Just came across a solution thought I should share it on Microsoft's Support site.
The pertinent section that worked, titled "Method 3: Disable and re-enable the USB controller" of the above page. (For the benefit of others who do not wish to see the page, it is quoted here)
Use Device Manager to disable and re-enable all the USB controllers.
This lets the controllers recover the USB port from its unresponsive
condition. The USB controllers represent the USB ports in Device
Manager. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, try
the steps in the "Workaround" section.
To disable and re-enable the USB controllers, follow these steps:
- Click Start, and then click Run.
Note If you are running Windows Vista, click Start, and then use the
Start Search box.
- Type devmgmt.msc, and then click OK. Device Manager
opens.
- Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.
Note You might have to scroll down the list to find this item.
- Right-click the first USB controller under Universal Serial Bus
controllers, and then click Uninstall to remove it.
- Repeat step 4 for
each USB controller that is listed under Universal Serial Bus
controllers.
- Restart the computer. After the computer starts, Windows
will automatically scan for hardware changes and reinstall all the USB
controllers that you uninstalled.
- Check the USB device to see whether
it is working. If the USB port recognizes the device and if you can
use the device, you are finished.
But instead of removing it and restarting, instead, I just disabled it and re-enabled it (please note this will fail if you use a USB keyboard).