New hardware will not install

The USB ports on my pc don't work (off motherboard). I also bought a 4 slot card, but that doesn't work either. I install it, it gets detected, but I get a message that says 'cannot install this hardware, there was a problem this hardware, access is denied'. I've deleted the drivers and tried to reinstall them and reinstalled the driver.cab file from the windows cd, but no luck. I think it might be registry related, but don't know much about this. Anybody got any pointers ?

 

Which OS are you using?
Do you have admin privledges on this machine?
Can you try it in another machine?

 

XP Home with full admin privileges

 

Did the onboard USB ever work? (Sry if misunderstood 'off board')
Check to see they are enabled in BIOS.
more help ..
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314634

 

No, they never worked. I had to get a replacement second hand motherboard for my pc. A shop installed it, but I never checked the USB. I can still take it back, but it's hassle and I hope there is a simple fix

 

have you had a look in device manager to see what the error sysmbols and codes are next to your devices?