Fixing disappearing custom binds due to "Failed to find GUID for device" Bind Loading Error

Curtis R. Prophett

Curtis R. Prophett
Recently, I upgraded my Virpil throttle from the VPC MongoosT-50CM2 Throttle to the VPC MongoosT-50CM3 Throttle. After the upgrade, Elite Dangerous lost all my custom HOTAS mappings. This was frustrating, as I had spent a lot of time perfecting them. After some investigation, I figured out the problem and found a fix. Since I couldn't find a comprehensive solution online, I wanted to share what worked for me so others facing the same issue can save some time.

The Problem​

When you upgrade to a new Virpil HOTAS peripheral (in my case I changed throttles), the device ids for the peripheral can change, and Elite Dangerous will recognize it as a new device. When this happens, it creates an error when Elite tries to load the custom binds file, and the result is that your custom bind will no longer show up when you load the game. The binds still exist, but they can't be loaded because the device ids have changed. This guide will walk through how to diagnose if this is the problem you're having and give steps to fix.

The Fix​

Step 1: Confirm the Issue​

  1. Navigate to: C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Frontier Developments\Elite Dangerous\Options\Bindings.
  2. Open the file named BindingLoadingErrors.log using a text editor like Notepad.
  3. Look for a line similar to this: There were errors when loading preset file: Custom.3.0.binds.
    • The exact file name will vary, but it will always start with Custom and include numbers like .3.0 if you're using the standard Elite custom binds process. This Custom.[x].[y].binds file is where Elite Dangerous saves your custom controller mappings when you configure and save your binds in-game.
  5. Check for entries like: Failed to find GUID for device: 33330088.
    • This confirms that your peripheral IDs have changed, causing Elite Dangerous to break the bindings.

Step 2: Back Up Your Bindings File (Highly Recommended but not necessary)​

  1. Before making any changes, you can create a backup of your .binds file by following the steps in this helpful guide. In addition to basic safety when editing your binds for this fix, this step also helps ensure that Elite Dangerous doesn’t overwrite your bindings during updates which has been known to commonly happen.

Step 3: Identify Your Device IDs​

  1. Use the VPC USB Info utility included in the Virpil Software Suite.
    • You can find it here: "C:\Program Files (x86)\VPC Software Suite\tools\VPC_USB_Info.exe".
  3. Run the utility to view information about your peripherals.
  4. Locate the VID and PID for your new device.
    • For example you might see an entry like: VID[2233] PID[81CD] Path[XXXX] VPC MongoosT-50CM3 Throttle.
  6. Combine the VID and PID to create the device ID Elite Dangerous uses.
    • For example, VID[2233] PID[81CD] becomes 223381CD.

Step 4: Update the IDs​

  1. Open your .binds file in a text editor like Notepad.
  2. Search for entries associated with controls you know are tied to a specific device.
    • Example:<PitchAxisRaw> <Binding Device="33330088" Key="Joy_YAxis" /> <Inverted Value="1" /> <Deadzone Value="0.00000000" /> </PitchAxisRaw>
    • The Device attribute (33330088 in this example) is the ID of your old device.
  4. Replace the old device ID with the new one obtained from VPC USB Info.
    • Use the global search and replace function in your text editor to update all instances.

Step 5: Save and Test​

  1. Save the updated .binds file.
  2. Launch Elite Dangerous to confirm that your custom mappings have been restored.
  3. If using the same peripherals as before the bindings update: This should fully resolve the issue.
  4. If you’ve added a new device (e.g., upgrading from the VPC MongoosT-50CM2 Throttle to the VPC MongoosT-50CM3 Throttle):
    • While this process restores most custom bindings, you may need to remap buttons and axes specific to the new device due to its different internal mappings.
    • The good news: this will only affect the updated device, leaving the rest of your custom bindings intact.

Closing​

I hope this guide helps anyone else dealing with this issue! If you have any questions or alternative fixes, feel free to share them in the comments. Fly safe, Commanders!

Let me know if there are any further details you'd like to include!
 

Alec Turner

Alec Turner
Nice guide. 👍

You know what would be amazing would be if, when Elite loaded a binds file with unrecognised device ID's, rather than silently writing the error to a file, it prompted the user with an error like "custom.binds encountered unrecognised device ID - would you like to remap?" and then, if you picked yes, it went through each one saying something like "unrecognised device ID for pitch up, push/press new pitch up control to remap". If Frontier won't do it I wonder if that's a utility an industrious member of the community fancies trying to write?
 
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Curtis R. Prophett

Curtis R. Prophett
Fixitman said:
The Virpil configurator has an option to change the PID (the VID never changes). It's much easier to just change it back to what it was with that.
Click to expand...
Fixitman, wow - you're right! That's great!

While the guide still holds, if you have a Virpil device it looks like you can change the PID using the Virpil Sofware.

Amended approach would be to do Step1 and then skip straight to Step 4 to get your old device id.

Next step would be to open up the VPC Configuration Tool ("C:\Program Files (x86)\VPC Software Suite\VPC_JOY_SETUP.exe") go to "PROFILE" and change your USB Product ID (PID) to be the last 4 digits of the device id that you got from the .bind file. Finally, hit "SAVE VPC DEVICE" to push the update to your device.

Virpil Software is here is you don't already have it.

Much thanks Fixitman! This is exactly the kind of additional info I was hoping for, and I hope that others can quickly find it all here in one place in the future!
 

STRONTIUM DOG

STRONTIUM DOG
well i stand corrected risky business;)
and is its firmware brand id etc is it hard coded so you cannot change the pid on that?
 
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the100thmonkey

the100thmonkey
Not that I could see from the stick management software. Admittedly, it is absolutely horrendous to look at, so there may be an option hidden behind the awful UX choices.
 

STRONTIUM DOG

STRONTIUM DOG
ok dont sound to easy to get to grips with:( though why you would want to if its working fine
community.infineon.com

How to change VID and PID of the USB-Serial Controller

You can change the default VID and PID of the device by using the Infineon USB Serial Configuration Utility. You need to change the INF and Catalog file to bind the device with the driver. Change the INF file To change the INF file, refer to "Driver Binding for USB-Serial Devices with Custom...
community.infineon.com community.infineon.com
 
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the100thmonkey

the100thmonkey
STRONTIUM DOG said:
ok dont sound to easy to get to grips with:( though why you would want to if its working fine
community.infineon.com

How to change VID and PID of the USB-Serial Controller

You can change the default VID and PID of the device by using the Infineon USB Serial Configuration Utility. You need to change the INF and Catalog file to bind the device with the driver. Change the INF file To change the INF file, refer to "Driver Binding for USB-Serial Devices with Custom...
community.infineon.com community.infineon.com
Click to expand...
Joystick Gremlin is far superior. I'm a fan of TARGET, but that's restricted to Thrustmaster devices.
 
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