How To Find The Steam Controller Driver

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Steam Drivers For Windows 10

Using a mouse and keyboard is usually the most optimal solution for playing PC games, but sometimes a controller can make for an even more enjoyable experience. There are numerous controllers out there from a variety of different companies, but there is no need to purchase one if you already own one of the current game consoles. Here's how you can set up your Xbox 360, Xbox One, or PlayStation 4 controller to be used on your PC.

Xbox 360

Microsoft made it extremely easy to use the Xbox controllers for PC gaming. Head over to the company's website, select the operating system you are running, download the drivers, and install them. Then you can simply connect your controller to your PC and begin playing your favorite controller-friendly game.

The drivers officially support both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, although the latter should also work for Windows 8.

Hello, I started a standalone userland driver for the steam controller to be used where steam client can't be installed. Two modes are already working: - xbox360: gamepad emulator with some haptic feedback - desktop: mouse, keyboard mode without haptic feedback The final purpose is to have support for custom mapping created with a stand-alone tool or imported from steam vdf files.

To check which operating system you are running, open the Control Panel, select System and Security, and click on System. This information can also be viewed by right-clicking on My Computer and selecting Properties in the popup menu.

Xbox One

Microsoft's Larry Hryb, also known online as Major Nelson, last week released device drivers that make the Xbox One controller compatible with Windows 7 and Windows 8 computers. He noted that the drivers will come bundled with a future Windows software update, however they can be manually installed now.

To download the drivers, visit Major Nelson's website and choose the one that corresponds with your system -- x86 is for 32-bit systems, while x64 is for 64-bit systems. After you install the drivers and agree to Microsoft's Licensing Agreement, all you need to do is connect the controller using a microUSB cable and start gaming.

PlayStation 4

It's a little more difficult to use the PlayStation controllers with your PC. With the help of a program called DS4Tool, you are actually going to trick the computer into thinking that the PS4 controller is really one for an Xbox 360. The first thing you must do is download and install the Xbox 360 drivers from Microsoft. You will also need Microsoft .NET 4.0, Visual C 2010 Runtime, and the latest DirectX Runtime on your computer, in addition to having administrator rights.

Download the latest version of DS4Tool (at the time of writing that is version 1.2.2) and unzip it to your desktop. Open the folder titled 'Virtual Bus Driver' and double-click the ScpDriver application to install it. If the program was installed properly, Bus Device and Bus Driver will be listed under the install summary.

Make sure to close any open games or software such as Steam before you connect the PS4 controller to your PC using a microUSB cable. Once the controller has been connected, open the ScpServer application located in the main DS4Tool folder. The program should automatically detect the controller, but if it doesn't there are two things you can do: click the Stop button, followed by the Start button to restart detection; or ensure the Xbox 360 drivers and ScpDrivers were installed properly.

How To Find The Steam Controller Driver Mac

The PS4 controller can also be used wirelessly if your computer has Bluetooth or if you purchased an adapter, which must be compatible with Bluetooth 2.1 or higher. The first thing you have to do is enable the controller's Bluetooth pairing mode. This can be done by holding both the Share and PlayStation buttons on the controller until the LED light begins flashing.

Open the Control Panel on your computer and, under Hardware and Sound, choose to add a new device. Select the game controller, and open the ScpServer application after pairing is complete. The software should automatically detect the controller.

If you would like to customize the light bar color, adjust the controller's rumble, create custom controls, or enable the touchpad, which can be used to move the mouse cursor, click on the Options menu inside of the DS4Tool.

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Streaming your favorite games just got a lot easier with the launch of the Steam Link app for Android. The new app works like the hardware Steam Link, except instead of needing special hardware, it just uses the hardware of your phone to stream the game from your gaming-capable computer to your smartphone’s screen.

Steam

The Steam Link app is available in beta on the Google Play Store here. From there, setup is easy. We’ll guide you through all the steps you need to start playing your favorite Steam games right on your phone.

Get the app

You can download the Steam Link app here. You will need to be running Android 5.0 or later (iOS support is said to be coming soon), and have space for the 31MB download. You’ll likely need at bit more room in storage after the download as well, as the app took up 61MB on our phone after a short while testing. Keep in mind that low-end phones may still struggle to run the app, as streaming can be hardware intensive.

Once you have the Steam Link app, launch it!

Connect a controller

The Steam Link apps supports a variety of controllers. Though, if you have a Steam Controller, you'll have the best experience – after a slightly cumbersome setup process. You can connect Valve's own controller by first following Valve’s instructions here for updating the controller firmware and activating Bluetooth LE (Note: Steam Controller users will have to switch wireless back and forth if they plan on alternating between use with computers and mobile devices).

You can use other Bluetooth controllers as well, such as the SteelSeries Nimbus. To do so, simply open your phone’s Bluetooth settings menu and pair your desired controller. Unfortunately, Valve doesn’t yet appear to have the best support available for third-party controllers.

To give an example, we tried playing with a PS4 controller and though it worked within the Steam Link app, the button mapping was shoddy and input lag was substantial. Once a game launched, our controller inputs first didn’t work at all, and later were still so laggy and poorly mapped that we couldn’t make much use of the controller. Our experience wasn’t much better with other third-party controllers we tried, like the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.

Connect to your PC

To begin the connection with your PC, ensure both your smartphone and PC are connected to the same network. Valve recommends connecting via a 5GHz Wi-Fi connection for the best streaming experience, and if your PC is able to connect to the network via Ethernet, that will be your best option. In our testing, we were able to connect through the Steam Link app even if our computer was on a 5GHz connection while the phone was on a 2.4GHz connection. But, the slower connection may limit performance and increase your controller’s input lag.

To finish the connection with your phone, you’ll need to run Steam on your computer. Then, in the app, you can scan for computers running Steam on the network. Your computer should show up. If not, you can rescan. Select your computer in the app. From there, the Steam Link app will provide a four-digit pin that you’ll need to enter in Steam on your PC. Then the app will check your connection.

Steam Controller Software Download

Once you’ve connected to your PC, you can press “Start Playing” in the Steam Link app’s main menu. This will take you to the Big Picture menu for easy navigation with a controller. Your phone may alert you to the need for new audio drivers on your PC; if this is the case, go to your computer and accept Steam’s prompt to download the new drivers.

Software

How To Find The Steam Controller Driver Free

How to run non-Steam Games

Steam Controller Manual

Just as Steam allows you to add non-Steam games to your library and launch them directly from the program, the Steam Link app also allows this.

To start, run Steam on your PC. At the bottom-left corner of Steam in the games library page you’ll see a “+ ADD A GAME…” button. Press this button and select “Add a Non-Steam Game...“ Steam will then present you with a list of applications on your computer. You may also have to browse to find your desired game’s launcher.

Driver

How To Find The Steam Controller Driver Windows 7

Once found, select the game and press the “ADD SELECTED PROGRAMS” button. This will add the game to your Steam library. From there, you can launch the game in the Steam Link app just like you would any Steam game.