I think the next most common reason for what you are seeing is that
sometimes there are some capacitors in USB devices that will get charged and
then the device either isn't detected at all or is detected as an Unknown
Device. This can usually be fixed by either leaving the controller unplugged
for an a while (I have seen it take up to a day), or if you don't want to
wait that long (like I never do
you can take something like a metallic
paperclip and temporarily short the pins in the USB connector of the game
controller for a few seconds. I have a few controllers in the lab I have to
do this too on a regular basis since they are always plugged in for testing.
Would it be possible for you to get me a DxDiag report of the system? I
might be able to find from that why your device isn't working, but it is a
long shot.
DXDIAG:
1. Click Start -> Run
2. Type "dxdiag" without the quotes and press Ok.
3. In the DirectX Diagnostic tool click "Save All Information..."
Joshua Smith
DirectInput and OpenGL Test Labs
Microsoft