@ctol
Will check on 1 and 2 - Seems like a driver issue, but not very sure as I have been able to use every other USB device I have on those ports.
And a definite no to 3,4,5 - No services disabled, no malware and definitely working USB ports (I use them all the time)
@Bremen Cole and @poshm Thanks for the update on Calibre. Will try it on Vista. I currently use Calibre on my WinXP machine to convert files to LRF for reading on the Reader
Thanks for all the help people