A message from the Sys Tray shows "found new hardware" but then it throws up the New Hardware Wizard for which I have tried every option including c:\windows\inf and every other relevant folder I can find. I also tried swapping from USB to Firewire, it was just the same.
2 or 3 fresh reinstalls with or without Windows Updates made no difference. Ive tried a couple of other USB devices and they work fine. My external hard disk works perfectly on 2 other XP PCs.
I thought Id found problem in the registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Software Microsoft CurrentVersion "DevicePath" but since I dont know where the relevant driver resides, well Im completely stuck.
Your help would be an act of great kindness.