Using a dance pad/game controller on the PC

These instructions apply to both dance pads and game controllers

Check the connection

If your controller has a USB connector then just plug it into the PC. Windows should automatically detect the device and install the default controller USB drivers.

If you have a Playstation or an XBOX connector, you need to get an adapter. An adapter converts your PS/XBOX connector to USB. Look at http://www.stepmania.com/wiki/USB_Adapters for available adapters.

Once you plug in the controller through an adapter, windows may or may not install and configure it correctly – it all depends on the adapter.

Check that the controller is working

Go to ‘Start’ -> ’Control Panel’ -> ’Game Controllers’.

You should see this screen:


If you don’t see any controllers in the list, check your connection and install the right drivers.

Select the first controller in the list and click on ‘Properties’. You should see a screen like this ( It might be slightly different depending on your adapter ):



Try to hit some buttons, you should see some of the buttons on the screen light up and you might see the axes cross move. If nothing is happening, go back to the previous screen, select the second controller in the list and see if anything happens now ( it might be that your controller is in the second slot ).

If none of the controllers do anything, you need to install the drivers for your adapter

If you see something weird happening, like one button keeps flashing all the time, it also means that you should install the drivers.

Dance Pad Users: When you press up, down, left, or right you should see the buttons on the screen light up; if instead you see the axes cross moving, it means that your adapter is not configured to be in dance mode. It has to be in dance mode for a lot of games, like StepMania and Egg Snatch.

To get your adapter into dance mode do this:

  1. Press and hold START+SELECT+UP all together for 3 or more seconds. Then try to press one of the directional arrows again, if a button lights up now, it means that your adapter needs this combo every time you want to use the controller in dance mode.

  2. If step 1 didn’t work, it means that your adapter needs drivers to work in dance mode. Once you install the drivers, some adapters will just work in dance mode automatically; for the others, you will have to come back to this screen again and select the “Dance Mode” option.

Installing the drivers

If your controller has a USB connector, you shouldn’t have to install any drivers; windows will just detect and install everything automatically.

Otherwise, either your adapter came with a driver disk or you have to search the internet to find and download the drivers. A lot of the time, the adapter will work out of the box, without any drivers, so always check first.

http://www.stepmania.com/wiki/USB_Adapters has links to some drivers.

Still doesn't work

If everything else fails you should contact the makers of your USB adapter.