I had posted a few weeks ago about Mindstorm software not working on WindowsXP. The USB tower would not be recognized, and the computer would completely freeze and lock up. I emailed Lego and this is the response I received. Yea!!
So, if any others are having problems with this, email Lego and they should email you the fix.
Hello,
This is an issue we have discovered occurs on mostly newer systems that have Hyperthreading processors. We have addressed this issue in the update attached to this email. Download this file to your desktop and follow the instructions below to install the update. By installing these drivers you signify that you have read and accept the conditions outlined in the LICENSE AGREEMENT (LICENSE.TXT).
In Windows XP:
1.Unzip LEGOTower.zip onto a directory on your hard drive 2.Unplug the tower from your computer 3.Open the LEGOTower folder and click on Setup- Plug the tower back in when instructed to and follow the on screen instructions
This will complete the installation; you can now start Robotics Invention System 2.0.
If you use Windows 2000 the procedure is a bit different. Windows 2000 is not supported; however we do realize many users are using the Windows 2000 operating system so we are providing these instructions as a courtesy not an admission of support.
1.Unzip LEGOTower.zip onto a directory on your hard drive 2.Make sure the tower is plugged in your computer 3.Right-click the "My Computer" icon and select "Properties" in the context menu 4.In the My Computer properties window, select the "Hardware" tab 5.Click on "Device Manager" 6.Click on "LEGO Devices" and then double-click "LEGO USB Tower" 7.Select "Driver" tab 8.Select "Update driver" 9.Click "Next" 10.Select "Display a list of known drivers for this device so that I can choose a specific driver" 11.Click "Next" 12.Click "Have Disk..." 13.Navigate to the directory where you unzipped the driver files and click OK 14.Click "Next" 15.Click on "Next" again to install the updated driver