Driver Management
PadForge uses optional drivers to create virtual controllers and hide physical devices. You can install and manage every driver directly from the Settings page — no need to download separate installers or visit external websites. PadForge bundles the driver installers inside itself and handles the entire process for you.
PadForge reads your physical controllers (gamepads, joysticks, steering wheels, etc.) and translates their input into virtual controllers that games can see. Different virtual controller types require different drivers to create those virtual devices at the operating system level.
Think of drivers as translators between PadForge and Windows. Without the right driver installed, PadForge cannot create certain types of virtual controllers — but it will still work for any type that does not need that driver.
Three optional drivers and one optional service extend PadForge's capabilities:
| Driver / Service | Purpose in Plain Language | Required For |
|---|---|---|
| ViGEmBus | Lets PadForge create virtual Xbox 360 and DualShock 4 controllers that Windows and games treat as real, plugged-in gamepads | Xbox 360 and DS4 output types |
| vJoy | Lets PadForge create virtual DirectInput joysticks with customizable buttons, axes, POV hats, and force feedback — useful for flight sims, racing games, and apps that do not support Xbox controllers | vJoy (DirectInput) output type |
| HidHide | Hides your real physical controller from games so they only see the virtual one, preventing "double input" where every button press registers twice | Preventing double input (optional but highly recommended) |
| Windows MIDI Services | Lets PadForge create a virtual MIDI device so you can use a gamepad to control music software, DAWs, and synthesizers | MIDI output type |
The Keyboard+Mouse output type requires no driver and is always available on every Windows system.
Each driver card on the Settings page shows a small colored dot next to its status:
- Green dot with text "Installed" — The driver is installed and ready to use. You can create virtual controllers of that type.
- Red dot with text "Not Installed" — The driver is not present on your system. You need to install it before you can use that controller type.
Below the status dot, a version number is displayed when the driver is installed (for example, "1.22.0" for ViGEmBus). This helps you confirm which version you have and can be useful for troubleshooting.
The Dashboard page also shows a condensed driver status summary so you can check at a glance without opening Settings.
PadForge is designed to work gracefully even when drivers are missing. Here is what changes for each:
| Missing Driver | What Happens |
|---|---|
| ViGEmBus not installed | The Xbox 360 and DualShock 4 buttons in the "Add Controller" popup are dimmed and cannot be clicked. Their tooltips explain that ViGEmBus is required. Existing Xbox 360/DS4 slots show a warning indicator on the Dashboard. All other output types continue to work normally. |
| vJoy not installed | The vJoy button in the "Add Controller" popup is dimmed. All other output types work normally. PadForge does not request administrator privileges on startup (see Auto-Elevation below). |
| HidHide not installed | The "Hide from games" toggle on the Devices page has no effect. Games may see both your physical and virtual controllers simultaneously (double input). You can still use PadForge — you may just need to manually select the correct controller in your game's settings. |
| MIDI Services not installed | The MIDI button in the "Add Controller" popup is dimmed (or hidden entirely on unsupported Windows versions). All other output types work normally. |
In all cases, PadForge starts and runs without errors. It simply disables the features that require the missing driver.
Some drivers require PadForge to run with administrator (elevated) privileges for day-to-day operation. Here is when and why you will see a UAC (User Account Control) prompt:
Every driver installation and uninstallation requires a one-time UAC prompt. This is normal — Windows requires administrator approval to add or remove system drivers. You will see a prompt that says something like "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?" Click Yes to proceed.
The vJoy driver is unique: PadForge needs ongoing administrator access to create and remove vJoy virtual device nodes while the application is running. Because of this, when PadForge detects that the vJoy driver is installed, it automatically relaunches itself with elevated privileges on every startup.
What this means for you:
- You will see a UAC prompt each time you launch PadForge (as long as vJoy is installed).
- If you click No (decline the UAC prompt), PadForge will still open, but vJoy virtual controllers will not work properly. All other output types (Xbox 360, DS4, Keyboard+Mouse, MIDI) will continue to work normally.
- If you uninstall the vJoy driver, PadForge will stop asking for administrator privileges on the next launch.
If you only use ViGEmBus, HidHide, and/or MIDI Services (without vJoy), PadForge runs as a normal application without needing administrator privileges on startup. You will only see UAC prompts when you explicitly install or uninstall a driver from Settings.
