~ MamakTalk ~: Troubleshooting Some Common Problems With Controllers

2021年5月31日星期一

Troubleshooting Some Common Problems With Controllers

One of the biggest benefits of gaming on Windows is the wide, open, and free ecosystem. You are free to do whatever you want, and however you want it for the most part. One of the best examples of this is being able to use any kind of controller for a system, be it small or large, Japanese or American, USB or PS/2. This is possible due to the Xinput API in Windows. This is why improper installation often results in errors like “xinput1_3.dll not found“, or a less obvious symptom would be the non-operation of any kind of peripherals in the first place.

Windows is a highly complex piece of software, with thousands and thousands of functions and subfunctions overlapping each other. This issue is very often exacerbated by the fact that video games and similar software are, again, highly complex and advanced pieces of software. As a result, any small omission, such as, say, a file like xinput1_3.dll being not found, may cause issues and result in your desired application not performing as expected. Other issues that may arise are lagging and crashes in games, as the game attempts to detect controllers but cannot find any or interface with the peripherals and controllers that are physically connected to the computer. So, an issue may be software-related, as explained above, or a more physical one.

Everything is subject to wear and tear; the same holds for controllers and all types of peripherals. Often parts break down, or electrical contacts erode. There is a good chance that the interfacing ports on the controller itself have rusted away or are dirty. If the controller port is rusted, then it would be unable to interface with the system properly. An easy solution is to clean the port properly with Isopropyl Alcohol. Along with this, it is important to take good care of your electronics. Regular maintenance goes a long way in letting these peripherals last for ages. Maintenance can include simple things like ensuring no dust build-up and keeping all buttons and ports clean.

However, on the software level as well, several things can break. There is a possibility that your input device drivers are not up to date or conflict with the controller. Windows itself uses the Xinput API to provide a way for peripherals to interface with Windows applications. The API Itself is a successor to the DirectInput API. DirectInput is a legacy API that is bundled with Windows to support older controllers. Commonly, fresh installations of Windows do not come with the requisite files, leading to errors such as “xinput1_3.dll not found” upon launching a new application. In such a scenario, an easy solution is to search for a website that’s an easy destination to find and download any Dynamic Link Library (DLL) files. After that, all that is required is to put the file in the right place.

While this step appears easy at first, your location for these files may differ depending on the version of Windows which you’re using. The directory where they must go would be C:/Windows/System32, or syswow64, depending on whether your installation of Microsoft Windows is a 32-bit or 64-bit one.

Hopefully, now you have a better perspective on what can go wrong in a controller from a hardware and software perspective. Have fun!

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