Driver Management
PadForge installs and manages all optional drivers directly from the Settings page. No separate downloads or external installers needed — everything is bundled.
| Driver / Service | Purpose | Required For |
|---|---|---|
| ViGEmBus | Creates virtual Xbox 360 and DualShock 4 controllers recognized as real gamepads | Xbox 360 and DS4 output |
| vJoy | Creates virtual DirectInput joysticks with configurable buttons, axes, POV hats, and force feedback | vJoy (DirectInput) output |
| HidHide | Hides physical controllers from games so only virtual ones are visible — prevents double input | Preventing double input |
| Windows MIDI Services | Creates virtual MIDI devices for controlling music software via gamepad | MIDI output |
Keyboard+Mouse output requires no driver and is always available.
Each driver card on the Settings page shows a colored dot:
| Indicator | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green — "Installed" | Driver is ready. Version number shown below. |
| Red — "Not Installed" | Driver must be installed before you can use that output type. |
The Dashboard also shows a condensed driver status summary.
PadForge runs without errors regardless of which drivers are installed. Missing drivers disable only the features that need them.
| Missing Driver | Effect |
|---|---|
| ViGEmBus | Xbox 360 and DS4 buttons dimmed in "Add Controller" popup. All other types work. |
| vJoy | vJoy button dimmed. No admin elevation on startup. All other types work. |
| HidHide | "Hide from games" toggle has no effect. Games may see both physical and virtual controllers. |
| MIDI Services | MIDI button dimmed (or hidden on unsupported Windows versions). All other types work. |
Every driver operation requires a one-time UAC prompt. This is standard Windows behavior for system driver changes.
vJoy requires ongoing admin access for device node management. When PadForge detects vJoy is installed, it automatically relaunches with elevated privileges on every startup.
- Accept UAC: PadForge runs elevated; vJoy works normally.
- Decline UAC: PadForge opens without elevation. Xbox 360, DS4, Keyboard+Mouse, and MIDI still work. vJoy does not.
- Uninstall vJoy: PadForge stops requesting admin on next launch.
If you use only ViGEmBus, HidHide, and/or MIDI Services, PadForge runs as a normal application — UAC prompts appear only during explicit install/uninstall operations.
Creates virtual Xbox 360 and DualShock 4 controllers that Windows and games treat identically to real hardware. The most commonly needed driver.
Install when you want to:
- Create Xbox 360 virtual controllers (the most widely compatible output for PC games)
- Create DualShock 4 virtual controllers (for touchpad, light bar, or motion via DSU)
- Remap one controller type to another (e.g., PlayStation input appearing as Xbox output)
- Open Settings > scroll to ViGEmBus Driver > click Install > approve UAC.
- Status dot turns green. No restart required — create Xbox 360 / DS4 slots immediately.
- Delete all Xbox 360 and DS4 slots from the Dashboard first. The Uninstall button stays disabled while any exist.
- Open Settings > scroll to ViGEmBus Driver > click Uninstall > approve UAC.
Creates virtual DirectInput joysticks with fully customizable axes, buttons, POV hats, and PID force feedback. Games using the older DirectInput API (flight sims, racing sims, older titles) recognize vJoy devices as standard joysticks.
Install when you want to:
- Use PadForge with flight sims (DCS World, IL-2 Sturmovik, MSFS in DirectInput mode)
- Use PadForge with racing games expecting DirectInput joystick/wheel input
- Work with applications that only support DirectInput
- Use force feedback through DirectInput
- Use more than 11 buttons (up to 128), extra analog sticks, or multiple POV hats
If all your games support Xbox controllers, ViGEmBus is simpler.
- Open Settings > scroll to vJoy Driver > click Install > approve UAC.
- Status dot turns green. PadForge restarts and requests admin privileges (approve the UAC prompt).
- No system restart required. Create vJoy slots immediately.
- Delete all vJoy slots from the Dashboard first.
- Open Settings > scroll to vJoy Driver > click Uninstall > approve UAC.
- After restart, PadForge no longer requests admin privileges.
Hides physical controllers from applications so games see only PadForge's virtual controllers. Solves the "double input" problem — where every button press registers twice because games detect both the real and virtual controller.
Install when you experience:
- Button presses registering twice
- Menus scrolling at double speed
- Jerky or doubled character movement
- Games showing two controllers when only one is connected
- Games auto-selecting the wrong controller
Even without symptoms, installing HidHide is recommended as prevention.
PadForge manages HidHide automatically — no separate Configuration Client needed.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Per-device hiding | Toggle "Hide from games" on each device card on the Devices page |
| Automatic whitelist | PadForge adds itself to the whitelist so it can still read hidden controllers; removes the entry on exit |
| Engine-aware | Hiding only takes effect while the engine runs. Stop the engine or close PadForge — controllers reappear. |
| Master switch | Settings > Input Engine > Enable device hiding acts as a global on/off |
If you use other controller utilities (DS4Windows, Steam Input, etc.) alongside PadForge, add them to the whitelist so they can see hidden controllers:
- Click Add... to browse for an executable
- Select an entry and click Remove to revoke access
- Open Settings > scroll to HidHide Driver > click Install > approve UAC.
