That message about communications speed usually pops up when there's no contact with the board. Usually you'll get a dialog pop up that asks you to choose the interface, and defaults to the parallel port. Can you see if the USB port is on the list of choices? If not, check that:
1) The USB cable is securely plugged into both connectors
2) That the the LEDs on the interface module (or board) have lit up.
3) Windows XP will give you an alert tone when it recognizes a USB device. Did this happen?
What changed on the system since the last time it was used for a debug session?
---Tom