Question Windows 10 attempting to re-install ghosted gamepad devices that are not plugged!

[BLaZiNgSPEED]

Hello,

Yesterday, I went to Argos and replaced my faulty PowerA Xbox One gamepad controller as my previous Xbox One Controller exact model developed a fault with drifting with left analog stick.

I returned my controller in the store and re-plugged newer controller. Problem is, Windows 10 is still attempting to install the second old previous controller and giving warnings that a meta deta could not be established!

See screenshot below.

Repeatedly at every reboot of Windows 10 there is a second, third and so attempt to install a ghosted version of this controller. Windows update is not disabled. It does install the drivers, yet it continues to attempt installing an empty driver and a ghosted controller that isn't plugged!

The only way to stop this vicious cycle is to unplug the existing gamepad controller from the USB port. When the gamepad controller is not connected then this behaviour stops. But this means I cannot use my gamepad controller at all. It stops the warnings in event viewer and stops the ghosted gamepads from appearing.

But if I replug the controller it will try to install a second copy of the same gamepad controller. This is infuriating. Has anyone had this experience and is there a solution besides a fresh Windows 10 reinstall?

 

[MaddMann]

Out of curiosity, I wonder if it is somehow still being registered on a com port.

Launch PowerShell (Press Windows+R to open the Run dialog box, and then type “powershell” in the text box. )
Enter the following command: Get-PnpDevice -PresentOnly | Where-Object { $_.InstanceId -match '^USB' }.
That command will show a list of all present USB devices. If the information is something you don't mind sharing, please post it here

 

[BLaZiNgSPEED]

Hello, yes, I followed this step. I followed another YouTube guide by Britec to use DriveCleanup Uninstall tool to wipe out the drivers. This did not help one bit.

I'm in this situation.

Sadly this is what happens upon restart of computer following the device installation.

Event viewer shows 2 warnings.

The Network List Manager reports no connectivity to the internet.
A connection to the Windows Update service could not be established.

One of the Xbox Series X EnWired Green Hint is connected and properly functioning. I have tested the settings and even played a bit of FIFA with it.

But the second greyed out icon with Xbox Series X EnWired Green Hint will emerge as Status: Not connected. This is what's triggering the 2 warnings. I don't know why a Windows Update service could not be established.

Edit: I just checked my Windows 10 update the Check for Update is greyed out.

Maybe this is the reason for this problem? I checked my Group Policy Editor however, and it shows as Not configured for all of them under Windows 10. So not sure why these seem to be set like that.

 

[MaddMann]

Thanks for that info, it doesn't appear to be showing as a connected com device, so that is good.
Are you able to right click on the greyed out device and either choose uninstall or disable? IF you look in your programs, is there an xbox driver you can uninstall, then let it re-install when you plug the controller in fresh?

 

[BLaZiNgSPEED]

Thanks for that info, it doesn't appear to be showing as a connected com device, so that is good.
Are you able to right click on the greyed out device and either choose uninstall or disable? IF you look in your programs, is there an xbox driver you can uninstall, then let it re-install when you plug the controller in fresh?

No, absolutely no option to disable the greyed out device. Yes, it does give me the option to remove device. Device Manager also let's me uninstall the greyed out device.

The problem is that after restarting the PC the greyed out device re-adds itself with a Event Viewer showing
"The Network List Manager reports no connectivity to the internet."
"A connection to the Windows Update service could not be established."

Further restarts just adds further greyed out devices.

This is really frustrating. The only way this behaviour stops is if I unplug the controller. The greyed out devices remain if I then uninstall them of-course they don't add back.

But as soon as I reconnect the gamepad controller this vicious cycle continues. I don't know, why a network connection cannot be established. Windows Update should let me install the drivers?

Somehow it appears that the driver isn't being installed via windows update but rather with the existing legacy drivers. I do not know whether this is because when I installed Windows 10 I installed it with my LAN cable unplugged.

I have Specify Target Version set to 1903 and all updates are up to latest 1903 version.

If I ignore the behaviour, this will continue to pile on and on. Maybe I'll try to test a different USB port, but it probably won't make a difference.

 

[MaddMann]

If I ignore the behaviour, this will continue to pile on and on. Maybe I'll try to test a different USB port, but it probably won't make a difference.

Yeah, I don't see it changing anything either. That is extremely frustrating, but at this point it sounds like there is a pending driver install that is missing a source location (hence it see's it as offline). One of the solutions I can suggest is to restore from a system image, though that can be a bit of a pain if you don't back things up on a regular basis. Otherwise another solution may be to boot your computer into safe mode, then remove the device via device manager.

 

[BLaZiNgSPEED]

Well, sadly after so much troubleshooting nothing has changed. I reset Windows update and have even updated Windows 10 with latest cumulative updates.

