Use the charge cable on X360 wireless pads w/ a PC?r

I heard that the wired ones could be plugged into the PC, wasnt sure if this combo would work as well, and where you could download the drivers…

Sam

Yep, it works just like the wired pads do. As long as you’ve got the play and charge kit, you can plug your pad into your PC with it.

You get the drivers from the same place you get them for the wired controller. Windows Update has 'em, or when Win XP detects a new device and asks if it should search online for drivers, just say “yes.”

Cool! new pc gamepad!

Bonus! Thanks for the confirmation.

Sam

Also - I’ve only tried this with the wired pad, but it should work with the wireless + P&C kit as well:

If you plug your Live headset (or any headset with that little jack size, like a cell phone headset) into the controller, the drivers recognize it and you can use the mic and earpiece. Pretty groovy.

OK, I installed the software but it still is not recognizing this device. In my hardware manager it keeps coming up as USB Device and nothing I do will get it to recognize any drivers.

I have gone to control panel and tried to add controller, but it does not list the 360 controller in there, even tho the supplied documentationsays it should.

When I connect it to the PC, the red led lights up, but a ‘bonk bonk’ bad connection sounds is played, if that helps at all…

Sam

Try updating your directx. We’re using them for development, and we had some issues that were related to not having the latest DX version. MS told us that updating DX would automatically install the drivers.

Of course, it didn’t actually work that way… but maybe it will for you.

I went to download Direct X tonight, and now all of a sudden Microsoft wants me to install an Active X ‘bug’ so that I can prove that I own Windows XP in order to f’ing download it?

That is batshit insane. I’m tempted to go steal some MS software to thank them for treating me as if I was a thief when I am not. I havent stolen anything in the last 20 years and am probably the only person in my entire circle of friends with reciepts for every piece of software in my possession, but goddamit I’m tired of this shit. And Active X of all things for them to use, that is bullshit, its like rubbing your face in it that they dont even care about security.

Sam

An ActiveX component made & signed by Microsoft is as good as any preinstalled OS component. “ActiveX” is just another packaging format for an executable, it doesn’t mean this executable will immediately download all viruses on the intarweb…

Just get the ActiveX control. WindowsUpdate is already just an ActiveX
control, so this is an update to the update. You could also just set automatic
updates to notify you.

I prefer the web-based update when downloading programs I might want
to keep the installer for.

I don’t think the wireless controllers work on the PC because of this:

And it says right in the documentation that while charging it still communicates with the Xbox 360 via wireless signal.

– Xaroc

Thank you Xaroc, there is so much confusion on this issue its good to have confirmation that I am not just stuck, that its not intended to work that way.

Sam

Seriously, all this seems like a huge hassle to go through. Just buy a wired 360 controller and that way you have a PC gamepad and another controller for your friends to use all without the hassle and risk of trying to make $70 worth of stuff do something it’s not designed for.

I never used a gamepad with a PC before, but does the Xbox 360 one really make it feel like you’re playing a console game? Not sure how to explain it but basically I was just about to start Thief 3 on the Xbox, but I also have the PC version. Anyway, playing with the S Controller feels a lot better to me with this game but my PC will probably perform better and I heard the XBox version can’t really change difficulty levels. Would the 360 controller really give me the best of both worlds?

all this seems like a huge hassle to go through.

What hassle? I already have 2 wireless controllers, 2 rechargeable batteries and the cable for use on the 360, if downloading free drivers would allow it to work on the PC as well, bonus. The 360 controller is one of the best I’ve ever used, dual purposing it for the PC would be great, but I’ll be damned if I will spend $50 for a wired version just for the PC, I simply dont play enough games on the PC that demand it, San Andreas being the only one off the top of my head that I can think of.

Sam

To answer the original question: The wireless controller will not work with a PC even with the play and charge kit. That just charges the batteries.

Yeah, you still don’t have the wireless receiver which is built into the X360 itself.

I keep reading this thread titles as “Use the charge cable on X360 wireless pads w/ a PCjr”.

That would be an impressive hack, however.

Yeah, it’s just that the wireless protocol has to do with >20 channel hopping with learning heuristics. The charge and play cable helps with docking a controller to a console, but for game data it is entirely wireless. It powers, negotiates and docks, but that’s it.

Well, then why name it the fucking Charge and PLAY cable, when it doesnt, in any form, affect, effect, improve, enable or enhance the play and all it does is charge!?!?!