Try a different usb port too. I've had issues with the ports themselves in past. Win 7 64 user here working fine but after I had to find the hotwire using "find new hardware."
Also check "Microsoft Updates" for anything you might need. May just be as simple as your pc needing a update to be compatiable.
One other thing I noticed with Win 7 is that some of the extra ports had to be setup before the pc even knew they were there. So I would take my mouse and plug it into the ports to test that they even work. You might not have a Hotwire problem at all but just a usb port not working.