diff --git a/BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk/MainForm.Events.cs b/BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk/MainForm.Events.cs
index 11e551e347..2f96d23e1a 100644
--- a/BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk/MainForm.Events.cs
+++ b/BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk/MainForm.Events.cs
@@ -1216,7 +1216,7 @@ namespace BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk
 				MovieSettingsMenuItem.Enabled =
 				Global.Emulator is NES;
 
-			NesControllerSettingsMenuItem.Enabled = Global.Emulator is NES && !Global.MovieSession.Movie.IsActive;
+			NesControllerSettingsMenuItem.Enabled = (Global.Emulator is NES || Global.Emulator is QuickNES) && !Global.MovieSession.Movie.IsActive;
 			MovieSettingsMenuItem.Enabled = Global.Emulator is NES && !Global.MovieSession.Movie.IsActive;
 
 			barcodeReaderToolStripMenuItem.Enabled = BarcodeEntry.HasReader();
@@ -1285,7 +1285,10 @@ namespace BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk
 
 		private void NesControllerSettingsMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
 		{
-			new NesControllerSettings().ShowDialog();
+			if (Global.Emulator is NES)
+				new NesControllerSettings().ShowDialog();
+			else if (Global.Emulator is QuickNES)
+				GenericCoreConfig.DoDialog(this, "QuickNES Controller Settings", true, false);
 		}
 
 		private void MovieSettingsMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
diff --git a/BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk/config/GenericCoreConfig.cs b/BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk/config/GenericCoreConfig.cs
index 4c1a738a29..9adacfe74c 100644
--- a/BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk/config/GenericCoreConfig.cs
+++ b/BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk/config/GenericCoreConfig.cs
@@ -18,15 +18,15 @@ namespace BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk
 		object ss;
 		bool syncsettingschanged = false;
 
-		GenericCoreConfig()
+		GenericCoreConfig(bool ignoresettings, bool ignoresyncsettings)
 		{
 			InitializeComponent();
 
 			var settable = new SettingsAdapter(Global.Emulator);
 
-			if (settable.HasSettings)
+			if (settable.HasSettings && !ignoresettings)
 				s = settable.GetSettings();
-			if (settable.HasSyncSettings)
+			if (settable.HasSyncSettings && !ignoresyncsettings)
 				ss = settable.GetSyncSettings();
 
 			if (s != null)
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@ namespace BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk
 				propertyGrid2.Enabled = false; // disable changes to sync setting when movie, so as not to confuse user
 		}
 
+		GenericCoreConfig()
+			:this(false, false)
+		{
+		}
+
 		private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
 		{
 			var settable = new SettingsAdapter(Global.Emulator);
@@ -63,6 +68,12 @@ namespace BizHawk.Client.EmuHawk
 				dlg.ShowDialog(owner);
 		}
 
+		public static void DoDialog(IWin32Window owner, string title, bool hidesettings, bool hidesyncsettings)
+		{
+			using (var dlg = new GenericCoreConfig(hidesettings, hidesyncsettings) { Text = title })
+				dlg.ShowDialog(owner);
+		}
+
 		private void propertyGrid2_PropertyValueChanged(object s, PropertyValueChangedEventArgs e)
 		{
 			syncsettingschanged = true;
diff --git a/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/NES/NES.cs b/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/NES/NES.cs
index 05e2ad6021..114bb87714 100644
--- a/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/NES/NES.cs
+++ b/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/NES/NES.cs
@@ -285,6 +285,7 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.Cores.Nintendo.NES
 		public bool StartAsyncSound() { return true; }
 		public void EndAsyncSound() { }
 
+		[Obsolete] // with the changes to both nes and quicknes cores, nothing uses this anymore
 		public static readonly ControllerDefinition NESController =
 			new ControllerDefinition
 			{
diff --git a/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/QuickNES/QuickNES.cs b/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/QuickNES/QuickNES.cs
index 3e730452f5..c8cf956dc2 100644
--- a/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/QuickNES/QuickNES.cs
+++ b/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/QuickNES/QuickNES.cs
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.Cores.Consoles.Nintendo.QuickNES
 		}
 
 		[CoreConstructor("NES")]
-		public QuickNES(CoreComm comm, byte[] file, object Settings)
+		public QuickNES(CoreComm comm, byte[] file, object Settings, object SyncSettings)
 		{
 			using (FP.Save())
 			{
@@ -88,6 +88,10 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.Cores.Consoles.Nintendo.QuickNES
 					CoreComm.VsyncDen = 655171;
 					PutSettings((QuickNESSettings)Settings ?? new QuickNESSettings());
 
+					_SyncSettings = (QuickNESSyncSettings)SyncSettings ?? new QuickNESSyncSettings();
+					_SyncSettings_next = _SyncSettings.Clone();
+
+					SetControllerDefinition();
 					ComputeBootGod();
 				}
 				catch
@@ -100,45 +104,71 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.Cores.Consoles.Nintendo.QuickNES
 