ViGEmBus (Virtual Gamepad Emulation Bus) is an open-source Windows driver that creates virtual Xbox 360 and DualShock 4 controllers. When ViGEmBus is installed and PadForge creates a virtual Xbox 360 or DS4 controller, Windows treats it identically to a real, physically connected gamepad. Games, Steam, and any other software see it as genuine hardware — no special configuration needed in the game.
This is the most commonly used driver in PadForge. Most users will want to install it.
Install ViGEmBus if you want to:
- Create Xbox 360 virtual controllers (the most widely compatible output type for PC games)
- Create DualShock 4 virtual controllers (needed for games with PlayStation-specific features like touchpad, light bar, or motion controls via DSU/Cemuhook)
- Remap one type of controller to another (for example, use a PlayStation controller but have games see an Xbox controller)
- Open Settings from the sidebar.
- Scroll to the ViGEmBus Driver card.
- Click the Install button.
- A UAC prompt appears — click Yes to approve.
- A brief installer window runs in the background. When finished, the status dot turns green and shows "Installed" with the version number.
The installation takes a few seconds. No system restart is required — you can immediately create Xbox 360 and DS4 virtual controllers.
- First, delete all Xbox 360 and DS4 virtual controller slots from the Dashboard. The Uninstall button is intentionally disabled while any of these slots exist, to prevent removing the driver out from under an active virtual controller.
- Open Settings and scroll to the ViGEmBus Driver card.
- Click Uninstall and approve the UAC prompt.
- The status dot turns red and shows "Not Installed".
When would you want to uninstall? Typically only if you are switching to a different virtual controller solution, troubleshooting driver conflicts, or cleaning up your system. Most users should leave ViGEmBus installed.
vJoy is a virtual joystick driver that creates DirectInput game controllers. Unlike ViGEmBus (which emulates specific real hardware), vJoy controllers are fully customizable — PadForge can configure them with the exact number of axes, buttons, POV hats, and force feedback capabilities that your game or application needs.
Games that use the older DirectInput API (common in flight simulators, racing games, and older titles) recognize vJoy devices as standard joysticks.
Install vJoy if you want to:
- Use PadForge with flight simulators (DCS World, IL-2 Sturmovik, Microsoft Flight Simulator in DirectInput mode)
- Use PadForge with racing games that expect joystick/wheel input via DirectInput
- Work with applications that only support DirectInput and do not recognize Xbox/XInput controllers
- Take advantage of force feedback through DirectInput (vJoy supports full PID force feedback)
- Use more than 11 buttons (up to 128), more than 2 analog sticks, or multiple POV hats
If your games all support Xbox controllers, you probably do not need vJoy — ViGEmBus is simpler and more straightforward.
- Open Settings from the sidebar.
- Scroll to the vJoy Driver card.
- Click Install and approve the UAC prompt.
- The driver files are extracted and installed automatically. The status dot turns green.
- Important: After installation, PadForge will restart itself and ask for administrator privileges (see Auto-Elevation above). Approve the UAC prompt to enable full vJoy functionality.
No system restart is required. You can create vJoy virtual controllers immediately after installation.
- Delete all vJoy virtual controller slots from the Dashboard first. The Uninstall button is disabled while vJoy slots exist.
- Open Settings and scroll to the vJoy Driver card.
- Click Uninstall and approve the UAC prompt.
- The status dot turns red. After you restart PadForge, it will no longer ask for administrator privileges on startup.
When would you want to uninstall? If you no longer need DirectInput output, or if you want PadForge to stop requesting administrator privileges at every launch.
HidHide is a driver that selectively hides physical controllers from applications. It solves a common problem: when PadForge creates a virtual controller and maps your physical controller to it, games can see both controllers at the same time. This causes "double input" — every button press registers twice, menus scroll too fast, and character movement becomes erratic.
HidHide lets PadForge tell Windows: "Hide this physical controller from all applications except PadForge." The game only sees the virtual controller, while PadForge can still read the physical one.
Install HidHide if you experience any of these symptoms:
- Every button press registers twice in games
- Menus scroll at double speed
- Character movement feels jerky or doubled
- Your game's controller settings show two controllers when you only have one
- A game auto-selects the wrong controller
Even if you are not experiencing these issues yet, installing HidHide is recommended as a preventive measure. Not all games handle multiple controllers well.
