Hi, MC. Before doing anything, I would recommend that you find a friend's computer and plug that thing in to see if the same driver issue persists, or if the device connects to this other machine without issue. If the same issue persists on 2 or 3 different computers, then I'd consider packing it up and taking it back for a replacement.
I'm not always a completely competent computer person, but I've found that breaking stuff (so to speak) is the most effective way for me to gain experience. With the NC, it's not quite so complicated. As it stands right now, if you "break" the software in some fashion, there is a method for resetting the device to stock. So far, I haven't come across anyone that was not able to reset to stock in the event of any problem.
As it is with any device, should I chose to modify it to the point where the device operates in a manner other than which it was designed, I understand that the risk is mine, and I have the cost of the device on my head. Now, with the quantity of folks how have already rooted successfully, or failed and reset/re-rooted, I felt comfortable taking on that risk.
As of today, the latest directions for rooting are here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=872490
To use that process, it's required that you bring the device up to Barnes and Noble upgrade version 1.0.1 prior to rooting.
If you have researched these issues for a few days, and are still extraordinarly concerned about it, then leave it stock, at least until you feel more comfortable with the rooting process.
You must have a micro-SD card that is at least 128 megabytes (most SD cards today are between 1 GB and 32 GB, so that's way more than enough). This SD card is going to get wiped completely - you can have it full of data, but make sure it's nothing important. You must remove the micro-SD card from the NC device, and plug it into your computer/notebook/SD Card adapter.
The directions for rooting are 'okay' but you need to be well rested before you do it, so that you are thinking clearly and not skipping directions. Read through all the directions at least once before beginning. Here are a couple things that I would have included in the directions on the rooting webpage linked above:
- Download and install "Winimage" before you get started. This should put (2) icons on your desktop, you'll be using the one with (administrator) in it.
- Under the "let's get started" step 3, Startup Winimage (administrator), pulldown "disk" menu, "restore virtual hard disk image on physical drive." Select your SD card in the list (it's likely the only thing in the list), then browse to your unzipped rooting image file, select it and go.
- Under the "let's get started" step 5, plugging in the USB cable - after plugging it in, this takes a while, and your NC will probably NOT reboot right away as the directions imply (the screen will stay black for quite a while). Just sit and wait at the black screen until the NC (finally) reboots itself and you can continue with the directions.
- After step 17, tap soft Nook button on-screen (looks like an up arrow with half moon around the bottom), then:
Settings -> Device Info -> SD Card -> Unmount SD card -> Format SD Card
Note, if you don't do the last step, and you leave the imaged SD card in the NC, every time you reboot the NC, it will attempt to re-run the rooting procedure (undesirable).