multiple gamepads not recognized or weren't successfully installed

What I did:

• I created a 5 player game, I need 5 gamepads to be connected to one machine

• I connect 5 gamepads via a USB hub to a computer and I wait to let Windows "install" them

• after a moment I usually get a message saying that some USB devices were not recognized or successfully installed

  ---

FACTS:

• when I unplug the USB hub (and thereby all 5 gamepads) and plug it in again, some gamepads get installed correctly, and some don't.

• most of the time 4 or 3 out of 5 gamepads get installed correctly, and one or two don't

• gamepads tend to stop working during gameplay, even if they got installed correctly in the beginning

• this happened on all/any computers when I tried to attach multiple gamepads

• I have 3 different kinds of (brand new) USB hubs and 2 kinds of gamepads (one kind was quite expensive too), yet this still happens..

  ---

My questions:

1. What could be causing this behavior? I'm almost positive it's a Windows thing....

2. Could it be that all computers lack the latest updates? If yes, why does the system recognize some of the gamepads and fails to recognize the rest?

3. Is there a software, or a quick Windows workaround to fix this problem if it happens during gameplay?

Thank you for your help in advance.