Need help with configuring my IPAC Ultimate I/O

[MrPhilip]

Hey guys!

This will be my first post here. So I build (at least in my oppinion) an amazing looking arcade. I attached some pictures so you don't think I am a complete idiot.

Why idiot? The machine is for about 2 years now finished, and some systems are playable. But there is one thing that keeps me the last 1,5 years from having ANY joy with it... the controls.

I am now at a point, where I am constantly frustrated because I can't get it to work.

My problem:
I want to use my IPAC Ultimate I/O but I messed something up. The LEDs on it work fine tho.
Right now when I plug the board in, WinIPac v2 shows me that no board is connected, so I cant do anything with it, but at the same time the device manager tells me I have a 360 controller plugged in.
This is my bad. I got it working in gamepad mode, but then I changed one key to keyboard and the board disappeared.

I have just immense problems to understand how I can get the IPAC to work with WinIPAC, Joytokey, Hyperspin and all the systems with their own profiles.

Would be super cool if someone could rescue this project. Sometimes I would love tho throw it out of the window...

I hope you got what I was trying to say in english 

[Phreakwars]

Have you tried uninstalling the 360 drivers, reboot, then refresh the device manager? I suspect this is where the conflict is.

[MrPhilip]

Yes I did it about three times now. Uninstalled the device and Windows 10 reboots automatically after that.
But it still shows up as an 360 controller.

[Phreakwars]

Try doing this.. go into the device manager, and manually change the drivers on the 360 controller to a keyboard.. Left click>UPDATE DRIVER>BROWSE MY COMPUTER FOR DRIVERS>LET ME PICK FROM A LIST>then change to an HID keyboard device. Haven't tried personally, but that might work. Might be able to boot into safe mode and remove the driver as well. OR, maybe try doing it in Linux. I know there are some Linux utilities out there as well. Windows can get stupid at times.

[MrPhilip]

I followed your steps but it only lets me choose between three different 360 applications. Wireless receiver and something plug & play.
It's the same on both my PCs.

Would it be somehow possible to upload the firmware that way? I can't imagine that but what do I know

[Phreakwars]

Uninstall, reboot into safe mode, then go back into device manager and it should be listed as an unknown device, from there you should be able to select from keyboards in the list of devices.

[Phreakwars]

OK, I just did a tiny experiment. I booted up Windows 7 in a virtual machine and assigned the 360 controller to that. It showed up as an unknown USB device in Windows 7, from there, I was able to manipulate the driver and change it to a keyboard since Windows 7 has no idea what it even is. So that might be an option for you as well. I'm assuming you are using Windows 10. You can do this with Windows XP as well, which actually might go even smoother since newer versions of Windows 7 might have the 360 drivers already, which you want to avoid.

[MrPhilip]

First of all thank you for your effort! 

1. I tried the "safe mode" option. If I follow the instructions like this (After your PC restarts, you should see a number of options. Press 5 or F5 for Safe Mode with networking) I press 4/F4 or 5/F5 but nothing happens. It just takes about 30 seconds with this menu open and the PC will shut down. It's like my keyboard doesn't work in this window?!

2. I also installed Windows 7 on a virtual machine now, but I can't find the IPAC as anything in there. In the background I have the Win 10 device manager open and I can see that if I unplug the board, the 360 controller disappers. But in the Win 7 device manager nothing happens. There is also no unknown device or 360 controller.

[Phreakwars]

I'm assuming you are using Oracle (That's what I'm using). Make sure you have selected it under devices>USB This moves control of it from Windows 10, to Windows 7. Then it should show up.

