How do I get my PC to recognize my Samsung Galaxy S3?

[hic2482w]

I've searched all the threads but they are very old and I've tried many solutions but to no avail.
I'm using Vista and android version is 4.4.2, whenever I plug my s3 in to my computer, it charges (the lightning bolt appears), but my phone doesn't recognize that it's plugged into a computer and the computer doesn't recognize that there's a phone plugged into it either.
I've used the same cable that I got with the phone. I've changed the USB settings to MTP + ADB. I've turned on/off USB debugging multiple times when trying all these solutions. I've downloaded the PC-USB drivers from the samsung website, but none of these work. A solution like AirDroid wouldn't work for me - I'm trying to connect my phone to the PC to root it, not to transfer files. I'm completely stuck now, any help would be much appreciated

 

[gozirra]

It sounds like the data pins inside the cable have gone bad (either pin 2, 3, or both). Pins 1 and 4 carry power so they may still work to charge the device. When I had an S3, the cable that came with it worked for about a year then quit. Borrow one from a friend to find out, or try the cable/phone together in a different machine to eliminate it being the computer. If the cable and phone work in another computer, then you have a driver issue, and you can download a replacement USB driver directly from Samsung: Technical Documentation | SAMSUNG Developers
(edit) I see you said you already tried drivers, make sure you got the ones I linked to? I know they worked for me when I had a Vista box and my S3 (the link was still bookmarked).