OK good, we're making progress, there is nothing wrong with your PC, the USB ports, the OS, the drivers or Aces High. The fault lies with one of your peripherals.
What you are describing is strongly suggestive that one or more of your potentiometers in your stick is f.u.b.a.r.
Flotsom may have a point regarding the USB hub, what make is it and is it still under guarantee?
See, here is a feasible explanation for what you have described:-
Your original stick gets used and one or both of the main potentiometers wears and generates a 'spike' (I have had this happen in as little as two months on an economy stick with heavy use). You replace the stick with a new one which spikes right out of the box. This could have been faulty from the manufacturer or as Flotsom states, your USB hub might have surged (I understand this is a slim possibility, but we can't rule it out). You take that stick back and exchange it for another new one, plugging it into the same USB hub and the same symptoms might have the same explanation (either one).
If I were you I would do five things:-
1. Take your newest stick back to the shop and get a refund (take your laptop in and demonstrate the fault if they give you any crap about it). DO NOT MENTION THE USB HUB.
2. Take your USB hub back and ask for a refund.
3. Buy your favorite stick from another store or on line (to avoid the possibility that your store had a bad batch of sticks).
4. Buy a different USB hub. If you can get the dosh together I would recommend a Belkin, they are reputed to have excellent power supplies and be of excellent quality. I'm sure other players here present can recommend a good one in any price range also. Try to avoid non-brand name, powered USB hubs.
5. Consider selecting a different joystick or a different manufacturer, because from what I can see of the internal construction it is not built to last. I went through three cheaper sticks before I realised it was a false economy and invested a bit more cash in a stick I knew would last a long time.
Obviously I don't know how much you know about controllers or electronics, but the potentiometer or variable resistor, as it's also known, is the only analogue component in your stick and more importantly the only electronic component prone to wearing out. That's why I wanted you to check it under Windows 'Game Controllers' first.
I checked up on your Logitech Extreme 3D Pro for you, and it has the kind of potentiometers that one should not expect a long lifespan from if you tend to use the stick a lot:-
http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/23110283/m/369001437The only technological wonder with that kind of component, is that they keep working for any longer than a few weeks!
Let us know how you get on and good luck.
