🔧 Common Driver Issues & Solutions

[hifihedgehog]

Common Driver Issues

Quick solutions for the most frequent driver problems.

Note: PadForge v3 uses HIDMaestro for all virtual controllers (Xbox, PlayStation, Extended). The legacy ViGEmBus and vJoy drivers from PadForge v2 are no longer used; v3 detects them on first launch and offers to uninstall them. If you have an old guide or troubleshooting note that mentions ViGEmBus or vJoy, it predates v3.

HIDMaestro

"Install" button does nothing or fails
→ Run PadForge as Administrator. HIDMaestro registers via pnputil, which needs elevation. PadForge auto-elevates on launch — if you declined the UAC prompt, restart PadForge and accept it.

Games do not see the virtual controller
→ Verify HIDMaestro is installed (Settings page shows the HIDMaestro card with a green status). Confirm the slot has a physical device assigned on the Devices page (slot badge highlighted). Some games need to be restarted after the first virtual controller is created so they re-enumerate input devices.

The virtual Xbox controller doesn't appear in joy.cpl (Game Controllers)
→ joy.cpl shows DirectInput-visible devices. Xbox virtual controllers are XInput-class and intentionally hidden from joy.cpl (Microsoft does this for all Xbox controllers, real or virtual). To verify the virtual Xbox is alive, open the Dashboard and watch its live preview, or use any XInput-aware tester. PlayStation and Extended virtual controllers do appear in joy.cpl.

My physical Xbox controller disappears, or input feels wrong, after creating an Xbox virtual slot
→ HIDMaestro's bundled OpenXInput fork is supposed to filter PadForge's own virtual Xbox slots out of its own enumeration so only the original physical Xbox devices remain visible to PadForge. If you see input mixing or a missing physical Xbox after creating a virtual one, file an issue with your PadForge version and a description of which slot was created when the symptom appeared.

HIDMaestro install completes but the slot stays blank
→ HIDMaestro creates each virtual device on demand when you click Add Controller and assign a physical device to it. If the slot stays empty after both steps, restart PadForge once. If it persists, file an issue with your PadForge version and Windows build.

HidHide (optional, for double-input prevention)

"Hide from games" toggle is grayed out
→ HidHide driver is not installed. Go to Settings and click Install on the HidHide card.

Game still sees double input after enabling HidHide
→ Check the master switch: Settings → Input Engine → "Hide devices from games" must be ON. Then on the Devices page, confirm the toggle is enabled on the specific physical controller you want hidden. Also verify the game's executable is not on the HidHide whitelist (Settings → HidHide section), since whitelisted apps see the physical device anyway.

HidHide hides my keyboard and I cannot type
→ This generally means a keyboard got added to HidHide's blacklist by mistake. Restart PadForge — it clears its own HidHide blacklist entries on a clean shutdown. If PadForge crashed mid-session, launch it again and it will reconcile state. As a last resort, uninstall HidHide from Settings (or, in extreme cases, from Device Manager).

Windows MIDI Services (optional, for MIDI virtual controllers)

MIDI button is dimmed in Add Controller
→ Requires Windows 11 24H2 (Build 26100) or later. Older Windows versions do not support the Windows MIDI Services SDK; the install button stays disabled on those.

"Install" downloads but fails
→ The installer is ~210 MB downloaded on demand. Check your internet connection. PadForge must be running elevated (admin) for the installer to succeed; PadForge auto-elevates on launch — if you declined the UAC prompt, restart and accept.

Legacy v2 cleanup (ViGEmBus / vJoy)

First launch of v3 shows a "Legacy driver cleanup" dialog
→ Expected if you previously installed PadForge v2. Click through to uninstall ViGEmBus and vJoy. v3 doesn't use either; HIDMaestro replaces both. Once cleaned up, the dialog won't reappear.

I declined the cleanup dialog and want to remove ViGEmBus/vJoy now
→ Both can be uninstalled normally from Settings → Apps & features in Windows. Restart afterward.

---

Have a driver issue not listed here? Ask below and include your Windows version and PadForge version.