USB cable. Is it working right, is it proper - as in, is it according to USB spec. Many are not. Just try a different USB cable.
Then, after that, the problem might be with the USB hardware of the computer. They do vary - some are noisier, some are more prone to intermittently dropping connection. Or Windows not recognising a USB device on startup. (My portable HD is like that - or rather, Windows is like that with the USB HD. Like once in a year, plug it in, and Windows doesn't notice it. Unplug, plug in, no ping-ding. Switch off computer, switch on, wait until all startup stuff finished, then plug in the HD USB cable and ping-ding, back to normal. Problem is with Windows USB stuff.
First make sure the cable is good. *Sure.*
If you then try an alternative to USB, and it works out, it means the problem is that computer USB hardware.
When you tried it with another computer, did you use the same USB cable?
Windows Media Player, foobar, no matter, no dependency. That driver is a Windows driver.