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Troubleshooting

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hifihedgehog edited this page Mar 3, 2026 · 34 revisions

Troubleshooting

This page covers common problems and their solutions. If your issue is not listed here, check the GitHub Issues page.

No Devices Detected

Symptoms: The Devices page is empty. The Dashboard shows "0 / 0 devices online."

Solutions:

  1. Check your USB connection. Try a different USB port, preferably one directly on your computer rather than through a hub.
  2. Try a different cable. Some cables are charge-only and do not carry data.
  3. Check that SDL3.dll is present in the same folder as PadForge.exe. If it is missing, re-extract the PadForge zip file.
  4. Restart PadForge. Some devices are only detected during startup or device refresh.
  5. Check Windows Device Manager. Make sure Windows itself recognizes the device (look under "Human Interface Devices" or "Sound, video and game controllers").
  6. Bluetooth controllers: Make sure the controller is paired and connected in Windows Bluetooth settings before starting PadForge.

Virtual Controller Not Appearing in Games

Symptoms: You have created a virtual controller slot and assigned a device, but games do not detect the virtual controller.

Solutions:

  1. Install ViGEmBus. Xbox 360 and DualShock 4 output types require the ViGEmBus driver. Go to Settings and click Install next to ViGEmBus.
  2. Install vJoy. The vJoy output type requires the vJoy driver. Install it from the Settings page.
  3. Make sure the slot is enabled. The power icon on the Dashboard slot card should be green, not red.
  4. Make sure the engine is running. The engine status on the Dashboard should show "Running" with a green power icon.
  5. Restart the game. Some games only scan for controllers at startup.
  6. Check the game's input settings. Some games need you to manually select or enable the controller in their settings menu.

Double Input in Games

Symptoms: Every button press registers twice. Menus scroll too fast. The game shows two controllers.

Solutions:

  1. Install HidHide. Go to Settings and install HidHide. This driver hides your physical controller from games so they only see the PadForge virtual controller.
  2. Restart the game after installing HidHide.
  3. Check the game's controller settings. Some games let you disable specific controllers. Disable the physical one and keep the virtual one.

vJoy Controllers Not Working

Symptoms: vJoy virtual controllers do not appear in games or joy.cpl (Windows Game Controllers).

Solutions:

  1. Run PadForge as administrator. vJoy device management requires elevated privileges. If PadForge did not prompt for admin on startup, right-click PadForge.exe and select "Run as administrator."
  2. Check the vJoy driver on the Settings page. Make sure it shows "Installed."
  3. Verify in joy.cpl. Press Win+R, type joy.cpl, and press Enter. You should see your vJoy controllers listed.
  4. Restart PadForge if you just installed the vJoy driver. The driver may need a fresh start to initialize properly.

Rumble Not Working

Symptoms: No vibration from your physical controller when games send force feedback.

Solutions:

  1. Check the Force Feedback tab. Make sure Overall Gain is above 0%.
  2. Check per-motor strength. Both the left motor and right motor strength sliders should be above 0%.
  3. Click Test Rumble on the Force Feedback tab to verify your controller supports vibration.
  4. Make sure a device is assigned to the slot and is connected (green status dot).
  5. Check if the game sends rumble. Not all games use force feedback. Try a different game to verify.
  6. Close other controller software (like Steam's controller configuration) that might be intercepting rumble commands.

DSU Motion Not Working in Emulator

Symptoms: The emulator does not receive gyroscope or accelerometer data from PadForge.

Solutions:

  1. Enable the DSU server. On the Dashboard, check "Enable DSU motion server (cemuhook)" and verify the status shows "Running."
  2. Check the port. The default port is 26760. Make sure the port in PadForge matches the port configured in your emulator.
  3. Use the correct address. If the emulator is on the same computer, use 127.0.0.1 as the server address.
  4. Check your controller. Not all controllers have motion sensors. Check the Devices page to see if your controller lists gyro/accel capabilities. Supported controllers include DualSense, DualShock 4, Switch Pro Controller, and Switch 2 Pro Controller.
  5. Check slot position. The DSU protocol only supports 4 slots. Your motion-capable device must be assigned to one of the first 4 virtual controller slots.
  6. Check your firewall. Make sure UDP port 26760 (or your custom port) is not blocked.

Settings Not Saving

Symptoms: Changes revert after restarting PadForge. The settings file does not update.

Solutions:

  1. Click Save on the Settings page. Some changes require a manual save.
  2. Check file permissions. Make sure PadForge has write access to its settings folder. The file path is shown on the Settings page.
  3. Try Reset to Defaults. On the Settings page, click "Reset to Defaults" to create a fresh configuration file. Then reconfigure your settings.
  4. Check the settings folder. Click "Open Folder" on the Settings page and verify the PadForge.xml file exists and is not read-only.
  5. Antivirus interference. Some antivirus software may block PadForge from writing files. Add an exception for PadForge's folder.

High CPU Usage

Symptoms: PadForge is using a significant percentage of CPU, causing fans to spin up or other applications to slow down.

Solutions:

  1. Increase the polling interval. Go to Settings > Input Engine and increase the polling interval. The default is 1ms (~1000 Hz), which provides the best responsiveness but uses more CPU. Try 4ms (~250 Hz) or 8ms (~125 Hz) for casual use.
  2. Disable polling on focus loss. If you only need PadForge active while its window is open, uncheck "Continue polling when window loses focus" in Settings.
  3. Reduce virtual controller count. Each active slot adds some processing overhead. Remove slots you are not using.

Steam Controller Conflicts

Symptoms: Controller behaves unexpectedly, especially Switch Pro Controller or Switch 2 Pro Controller. Controller is not detected or rumble stops working.

Solutions:

  1. Disable Steam Input for the specific controller. In Steam, go to Settings > Controller and turn off the relevant controller support option.
  2. Close Steam entirely if you are not using it. Steam can exclusively lock certain controller interfaces, preventing PadForge from accessing them.
  3. Switch 2 Pro Controller specifically: Steam may lock the WinUSB interface that PadForge needs for initialization. Close Steam before connecting the controller, or disable Steam's Switch controller support.

Quick Reference

Problem First Thing to Try
No devices Check USB connection and cable
No virtual controller Install ViGEmBus or vJoy
Double input Install HidHide
No rumble Check Force Feedback tab, gain > 0
No motion in emulator Enable DSU server, check port
Settings lost Click Save on Settings page
High CPU Increase polling interval
Steam conflict Disable Steam Input or close Steam

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