It seem to be a pretty widespread problem that the Xbox 360 controller’s center LED lights blink even after attempting to sync under Windows XP/Vista using the Microsoft Wireless Gaming Receiver, this seems to be caused by a lack of available power from the motherboard, in some cases, even other USB devices stop working when the Receiver is plugged in. People have also reported being able to get it to work once, but then the problem recurs after a restart.

The Symptom(s)

You plug in the Wireless Gaming Receiver and power on the controller, all 4 quadrants of the controller’s LEDs blink, you attempt to sync the devices by first pushing and holding the button on the Receiver until it begins to blink and then you push and hold the button on the top of the controller until the leds spin, they stop blinking/spinning at the same time, yet the controller continues to blink, 3 quicker blinks after the attempted sync and then continued slow blinking.

The Solution

The only solution I’ve found is to use a powered USB hub, the side USB ports on a Dell monitor also work.