I looked around a bit and found this thread:
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/chrome/hvIIowHSQow/Er77B3L4EQAJ
With these instructions for Chrome:
1. Click menu icon in top-right corner and go to Settings.
2. Click "Show advanced settings".
3. In "Privacy" section, click "Content settings".
4. In "MIDI devices and full control" section, check "Do not allow any sites to use system exclusive messages to access MIDI devices".
5. Click "Done".
I'm curious to hear if this resolves the problem.
On a sidenote, I don't know if it was a cost issue or what but USB 1.1? In this day and age?