USB ports not working & locking up WinXP

I have a Dell desktop which locks up when USB devices (iPod, usb-wireless G) are plugged in. Doesn't always lock up. Yet if it's not locked up, the wireless G doesn't see the networks. I went to the extent (not an hour ago) of buying a new wireless adapter which plugs into the USB port (so I can get to my wireless router signal). I put the disk in, loaded the drivers, plugged the device in like it said, configured it, and it STILL DOESN'T SEE THE NETWORK (S). I went into the settings of the new wireless device trying to see if I might have mistyped something. The program was a little sluggish and didn't let me select some options. By chance, I unplugged the USB device and everything worked. Plugged it back in, and attempted to restart the machine. It got to the "windows shutting down" screen and froze. I unplugged the USB device again, and it restarted. HAS to be something with the system I am at a loss. By the way, I tried different USB ports...same thing. PLEASE HELP ME!!! I have been working on this thing for 4 days.

Checked USB status and there are no conflicts.
However...I decided I would load up the other wireless device (Linksys and Belkin are both loaded) and drivers. Oddly enough, the Linksys wireless G took over, connected to the internet and I made it to the internet. Now here's the problem with that...since I had a printer driver to find out on the net, I hit the automatic search and it started looking on the net for the driver. It just sat there. Yet I found that if I plugged the Belkin wireless device in, the Linksys connection took off and started making progress. Then it hung again. I unplugged the Belkin wireless device, and the Linksys took off again. Hopefully I don't have to plug in and out the Belkin constantly to access the net. Please help. Dell forum *****. Is there anyone here who can help me?

 

By the way...I've posted this problem in about 6-7 forums. NOBODY has given an answer. I can only think...this is a really difficult problem, or it's such an easy fix people aren't responding. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

 

Thanks for the advice. Yet I uninstalled and let Windows re-install them. Still not working.

 

I finally started completely over. Deleted all partitions, re-formatted, re-installed XP, reloaded all drivers, re-installed the Linksys Wireless G. It all of a sudden started working...for about 2 minutes. Got to the net and everything. With my other computer (a laptop) sitting right next to it the whole time connected to the internet via my wireless router, the desktop said "page cannot be displayed ". I closed IE, and restarted. It got to the screen saying "Windows XP is shutting down" and just locked. I waited for 10 minutes...still nothing. I unplugged the Linksys from the USB port and behold...it shut down and rebooted. HELP!

 

Have you looked on the Dell website for updated chipset drivers?

 

I have been to the Dell website and downloaded all updates, including chipset.

 

Here is my evolving list of possible solutions in the fight against USB (Unreliable Serial Bus) problems. Make sure your computer is free from malware before trying them. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the list as many of them will not apply to your error or your device and some you may have already attempted. Read through and/or print the list and try any that seem significant. In no particular sequence, they are:

Dano. NOTE: I have removed those that I consider are irrelevant to your problem.

11. Remove static electricity by turning the computer off and remove the mains lead (also remove the battery if it’s a laptop). Press and hold the on/off button on the computer for ten seconds. Whilst the computer is turned off, discharge the static from the actual USB ports by touching them whilst touching something metallic. Plug in the lead (and laptop battery) and start the computer as normal. You may have to reset the system date/time on a laptop. Also, it can be useful to clean the USB ports and the individual device connectors using a lint-free cloth.
12. If there are no USB devices in Device Manager, check in the BIOS for entries such as USB, USB 2, Legacy USB, etc. and make sure they are enabled.
13. Even if the devices are present in Device Manager, check for these two BIOS settings (these settings are not present on some motherboards):
- If "˜USB 2.0 Voltage’ is present, set it to maximum or similar wording.
- Under P & P or Peripherals, there may be an option to clear the stored data of PCI/USB devices.
14. If Windows doesn’t boot (or continually reboots) with a device plugged in, check the boot sequence in the BIOS. You may have a reference to "˜Removable storage’ or "˜Removable media’ and the BIOS is possibly looking at, for example, an iPod or a memory stick as a boot device.
16. If a device or port appears to go into a power save state, go to Device Manager > USB Controllers right-click the USB Root Hub > Power Management Tab and make sure there is not a tick in "˜Allow computer to turn of this device to save power’. Repeat it for all the USB Root Hubs.
21. Go to Start > Run, type services.msc and press Enter. Scroll down to the Plug and Play service and make sure it is set to Automatic and that it is running.
27. A fairly common hardware problem is a bad connection caused by repeated off-angle insertions and removals. If it’s a desktop computer, and if it is possible, plug the device into an extension lead rather than fumble around on the floor trying to plug it in and, also, don’t be too hasty in unplugging a device after use.
28. If the device doesn’t initialise at startup or Windows stops responding at Startup or Shutdown, have a look here http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;830957
33. You receive a Stop error when a driver is not compatible with the Data Execution Prevention (DEP) feature, have a look here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/886348