This makes owning a Xbox 360 Controller for a PC super cool! So, I bought a wired Xbox 360 controller & had a bitter-sweet initial experience. To begin with, Windows 7 detected it out-of-the-box & showed the X360 controller icon in Device Stage for a couple of days (now shows a generic controller). Then adding to the pain was that Call of Duty 5 doesn’t support controllers & neither does CoD4. But, this makes up for it. Now I have complete customizable control over my PC via the Xbox 360 controller. Here’s how:
At the heart of this operation is a software called Xpadder. God knows who wrote it, but boy if I were to meet him, beer’s on me. So, go get yourself Xpadder:
Once you have the magic begins.When you run it, click on the wrench that’s been highlighted to get the configuration ‘pink’ window:
NOTE: Windows 7 folks will need to setup Compatibility, right click ‘Troubleshoot compatibility’ … should take care of it.
The pink window is where we setup the layout of the Xbox 360 Controller for the PC. The tabs that we’ll be concentrating on are:
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Sticks
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DPad
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Buttons
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Triggers
Use the following Xbox 360 Controller image as reference for what should be Stick 1, Stick 2 & what’s the Dpad, Buttons & Triggers:
Back in the pink window:
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Go to Sticks
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‘Enable’ Stick 1
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Follow the onscreen instructions
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Repeat the steps for Stick 2, Dpad & Triggers
Buttons is a bit tricky, so here’s what you do:
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Go to the Buttons tab
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Click ‘A’ on your Xbox Controller & reposition it on the screen like it is on your Controller.
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Repeat this for rest of the buttons.
Once done, you pink screen should look something like this:
Finish –> Close
The main screen should be something like this:
Now, we configure what button does what. To do this:
Click on the wrench near the Stick 1 & select Mouse –> Normal
The wrench for the Dpad –> Arrow Keys
Wrench for Stick 2 –> Whatever you like
For the rest of buttons, click on the buttons & you’ll be greeted with the following screen (you can even make the controller rumble when keys are pressed):
Choose what button you want should do what. And you’re done. This is what my configuration is like:
All you’re left with is to save the setup, click on the highlighted part & save it. Also, set Xpadder to start with Windows from its settings.
Game on!
August 28th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Saving this post for sure… I will need it in the near future buddy. Great effort.
August 29th, 2009 at 1:19 am
Sweet, will try this once I get back to Chennai, my X360 controller has been gathering dust for the past 9 months
September 3rd, 2009 at 12:57 am
Can this controller be used as a remote to control Media Centers like Windows Media Center or XBMC Media Center? Please confirm and tell…
September 9th, 2009 at 5:46 am
Fantastic i now use my controller on call of duty 5 and world at war, well pleased ace work dude !
September 9th, 2009 at 5:46 am
Call of duty 4 even doh !
October 14th, 2009 at 4:47 am
Thanks a bunch for writing the guide and thanks to the programmer for Xpadder. This is amazing. Bought the controller also for cod 5 and cod 4 + nhl 10.
Nhl aint coming for pc and the others cant get em to work with the controller but this makes it more than worth
October 15th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
My friend, u just changed my life
)) This application rocks! Even in Windows 7 ! I wish u well !
October 15th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
@Linus & @Gabi N. Thank you for taking out the time to drop a comment. Glad you found it useful
November 6th, 2009 at 1:44 am
My son uses Xpadder for Cod4, but for Cod5 he uses the console command
/exec default_controller.cfg
which sets the Xbox controller to exactly the same as the default Xbox settings.Look in Cod5’s options to enable the console.The Xbox controller works now automatically each time he plays the game…I use a K&M
November 6th, 2009 at 1:48 am
The console command came out with the 1.5 patch i think
November 6th, 2009 at 2:16 am
interesting. Thanks for the tip… I’ll look into it. Appreciate it
December 30th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
hey. im having problems. i have windows 7 and i dont see where i troubleshoot the program for the compatibility thing. can you please help me?
December 30th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Hi jared,
You need to right click on the setup & you will get the option – Troubleshoot compatibility. Then from there select: “Try recommended settings”
January 30th, 2010 at 4:35 am
I searched all day for a solution to my controller problem, and this was the answer I needed. I’m using a “Hori” made Horipad ex2 turbo joy that’s licenced by Microsoft. I originally tried to use the “Motionjoy” program to get my PS3 joy to run on my Windows 7 based P.C. It only worked for a little while, and was a major hassle to use. Xpadder on the other hand, is a “joy”, to use!
January 30th, 2010 at 4:38 am
And for anyone who may be wondering, my Operating System is 64 bit, and I’ve used the Xpadder with Crysis and Mass Effect 2 with no problems. LOVE IT…
January 30th, 2010 at 9:22 am
Glad the guide helped you