Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Adapter

Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Adapter : I recently bought an XBox 360 wireless control adapter on eBay. It seems the only way to buy an official Microsoft adapter is via an official retailer and I couldn’t find any on eBay. The adapter I ended up purchasing was, and I knew it was, a cheap(ish) Chinese knock-off. I had read around enough to know that it should work, but hadn’t realised how varied people’s experiences had been.

The adapter I bought was from the eBay store Console Mate (a popular Australian, NSW, power seller) and was listed as “WIRELESS GAMING RECEIVER – Xbox 360 Controller on PC”. the store was easy to deal with and the device arrived in under a couple of days via express post.

A genuine wireless adapter will have “Microsoft” written on the top of the adapter itself. These knock-offs (at least mine) say only “XBox 360″ with no branding, copyright, etc. Otherwise, they look like the real deal.

My issues began when trying to install the adapter in an install of Windows 7 64-bit. I tried using the software bundled with the device, but had the same experience with the official software (which I ended up getting to work). Using the driver on the CD that came with the adapter, I kept getting the error message:
Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it. PC Wireless Gaming Receiver. The system cannot find the file specified.
I then turned to the official drivers. After installing the official Microsoft software (http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/d/xbox-360-wireless-controller-for-windows) I then plugged the device into a USB port. My install of Windows 7 64-bit couldn’t install the device; ultimately, the adapter always ended up being listed as “Unknown Device”.

Googling will bring up a few solutions for this issue, but I found only one works. These are the steps I took to install the drivers for the device:
- Install the official software: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/d/xbox-360-wireless-controller-for-windows
- Start -> Search for “Device Manager” -> Open it
- Find the “Unknown Device” -> right click -> properties
- Driver -> Update driver -> Browse my computer -> Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer
- Double click “All devices” -> Search for “Microsoft” in the left pane and select it -> Search for “XBox 360 Wireless Receiver for Windows Version: 2.1xxx”
- Choose “Next” and complete the install

The “Unknown Device” should then disappear from the devices list. I was then able to sync my existing wireless XBox 360 controller (which came with my XBox 360 console) with the adapter by pressing the large “X” button on the controller to wake it (it should start blinking), then pressing the button on the adapter (its light should start blinking), then pressing the receiver sync button on the controller (a small button in between the left shoulder button and the central top port of the controller). After a few seconds, the controller and adapter lights stopped blinking, leaving the top left light of the controller lit (the Player 1 state). Viola! Done.


[Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Adapter]