The PS4 stole the spotlight from the PS3, and it won't be long before the PS5 is getting all the attention. That's still no reason to leave your PS3 console or to throw away your controllers altogether. For gamers who love to play on their PC, you can still get the most out of your PS3 controllers.
Get your controller, the PC you want to connect it to, a mini USB cable, and we'll walk you through the process.
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Part 1: Update Windows Drivers and .NET Framework
Step 1: First, check your currently installed drivers by starting the Command prompt. As soon as it is open. Art Driver query and press the Enter Key.
Step 2: Scan the list and make sure the following components are installed:
Step 3: Connect your PlayStation 3 controller to your PC using a mini USB cable (also known as mini Type-B). Usually they have a USB-A port on the PC side, but you can find cables with USB-C ports on Amazon. Mini-USB is older and larger than the more common micro-USB port used on the PS4 controller, mobile devices, and more.
Windows should begin installing the first drivers when you connect the cable.
Part 2: Download and Install ScpToolkit and Drivers
Step 1: Go to the official ScpToolkit download thread and click the green link to download the latest stable version. You see the installer - ScpToolkit_Setup.exe - plus the source code packed in archives. If you want to tinker with the code, resort to 7-Zip or a similar tool to extract the files.
Step 2: Find the downloaded installer and launch it as an administrator.
Step 3: After the installation, ScpToolkit will prompt you to run a separate driver installer. If you don't see this prompt, search for "scp" and select ScpToolkit driver installer. In Windows 10, it might be at the top of the Start menu under recently added.
Step 4: With the ScpToolkit driver installer Make sure all the boxes are checked, including Force installation of the driver.
Step 5: Click the arrow next to that Select the DualShock 3 controllers to install Possibility. From the drop-down menu that appears, find and select your DualShock 3 controller. If you also want to use a DualShock 4 or bluetooth dongle to enable wireless gaming, select those as well.
Step 6: When you're done, click To install. All necessary files are installed and configured automatically. Don't panic, you will see a lot of pop-up windows on your screen - this is normal. As soon as you see them Dualshock 3 USB driver installed Message you are good to go.
Step 7: Press the output Button when the installation is complete.
Your DualShock 3 is now plug and play, which means you can plug it in anytime and it should work automatically!
Note the following: Because you technically use the Xbox 360 drivers to interact with the PS3 controller, you will likely see an Xbox control scheme in games. When a game wants you to press "X", they want to press the Square button instead.
Note: As of January 2018, ScpToolkit is no longer in active development. Future Windows updates could make it an ineffective solution. However, until now, it's still a viable option.Part 3: create a profile and tweak the settings
If you are inclined to do so, you can tweak your PS3 controller through various applications included in the ScpToolkit.
Step 1: The "unstable" ScpToolkit Profile Manager is not installed by default. To get this functionality, run the installer again to select this tool and change your current installation. You will then see a desktop shortcut and ScpToolkit Profile Manager added to ScpToolkit Start menu folder.
Once opened, you can create custom button mappings that you can exchange on the fly. You can also assign keyboard and mouse commands.
Step 2: Double click ScpToolkit settings Manager Shortcut on your desktop or within the ScpToolkit Start menu folder. Here you can optimize the sensitivity of your thumb stick, the rumble, the controller latency and the LED display, among other things.
Troubleshooting Windows 10
Windows 10 can be picky about controllers. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft's operating system is designed for use with Xbox accessories and the Xbox Live ecosystem: it's obviously not suitable for a Sony device, especially an outdated one.
While the ScpToolkit bypasses most of the problems users may have while using DualShock 3 on their PC, errors can occur during the installation process. Alternatively, if this doesn't seem to work smoothly, you can always activate the driver installation. However, we recommend that you back up all important files in advance, although the risk of data loss is small. Finally, change the Windows startup settings.
Step 1: Press the Beginning Key or press the Windows key.
Step 2: Click the gear icon on the left side of the start menu. This opens the the settings App.
Step 3: click Update and security.
Step 4: Choose Restoration from the list on the left.
Step 5: Press the Restart now Button listed below Advanced start-up.
Step 6: Your system will reboot and boot into a mode where you can change your firmware and startup settings to bypass driver signature enforcement.
Step 7: Choose Troubleshooting from the resulting list of options.
Step 8: click Expanded options.
Step 9: Click on Startup Settings. This initiates another restart.
Step 10: After your system has restarted, you have more options. Find Disable driver signature enforcement, Then press the F7 key to restart your PC one final time.
Step 11: After restarting your PC, follow the steps above to reinstall and configure ScpToolkit.
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