[RC4.6.6] usbip-win2 driver integrity verification times out inconsistently #118

Describe the bug

With RC4.6.6, DS4Windows portable intermittently reports that the installed usbip-win2 driver cannot have its integrity verified because the verification process times out.

Initially I believed this was related to running DS4Windows.exe as Administrator through the Windows Compatibility setting, but after further testing I have found that the timeout can occur both when DS4Windows is elevated and when it is launched normally.

The result appears to be inconsistent between launches.

The exact error shown is:

usbip-win2 driver integrity could not be verified: Timed out

Your portable files have not moved. You can retry Install / Repair here.

The installed driver is:

USBip-0.9.7.7-x64

This driver installation has not been modified or tampered with and has been installed and working correctly ever since usbip-win2 became a requirement for DS4Windows VIIPER.

Version

• DS4Windows RC4.6.6
• Portable x64 build
• Windows 11 25H2
• USBip-0.9.7.7-x64

Environment

DS4Windows is running as a portable installation.

The required USB/IP driver is already installed:

USBip-0.9.7.7-x64

The driver has:

• Not been manually modified
• Not been replaced
• Not been reinstalled with a different version
• Been working correctly with VIIPER since it became a DS4Windows requirement

There has been no intentional change to either the driver installation or the portable DS4Windows files.

I have tested DS4Windows both normally and with:

DS4Windows.exe > Properties > Compatibility > Run this program as an administrator

However, after additional testing, elevation does not appear to be the determining factor. The integrity verification may succeed or time out in either mode.

Steps to reproduce

1. Have the supported USBip-0.9.7.7-x64 driver installed and functioning normally.
2. Launch DS4Windows RC4.6.6 portable.
3. Allow DS4Windows to perform its VIIPER / USB-IP checks.
4. On some launches, DS4Windows displays:

usbip-win2 driver integrity could not be verified: Timed out

5. It then suggests retrying Install / Repair, despite the existing driver installation having previously worked correctly.
6. Close and relaunch DS4Windows.
7. The same integrity check may then complete successfully without any changes being made to the driver, DS4Windows files, or system configuration.

I have reproduced this behaviour both with and without Run this program as an administrator enabled in the Compatibility tab.

Expected behaviour

The integrity verification should complete consistently for an installed and unchanged usbip-win2 driver.

If the verification process itself exceeds a timeout, DS4Windows should ideally distinguish that condition from an actual integrity verification failure.

Actual behaviour

The usbip-win2 integrity check intermittently times out:

usbip-win2 driver integrity could not be verified: Timed out

The same installed driver may verify successfully on another launch without any changes being made.

Running DS4Windows elevated or non-elevated does not appear to reliably affect the result.

Additional observations

This now appears to be an intermittent issue with the integrity verification process itself rather than a problem with the installed usbip-win2 driver.

USBip-0.9.7.7-x64 has been installed on this machine and working successfully with DS4Windows VIIPER since it became a requirement.

Nothing has been changed or tampered with in the driver installation.

The error wording may also be slightly misleading because a timeout does not necessarily indicate that integrity verification has failed. In this case, the exact same driver can fail verification with a timeout on one launch and then verify successfully on another.

The fact that the behaviour is inconsistent across both elevated and non-elevated launches may indicate a timing, process startup, IPC, service response, or verification timeout issue rather than a permissions-specific problem.