I uninstalled the drivers and the greyed out devices and shut down the PC and then plugged the gamepad in a different USB port. No change. At first it will install one gamepad but upon restart of the PC a second greyed out controller will appear along the main one.

I have even tried disabling Device Install Service and Device Setup Manager as an experiment. Greyed out devices don't appear in Devices and Printers list, but they start piling up in the Device Manager: Show Hidden Devices.

Now I am in a dilemma. I don't know if my controller is faulty or whether my Windows 10 is faulty. SFC Scannow doesn't find any integrity violations.

I've been using gamepad controllers for PC since 2006 and this is the first time ever I have experienced such a problem like this that even after a successful device installation Windows still attempts to install the driver upon every boot/reboot of the PC.

I've googled countlessly and no one else seems to have exactly the same issue as me. Previously I had the exact same gamepad but I had to return it due to drifting issues. That pad never caused this behaviour. I also don't understand why Windows will attempt to install drivers for the exact model of this gamepad controller that I previously had in my PC?

I'm really curious to test the controller in another computer to see if this occurs there as well. I don't have another PC with Windows 10. Maybe if I take it to a shop and test it, but not sure if anyone will do me this favour.

 

[BLaZiNgSPEED]

Update: Just went to Argos Store today and explained the situation that drivers keep on trying to install on every boot and piling up. I showed them a print screen photo taken with my phone of my Devices being added as greyed out. They issued me a full £30 refund in cash!!!

This is despite using the previous controller for 8 months. The guy checked the website. https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8391577 Indeed there seems to be no mention of Windows PC compatibility at all.

Even the instruction manual has no mention of Windows PC. https://documents.4rgos.it/v1/static/8391577_R_D001
Only Xbox Series X, and Xbox One.

It is quite possible that the gamepad is not fully compatible for Windows PC. I may have been lucky with my previous controller that I ended up replacing due to analog stick drifting. It's still a mystery why the replaced controller was causing this and not my old one.

At first they weren't too keen to refund me as they kept saying that if it is working then I should simply ignore those greyed out devices. But I insisted that just because I am able to use the controller, doesn't mean it's really usable. Device Install Service kept on running at system startup causing warnings messages in event viewer. I uninstalled and unplugged the controller and behaviour stopped.

I'm going to buy a new controller of a different model and verify if this occurs again. If it will, then the problem will be with my Windows 10. If it does not, then it's this particular controller that has a compatibility issue with Windows.

If anyone's from the UK and wants to try they can wish to order the gamepad controller from Argos and test on your system if it does the same behaviour. If it does you can return it back for a full refund.

 

[Colif]

Even the instruction manual has no mention of Windows PC. https://documents.4rgos.it/v1/static/8391577_R_D001
Only Xbox Series X, and Xbox One.

there is a large similarity between them though, the core of the os is very similar since they both use DIrectX
Since its not in the manual, you lucky to get a refund.

wonder what drivers it was using since there shouldn't be any?

Can you download and run Driverview - http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/driverview.html

All it does is looks at drivers installed; it won't install any (this is intentional as 3rd party driver updaters often get it wrong)

When you run it, go into view tab and set it to hide all Microsoft drivers, will make list shorter.

upload a screenshot to an image sharing website and show link here, just curious what might be installed.

 

[BLaZiNgSPEED]

there is a large similarity between them though, the core of the os is very similar since they both use DIrectX
Since its not in the manual, you lucky to get a refund.

wonder what drivers it was using since there shouldn't be any?

Can you download and run Driverview - http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/driverview.html

All it does is looks at drivers installed; it won't install any (this is intentional as 3rd party driver updaters often get it wrong)

When you run it, go into view tab and set it to hide all Microsoft drivers, will make list shorter.

upload a screenshot to an image sharing website and show link here, just curious what might be installed.

They were if I recall November 2020 Drivers. Though, I don't remember exactly the date or version. But I do remember it was the exact same driver that was used prior with the old controller that I had returned.

I have taken a print screen.

There's no more traces of the Xbox One Gamepad Controller as I have uninstalled the driver including the greyed out ones.

Since it is disconnected, it will no longer attempt to install. I may have got my thread title a little confusing. I mean, it doesn't try to install these greyed out devices when the gamepad controller is unplugged. But Devices and Printers would show the greyed out device as unconnected.

So after rebooting the PC. I find in Task Manager --> Services Device Install Service and Device Setup Manager continuing to attempt to install a driver.

Initially it succeeds with only 1 device. But after restarting PC another attempt occurs. There would be 5 of these greyed out appearing one after another. I know this will occur infinitely, it will never stop by itself until I unplug the controller.

"A connection to the Windows Metadata and Internet Services (WMIS) could not be established" is what was appearing in Event Viewer each time.

