Pete, I tend to plug stuff in first to see if windows can find a driver at Microsoft. Obviously that doesn't work for astro cameras and the like but it seem to work for most usb devices like usb-serial, eqmod usb dongles, webcams, printers and stuff.
Yep - got an i7-3610QM. Quite a step up on the old Toshiba core 2 duo. Also got FHD 1920x1080 17" screen - fits a lot more than the 15" 1280x800 on the Toshiba.
I have an ACER laptop 64 bit running Windows 7 home premium.
I have VMware 8.04 installed and run Ubuntu 12.04 as a virtual system.
I have a standard clone (?) pl2302 that runs perfectly on Linux but does not work in Win 7 (irrespective of USB/port assignments).
Conversly I have a Belkin USB-RS232 adapter that works great in Win-7 but there is no Linux driver for it.
I use the Com ports to drive the LX200 (native). So need carry both adapters.