IPod Nano troubles, please help

Question

I'll try to explain this problem to the best of my ability, this has been an ongoing problem since my sister got her iPod Nano:
Me and my sister both got iPods for Christmas, her a Nano and myself a Video, now this isn't about me, my iPod works with my computer (thankfully), but my sister's Nano does not work with her computer. The only reason she has music is because she hooked it up to mine and got my music (a process so annoying to me it's hard to explain, and no, before it is suggested I am not going to add her music to my computer, add it to my library, hook up her Nano, give her her music, and then undo that whole process afterwards. Also I am going off to college next year and won't be able to do that all the time).
Anyway, so the problem appears to be that Windows does not recognize her Nano. I follow the instructions exactly like I did to use my iPod, I install the newest software (iPod updater and iTunes) and then put music into iTunes and then plug in her Nano, and I get a very strange noise. If you can imagine the two noises commonly heard, two beeps, one low and one high when you plug in a piece of hardware, and one high and one low when you unplug it, think of this noise as three, very quick low beeps. I do not know what this noise means, but it appears to mean "we know you plugged something in, but we don't know what the heck to do." iTunes at this point does not automatically update the iPod, and when I go into iPod Updater, the message is "plug in an iPod to begin" (although one is plugged in).
Originally I thought the problem was with her USB drives, although they are USB 2.0 as recommended. I called an Apple service representative (actually a few, only one giving me anything close to a reason for the problem), and upon checking the Device Manager the representative told me that "VIA" USB controllers are not compatible with the Nano. I did not find this likely, but I accepted it as the reason and she has since gone without an updated music selection in her Nano.
Recently my sister purchased a PCI USB card to put into her computer, which I installed (with difficulty, hard to find the drivers). We again tried to use the Nano with no luck. These new USB controllers are "NEC PCI to USB Open Host Controllers" also 2.0, according to the packaging.
I have since reinstalled iTunes and iPod Updater to their most recent versions and reinstalled the USB ports twice, with no better results. Currently I am at the Device Manager and it shows it "recognizes" the iPod, under "Other Devices" (which has a yellow question mark as the icon) and the iPod tab itself also has a yellow question mark as the icon, but this yellow question mark has a smaller yellow circle with an exclamation point ("!") inside it. I attempted to use the "Add New Hardware" wizard to "install" the iPod, but at the point where it looks for drivers it says it can't find any.
Please help, I would be greatly appreciative of any information concerning:
-My sister's USB ports and if they are the problem
-What the "three beeps" noise means when I plug in the Nano
-Where I can find "drivers" (if they exist) for the Nano so the computer recognizes it
-Any other ideas/suggestions that could be of help
Thanks in advance! I hope someone else out there can answer my problem!

Answer 1

hiya!
-Where I can find "drivers" (if they exist) for the Nano so the computer recognizes it
hmmm. okay, perhaps we should try giving the techniques in this MarkJones post a try:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1940779&#1940779
with regard to the USB card compatibility issue, this document might be helpful:
iPod: Recommended FireWire and USB Cards
love, b