Unplugging the controller ceased the behaviour. Why this was happening, I have no idea. The old one that I returned didn't cause this issue. But it was installed part of the fresh Windows 10 install, I didn't install it manually.

But before fresh reinstalling 2 months ago. My old controller from 8 months ago was installed fine. It did install the drivers via windows update as I remember network activity and drivers were installed. It also had to install driver when plugging the headphones into the controller. But that was pretty much it and after that it was flawless and only 1 controller device remained.

 

[Colif]

All of your drivers are normal. I seen those all before.

Windows Metadata and Internet Services

that is used by windows to update drivers that have been submitted to Microsoft for testing purposes and are included in window updates as "good drivers" that are signed to work with windows 10/11
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...nstall/windows-metadata-and-internet-services
All drivers accessed by that service are submitted by the makers to MS - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/dashboard/
it seems Microsoft recognizes it as the old controller still

Drivers likely actually show as Microsoft Drivers but I am not going to look through those as there are too many and I don't know what would be wrong in the listing anyway. Microsoft do the same thing with realtek audio drivers, change the creator name to Microsoft.

I have seen this before, trying to make windows forget a device. I wish I remember answer. Its late here, I see what I can find tomorrow.

 

[BLaZiNgSPEED]

After 10 months since my last problem with Windows 10 reinstalling the same gamepad driver on and on. I decided to buy a new Xbox One Controller from Argos with a slightly different model. Thought I'll make myself happy in time for Christmas. https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1354487?clickPR=plp:36:44
This time the packaging on the box shows Windows 10/11 Support and PC compatible.

Unfortunately, to my shock I am still being faced with this issue. Upon restarting Windows, Windows 10 will reinstall an extra device leaving me with extra greyed out devices in Devices and Printers.

Interestingly when I look back at the Events it shows requires further installation. I do not know what is that further installation because quite frankly the controller is working perfectly fine. I have tested all the buttons and even the advanced gaming button, all working fine without issues. Thing is, it will show as successfully installed.

If I unplug and re-plug, Windows will not reinstall again. But as soon as I reboot the computer or shut it down and turn it back on, it will attempt the same vicious cycle.

10 months ago as you can see it was the PowerA Xbox Series X Enhanced EnWired Green Hint that I had in my previous screenshots. Now I bought the PowerA Xbox Series X Enhanced EnWired Cotton Candy Blue.

The same issue is occurring. Every restart only the gamepad is being reinstalled. All other devices remain fixed. I even upgraded a few months ago my monitor successfully and Windows doesn't reinstall that. Why is this happening only with the gamepad? It is incredibly frustrating, when the controller is working perfectly fine. I'm now completely lost, I know a Windows 10 reinstall might fix it, but it would be a big hassle just to fix this issue.

 

[BLaZiNgSPEED]

Finally the problem is solved! But with a change of gamepad with a different manufacturer model.

I bought the PDP Xbox REMATCH Advanced Wired Controller - Radial White https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4525134
In fact, a couple of weeks ago I bought this and had to return it due to cosmetic damage to the circle of the controllers right analogue stick where it would not move smoothly. I returned it for a refund and re-bought the same model again just for the benefit of the doubt and also to see if this behaviour would trigger with the second pad of same model. I uninstalled the previous driver before installing the new one.

With both of these controllers, this behaviour does not occur!!! This experiment suggests that the problem is neither with my Windows Update settings, nor with the USB port as I re-plugged the new gamepad under the same USB port.

This definitely suggests that there is a conflict somewhere between the PowerA controller and my Windows 10 settings. Somewhere in the registry the PowerA is stored causing this behaviour trigger. What I suspect is when I installed Windows 10 freshly using legacy drivers (with LAN cable unplugged) that might have caused this glitch! While the first PowerA did not have problems, when I had to replace it due to stick drift the second one started causing it. Maybe because Windows is installing legacy drivers and upon restart it is failing to install the drivers via windows update causing this endless loop. I also had these warnings in event viewer that a " Connection to the Windows Update could not be established". This issue does not happen with the PDP controllers and nor does it produce these new greyed out controllers!

Anyway, it seems I'll have to avoid PowerA for the foreseeable future until I freshly reinstall Windows 10 to clear out this problem.
I also think I might have to avoid installing gamepad controller as a legacy driver on a fresh Windows install, in case this has something to do with this bug being created.
I'm disappointed with PowerA's response, they did not offer me any help whatsoever. Told me that they could not reproduce this behaviour in their testing.

 

[Colif]

Glad you finally got one that isn't just using same hardware ins a different shell. Too many copies, not enough originals out there.
Its the same with a lot of things, you think you buying something different and instead its just the same thing in a different wrapper.
First time it happened to me was a book, now most Cassette tape players all use the same cheap parts.