I got an xbox 360 wireless receiver for windows. I have Windows Vista
Ultimate 64-bit. When I plugged the receiver in, windows couldn't find a
driver. So I installed the driver software from the CD that came with
it, but I still had an "Unknown Device" in Device Manager. So I tried
the latest one from the Microsoft Site (version 1.20.146.0). Still the
same. At this point I also tried pairing my controller with me receiver,
but it would just have a connection error and flash constantly. I tried
a number of methods to update the driver using the files I downloaded
from the above Microsoft site, to no avail. My Vista 64 just wouldn't
recognize the driver files. So here is the exact process that worked for
me:
Uninstall any drivers you've tried to install already - go to device
manager and uninstall the driver for the "unknown device" (which is just
uninstalling the device really, seeing there is no driver) and also
uninstall any driver software through control panel. LEAVE THE DEVICE
PLUGGED IN.
Restart PC.
Download and install the latest driver from the Microsoft Site.
Restart PC.
Go to device manager - you'll notice it still shows up as an unknown
device. Right click on it and go Update Driver.
Click "Browse my vomputer for software".
Click "Let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer".
The list will take a while to load. Select Microsoft, then on the right,
select Xbox Wireless Receiver for Windows (there might be multiple
versions, go with what looks like the most recent one - mine was
2.1.0.1349) and click next. It will warn you about possible
incompatibility, install it anyway.
It will ask you to restart. Do it.
Once restarted, go to device manager and you should notice a new slot -
"Microsoft Common Controller for Windows Class", and under it, "Xbox 360
Wireless Receiver for Windows". Yay!
Now try pairing your controller with the receiver. Click the button on
the receiver, then hold the big xbox button on the controller until it
turns on and press the very small "connect" button on the forward side
of the controller (the side with the triggers), while the receiver light
is still flashing. Your controller light should spin for a fraction of a
second and then Sync up and the first quadrant should stay lit. Yay! (if
not, some people have had success by unplugging their USB devices and
restarting and plugging in just the receiver first, then it syncs, then
try their other USB devices again).