# Why won't my gamepad work on my PC? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-my-gamepad-work-on-my-pc/471664 "2008-11-07T17:23:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-my-gamepad-work-on-my-pc/471664/1 "2008-11-07T17:23:23Z")
More specifically, if I go through the control pannel and bring up the game controllers window and test it, every button works fine. It’s a Logitech USB gamepad and Windows XP if it matters. Unfortunately on every game I’ve tried, when mapping the controls, the game doesn’t seem to be able to sense the key presses. I’ve tried Fallout 1+2, DeusEX, Morrowind, and many others. Now I’m trying to play Gothic II, which I never got into because of the awkward controls, and I’d really like to get this working. Am I doing something wrong, or does the game have to be designed to be able to use a gamepad? Sorry if this is in the wrong forum - Where does a GQ re. Games go? ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-my-gamepad-work-on-my-pc/471664/2 "2008-11-07T17:28:14Z")
Have you tried loading the Logitech software for the pad? ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-my-gamepad-work-on-my-pc/471664/3 "2008-11-07T17:39:22Z")
It didn’t come with any, so I thought it was plug and play. I’ll go check their website. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-my-gamepad-work-on-my-pc/471664/4 "2008-11-07T17:40:33Z")
Either the game has to be designed to take advantage fo the game pad, or the game pad has to come with software that maps game pad commands to keyboard/mouse commands. It boggles my mind that you are trying to play fallout 1 + 2 on a game pad btw 😉 Personally I like using the xbox 360 controller (you can just plug one in to your vista PC, or download drivers for it for your XP setup) for racing games and some third person adventure games as well as sports games, but all of the games I play like this were designed to take advantage of the xbox 360 controller (mainly GRID, FIFA 08, Assasin’s Creed). So try checking out the Manufacturer’s website for drivers for your gamepad. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-my-gamepad-work-on-my-pc/471664/5 "2008-11-07T18:11:42Z")
AFAIK, Fallout 1 & 2 don’t support joysticks, so they won’t support a gamepad. At best, you’d be able to move the hex/cursor thing with the stick, and that would be it. I think you need a mod to play Deus Ex with a pad- you can do it through GameTap, but GameTap mods all their games for compatibility. ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-my-gamepad-work-on-my-pc/471664/6 "2008-11-07T18:19:03Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > It boggles my mind that you are trying to play fallout 1 + 2 on a game pad btw 😉 Yeah, that was a kind of half assed attempt at configuring the controller, and completely unnecessary once I saw how well the controls are laid out in those games. I’m just used to being frustarted by the controls in most games. Gothic II has the old WASD controls, which I hate with a passion. Anyway, I got the drivers from Logitech’s website, and I’ll try them tonight. How do I know if I need the 32 or 64 bit driver? ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-my-gamepad-work-on-my-pc/471664/7 "2008-11-07T18:21:38Z")
It’s based on your OS. Are you running 64 bit XP? If you don’t know, you probably aren’t. But go into your control panel and then system. It should say what version of windows you are running (and tell you if it’s a 32 bit Os or a 64 bit one). ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-my-gamepad-work-on-my-pc/471664/8 "2008-11-07T18:42:10Z")
Cool, Thanks! I’ll try it out tonight when I get home.