[MrPhilip]

Yes I am using Oracle too. This setting showed me the right name after a long time. Under "Devices>USB>Ultimarc...".
Without doing anything else it showed up in Win 10 device manager as "HID conform systemcontroller". Tomorrow I will continue 

[MrPhilip]

Try doing this.. go into the device manager, and manually change the drivers on the 360 controller to a keyboard.. Left click>UPDATE DRIVER>BROWSE MY COMPUTER FOR DRIVERS>LET ME PICK FROM A LIST>then change to an HID keyboard device. Haven't tried personally, but that might work. Might be able to boot into safe mode and remove the driver as well. OR, maybe try doing it in Linux. I know there are some Linux utilities out there as well. Windows can get stupid at times.

In the virtual machine I can finally change it to an HID keyboard.
If I now unplug it, and plug it back in, it comes again back as an 360 controller...

I opened steam big pictures and it shows me two 360 controllers. This must be because before the board got mixed up I used it as a two player controller. Well, there I can at least see that the joysticks still give some output 

[Phreakwars]

Well hell, I'm lost now. Don't know what to tell you. At least you have determined that in can in fact go to HID mode. Something screwy there with the way Windows 10 handles it. I'd try replicating the problem with one of my Ultimate I/O boards,  but I'm too chicken that I might end up in the same situation you're in. Have you tried maybe reflashing it in Windows 7? I'd get ahold of Ultimarc and see what they say.

[MrPhilip]

Be careful out there! Would be a shame if Windows eats yours too... you know, I am already on my second board... this is getting expensive for something that shouldnt be that hard.

How could I reflash it? You mean I would maybe install WinIpac on Windows 7 and it could recognise it there as a board, right?

[Phreakwars]

Yes, run the iPac software in Windows 7 since Windows 7 IS recognizing it for what it is. I would think you'd be able to reassign buttons, and what have you that way as well if Windows 10 is being flaky. I mean, if it's going in a cab or something once it's programmed it's programmed. Least that's how I have always remembered it. I've only used an Ultimate I/O once. Used regular i-Pac 2's several times.

[MrPhilip]

Ok I will try that later. Yeah you are right, but I have a ton of different games and even steam games. So I want/need to change some profiles a lot. And my Virtual Machine is a bit slow because I have it on an HDD because I thought I only need it to fix the problem there once.

[MrPhilip]

Yes, run the iPac software in Windows 7 since Windows 7 IS recognizing it for what it is. I would think you'd be able to reassign buttons, and what have you that way as well if Windows 10 is being flaky. I mean, if it's going in a cab or something once it's programmed it's programmed. Least that's how I have always remembered it. I've only used an Ultimate I/O once. Used regular i-Pac 2's several times.

So I had to install about 200 Updates for Windows 7 which took some hours to be able to open WinIPAC V2 aaaaaand - nothing. It just wont recognise it.
Only two buttons work which represent the "Home" button of the 360 controller.

Also when I choose Devices>USB>Ultimarc I/O in the virtual machine I see the following in the device manager:

HID-conform Gamecontroller
HID-conform Gamecontroller
USB-Input device
USB-Input device

They all represent the IPAC board. I can't just buy a third one... some. This just happened when I assigned ONE button in WinIPAC V2 to a keyboard. Shuts down and is locked in 360 mode...

[MrPhilip]

Yes, run the iPac software in Windows 7 since Windows 7 IS recognizing it for what it is. I would think you'd be able to reassign buttons, and what have you that way as well if Windows 10 is being flaky. I mean, if it's going in a cab or something once it's programmed it's programmed. Least that's how I have always remembered it. I've only used an Ultimate I/O once. Used regular i-Pac 2's several times.

I just pulled my old Ultimate I/O out again and plugged it in the arcade. Only the board without any buttons connected to see what happens.
It too gets recognized as a 360 controller. I switched the USB plugs from the mouse and the board on the motherboard around.
(Can't remember but it seems like I did the same to both boards now that made them fail)

Windows shows me that it is installing the mouse for this USB Port and the "IPAC Ultimate I/O" for the other.
In the device manager it still comes back as a 360 controller!?

I also tested the board on my other gaming PC (Also Windows 10) and it's a 360 controller there as well...