[Ripplinger]

I've run into some cable differences on odd devices (like my Motorola phone and Harmony remote require a different cable than my ereaders even though the plug is the same, they won't charge or do anything with the standard generic cable). It's possible you have a defective cable as well. Or a defective port on the laptop (did you rule it out connecting other devices?)

When you choose "Connect" when the Glo is connected, you should be able to see the files on it through Windows Explorer, and the reader should say "Connected and Charging". If you select "Cancel", it should still charge but will allow you to read, but you can't see the reader in Windows Explorer then.

Is your laptop staying powered on and not going into sleep or hibernate when the reader is connected? On quite a few readers, that will drain the battery and not charge it. No idea if it's that way on the Kobo readers, I always charge from my main PC that never shuts down. And since you said the reader was completely dead when you first plugged it in, it would certainly need more than 1 hour, I'd let it charge overnight if possible. But again, the laptop can't go to sleep at all during that time.