Aargh! USB help!

I just formatted my HD and reinstalled WinXP - God knows why, I doubt it'll make any difference and I just wasted a perfectly good Sunday.

Anyway, I'm now having problems with my Firewire/USB2 PCI card - it won't be recognised and plugging anything into it has no effect. I've updated Windows all the way, and I'm pretty sure there were no driver discs with the card.

Is this a BIOS thing? Or is there a driver I can manually install?

Mmm, I am pretty sure that XP should auto-detect it - or maybe it is XP with SP2.

Just reconfirm exactly what this device is - you call it a 'card'.

EDIT:
I understand now - you have to connect things to the card.

I would think it has to be installed.

So to confirm, I'd expect it to have a driver.

I dont know. I had the SAME EXACT story about a year ago. It wasnt that exact card, but it was the same process. And its a XP SP2, just like mrtricks. One was a Voodoo 3dfx card. One time it noticed, and then the next my computer went totally stupid. Like I was installing a foreign language. I have to agree with mrtricks on a problem like this. He isnt the only one who has that problem with Windows XP SP2

I found the driver, by looking for a VIA 4 in 1 driver I came upon a USB2 driver. What a palava. Why are PCs STILL so un-user-friendly?

Oh my god, it's the armageddon.

I installed a little app, and my entire system went down the tube so I've had to format and reinstall AGAIN. But NOW, the mainboard USB1.0 sockets are non-responsive! So my mouse won't even work! This is on a freshly formatted drive with a new XP installation... what on earth could be going wrong? When I plug the mouse in, its optical light comes on for a second then goes off, but the mouse doesn't work at all.

The mouse might need drivers/software as well. Use a PS2 mouse... you have got one, haven't you?

thats VERY weird.

My PC did that just last night, plugged the mouse into another socket and all was fine.

you've got me worried now, PC's have a tendancy to just go pop on me :(

and my windows installation did almost wipe itself clean the other day- it failed to boot. I had to install a dodgy Xp pro. After setting all THAT up, i realised I could moodify the new INI file to point at my old installation. bingo, system back.

Q) Why did my XP disk decide to not find the windows installation already on the drive (I just wanted to repair)..


Anyhow, sounds like somethings gone pop for you mate.... get the duster out first, check your jumpers, and the PSU.

[edit]

Tony, those mice should just work really, but thinking about it, you might need to turn on "Legacy USB support" in the bios for it to just plain work.

I used to have a PS2 adapter, but I don't seem to have it any more...

Well I have it fixed for now - used the keyboard to navigate internet to get VIA USB2 drivers and installed them. Seems weird though... :(

What version did you have? If you have an OEM disk, it may only want to install on a 'new' (empty) disk, and refuses to do anything to existing installations.