midi controllers dont work in PT 12

[khaotic intent]

I was running 9 for a long time. It was stable, everything worked. yesterday I made the mistake of switching to pro Tools 12..what a nightmare. 2 days of work..installing, uninstalling, updating, patching, newest versions of everything I own, and forum after forum. The level of aggravation and frustration is beyond words. Why did I switch? I should have left it alone, my recordings were fine on 9.

So now my padKONTROL and M-audio axiom keyboard do not work at all.
They light up, that's it.
I downloaded newest drivers available, looked for new firmware (none found)
I uninstalled it, reinstalled it several times.
I restarted pro tools, and my computer an infinite amount of times.
The padKONTROL doesnt even show up on the list of peripherals.
I check my wires/tried different ones.
I power cycled it like a million times.
My mackie control universal and extenders are fine.
Midi thru is checked.
my USB hub is functioning correctly.
I am at wits end, I just want to use this very expensive software and just make some music...I know that's a lot to ask.

here's the equipment rundown:

dell xps 8500 with I7 processor, and 16 gigs of ram.
windows 7 (64 bit)
Glyph GPT50 hard drive
Mackie control universal, and two extenders
Tannoy monitors
Dual Dell monitors (24 inch flat screens)
Dual furman power conditioners
8 channel headphone amp
M-audio fast track ultra 8r
Lindell pre amps x2
Lindell eq's x2
Lindell compressors x2
Eleven rack
Korg PadKOntrol
M audio axiom keyboard
AKG monitoring headphones
Vic Firth tracking headphones
Mics: royer 121, senhieser 421, ev re-20, sure beta 57 x5, sure beta 52, sure KSM 137 x2, Sure 58, MXL v69 tube.
and a Ton of other stuff I cant remember right now.

So how do I get the korg padKontroll to be reconised in pro tools 12? What's the secret? Do I need to dump it and just buy some other special pro Tools compatible and ridiculously expensive controller? Do I need to go to a witch doctor? Maybe hire an M.I.T technician? This is the last stpe left before being able to record (I think). ANY suggestion would be welcomed.

[khaotic intent]

I cant get half my midi controllers to work in PT 12.

[marcnyc]

yeah I've been struggling with the same problem... did you find a solution?

[volodia]

Yes , none of the Native Instruments controllers work either.

[take77]

Try plugging the controller into your computer BEFORE launching Pro Tools.

I use a Korg nanoKey2 and it won't register if plugged in while Pro Tools is running.
Plugging the controller in before starting PT works for my W7 system.

[LightWing]

I've found that having the controller powered up and running BEFORE launching PT is required at least in a Windows 7 environment.