I use an xbox 360 controller on my PC.  A controller that is well documented online for having dead-zone issues in games.

Just about the only game I played previously with the xbox 360 controller was Assassin's Creed, and it controlled like a dream.  I didn't have any problem with the controls returning to a neutral position when I let go of the joystick.

Just Cause 2, however, is an entirely different beast.  Whenever I let go of the joystick, the game still thinks I am giving it a "left-down" input.  It seems to me that their lack of xbox 360 controller support is a lack of effort;  A controller they supposedly support.

I know there is a driver called xbcd.  However, due to Microsoft retarted driver signing, it does not work on Windows 7 (that I know of).  My only hope now is to either find an alternative, or wait until a patched version of Just Cause 2 comes out with better xbox 360 control support.  Does anyone have anything that could help my predicament?

When you plugged it in, was something holding down the analogue stick? I dunno if it's possible in this situation, but I can remember that if you held down the analogue sticks on other consoles when you turned them on, it'd think that position was the neutral position, and then mess it up.

So tl;dr: unplug it and plug it back in?

That was one of the first things I thought of, but that is not the case.  The main problem is the lack of a dead zone with the controller.  The controller's input is slightly to the left and downward at rest, which wouldn't be a problem if there was a little dead zone like most controllers.

yea, what Microsoft did with driver signing was really crappy. I can no longer use my Wii Remotes or PS3 controller with my Windows 7 computer (I can use them on my Vista computer).

There is a way to put Windows 7 into "test mode" where driver signing is turned off permanently (you can google it), however I tried it but PPJoy still wouldn't install on Windows 7, so I don't know how well unsigned drivers work in "test mode".

I did a search and found this, will it be helpful to anyone (seems old though)? I might try these methods because I ran into this issue as well when I was trying to get my PS3 controller working.

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2009/08/24/loading-unsigned-drivers-in-windows-7-and-vista-64-bit-x64/

yea, that is what I was talking about in my post. I got my PS3 controller to work over USB, but couldn't get it to work over bluetooth, and PPJoy wouldn't install (they check the windows version for XP or Vista only) so even though I could connect my Wii Remote over bluetooth I couldn't use it in any meaningful way.

Wait, Microsoft made it so you can't use PS3 or Wii controllers on windows 7?

Microsoft didn't target those specific items.

What they did with windows Vista (and 7) is not allow you to run "unsigned" drivers. Essentially Microsoft argues it is to make PCs safer (it's essentially like all drivers must come with a security certificate). However, no open source developer or hobbiest is going to pay microsoft thousands of dollars to get their driver signed. It really is a pain, but luckily you can turn it off. However, some people haven't upgraded their products to install on windows 7 despite having the security feature disabled.

Try to recalibrate it somehow.
I played Just Cause 2 on the PC with the 360 controller at my brother's house yesterday and it worked fine.

I now hate microsoft more than ever. How do I change that setting? I have windows 7.