Saitek Cyborg EVO Driver Conflict?

[Cunjo]

Background and Problem
I recently purchased a Saitek Cyborg EVO Joystick for a friend so that we could play VO together. They installed the stick, following the instructions in the user manual, and everything worked fine. They imported the configuration profile I sent them for programming the stick, it loaded up, and the stick worked great in-game. The next day, their computer kept having trouble staying connected to the game and to TeamSpeak, so I had her reboot it to get things running smoothly again (this is a common SNAFU for her PC). The trouble started when she powered it on again... at first she couldn't get the computer to boot, then after removing the joystick and external USB HDD, the computer booted. When she plugged the Joystick back in, nothing happened. The computer did not recognize it, and the profiler did not activate.

What We Tried

• We tried rebooting again with the joystick left plugged in - the computer booted ok this time, but the joystick was still unrecognized.
• We tried launching the profiler, and it said to connect a compatible Saitek device first.
• We tried re-installing the drivers from the CD - Partway through the driver installation step, we get an ambiguous "An Error Occurred During This Step" message; it still doesn't work.
• We tried uninstalling the drivers first and then re-installing - same error as above.
• We tried uninstalling the drivers, programming software, deleting the drivers in the device manager and deleting the software folder and then re-installing everything - same error as above.
• We rebooted the computer several times, spending a couple hours trying combinations of the above and rebootings - no effect.
• We called Saitek Tech Support*
• We tried using the joystick on a different computer - it worked fine on the other computer, even after a reboot... all fine and dandy, except that one is not our computer, and we need it to work on OURs... at least we know it's not the joystick itself that's broken.
• We Tried Updating the USB drivers - no effect.
• We tried looking for updates for BIOS and Mainboard - found none.

*What Saitek Said: These problems have been reported before, but they are unsure of the exact cause or how to fix it. They expect that it may be either the joystick itself or an outdated USB or mainboard driver, and point to the USB Host Controllers listed below as a sign of trouble. They suggest trying the joystick on another PC (did that) and updating the drivers (how?).

The Error:


Hardware/Software Specifications
Homebuilt CPC (Second-hand)
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, v2002 SP2
512 MB RAM
AMD Athlon XP 2000+ 1.66GHz
Matsonic AGP 8x MS8147C+ Motherboard
Phoenix Technologies BIOS
4 USB Ports (3x VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller, 1x VIA USB Enhanced Host Controller )
Saitek Cyborg EVO USB PC joystick

If anyone knows what's wrong or how to fix it, please let me know... Since I'm trying for dead broke after spending money I shouldn't have on this joystick, I think it's only fair that we get the thing to work properly so we can enjoy it.
Thanks in Advance!