PadForge manages HidHide automatically — you do not need the separate HidHide Configuration Client application. Here is how it works:
- Per-device hiding: On the Devices page, each detected controller has a "Hide from games" toggle. Turn it on for any device you want to hide.
- Automatic whitelist: PadForge adds itself to the HidHide whitelist so it can still read your hidden controllers. It removes this entry when PadForge exits.
- Engine-aware: Hiding only takes effect while the PadForge engine is running. When you stop the engine (or close PadForge), your physical controllers automatically reappear to all applications.
- Global master switch: The Settings page has an "Enable device hiding" checkbox under Input Engine that acts as a master on/off switch for all hiding.
If you use other controller utilities alongside PadForge (such as DS4Windows, Steam Input, or other remapping tools), those applications also need to see your hidden controllers. The Settings page includes a "Whitelisted Applications" section where you can:
- Click Add... to browse for an executable and add it to the whitelist
- Select an entry and click Remove to take it off the whitelist
Any application on the whitelist can see hidden controllers, just like PadForge can.
- Open Settings from the sidebar.
- Scroll to the HidHide Driver card.
- Click Install and approve the UAC prompt.
- The status dot turns green.
- A system restart may be required for HidHide to take full effect. If hiding does not seem to work after installation, restart your computer.
- Disable "Hide from games" on all devices on the Devices page first. The Uninstall button is intentionally disabled while any device has hiding enabled.
- Open Settings and scroll to the HidHide Driver card.
- Click Uninstall and approve the UAC prompt.
- All physical controllers immediately become visible to all applications again.
When would you want to uninstall? Only if you are troubleshooting driver issues or no longer use PadForge. Most users should keep HidHide installed.
Windows MIDI Services is a modern MIDI platform from Microsoft that replaces the legacy Windows MIDI API. PadForge uses it to create a virtual MIDI device — a system-wide MIDI output endpoint named "PadForge MIDI" — that any music software can receive messages from. This lets you turn a gamepad into a MIDI controller.
Install Windows MIDI Services if you want to:
- Control a DAW (Ableton Live, FL Studio, Reaper, etc.) using a gamepad
- Trigger MIDI notes from controller buttons during live performance
- Send MIDI CC messages from analog sticks and triggers to control synthesizer parameters
- VJ or light control applications that accept MIDI input
- Use PadForge with any application that accepts standard MIDI input
Windows MIDI Services requires Windows 11 version 24H2 (build 26100) or later. On older versions of Windows (including Windows 10 and earlier Windows 11 builds), the Install button is disabled and its tooltip explains the OS requirement. All other PadForge features continue to work normally.
- Open Settings from the sidebar.
- Scroll to the Windows MIDI Services card.
- Click Install.
- PadForge downloads the installer from GitHub (approximately 210 MB). A progress overlay appears during the download.
- Once downloaded, the installer runs automatically in the background.
- The status dot turns green when installation is complete.
The download only happens once. If you need to reinstall later, PadForge downloads a fresh copy to ensure you get the latest version.
- Remove or change all MIDI virtual controller slots on the Dashboard first. The Uninstall button is disabled while any MIDI slot exists.
- Open Settings and scroll to the Windows MIDI Services card.
- Click Uninstall. The uninstall runs in the background.
- The status dot turns red.
When would you want to uninstall? If you no longer need MIDI output, or if you need to reinstall a newer version of Windows MIDI Services.
| 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 (x64 only) | Yes (x64 only) | Yes (x64 only) | No | No |
| Windows MIDI Services | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Keyboard+Mouse (no driver) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Notes:
- ViGEmBus ships with x64, x86, and ARM64 installers bundled together. PadForge automatically selects the correct one for your system.
- vJoy and HidHide are x64-only kernel drivers. They do not work on ARM64 Windows (such as Snapdragon-based laptops) or 32-bit Windows.
- Windows MIDI Services is only available on Windows 11 version 24H2 (build 26100) and later. The Install button is automatically disabled on older versions.
- Keyboard+Mouse output uses standard Windows APIs and works everywhere with no driver needed.
- PadForge itself targets Windows 10 (build 26100 SDK), so the application runs on Windows 10 and all Windows 11 versions. Individual driver availability varies as shown above.
