Hi Chris,
Thanks alot! Up and running again, just like you said .
Turned out it was the USB port, suspect it might be caused by the Windows 8.1 USB 3 issue. After connecting the N3 to a USB 2 port on the same pc, with the same cable, the N3 was recognized correctly.
Happy to help if you guys would like more info on my system. Basically, I am running Windows 8.1 on a Dell precision M4700 laptop.
Stefaan