Why does Windows 10 only recognize one gamepad at a time?
December 25, 2022 4:42 AM Subscribe
My son asked for gamepads as a holiday gift to play games on my computer with friends. Both connect just fine to the computer on their own, through both USB ports. However, when they're both connected, Windows 10 only accepts inputs from one gamepad at a time, whichever one was plugged in first. If both are plugged in, and I unplug the one that's working, Windows immediately starts accepting inputs from the other one. I thought maybe that Windows was only turning one USB port on at a time, so I went into Device Manager and turned power management off for the USB ports, but that didn't work. How do I solve this?
In case it matters, these are Hama uRage Vendetta 210 controllers.
In case it matters, these are Hama uRage Vendetta 210 controllers.
Response by poster: I’ve tried several games as well as a gamepad testing website, all with the same result.
posted by Kattullus at 6:27 AM on December 25, 2022
posted by Kattullus at 6:27 AM on December 25, 2022
According to the link you shared, the Hama uRage Vendetta 210 has a mode button that "switches between D input and X input mode" (referring to DirectInput, an older Windows interface for game controllers, and XInput, the current interface supported by most modern controllers).
As noted here, "the XInput API supports up to four controllers connected at any time", which is consistent with my own experience (every once in a while I use four Logitech F310 gamepads with my Windows 10 computer to play local multiplayer games with my family).
However, as you've observed, Windows 10's controller support isn't particularly robust; I've had similar problems with my own use of four controllers.
For what it's worth, I'd suggest trying the following:
posted by CahootsMalone at 6:57 AM on December 25, 2022 [2 favorites]
As noted here, "the XInput API supports up to four controllers connected at any time", which is consistent with my own experience (every once in a while I use four Logitech F310 gamepads with my Windows 10 computer to play local multiplayer games with my family).
However, as you've observed, Windows 10's controller support isn't particularly robust; I've had similar problems with my own use of four controllers.
For what it's worth, I'd suggest trying the following:
- If your computer has more than two USB ports, try plugging the gamepads into different combinations of ports. If your computer has a mix of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, ensure you try ports of both types. Based on my own experience, I suspect some motherboards group USB ports in such a way that the ports in each group can only supply enough power for one gamepad.
- If you have a USB hub that uses an external power supply (i.e., it plugs into a wall outlet rather than relying on the computer for power), try connecting that to your computer and plugging the gamepads into it.
- You've probably already done this, but it can't hurt to restart the computer after the gamepads are configured and/or check for driver updates.
- Try searching for solutions on https://superuser.com and https://gaming.stackexchange.com (may yield more relevant results than using a search engine).
posted by CahootsMalone at 6:57 AM on December 25, 2022 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: As far as I've been able to figure out, Windows is unable to recognize the two gamepads as separate entities, but I haven't been able to find a Windows application that lets me check to see if that's true, or just find an application that allows me to manage multiple controllers.
Anyway, I'll keep working on it.
posted by Kattullus at 10:55 AM on December 25, 2022
Anyway, I'll keep working on it.
posted by Kattullus at 10:55 AM on December 25, 2022
Whatever the issue, it's definitely possible for it to work. I've used multiple controllers to play Overcooked and Overcooked 2 among other things, though never directly connected to the computer since I always play with Gamestream or on GeForce Now.
Even in the days of gameport game pads Windows could understand port a and port b. I also had multiple game controllers (well, all but one were things that presented as USB game controllers, one was an actual game controller with an orientation sensor( on my pinball machine that ran Windows XP back then there was a screen in the properties dialog of the gamepad that would show what buttons/axes the controller had and what buttons it thought were being pressed Looking at that might help you figure out whether the confusion is happening at the lowest level or somewhere farther up the stack.
posted by wierdo at 1:49 PM on December 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
Even in the days of gameport game pads Windows could understand port a and port b. I also had multiple game controllers (well, all but one were things that presented as USB game controllers, one was an actual game controller with an orientation sensor( on my pinball machine that ran Windows XP back then there was a screen in the properties dialog of the gamepad that would show what buttons/axes the controller had and what buttons it thought were being pressed Looking at that might help you figure out whether the confusion is happening at the lowest level or somewhere farther up the stack.
posted by wierdo at 1:49 PM on December 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Opening up the Windows gamepad calibrator gives the same result, each controller works just fine on its own, and in both USB ports, but only one works when both gamepads are plugged in at the same time.
I downloaded USB Device Tree Viewer. When I plug the first gamepad in, I can watch it get assigned to port 2 on one of the USB hubs as “Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows - HID”, and when I plug the other in, at first it’s identified as “Nintendo Pro controller - HID” port 2 of the other hub and then it vanishes. If I then unplug the recognized gamepad, the other one immediately appears as “Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows - HID”.
Still stuck, but at least I can see the problem happening, so that’s something.
posted by Kattullus at 3:22 PM on December 25, 2022
I downloaded USB Device Tree Viewer. When I plug the first gamepad in, I can watch it get assigned to port 2 on one of the USB hubs as “Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows - HID”, and when I plug the other in, at first it’s identified as “Nintendo Pro controller - HID” port 2 of the other hub and then it vanishes. If I then unplug the recognized gamepad, the other one immediately appears as “Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller for Windows - HID”.
Still stuck, but at least I can see the problem happening, so that’s something.
posted by Kattullus at 3:22 PM on December 25, 2022
fyi, not sure if totally relevant, since at least one of your controllers works at a time - buuut - I use DS4 Windows to use a PS4 controller on my pc. However, it supports other controllers as well. (They also have a nice troubleshooting page once you crank it up, YMMV)
Ds4 Windows page, free download & supported controller info
good luck : )
posted by bitterkitten at 5:23 PM on December 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
Ds4 Windows page, free download & supported controller info
good luck : )
posted by bitterkitten at 5:23 PM on December 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I am not a gamepad expert of any sort, but from experience with some other kinds of hardware, this sounds like an identification problem to me - it sounds like Windows is recognizing both of them as the _same_ device. Is there any way - switches, setup, something - to change the identity of one of the controllers? I looked at the manual, and it says you have to press the 'Home' key whenever you plug it in, maybe that sets up the identity?
posted by TimHare at 7:45 PM on December 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by TimHare at 7:45 PM on December 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Yes! As long as I use the home button to switch one of them to “directinput” and leave the other on “xinput”, then Windows recognizes them as separate devices. Thank you, TimHare, for saving Christmas!
posted by Kattullus at 11:18 PM on December 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Kattullus at 11:18 PM on December 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by kschang at 6:17 AM on December 25, 2022 [1 favorite]