Its not the controller. Heres how i got it set up. I use a playstation controller. Plugs into a connector that is connected via usb. Normally i take the controller out and plug another usb component in the front to use it. Now when i plug my controller back in(normally theres a green light i believe on my plug and play device i got off ebay) its not lightning up ,and the computer says the USB device was not recognized I go to control panel to set the controller up that way I get an error message saying Missing Gameport Or GamePort Drivers Please consult the Device manager
Sounds like the adatper may have failed - the drivers are usually stored on those, so if the drivers don't get installed, there's a problem with the device itself, or its cable.