card reader troubles

running xp pro sp2 fully updated. i have an 8 in 1 internal usb card
reader which has a broken front usb port. so I bought a new but
different 8 in 1 reader. it didnt come with any drivers cause according
to the documentation they are built into xp. well anyway the drivers
dont install, the devices are recognized but are all "unknown devices"
in dev mgr. I have went through this same process now with 5 different
card readers. the only reader that is picked up properly is the broken
original one. whats strange is that all the other card readers i have
purchased work fine in other xp systems. seems that this particular xp
install is "locked" to one set of drivers for card readers and blocks
any other.

i have done everything i can think of and the sys is virus free. it
sounds like a registry problem to me. anyone have any suggestions or
seen this before?