also.. I have now connectd my laptop to (??..the stand?) i have it on, which also acts as a hub and has additional usb ports. My mouse still does not work connected that way.. so i'm thinking...drivers?? But where do i find usb drivers!!

Codie -lyn, don't panic! A cool head is the first step to repair. Now if I understand you right, you have neither a mouse nor a working touchpad, right? There is very little we can do with your laptop other than admire it for now. But seriously. There are 2 options:
1. System Repair
2. Reinstallation of Vista
I suggest we first try a system repair because with a reinstall you would loose all your files.
Do the following: get your Installation disk or your recovery disk and insert it. Follow the Wizard to where the Language setting is. After that you get a screen where you have the REPAIR option. I think you have to push F5 (but I am not 100% sure - you'll see). Follow from there.

Codie-lyn, just some additions to your questions above
1. The USB drivers you can update in the Device Manager. Type DEV into the Start search field > go to Device Manager > Go to USB controller and double click > right click on the USB port
2. If your Ipod charges, that means you have electricity. So we can rule possible problems in this area out.
3 Your "Stand" connects to the same USB hub. That's why you have no connection there either.
I hope things will get better after the system repair. If not, we'll have to think of something else.

Oh and one more thing, on my laptop, the entire D:\ drive is dedicated to Recovery, can I repair the system that way? By accessing that Recovery D drive?? I'm not sure where the discs i burnt are...
?

if i may chime in here, i have pretty much the same problem...

for reference, a couple of pertinent specs:
windows vista ultimate (x86)
asus P5N-E SLI (BIOS v.0901 / feb. 20ish, 2008)

it started after two possible changes to my computer:
1) the last monthly windows update(s)
2) a new razer deathadder mouse i installed AFTER updating the firmware on a different computer (known issues with asus motherboards if not first updated)

when i first installed the mouse, everything worked just as it should. the mouse worked fine for a day or so until i think the MS updates were installed. the timing with this combination really sucks as far as troubleshooting is concerned.

anyway, i know the new mouse (and my old mouse, and another cheap usb mouse a friend lent me) works, so that's not the issue.

all of my USB-related drivers have been uninstalled and reinstalled to no avail. the only driver i haven't touched is my keyboard as it has somehow miraculously continued to work and is my only way to continue to interact with my computer.

curiously, when i go to repair my system from my windows disc, the mock OS (off the disc) loads whatever proper drivers (i'm guessing here) the mice need to track, and any of the three USB mice will work just fine. as soon as i get back to my regular windows install, however, the mice once again fail to track.

to me, this means a file or files are corrupt on my windows install. i have tried to delete the "infcache.1" file as i have read in a few places, but that didn't solve the problem either.

my conclusion is this ... how can i figure out which files (and/or driver inf/sys files) are corrupt on my windows install, and how do i go about replacing those files with the 'good' files from my windows recovery CD?

am i completely nuts here, or is my thinking based at least somewhat on reality?

sorry for the rant, but i wanted to be as specific as possible. this is quite the annoyance, and perhaps someone here can put two and two together ... once and for all.

thanks in advance for any help on the matter.

~ andy

i realize i'm being obnoxious by asking/bumping, but does anyone have a better clue to this problem with my added post?

i posted here because i believe codie-lyn has the same problem i have. i didn't want to make a double-thread about the same problem. that was my thinking, at least.

s/he (codie-lyn) stated the mouse works fine on another computer. the problem has something to do with a USB/mouse combo and/or drivers/files for the USB ports (not the mouse itself, as i have also realized in my own situation).

we also both ran into the same problem at around the same time. i was quite surprised when using the search function here in the forums to find something so close to my problem as well as posted just recently.

do you or anyone see any better connection here? codie-lyn, did you get your situation fixed up? if so, how?

i certainly didn't intend to hijack this thread, but instead to add to the possible vantage points for what i think is the same problem.

if this doesn't seem like the same problem to others, i'll certainly start my own thread. thanks for the input whs.

Hey guys... nope.. still have the same problem. It's driving me crazy..I want to back up all my files before i were to do a system repair or re installation... but being that i can not plug in a USB device.. it's a bit harder. I made an attempt to burn all my files onto dvd discs... but every time i get a dvd in my laptop.. My computer starts freezing and acting really slow and stalling and stuff...Im not sure why it does this..but all I know is that I DO NOT have the patience for that kindof thing and will probably do more damage to it if it's not co-operating. Good news is... I'm starting to master my stupid touchpad! Bad News is - After about thirty minutes or so of computer usage.. my Synaptic Touchpad Enhancements stop working..and then it becomes a real hassle again. So right now.. untill I find a way to rest assured i wont be loosing all my files... I'm stuck without a mouse.. without an external harddrive (which is needed).. without my ipod.. without my pictures from my digital camera.. without my webcam.. and who knows what else I am missing out on..

No one has any more ideas eh??

Ok, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out why my mouse stopped working like some of the other posters on here. It was starting to get a bit frustrating using the keyboard to tab through everything to find out why my mouse stopped working, but! I found this reply

"There is a little button on the USB dongle (receiver) and also on the bottom of the mouse. Press both those buttons at the same time for about 20 seconds. That will sync the mouse with the dongle and it should work then. "

and what do you know, it works now! I just wanted to say thanks! and maybe give this a "bump" incase others have the same issue=)