Fred, have you got any other USB devices you can switch out and try in that particular USB port you had the old joystick plugged into? if so switch 1 or 2 and see if they work, if they do then the USB port in question shouldn't be a problem, if they act funny or don't work properly then you may very well have jinked the USB port, if the latter, may be able to get a new USB hub to add a couple additional USB ports to ya puter.
I am no Computer expert, just trying to help ya get back to flying!
post hardware problems in the next forum down, Skuzzy or one of the Experts can help ya out in quicker fashion for this particular problem.
good luck!