There's probably little I can do, but I'm having trouble with how Windows recognizes a gamepad I'm using.

I have an SNES controller USB adapter, and I've plugged in a non-standard SNES controller (it's the "Fighter Pad" on this page). The problem I'm running into is that for some reason Windows thinks this controller has a Z-axis control on it. It seems to think there's a second stick or something. It correctly recognizes the D-pad as the directional portion of the controller, but when I press A, B, X, or Y, it triggers the Z axis directions and also triggers two buttons at once. So now, when I was configuring a game with the controller, the buttons were triggering twice.

Is there any way to correct this? Or am I pretty much stuck with how Windows interprets a controller's buttons?

I don't think it's Windows' problem, I think it's the problem of the USB adapter, or more specifically, its drivers.

I've tried a couple of those adapters (in my case, Gamecube->USB adapters), and I've found that their drivers are very iffy, on the verge of being unusable. As it stands, I was only able to get the analog finger triggers to work as throttle and brake by electronically modding the joystick itself.

I'd google for people on forums with your same problem and see what their workarounds have been.

It's possible you might be able to edit the INF file for the driver to remove the phantom axis.

When I was purchasing a SNES->USB adapter, many of them stated that they did not work with non-standard controllers. There may have been one that did, but I forget.

Mine doesn't say what brand it is, but it's the gray box with a purple bar on it. I think it was the most compatible one. $30 on eBay.

You may try posting on the EMU forums. emutalk, ngemu, emuxhaven. Good luck.

Where would I find the ini file? I wouldn't mind taking a stab at it.

The thing that's killing me is that I'm about 98% certain that it was working properly on my last Windows install, and now it's doing this funky thing. I may try it on my other Windows box and see how it installs.

I think the company that makes it is one of those that is proud about their product not needing drivers. Ugh. Thanks for the tips, though. I'll check it out.

Ah. Then in that case, you could use the Device Manager to figure out which built-in Windows INF file that it *IS* using and see if there is a way to edit that axis out of the file. You'd make a copy of the file and within the file, change the adapter's name to something slightly different so that it looks like a new adapter. Make your edits, then try to install that driver by doing "Update Driver" and pointing it at your edited INF file.

Of course, I've never done this for one of those devices, so I don't know what edits you'd need to make.

Ha, fun. I just got around to looking at this again, and when I go into the device manager, find the device, and click on "Driver Details," it tells me "No driver files are required or have been loaded for this device." Ha!

So, while technically true (since the gamepad is recognized and is sending signals to the PC), it looks like Windows handles these kinds of pads however it wants. Granted, it could be the pad its self, but like I said, I could have sworn I used it before...

It still uses a INF file. It just means it doesn't have a special driver for it.