How to Use a Playstation 3 Controller in 64 bit Windows 7 and Vista

One of our more popular blog posts this year has been the guide on how to use a PS3 controller in Windows Vista. Many thousands of people found that guide to be helpful, but unfortunately 64-bit users were left in the dark. Furthermore, the driver only offered basic functionality, and many of the PS3 controller’s features were missing. This includes Bluetooth connectivity, SixAxis motion detection, and even the rumble feature of DualShock 3.

Today, there is a solution for all these problems, thanks to the folks at MotionInJoy, based in ShenZhen China, just across the border from me. They have created a driver that works on all versions of Windows, including XP, Vista, and even Windows 7. There are versions for 32-bit x86 and 64-bit x64. Their English is a little choppy, so figuring out the exact method of installing the drivers may be confusing for some. Here’s an illustrated guide on how to install Windows drivers for your Playstation 3 controller:

Download the appropriate drivers from MotionInJoy.

Run the install, by default it will place the drivers and software in C:\Program Files\MotioninJoy\ds3

Restart Windows – when it starts to boot up again, hit F8 just after the BIOS does its POST. Select “Disable driver signature enforcement” - this is very important!

Update: Apparently you can disable driver signature enforcement from within Windows. Run a Command window (cmd.exe) as administrator, and enter the following:

• bcdedit.exe -set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS
• bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING ON

Doing this prevents you from having to reboot when installing and using these drivers.

Plug in your Playstation 3 controller. If you haven’t done this before, you will see that some basic Windows drivers are installed. This might lead you to believe that the controller will work right away, but unfortunately it won’t.

From the Start button, run the “Install driver” for the appropriate connection method you’ll be using. Make sure to right click and “Run as administrator” or the driver will not install properly. Restart Windows again.

Now run the “DS3 Tool” program. This will allow you to run the controller with whatever features you wish. I’m not sure if there is a reason not to enable all functionality. Perhaps performance could be an issue, so only enable the features you need.

If you followed the guide correctly, you should see your controller listed, and have full control of all the inputs. On my first attempt, I neglected to “Run as administrator” so I only saw the controller listed, but had no contol over it.

If you see that dialog box,  you did it wrong, and the driver did not install. Make sure to hit F8 when you boot Windows, and make sure you Run as Administrator!

Finally, we have a decent gamepad to use in Windows, including 64-bit. Enjoy! Thanks to the folks at MotionInJoy for creating this driver.

*Note* Keep in mind that installing unsigned drivers is considered by Microsoft to be a major security issue (or a major source of income, depending on who you listen to), so to use these drivers on a 64-bit OS, you will need to use F8 to boot every time. There are ways to permanently disable signed drivers in 64-bit Windows, but it is considered a major security flaw to do so, and is a major hassle to set up (and is constantly being patched by Microsoft). This will be the case with any unofficial driver release, not just these ones.

*Another Note* If you are having troubles getting the drivers to work after rebooting, even after using “F8″, try running the driver install script again. These drivers aren’t perfect, and can be a bit finicky, but they do work. And I think they are the only ones that work in 64-bit. 32-bit users might prefer to use the old drivers we talked about, if you do not need to use Bluetooth.