PadForge prevents you from accidentally removing a driver that is currently in use:
| Driver | Uninstall is blocked when... |
|---|---|
| ViGEmBus | Any Xbox 360 or DS4 virtual controller slot exists on the Dashboard |
| vJoy | Any vJoy virtual controller slot exists on the Dashboard |
| HidHide | Any device on the Devices page has "Hide from games" enabled |
| MIDI Services | Any MIDI virtual controller slot exists on the Dashboard |
To uninstall, first remove the slots or disable the feature, then the Uninstall button becomes available. This protects you from pulling a driver out from under an active virtual controller, which could cause games to lose input mid-session.
The Dashboard page shows a summary of all driver and service statuses in the Drivers section. This gives you a quick way to check which are installed without navigating to Settings. If a critical driver (like ViGEmBus) is missing and you have slots that require it, the Dashboard shows a warning indicator.
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Clicking Install does nothing | You cancelled the UAC prompt, or it appeared behind another window | Look for the UAC dialog in the taskbar. Click Yes to approve the installation. PadForge cannot install drivers without administrator approval. |
| Install appears to succeed but status still shows red | The installer may have failed silently | Try clicking Install again. If it still fails, restart your computer and try once more. |
| ViGEmBus install fails with an error | A previous version may be partially installed | Open Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps, search for "ViGEm", uninstall any existing entries, restart, then try installing from PadForge again. |
| vJoy install fails | Leftover registry entries from a previous vJoy installation (e.g., from vJoyConf or Inno Setup) | PadForge's installer automatically cleans up old installations, but in rare cases you may need to restart your computer before retrying. |
| MIDI Services download fails | No internet connection, or GitHub is unreachable | Check your internet connection and try again. PadForge needs to download approximately 210 MB from GitHub. |
| MIDI Services Install button is disabled | Your Windows version is too old | Windows MIDI Services requires Windows 11 24H2 (build 26100) or later. Check your Windows version in Settings > System > About. |
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox 360 / DS4 type buttons are dimmed in the Add Controller popup | ViGEmBus is not installed | Install ViGEmBus from the Settings page. |
| vJoy type button is dimmed | vJoy driver is not installed | Install vJoy from the Settings page. |
| MIDI type button is dimmed or missing | Windows MIDI Services is not installed, or your Windows version does not support it | Install MIDI Services from Settings (requires Windows 11 24H2+). |
| PadForge asks for admin rights every time it starts | vJoy is installed | This is expected behavior. vJoy requires administrator privileges. See Auto-Elevation. If you do not need vJoy, uninstalling it will stop the UAC prompts. |
| Games see double input (every press registers twice) | HidHide is not installed, or the device does not have "Hide from games" enabled | Install HidHide from Settings, then go to the Devices page and enable "Hide from games" on your physical controller. |
| Games still see double input even after enabling HidHide | The game cached the device list at startup | Restart the game after enabling hiding. Some games only detect controllers at launch. If that does not help, try restarting your computer (especially after first-time HidHide installation). |
| Driver shows installed but virtual controllers do not work | Driver may be in a bad state | Try uninstalling and reinstalling the driver from Settings. If that does not work, restart your computer between the uninstall and reinstall. |
| vJoy controllers are not appearing in joy.cpl / game | PadForge may not be running elevated | Make sure you approved the UAC prompt when PadForge launched. If you declined it, close PadForge and reopen it, clicking Yes on the UAC prompt this time. |
| Keyboard+Mouse type is dimmed | This should not happen — it requires no driver | Try restarting PadForge. If the issue persists, reset your settings from the Settings page. |
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Another application's virtual controllers disappeared after installing ViGEmBus | ViGEmBus is shared across applications. Uninstalling or upgrading it can affect other tools (like DS4Windows or BetterJoy). Coordinate with those applications or reinstall them after changing ViGEmBus. |
| vJoy conflicts with a standalone vJoy installation (e.g., from vJoyConf) | PadForge manages its own vJoy installation. Having a separate vJoy installed alongside can cause conflicts. Uninstall the standalone vJoy before using PadForge's built-in installer. |
| HidHide is hiding controllers from other applications | Add those applications to the HidHide whitelist in Settings (see Whitelist Management). |
| Antivirus flags a driver installer | ViGEmBus, vJoy, and HidHide are open-source, Microsoft-signed kernel drivers. Some antivirus software may flag driver installations by default. You may need to add an exception or temporarily pause real-time scanning during installation. |
- Settings — Access driver management from the Settings page
- Dashboard — Quick driver status overview
- Controller Slots — Driver requirements per controller type
- Troubleshooting — More help with driver issues