How to Back Up InputMapper Profiles (and Restore Them on a New PC)

Your InputMapper profiles are hours of quiet work: per-game mappings, dead zones tuned by feel, lightbar choices, macros you built one test at a time. They all live in one folder on one PC, and they vanish in the most ordinary ways — a Windows reinstall, a new machine, an overzealous cleanup. Backing them up takes a few minutes and this guide: find the profile folder, copy it properly, restore it on a new PC, keep a light version history, and add a cloud copy so a dead drive cannot take your setup with it. If you have not built profiles yet, read InputMapper profiles first — then come back and protect them.

Find the Profile Folder

InputMapper stores its data, including profiles, under the DSDCS folder in your roaming application data: %AppData%\DSDCS\InputMapper. The %AppData% part is a Windows shortcut to the AppData\Roaming folder inside your user profile. The fastest way there:

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box.
2. Type %AppData%\DSDCS\InputMapper and press Enter.
3. File Explorer opens directly in the folder. If Windows says it cannot find the path, InputMapper may never have saved a profile on this account — launch InputMapper, create and save a profile as in how to use InputMapper, and try again.

Back up one level higher than you think you need to. Copying the whole DSDCS\InputMapper folder — not just individual files you recognize — preserves profiles together with the surrounding data InputMapper expects to find next to them. Partial copies are the classic restore failure: the files you guessed were important arrive, and the ones you skipped turn out to matter.

Copy and Export: The Local Backup

1. Close InputMapper before copying, so every profile is fully saved to disk and no file is mid-write.
2. Copy the entire InputMapper folder to your backup location: an external drive, a second internal drive, or a clearly named folder such as “InputMapper Backup – [date]” anywhere you keep important files.
3. Open the copy and confirm the files are actually there. A backup you have not looked inside is a hope, not a backup.
4. Note the date in the folder name. When you restore months later, you will want to know which copy is newest.

That local copy is your foundation and you should keep it even if you also use the cloud method below. Local restores are instant, work offline, and do not depend on any account. Cloud backup adds protection against the drive itself failing or the PC being replaced — it complements the local copy rather than replacing it.

Restore on a New PC (or After a Reinstall)

1. On the new system, install the drivers and the tool in the right order: ViGEmBus first, then InputMapper, following how to use InputMapper. Do not copy profiles before the software exists to read them.
2. Launch InputMapper once and close it again. This first run creates the %AppData%\DSDCS\InputMapper folder in the right place, so you are replacing real structure rather than guessing at paths.
3. Copy your backed-up InputMapper folder over the new one, allowing it to replace files with the same names.
4. Launch InputMapper, connect your controller, and check that your profiles are listed. Bind the right profile to the device as in the profiles guide and test in a game.

Two expectations to set: hardware-related pairing does not travel — you will pair Bluetooth again on the new PC, using the Bluetooth pairing guide — and profile names, mappings, macros, and settings like those from the macros guide are exactly what does travel. If a profile misbehaves after restore, check the binding first; the profile may be present but simply not assigned to the newly connected controller.

Version-Control-Lite Habits

You do not need real version control software for a profile folder, but borrowing three of its habits prevents the most painful losses:

• Date your backups. Keep two or three dated snapshots instead of endlessly overwriting one copy. If a profile was already broken when you backed it up, an older snapshot saves you.
• Back up before big changes. Reinstalling Windows, moving PCs, trying a major profile overhaul, or letting a cleanup tool loose are all “copy the folder first” moments. The copy takes a minute; recreating a tuned dead zone by feel takes an evening, as anyone who has worked through the lightbar, rumble and dead zone settings knows.
• Change one profile at a time and note it. A tiny text note in the backup folder — “October: rebuilt shooter profile, smaller dead zone” — turns a folder of mystery snapshots into a history you can actually use.
• Delete old snapshots deliberately. Prune when you make a new one, not in a panic when disk space runs out.

Cloud Backup Walkthrough With pCloud

A cloud copy protects against the failures a local copy cannot: a dead drive, a stolen laptop, a PC replaced wholesale. The walkthrough below uses pCloud, which we link as an affiliate option for exactly this job.

1. Create your pCloud account and install its desktop app, which presents your cloud storage as a virtual drive on the PC.
2. Make your dated local backup first, exactly as in the Copy and Export section above. Back up the tidy, dated folder — not the live working folder — so the cloud holds clean snapshots.
3. Copy that dated backup folder into the pCloud drive and let the upload finish completely. Check the folder in the pCloud web interface afterwards to confirm the files arrived; “copying” is not “backed up” until you have seen it on the other side.
4. When you make a fresh snapshot later, upload it as a new dated folder rather than overwriting the old one, matching the version habits above.
5. To restore, download the newest dated folder to the new PC, then follow the Restore section above.

Back Up Profiles With pCloud

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Keep the local copy too. The resilient pattern is two copies in two places: local for speed, cloud for disasters. Either one alone has a failure mode; together, losing your profiles requires two unrelated things to go wrong on the same day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are InputMapper profiles stored?

Profiles are stored under %AppData%\DSDCS\InputMapper, in the AppData\Roaming folder of your Windows user profile. Press Windows key + R, type that path, and File Explorer opens the folder directly.

Should I copy the whole folder or just individual profile files?

Copy the whole InputMapper folder. It preserves profiles together with the surrounding data InputMapper expects to find, while partial copies are the most common reason a restore does not work as expected.

What is the right order when restoring on a new PC?

Install ViGEmBus and InputMapper first, launch InputMapper once so it creates its folder, close it, then copy your backup over that folder. Reconnect and pair your controller, bind your profile, and test in a game.

Is a cloud backup enough on its own?

No. Keep a local copy as well as a cloud copy. The local backup restores instantly and works offline, while the cloud copy protects against drive failure or losing the PC itself. Two copies in two places is the safe pattern.