How to Use PS3 Controllers on PC Through Xinput on Windows 7/8/10

Here is a simple tutorial to get up to four PS3 controllers working through Xinput on your Windows 8/7/Vista PC. The advantage of this is that any game that Xbox 360 controllers natively work with, now PS3 controllers will too!

*New Info*

This works with Windows 10 also, I use 10 on my everyday computers and my PS3 controllers work great!

Step 1: Download and Install Xbox 360 Accessories

Download and install the latest Xbox 360 Accessories driver from:

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/d/xbox-360...

Note:

You only need to do this on Windows 7.

Step 2: Download Latest Version and Latest Update of ScpServer

Download the latest version and the latest update of ScpServer from:

http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-XInput-Wrapper-for-...

Extract the latest version to a permanent place (such as Program Files, System Path, etc.) then extract the latest update to the same folder. Click yes to all when asked to overwrite files.

See the second to last (Optional) step to see why you want this in a permanent place if you plan to use PS3 controllers often.

If you don't wish to do a permanent install, you can extract the files anywhere you want and skip the optional step.

Step 3: Plugging in the Required Devices

Plug in a USB Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR dongle (Most manufacturers will work, I am just using a generic one, I do not have a Bluetooth 3.0 or 4.0 dongle to test if they will work. The dongle you use will be dedicated to PS3 controllers until you uninstall the drivers) and one PS3 controller via USB cable into your computer, and wait for Windows to finish installing the default drivers for both.

Step 4: Installing SCPServer Drivers for PS3 Controller Xinput

Run ScpDriver.exe, wait for it to load, then click install. You will be prompted several times to confirm driver installations, press Yes/Install on all windows that appear.

Step 5: Restart

Restart your computer.

Step 6: Open & Use ScpServer.exe

Open ScpServer.exe.

Click the bubble at the top of the window to select which controller you want to pair.

Press Pair to pair your PS3 controller with the Bluetooth dongle. Now you're ready to game using your PS3 controller as Xinput!

You can connect up to a total of four PS3 controllers by repeating this step, or follow the next optional steps and it will auto-pair PS3 controllers hooked up through USB.

You must either leave ScpServer.exe running any time you want to use your PS3 controllers, OR do the following optional steps so you don't have to leave ScpServer running every time.

Note:

You still have to use ScpServer the first time you connect a PS3 controller.

Step 7: (Optional) Creating a Windows Service for ScpService.exe

Open Command Prompt (search cmd.exe from the Start menu) as an Administrator then paste the following:

sc create PS3SCPServer binpath= "C:\Program Files (x86)\PS3 Controller\ScpServer\bin\ScpService.exe" type= own start= auto

Replace "C:\Program Files (x86)\PS3 Controller\ScpServer\bin\ScpService.exe" with the path where your ScpService.exe is located. Don't change anything else, and don't remove the quotation marks "" around the path or the spaces after the = signs.

This will create a new Service that will run when Windows starts so you don't have to have ScpServer.exe running to use or sync controllers (in other words, they auto-sync when plugged in through USB). Syncing controllers works the same as on the PS3. Plug the controller in while the controller is turned off, wait for Windows to install the driver, then unplug the controller and press PS button to connect if it doesn't automatically connect when you unhook the controller (it should though).

Step 8: Important Information

You can use up to eight controllers at once, four PS3 controllers and four Xbox 360 controllers (Yes they will still work!). Any combination of the two will work.

Example: Four PS3 controllers as controllers #1, #2, #5, and #8, four Xbox 360 Controllers as controllers #3, #4, #6, and #7. The order the controllers are connected will determine which controller is which (just as with their respective consoles)

When used as controller #5, #6, #7, or #8:

Xbox 360 controllers will not light up at all

PS3 controllers will all light up their fourth light

Battery levels will not ever display for the PS3 controllers. I believe this is because PS3 controllers send their battery level information in a different way than Xbox 360 controllers and the Xbox 360 Accessories program does not recognize it.

The PS and Xbox buttons on each controller will not open the controller info pane (it is only designed to display four controllers)

You can tell if the Xbox 360 controllers that are player #5 or higher are connected by pressing the Xbox button. If the ring of green lights stays completely off and does not blink at all, it is connected (or the batteries are dead, but let's hope you put in some fresh ones first)