Right-click on My Computer, go to Properties, Device Manager, USB controllers. Note the brand name on the PCI-to-USB controller.

If it is SIS, ALI, or INTEL, this is the chipset on your motherboard.
If it is VIA, you must go one step further to determine accurately the brand:

Open up System Devices, and look for the brand name of the CPU-to-PCI bridge, or CPU-to-AGB controller. This will be the chipset of your motherboard, SIS, ALI, INTEL, AMD, or VIA. This step is necessary because AMD does not make USB controllers; they use VIA chips, and therefore use a combination of both.


If you do have a VIA Tech chipset, go to their homepage at www.viatech.com and download their 4-in-1 drivers. These are updated Windows drivers for many of the basic operations performed on your motherboard, and can eliminate this problem.