Vista - USB/HID-compliant causes game glitching

I am unable to play three different games (Lego Indian Jones, Lego Star Wars, and Kane and Lynch) because as the game starts I repeatively hear the USB connect/disconnect sound every couple of seconds. Now it is not the sound that makes the games unplayable, rather, the games glitch/pause (video/sound/control) corresponding with the connect/disconnect event.

I am using the Logitech Wave keyboard/mouse combo and a Logitech cordless rumble 2 connected via USB. If I disconnect all input USB devices and use PS/2 devices the games work smooth and perfectly. If I use a wired USB MS Intellipoint mouse (no other USB devices connected) the connect/disconnect issue is present.

I have updated all my drivers (video/MB/Inputs/Vistax64, etc.).

I have noticed in the Device Manager that there seems to be a new HID-compliant device added for every connect/disconnect event.

Other games do not have this issue (I often here the connect/disconnect on begining of a games intro screen but never again during the game), this includes: Crysis, Assasins Creed, Grid, Call of Duty 4, and Gears of War.

I have been searching the net for 2 weeks now and I can't seem to find anyone with this issue or a solution. HELP!

Vista Ultimate x64
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P
Corsair DDR2 800 8GB (4 x 2GB)
Zotac 8800 GT 512MB
2 - 160GB Barracuda 7200.10 SATA2 RAID 1

Have you tried giving the USB devices a good "reaming?" Do you have other USB ports you could attach them to to see if the same errors occur?

Does not matter what USB port the device is connected to.

Have you tried either re-installing the Logitech drivers or just using the Windows default USB drivers for these devices?

Yes, I have tried uninstalling and re-installing the Logitech drivers and tried utilizing Logitech devices with Vista driver's.

Please note that I tried this also with MS Intellipoint mouse (wired USB) with the same effect (with and with out Logitech drivers installed).

It's really very odd that this would occur in these 3 games and these 3 only. You'd think that if it were an issue with your USB ports and that the board was defective that you'd get hit across the board no matter what you tried to do; these USB devices would connect and disconnect whether you were playing games, surfing the internet or writing up some Word doc?

How new is the motherboard?

All of the hardware was purchased in Feb. 2008.

I know it is strange that those games have the anomaly occur. I keep wondering if it is a programming error in the games... maybe a dirextX 10 conflict or x64 conflict or a HID-compliant conflict.

Like I said originally all games work great with a PS/2 mouse and keyboard. But that doesn't work so well with an HTPC setup... I even bought a MS wireless mouse/keyboard (which I just returned) and it performed the same anomaly as any other USB input device (wired or wireless)!!!

I have thought about the power supply but I really don't think I need more than the Antec Earthwatts 500W supply that's in there (the only thing missing from my original posting for hardware is that there is a total of 4 SATA2 harddrives, 1 SATA2 DVD burner, and 4 80mm fans). I have also wondered if it could be a conflict with my Silverstone case (has LCD display and card reader built in), but I have not tracked down those devices in the device manager yet...

Could you list your hardware, please? 500 W may not be enough for sustained activity and it could very well be that PSU is getting underpowered, though I honestly doubt it as your biggest draw should be CPU and GPU, so I'd expect artifacts and other GPU based failures *first* - but stranger things have happened.

@johngalt

Hardware was listed in the beginning of the thread (copied again here... not sure how to add it as a "signature" to all postings like yours...)

USB/HID-compliant causes game glitching
I am unable to play three different games (Lego Indian Jones, Lego Star Wars, and Kane and Lynch) because as the game starts I repeatively hear the USB connect/disconnect sound every couple of seconds. Now it is not the sound that makes the games unplayable, rather, the games glitch/pause (video/sound/control) corresponding with the connect/disconnect event.

I am using the Logitech Wave keyboard/mouse combo and a Logitech cordless rumble 2 connected via USB. If I disconnect all input USB devices and use PS/2 devices the games work smooth and perfectly. If I use a wired USB MS Intellipoint mouse (no other USB devices connected) the connect/disconnect issue is present.

I have updated all my drivers (video/MB/Inputs/Vistax64, etc.).

I have noticed in the Device Manager that there seems to be a new HID-compliant device added for every connect/disconnect event.

Other games do not have this issue (I often here the connect/disconnect on begining of a games intro screen but never again during the game), this includes: Crysis, Assasins Creed, Grid, Call of Duty 4, and Gears of War.

I have been searching the net for 2 weeks now and I can't seem to find anyone with this issue or a solution. HELP!

Vista Ultimate x64
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P
Corsair DDR2 800 8GB (4 x 2GB)
Zotac 8800 GT 512MB
2 - 160GB Barracuda 7200.10 SATA2 RAID 1
1 - 500GB SATA2 SpinPoint T series
1 - 320GB SATA2 WD
4 - Thermaltake 80mm fans
1 - Silverstone GD01B-MXR case
1 - ASUS 20x DVD+/-R DRW-2014L1T

It's possible? You only have 17 amps on +12V2 to power the card and all your other devices. Doubtful since this seems to be USB specific, but still within the realm of possibility. Are these demanding games?