 		#region Controller
 
-		public ControllerDefinition ControllerDefinition { get { return Emulation.Cores.Nintendo.NES.NES.NESController; } }
+		public ControllerDefinition ControllerDefinition { get; private set; }
 		public IController Controller { get; set; }
 
+		void SetControllerDefinition()
+		{
+			var def = new ControllerDefinition();
+			def.Name = "NES Controller";
+			def.BoolButtons.AddRange(new[] { "Reset", "Power" }); // console buttons
+			if (_SyncSettings.LeftPortConnected || _SyncSettings.RightPortConnected)
+				def.BoolButtons.AddRange(PadP1.Select(p => p.Name));
+			if (_SyncSettings.LeftPortConnected && _SyncSettings.RightPortConnected)
+				def.BoolButtons.AddRange(PadP2.Select(p => p.Name));
+			ControllerDefinition = def;
+		}
+
+		private struct PadEnt
+		{
+			public readonly string Name;
+			public readonly int Mask;
+			public PadEnt(string Name, int Mask)
+			{
+				this.Name = Name;
+				this.Mask = Mask;
+			}
+		}
+
+		private static PadEnt[] GetPadList(int player)
+		{
+			string prefix = string.Format("P{0} ", player);
+			return PadNames.Zip(PadMasks, (s, i) => new PadEnt(prefix + s, i)).ToArray();
+		}
+
+		private static string[] PadNames = new[]
+			{
+				"Up", "Down", "Left", "Right", "Start", "Select", "B", "A"
+			};
+		private static int[] PadMasks = new[]
+			{
+				16, 32, 64, 128, 8, 4, 2, 1
+			};
+
+		private static PadEnt[] PadP1 = GetPadList(1);
+		private static PadEnt[] PadP2 = GetPadList(2);
+
+		private int GetPad(IEnumerable<PadEnt> buttons)
+		{
+			int ret = 0;
+			foreach (var b in buttons)
+			{
+				if (Controller[b.Name])
+					ret |= b.Mask;
+			}
+			return ret;
+		}
+
 		void SetPads(out int j1, out int j2)
 		{
-			j1 = 0;
-			j2 = 0;
-			if (Controller["P1 A"])
-				j1 |= 1;
-			if (Controller["P1 B"])
-				j1 |= 2;
-			if (Controller["P1 Select"])
-				j1 |= 4;
-			if (Controller["P1 Start"])
-				j1 |= 8;
-			if (Controller["P1 Up"])
-				j1 |= 16;
-			if (Controller["P1 Down"])
-				j1 |= 32;
-			if (Controller["P1 Left"])
-				j1 |= 64;
-			if (Controller["P1 Right"])
-				j1 |= 128;
-			if (Controller["P2 A"])
-				j2 |= 1;
-			if (Controller["P2 B"])
-				j2 |= 2;
-			if (Controller["P2 Select"])
-				j2 |= 4;
-			if (Controller["P2 Start"])
-				j2 |= 8;
-			if (Controller["P2 Up"])
-				j2 |= 16;
-			if (Controller["P2 Down"])
-				j2 |= 32;
-			if (Controller["P2 Left"])
-				j2 |= 64;
-			if (Controller["P2 Right"])
-				j2 |= 128;
+			if (_SyncSettings.LeftPortConnected)
+				j1 = GetPad(PadP1) | unchecked((int)0xffffff00);
+			else
+				j1 = 0;
+			if (_SyncSettings.RightPortConnected)
+				j2 = GetPad(_SyncSettings.LeftPortConnected ? PadP2 : PadP1) | unchecked((int)0xffffff00);
+			else
+				j2 = 0;
 		}
 
 		#endregion
@@ -378,7 +408,7 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.Cores.Consoles.Nintendo.QuickNES
 		void ComputeBootGod()
 		{
 			// inefficient, sloppy, etc etc
-			Emulation.Cores.Nintendo.NES.NES.BootGodDB.Initialize(); 
+			Emulation.Cores.Nintendo.NES.NES.BootGodDB.Initialize();
 			var chrrom = MemoryDomains["CHR VROM"];
 			var prgrom = MemoryDomains["PRG ROM"];
 
@@ -504,17 +534,42 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.Cores.Consoles.Nintendo.QuickNES
 			}
 		}
 
-		QuickNESSettings _Settings;
-
-		// what is this for?
 		public class QuickNESSyncSettings
 		{
+			[DefaultValue(true)]
+			public bool LeftPortConnected { get; set; }
+
+			[DefaultValue(true)]
+			public bool RightPortConnected { get; set; }
+
+			public QuickNESSyncSettings()
+			{
+				SettingsUtil.SetDefaultValues(this);
+			}
+
 			public QuickNESSyncSettings Clone()
 			{
-				return new QuickNESSyncSettings();
+				return (QuickNESSyncSettings)MemberwiseClone();
+			}
+
+			public static bool NeedsReboot(QuickNESSyncSettings x, QuickNESSyncSettings y)
+			{
+				// the core can handle dynamic plugging and unplugging, but that changes
+				// the controllerdefinition, and we're not ready for that
+				return !DeepEquality.DeepEquals(x, y);
 			}
 		}
 
