, but have you tried changing batteries?

Hello,

I have already installed this software, Xbox 360 Accessories Software 1.1
32-bit for Windows Vista. In fact, this is the only driver software that I
have installed & un-installed & re-installed. I never installed the software
that came on the CD.

As a side note. I can occasionally get the controller to work, but when I
play Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six VEGAS the controller will not work, even though
it will work with Solitaire and it does work with the wired 360 controller.
The menu button highlights the #1 position (green light at the top left of
the menu button), but no game control...


Thank you for your assistance.
I am having the same issue with the controller being unable to sync with my wireless receiver. However the controller works fine with my xbox 360. The only time i can get it to sync is right after i reinstall the drivers. After reboot it doesnt work anymore.

The xbox receiver is enabled in msconfig. The light on the receiver is green
and I did try different batteries. :(


I returned the controller to the store and purchased a new one. The new
controller seemed fine at first, but the same problem is back.

[kabo0se]

Hi,

I'm brand new to this forum and joined specifically for the sake of solving this problem. I am having the EXACT same problem as the original poster (controller works at first then stops working, and no amount of install and reinstall fixes it). I have Vista 32-bit and have the most up to date version of the controller and receiver software.

Any help would be appreciated (I have tried the suggested things already).
Thanks

I think I found a temporary fix before it goes on the frits again. Go into device manager and uninstall the driver for the receiver, not all USB ports. Then restart, it should automatically reinstall the drivers needed (while the controller is off) then turn it on and it should work.

Hopes this helps some unlucky souls out there

I have just solved this, I have a EVGA 680i Board with a 6600 @ 3ghz
with 4gb of elixir ram...

My controller worked fine for a few months then one day wouldn't
work...

I reinstalled the OS which made no difference, upgraded to Vista which
again made no difference, the receiver would always work on my laptop
so I knew it wasn't the controller or receiver...

The next culprit was the usb controller, not wanting to replace the
whole board I ordered a PCI usb card 'NEW NEC 5-PORTS USB 2.0 HIGH
SPEED 480MB/S PCI CARD HUB on eBay, also USB Cards, Interface Cards,
Desktop PC Components, Computing (end time 09-Jan-08 19:35:00 GMT)'
(http://search.ebay.co.uk/150202912699)...

As soon as I plugged it in and rebooted the machine the controller
re-synced itself and it works perfectly..

I have seen an article saying that others have found that the wireless
receiver "sucks power" from the usb ports, but i can't find it..

Hope that helps someone!

This solution doesn't seem satisfactory to me. I am experiencing the
same problems, but I don't have the same USB controller the previous
poster, so it would seem logical that the problem isn't the USB
controller. My wireless xbox controller worked fine when I first
tried the receiver, but now that it has been a few days and I've
rebooted a time or two, the light just blinks at me.

Any other ideas? Anyone else still have this problem and don't want
to go buy new hardware?

Hi! Count me in too! I just bought it and it worked like a charm for a reboot
or two. I didn't do any changes to my system and all of a sudden, the
controller doesn't find the receiver and on the top of this it completely
KILLS my Logitech G7 until I reboot my computer without the receiver plugged
in! So apparently this is not only a USB power issue, but ALSO a driver issue
too! It conflicts somehow with ALL Logitech's stuff. But, I ordered a POWERED
USB HUB and if that doesn't help me to get work my 360 Receiver, then I have
NO CLUE what to do anymore! I think this solution should be better than
buying a PCI USB HUB, since that would suck even more power from your PSU.

If the POWERED USB HUB helps me at least on getting this damn thing to work
BUT kills my G7, then I guess I'll just have to buy a Microsoft branded
mouse too. That's OK too, if I'll just get this thing to work!

[Kurobara]

I dual boot XP x86 and Vista x64, but only get this problem under XP. I've re-installed my system a few times since I bought this controller, trying to get it to work, but its always the same. It works in XP for the first few reboots, then just won't work. It can get synched, if I have it switched on as I boot up XP, but even though it might show up in the game controller control panel, nothing works. Under Vista I experience no problems at all, but as we all know performance is diminished, so thats not much good to me. I've tried pressing the buttons to re-synch them, re-installed drivers and software, but nothing works. Haven't found anyway of getting Microsoft to provide any support. Last time I ever buy any of their hardware. I should have known better after buying my Vista Media Center remote. Only works in Vista, and I can't think of any good reason why it shouldn't be supported in XP. Any help would be appreciated.

[Joseamity]

I'm also having the same problem, No amount of re-installing or updating does the trick. I have recently gone back to XP and didn't have these problems under vista as Kurobara has also pointed out.
I had an issue a while back with a wireless logitech mouse which would stop working when the the xbox controller device was plugged in, this i believe was identified as a driver conflict between the logitech driver and the driver for the xbox wireless controller, There was no solution to the problem so I have recently got a microsoft desktop 7000 (think thats the right name!!) mouse & keyboard, initially they worked fine with the xbox360 controller however the issue with the controller connecting seemed to start after the mouse/keyboard drivers where updated. Just wondering if you other guys here who are still having the problem also have wireless mice or keyboards and if this could be another driver conflict?

[Underground London]

Hi, have you downloaded the drivers from the Microsoft website? Maybe you have already but I was browsing to find a solution myself. I have an xbox controller for windows (windows xp service pack 3) - it works fine. It came with the receiver needed to connect to the pc wirelessly. My question is can I use a standard xbox wireless controller with the wireless xbox for windows gaming receiver?

Any help appreciated.

Regards.

I'm not trying to be a smart... @$$... but have you all considered just
getting the wired controller?? How far away are you from your computers
that you need wireless??

