Firmware update software screwed XP's USB hub and USB drive drivers.

Used the updater.  Boy was I stupid to do that, should have known it would be poorly designed and cause problems.  I looked for a manual method but didn’t see one right away, should have looked harder. 

It’s the updater software installed on XP, that’s what caused the problem. Nothing else was changed other than installing the updater.

I did reboot after uninstalling MOBO USB controllers. No luck.