+		QuickNESSettings _Settings;
+		/// <summary>
+		/// the syncsettings that this run of emulation is using (was passed to ctor)
+		/// </summary>
+		QuickNESSyncSettings _SyncSettings;
+		/// <summary>
+		/// the syncsettings that were requested but won't be used yet
+		/// </summary>
+		QuickNESSyncSettings _SyncSettings_next;
+
 		public QuickNESSettings GetSettings()
 		{
 			return _Settings.Clone();
@@ -522,7 +577,7 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.Cores.Consoles.Nintendo.QuickNES
 
 		public QuickNESSyncSettings GetSyncSettings()
 		{
-			return new QuickNESSyncSettings();
+			return _SyncSettings_next.Clone();
 		}
 
 		public bool PutSettings(QuickNESSettings o)
@@ -536,7 +591,9 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.Cores.Consoles.Nintendo.QuickNES
 
 		public bool PutSyncSettings(QuickNESSyncSettings o)
 		{
-			return false;
+			bool ret = QuickNESSyncSettings.NeedsReboot(_SyncSettings, o);
+			_SyncSettings_next = o;
+			return ret;
 		}
 
 		#endregion
diff --git a/output/dll/libquicknes.dll b/output/dll/libquicknes.dll
index 8310b2ed79..4c8bc9642a 100644
Binary files a/output/dll/libquicknes.dll and b/output/dll/libquicknes.dll differ
diff --git a/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Core.cpp b/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Core.cpp
index de99321189..e79d3e89cf 100644
--- a/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Core.cpp
+++ b/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Core.cpp
@@ -305,9 +305,9 @@ int Nes_Core::read_io( nes_addr_t addr )
 		// to do: to aid with recording, doesn't emulate transparent latch,
 		// so a game that held strobe at 1 and read $4016 or $4017 would not get
 		// the current A status as occurs on a NES
-		unsigned long result = joypad.joypad_latches [addr & 1];
+		int32_t result = joypad.joypad_latches [addr & 1];
 		if ( !(joypad.w4016 & 1) )
-			joypad.joypad_latches [addr & 1] = (result >> 1) | 0x80000000;
+			joypad.joypad_latches [addr & 1] = result >> 1; // ASR is intentional
 		return result & 1;
 	}
 	
diff --git a/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Core.h b/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Core.h
index b4dd759703..179f9ef779 100644
--- a/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Core.h
+++ b/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Core.h
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ public: private: friend class Nes_Emu;
 	bool sram_present;
 
 public:
-	unsigned long current_joypad [2];
+	uint32_t current_joypad [2];
 	int joypad_read_count;
 	Nes_Cart const* cart;
 	Nes_Mapper* mapper;
diff --git a/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Emu.cpp b/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Emu.cpp
index 98edee5baa..6c8aa6ca9e 100644
--- a/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Emu.cpp
+++ b/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Emu.cpp
@@ -124,10 +124,10 @@ void Nes_Emu::set_palette_range( int begin, int end )
 	require( host_palette_size >= palette_alignment );
 }
 
-blargg_err_t Nes_Emu::emulate_frame( int joypad1, int joypad2 )
+blargg_err_t Nes_Emu::emulate_frame( const uint32_t joypad1, const uint32_t joypad2 )
 {
-	emu.current_joypad [0] = (joypad1 |= ~0xFF);
-	emu.current_joypad [1] = (joypad2 |= ~0xFF);
+	emu.current_joypad [0] = joypad1;
+	emu.current_joypad [1] = joypad2;
 	
 	emu.ppu.host_pixels = NULL;
 	
diff --git a/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Emu.h b/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Emu.h
index e0fee4298f..c08d1f4afe 100644
--- a/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Emu.h
+++ b/quicknes/nes_emu/Nes_Emu.h
@@ -52,7 +52,10 @@ public:
 
 	// Emulate one video frame using joypad1 and joypad2 as input. Afterwards, image
 	// and sound are available for output using the accessors below.
-	virtual blargg_err_t emulate_frame( int joypad1, int joypad2 = 0 );
+	// A connected controller should have 0xffffff** in the high bits, or 0x000000**
+	// if emulating an incorrectly made third party controller.  A disconnected controller
+	// should be 0x00000000 exactly.
+	virtual blargg_err_t emulate_frame( uint32_t joypad1, uint32_t joypad2 );
 	
 	// Maximum size of palette that can be generated
 	enum { max_palette_size = 256 };
diff --git a/quicknes/nes_emu/nes_data.h b/quicknes/nes_emu/nes_data.h
index 4e33472502..e831866952 100644
--- a/quicknes/nes_emu/nes_data.h
+++ b/quicknes/nes_emu/nes_data.h
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ BOOST_STATIC_ASSERT( sizeof (nes_state_t) == 8 );
 
 struct joypad_state_t
 {
-	BOOST::uint32_t joypad_latches [2]; // joypad 1 & 2 shift registers
+	uint32_t joypad_latches [2]; // joypad 1 & 2 shift registers
 	byte w4016;             // strobe
 	byte unused [3];