- A system restart may be required for full effect. Restart if hiding does not work immediately.
- Disable "Hide from games" on all devices first. The Uninstall button stays disabled while any device has hiding enabled.
- Open Settings > scroll to HidHide Driver > click Uninstall > approve UAC.
- All physical controllers immediately become visible to all applications.
Creates a system-wide virtual MIDI endpoint ("PadForge MIDI") that any music software can receive from. Turns a gamepad into a MIDI controller — no loopMIDI or other third-party tools needed.
Install when you want to:
- Control a DAW (Ableton Live, FL Studio, Reaper, etc.) via gamepad
- Trigger MIDI notes from controller buttons during live performance
- Send MIDI CC messages from analog sticks and triggers to synth parameters
- Drive VJ or lighting applications that accept MIDI input
Requires Windows 11 24H2 (build 26100) or later. On older versions, the Install button is disabled with a tooltip explaining the requirement.
- Open Settings > scroll to Windows MIDI Services > click Install.
- PadForge downloads the installer from GitHub (~210 MB). A progress overlay appears.
- The installer runs automatically. Status dot turns green on completion.
- Remove or change all MIDI slots from the Dashboard first.
- Open Settings > scroll to Windows MIDI Services > click Uninstall.
| Driver / Service | Windows 10 (x64) | Windows 11 (x64) | Windows 11 24H2+ (x64) | ARM64 | x86 (32-bit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ViGEmBus 1.22.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| vJoy | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| HidHide 1.5.230 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Windows MIDI Services | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Keyboard+Mouse (no driver) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
- ViGEmBus bundles x64, x86, and ARM64 installers — PadForge selects the correct one automatically.
- vJoy and HidHide are x64-only kernel drivers. They do not work on ARM64 (Snapdragon-based laptops) or 32-bit Windows.
- Windows MIDI Services requires Windows 11 24H2 (build 26100)+. The Install button auto-disables on older versions.
- Keyboard+Mouse uses standard Windows APIs — works everywhere with no driver.
- PadForge itself runs on Windows 10 and all Windows 11 versions.
PadForge prevents removing a driver that is currently in use:
| Driver | Uninstall blocked when... |
|---|---|
| ViGEmBus | Any Xbox 360 or DS4 slot exists on the Dashboard |
| vJoy | Any vJoy slot exists on the Dashboard |
| HidHide | Any device has "Hide from games" enabled |
| MIDI Services | Any MIDI slot exists on the Dashboard |
Remove the slots or disable the feature first — then the Uninstall button becomes available. This prevents pulling a driver from under an active virtual controller mid-session.
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Clicking Install does nothing | The UAC prompt may be behind another window. Check the taskbar and click Yes. |
| Status stays red after install | Try again. If it still fails, restart your computer and retry. |
| ViGEmBus install fails | A partial previous install may exist. Go to Windows Settings > Apps, search "ViGEm", uninstall existing entries, restart, then reinstall from PadForge. |
| vJoy install fails | Leftover registry entries from a previous installation. PadForge cleans these automatically, but a restart before retrying may be needed in rare cases. |
| MIDI Services download fails | Check your internet connection. PadForge downloads ~210 MB from GitHub. |
| MIDI Install button disabled | Windows 11 24H2 (build 26100)+ required. Check your version in Settings > System > About. |
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Xbox 360 / DS4 buttons dimmed in Add Controller | Install ViGEmBus from Settings. |
| vJoy button dimmed | Install vJoy from Settings. |
| MIDI button dimmed or missing | Install MIDI Services (requires Windows 11 24H2+). |
| UAC prompt on every launch | Expected when vJoy is installed. Uninstall vJoy to stop the prompts. |
| Double input (every press registers twice) | Install HidHide, then enable "Hide from games" on your physical controller on the Devices page. |
| Double input persists after enabling HidHide | Restart the game — some games only detect controllers at launch. If still broken, restart your computer (especially after first-time HidHide install). |
| Driver shows installed but VCs do not work | Uninstall and reinstall the driver. If that fails, restart between uninstall and reinstall. |
| vJoy controllers missing from joy.cpl / game | Approve the UAC prompt when PadForge launches. If you declined, close and reopen PadForge, clicking Yes. |
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Another app's virtual controllers vanished after ViGEmBus change | ViGEmBus is shared. Changing it can affect DS4Windows, BetterJoy, etc. Reinstall those applications afterward. |
| Conflict with standalone vJoy installation | Uninstall the standalone vJoy before using PadForge's built-in installer. |
| HidHide hides controllers from other apps | Add those apps to the whitelist in Settings (see Whitelist Management). |
| Antivirus flags a driver installer | ViGEmBus, vJoy, and HidHide are open-source, Microsoft-signed kernel drivers. Add an exception or pause real-time scanning during installation. |
- Settings — Access driver management
- Dashboard — Quick driver status overview
- Controller Slots — Driver requirements per controller type
- Troubleshooting — More help with driver issues