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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2175 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 21, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Weird. Are you seeing anything change in Device Manager when you plug in or unplug the controllers? If there's no sound or tree reloading behavior, that points to an issue with the USB hardware on the motherboard. If there are changes, set up an event manager filter to track down what they are; unknown device IDs can also point to hardware issues (usually a past short-from-D+-to-5V). If it's a desktop, switching to different USB ports or to a PCI(E) motherboard might be a cheap way to get back up and running.

Are you seeing anything change in Device Manager when you plug in or unplug the controllers? If there are changes, set up an event manager filter to track down what they are.

When I plug in the controller, I hear a "USB connected" sound, and then every five seconds on loop a "USB disconnected" sound. After every "USB disconnected" sound, Device Manager does an update flash as if something changed, and a "USB device connected" icon appears for a split second in the Taskbar. But following the procedure laid out in the linked Reddit post does not cause Event Viewer to show any Kernel-PnP or Kernel-Pnp-Rundown events corresponding to these happenings.

If it's a desktop, switching to different USB ports or to a PCI(E) motherboard might be a cheap way to get back up and running.

The problem occurs regardless of whether I use a front USB port (belonging to the case, connected indirectly to the motherboard) or a rear USB port (belonging directly to the motherboard).

Oof. Do you have similar issues with other USB devices in the same physical ports? Keyboards, mice, usb thumb drives, especially anything with higher power draw or running in faster USB modes? Or is it just controllers, nothing else?

Do you know your motherboard? If not, grab CPU-z and check the mainboard tab, then check for BIOS updates from the manufacturer. Especially AMD motherboards have had sometimes-very-weird issues with specific USB modes in early BIOS releases.

The problem occurs regardless of whether I use a front USB port (belonging to the case, connected indirectly to the motherboard) or a rear USB port (belonging directly to the motherboard).

It's a bit of a hail-mary, but try unplugging the connection from the motherboard to the front side panel (they're keyed, so it's pretty easy to reinsert the right direction when you're done testing). In humid environments, I have seen bad connections there cause problems all across a hub. PCI(E) expansion cards are cheap as another try if you've got the available slots, but unfortunately most physical stores that stock them will charge an obnoxious premium.

I installed a PCIe-to-USB adapter card, and the 8BitDo controller works when connected to it. But when I installed the card my motherboard's built-in sound chip stopped outputting sound, both directly through the motherboard's audio output and indirectly through the case's audio output! Sound still works when routed through the controller's audio output, so overall it's no problem. But it's just ridiculous how finicky computers can be.

Hm... Can you check your default sound device? Windows will normally try to only output to one audio port at a time. In Win10, left-click the Sound Volume control from the System Tray, click the name of the currently-selected audio output, and you should get a list of all available outputs. Win11 hides the interface a bit more, but it still exists. Look for one that says Speakers or AC97. You may have to restart applications or refresh web pages to have them recognize the new intended audio output, although modern apps are usually pretty good about responding near-instantly.

Very common problem where it defaults to HDMI or DisplayPort, especially when going to monitors without speakers or where the speakers default to no volume.

It's possible to get multiple outputs working simultaneously, but it's kinda jank and requires going pretty deep into the interface weeds.

Can you check your default sound device?

It was the motherboard's RealTek audio chip, same as always. I even reinstalled the RealTek driver from the motherboard manufacturer's webpage, but that changed nothing. With my headphones attached to the 8BitDo controller, the default output device now is "Headphones (Xbox Controller)".

Very common problem where it defaults to HDMI or DisplayPort, especially when going to monitors without speakers or where the speakers default to no volume.

Actually, the Windows interface used to show audio outputs to my two monitors, but now those two outputs have disappeared. I don't know whether that happened when I reinstalled Windows 10 or when I added the PCIe-to-USB card.

But none of this matters, since I always use headphones anyway.

Do you have similar issues with other USB devices in the same physical ports? Keyboards, mice, USB thumb drives, especially anything with higher power draw or running in faster USB modes? Or is it just controllers, nothing else?

I haven't had any problems with other USB devices (including the aforementioned first-party controller), even in the same ports. (Possibly relevant: The first-party controller uses a USB A to Micro-A cable, while the two third-party controllers use USB A to C cables. But I've connected phones and GoPro cameras with USB A to C cables previously without problems.)

check for BIOS updates from the manufacturer

It appears that my AMD motherboard had USB problems that were fixed by BIOS updates around year 2021. I already was using a 2022 BIOS version, and now have updated it to the latest non-beta version from year 2024. This did not fix the problem.

It's a bit of a Hail Mary, but try unplugging the connection from the motherboard to the front-side panel.

This did not fix the problem.

PCIe expansion cards are cheap as another try if you've got the available slots

I guess I have no other option.

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