USB malfunction on my windows computer?

Right so my sim isn't working in my refurbished iphone 3g.been told need to plug into computer and restore. However when i plug into computer i get a message pop up saying one of the USB devices attached to the computer has malfunctioned.help? I can't get itunes to regonise it without this.therefore no phone.i've spent hours reseaching and got nowhere… Please help!

I will suggest you to reinstall the USB hardware from the device manager and restarts you computer and try to connect.

Have you tried a different USB port, removing the sim, restarting the phone, cleaning any dust out the dock connector on the base of the phone and/or using a different iPod cable? Also make sure you're plugging direct into a USB port on the back of the computer (not through a hub) and avoid any USB 3.0 ports (blue USB socket). And restart your computer if you haven't already.

If none of those things work, try on another computer to try and isolate if it's your phone or computer causing grief