Thanks for the suggestion. I'll do that.
I've tried all six usb ports. I've tried three seperate joysticks with the same problem. The problem started when I was playing AH and the hat broke off the Thrustmaster I was using. I had an exact identical joystick nearby that I used earlier. I replaced it because the number 2 button would hardly work. Since they were the same, I just unplugged the one with the broken hat and plugged in the older one. Nothing- the computer wouldn't recognize it. Something that never happened before. One of the joysticks was straight usb and one was game port with a usb adapter (strange though it may seem, this Alienware gaming computer doesn't have a game port). Also strange, is that the one with the game port connection works, when plugged into my other computer with the game port, but neither work with USB.
There's definitely at least some connection being made cause when I plug in the Saitek, the blue light on top lights up.
If I try to manually install any of the joysticks I get some error message that my "system isn't properly configured...check the Device Manager...". I can't figure it out but it seems like somethings missing. The instructions for the Saitek say to just plug it in and windows will recognize it but it doesn't. I've got a computer tech guy on the way but he won't be able to make it til the weekend. In the meantime, I'll check that Saitek site and see if there's something I can download. Thanks.