Also... someone said that they can get it working, but then it doesn't
work in their (insert name) game... have you gone into the games control
settings and enabled controllers or mapped the movements you want to the
controller? Most games won't 'auto detect' an Xbox controller and auto
map the buttons for you... you'll have to do that on your own.

I know this didn't help much... but I use the wired (non-wireless) xbox
controller on my laptop and Vista with no issues.

[Bioq]

Hey guys, I spent a good chunk of this afternoon trying to fix this exact same problem. Eventually I had to use the front panel usb ports not the rear IO panel ones for the fix. I think other USB device interference was my problem. Here's what I did:

First of all make sure you have everything uninstalled including software and drivers(to completely get rid of the drivers: plug in the wireless receiver, go to device manager, find "xbox 360 wireless receiver for windows" in microsoft common controller tab > properties > driver tab > uninstall > check the delete software box > OK, unplug wireless receiver) and make sure the receiver is unplugged.

Then I installed the drivers for vista32 from the microsoft site(v1.1) (obviously this step is OS dependent)

Restart computer then click "Check for Updates" in the "all programs" list under the xbox 360 accessories menu (There weren't any updates when I did it and it's working but by the time you read this post they might have changed something)

Restart again and before logging in plug in the receiver to a USB port that isn't on the rear IO panel and wait for it to figure out its drivers and what not (whether or not you log in or not first might not matter, this is just what I did)

I could then sync the controller to the receiver, log into the computer and check Game controllers in the control panel and see if the controller is giving input, I had to restart once more with the receiver still plugged in to get it to work finally. Now it's working as intended.

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I was able to get the controller and receiver synced up using the rear IO panel USB ports once by unplugging all my other USB devices during boot. But once I plugged in my Razer keyboard and Mouse the controller pooped on itself and wouldn't give input or resync.

Hope this helps.

Specs:
OS: vista 32bit home
wireless receiver software: vista32 v1.1 from microsoft.com
wireless receiver driver: stock from the device(i assume) date: 2/15/07(???)
Razer tarantula driver v2.1 firmware v2.0
Razer death adder driver v1.09 firmware v1.21
all USB ports were 2.0

[kurohana456]

why dont you try controlmk go to this url
it lets you configure controls on the controller so that it does stuff that you want it to. also read some of this not all its really long and boring download the latest version (it also works on vista. i know cause i tried it and im using it)
when you finish downloading, make sure the controller is plugged in and turned on and connected,
click refresh then click the arrow pointing down and look for the one you're gonna configure. make sure its highlited, click add then beside profiles there should be an arrow pointing to the right, click in that and click add and type in any name. for example: xbox, pc, controller. go to control panel and look up the properties of your controller and find out exactly what they are.
on control mk the buttons should be 1 less than what they are on the properties. click on the control to edit what it does it should be able to do alot of things. when your done save it and if you want to use it minimize or leave controlmk alone. if you dont want to use it, close it or exit it. after that your pretty much done. you can make one of the joystick things the mouse, and make the buttons mouse buttons or keyboard buttons or commands
hint: z axis- is right trigger on a 360 c0ntroller and z axis + is left trigger.

yea i would just get the wired controller, the wireless reciever sucks some power. But then again, what doesnt these days
ps my previous one was made by my friend who i let use my account

[rakeon]

Hey i sort of have the same problem i have a wireless controller connected to my computer via a play and charge cable my computer recognizes it but i dont think my controller recognizes my my pc ive got xp sp 3 and ive installed the hardware from the ms website please help

[poolcue]

I got an xbox 360 wireless receiver for windows. I have Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit. When I plugged the receiver in, windows couldn't find a driver. So I installed the driver software from the CD that came with it, but I still had an "Unknown Device" in Device Manager. So I tried the latest one from the Microsoft Site (version 1.20.146.0). Still the same. At this point I also tried pairing my controller with me receiver, but it would just have a connection error and flash constantly. I tried a number of methods to update the driver using the files I downloaded from the above Microsoft site, to no avail. My Vista 64 just wouldn't recognize the driver files. So here is the exact process that worked for me:
Uninstall any drivers you've tried to install already - go to device manager and uninstall the driver for the "unknown device" (which is just uninstalling the device really, seeing there is no driver) and also uninstall any driver software through control panel. LEAVE THE DEVICE PLUGGED IN.
Restart PC.
Download and install the latest driver from the Microsoft Site.
Restart PC.
Go to device manager - you'll notice it still shows up as an unknown device. Right click on it and go Update Driver.
Click "Browse my vomputer for software".
Click "Let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer".
The list will take a while to load. Select Microsoft, then on the right, select Xbox Wireless Receiver for Windows (there might be multiple versions, go with what looks like the most recent one - mine was 2.1.0.1349) and click next. It will warn you about possible incompatibility, install it anyway.
It will ask you to restart. Do it.
Once restarted, go to device manager and you should notice a new slot - "Microsoft Common Controller for Windows Class", and under it, "Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver for Windows". Yay!
Now try pairing your controller with the receiver. Click the button on the receiver, then hold the big xbox button on the controller until it turns on and press the very small "connect" button on the forward side of the controller (the side with the triggers), while the receiver light is still flashing. Your controller light should spin for a fraction of a second and then Sync up and the first quadrant should stay lit. Yay! (if not, some people have had success by unplugging their USB devices and restarting and plugging in just the receiver first, then it syncs, then try their other USB devices again).

Hope I just did what Microsoft can't - help you :)
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This is not my post, I'm just spreading the word,

Spoondog is the genius.

Join & thank him WHEN it works for you.

Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver