I'm starting to have this same problem as well with my laptop and USB printer. I don't think it's the USB ports themselves because I've tried plugging another device into the port where the malfunctioning device would always be and there are no problems. The thing is I've kept that malfunctioning device unplugged for a while which is what probably caused the problem. I've tried adding the USB key in the registry and that didn't work (unless I did it wrong?), and I've also unplugged my laptop and even pulled out the battery but still the problem persists. I haven't tried uninstalling the USB root hubs though. Do you just uninstall the ones that say USB root hub? I'm confused, any help is really appreciated.