How to Use a Playstation 3 Gamepad in Windows 7

This tidbeat is a repost from a very helpful guide I have used to configure my Playstation 3 gamepad to work on my PC. Credit is due to the people at hardcoreware.net for this very useful tutorial!

Now you might ask me why I want to use an incompatible controller on a windows PC and not just buy a wireless gamepad like this one or an Xbox 360 controller (which, after all, is a Microsoft product, and I'm using a Microsoft PC!), or just play with wires? Well, 4 things. One, I like the grip of PS3 gamepad. Two, I'm tired of wires. Three, I don't want to replace batteries. And lastly, I already have a PS3! Now why would I want to buy another gamepad just to play on my PC?

If you google this specfic tutorial, there will be lots of websites offering recipes on how to make the gamepad work on the ps3 (whether wired or wireless). I've tried most of them (especially the wired 'how to' during that instance), but most of the time I ended up with a dud. When i tried to configure it wirelessly, downloading necessary drivers, i almost ended up with an inoperative USB port (good thing I was able to recover it). So after another round of googling (i didn't give up. Because there are many ways i will be able to use the gamepad on a PC!), I stumbled upon hardcoreware.net's guide. Though it was intended for windows 7/Vista 64bit users, it worked for common 32bit users as well. So down below is their how to tutorial, the way I used it.

The Ingredients:

1. A Playstation 3 controller
2. MotionInJoy's Driver
3. A Bluetooth USB dongle (Optional, if you want to go wireless. Don't use the internal bluetooth if your using a laptop as it may mess up your laptop drivers. You've been warned).
4. An internet connection (I will explain later).

MotionInJoy by the way is the company that created these drivers for us to enjoy our PS3 gamepads on a PC. Based in Shenzen, China, their program is the heart and soul of this endeavor. Without it, you can't just pair the gamepad on the PC and expect it to work outright.

Download the Driver

• You can download the install program from their website here. The most recent version as of this writing is 0.6.0005.
(direct download via their website for Win XP/Vista/7 32bit here)

Plug in the PS3 gamepad via USB

Photo Credit to hardcoreware.net

Plug in your PS3 gamepad your PC's USB port. Windows will install their basic drivers so it will be able to recognize the device. But this will still not operate the gamepad. 

Install the MotionInJoy Driver

• Run the .exe file inside the zip file and it will install itself inside the program files directory by default. When prompted to run or trust the software, just click 'yes'  or 'install'. Once done, open the DS3 Tool.

Configuring the Program

• This is the point where you will need an internet connection. This is because the USB drivers is not included in the zip package. You will need to download the driver using the program you just installed.
• Click on the Driver Manager link. With the PS3 gamepad still connected to the PC, the USB drivers will show up below the instructions (if it doesn't show up, you can click on the 'refresh list' button). Coincidentally, you can also plug in a compatible bluetooth usb dongle so that the DS3 Tool will also locate the compatible drivers for it on their server.

my bluetooth's driver is currently shown

• Click on the tick box of the drivers and click 'load driver'. Any prompts to install must be Ok'd. The server will now download the corresponding files needed to run the gamepad.

in this case, i downloaded and loaded the driver for my bluetooth

• Once the gamepad drivers are installed, your gamepad should not be blinking. This is an indication that it is working, and the controller will be recognized via the game controller window as "Motioninjoy Virtual Game Controller". It now works, but not entirely. Directional controls and buttons are operational, but there's no analog controls and dual shock.

Photo Credit to hardcoreware.net

Photo Credit to hardcorware.net

Enabling Dual Shock and Analog Controls

• Click on Home, and your PS3 gamepad should show up on the 'Connected Game Controllers' option. If it doesn't show up, you might need to exit the DS3 Tool and start it again. You might also need to reload the drivers again if the problem persists.
• Select one mode on the options below (obviously, the PS3) and click enable.

• You can test the dual shock by clicking the 'Vibration Testing' button, and the 'Game Controller Panel' button to verify you have Sixaxis working on your gamepad. Your PS3 gamepad is now ready for play!

The sixaxis working

Offline (Local) Mode

curse my ISP connection!

Since the DS3 Tool main page is website based, it means that it needs an internet connection to be seen. So what happens if you don't have an internet connection? Then you have lost the 'Enable', 'Vibration Testing' and 'Game Controller Panel' buttons. You might be able to have the gamepad work, but it feels like playing blind. So will you give up using the gamepad when there's no internet? You don't need to! Here's the solution.

We are very lucky that the guys at hardcoreware.net have developed a working offline version of the Motioninjoy drivers. Just extract the folder from the zip file and then copy the folder to your Program Files\MotioninJoy\ds3 folder. You can download the zip file through their website here. I know it says for x64, but it still work with x86 (32 bit) windows PCs.

Offline mode will work assuming that the drivers you need are already downloaded and installed (when you had an internet connection). All you have to do is click on Local and the page will load up as if you're online.

Wireless (Bluetooth) Mode

This is where the wireless fun begins. Of course you don't want to play wired right? You only want to do that when you need to play and charge your PS3 gamepad. Take note though that not all bluetooth dongles work in tandem with MotioninJoy. You can check MotioninJoy's bluetooth compatibility page here. Others not included here might be able to work, so don't be afraid to experiment. I got mine from CD-R King and it's working nicely.

It is also not advisable if you're using MotioninJoy on a laptop to use the laptop's own internal bluetooth as it may cause unknown problems. The drivers downloaded by the DS3 Tool might overwrite the original files of that bluetooth. Hey, better be safe than sorry right? So just use an external USB bluetooth dongle.

• You will still need to follow the guide, and make sure the bluetooth is also plugged in so that when you download the drivers, the bluetooth will also be recognized.
• After setting up the gamepad, click on 'Bluetooth Pair', and the bluetooth plugged in will show up on the page.

• The gamepad shoud also be plugged in so that the bluetooth pair page will show the dongle and the PS3 controller. Once both are shown, all you have to do is to click the 'Pair Now' button and under the Dualshock 3 the word 'paired' will show (as seen on the picture above). You can now disconnect the wire and reconfigure the gamepad on the homepage. That's it! Welcome to wireless gaming on your PC!

Here is a video with me trying to play nba 2k12 with one hand on the gamepad and the other on the camera. And it's tough! But at least it shows that you can play wirelessly! :)



Whew! This is one long archived tidBeAT! But it's worth it. Again, I would like to give credit to the people at MotioninJoy, who made this program possible, and to Harcoreware.net, who, without their guide, I might still be at a loss when it comes to using my PS3 gamepad on the PC.


Till the next tech tidBeATs!


Quicknotes:
• If the gamepad is connected wirelessly, the lights indicate battery power. If it's at 4, it's between 75%-80% power.
• Everytime you use the gamepad (whether wired or not), you have to open DS3 Tools to enable the gamepad. If you start it on wireless mode, press the playstation logo on the gamepad then make sure the 4 lights are blinking then one goes steady (depending on battery power). Then open DS3 Tool to enable the gamepad.
• The gamepad automatically disconnects after a few minutes when it becomes idle (wireless mode), and you can disconnect the gamepad by clicking 'disconnect' on the DS3 Tool or by holding down the PS logo for 10 seconds.



Resource links:
hardcoreware
MotioninJoy

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