v20 no effects and not much else, please help

Hi, I've done all I know how. I get the read/write error when using effects. No matter how many times I reset the in/out midi devices it defaults back to (unconnected). I've reinstalled several times. The hardware is also non-responsive. I've also checked that drivers are installed and all seems fine.
My laptop is Toshiba Satilite, windows 7 (64bit) and I have downloaded the 64bit driver.
Please help.
thanks Jack