USB ports not working properly-HELP!

[pablo59]

Hi all

Sorry, this is not about sex apart from the fact I am really fucked off and this driving me nuts!

I have a query for all you IT experts.

I have a PC with only 4 USB ports; 2 at the back and 2 in front.
The keyboard and mouse are attached at the back and I have a printer and external hard drive attached to the front.

I also use USB Flash drives/memory sticks so I have to disconnect one of the front USBs (Printer or Ext HDD) to use them. This is a pain in the bum.

So, I bought an external USB hub with 4 outlets so I could attach them all at the back and free up the front ports.

When I plugged it in and attached all 4 devices, nothing worked. The PC came up with a USB error. Not even the mouse and keyboard worked.
I thought, OK it only cost $29.95 and anyway I'll take it back for a refund tomorrow.
I disconnected it, and threw it savagely in my work bag to return the next day.

I then reconnected everything the way it was and there were errors for the printer and the ext HDD.
The mouse and keyboard are fine (obviously ..typing here..albeit badly J)

I tried my 2GB memory stick and that errored too.
I tried an old 256 MB M/stick and it was OK. WTF?

I tried rearranging all the devises on the 4 ports but it made no difference where they were connected. The mouse and k/board were fine but the others were not cooperating.

My theory is that the external hub I bought has somehow buggered up the PC’s internal USB Motherboard hub and it can only cope with USB devices of minimal requirements such as a mouse, k/board and small memory sticks.

Note, the external HDD has its own power source as does the printer.
And yes, I did reset the computer. (many times!...I even shut it down all last night so it could reconsider its wicked ways). No change when I started it up this morning.

Can anyone help?:frown1:
Much appreciated.:smile:

 

[ManlyBanisters]

You don't say what OS you are using.

Have you fully turned off the PC and then turned it back on yet?

Turn everything off - plug the stuff back in the way you had it - turn it all back on.

If that doesn't work, or you have already done that, post back and I have another suggestion for you. :smile:

 

[pablo59]

You don't say what OS you are using.

Have you fully turned off the PC and then turned it back on yet?

Turn everything off - plug the stuff back in the way you had it - turn it all back on.

If that doesn't work, or you have already done that, post back and I have another suggestion for you. :smile:

Thanks for reply

OS = W XP
Turned off = yes, see post
Posting back. Suggestion please. Thanks.

 

[ManlyBanisters]

In your post you said you rearranged everything - you didn't mention turning off the PC except for when you installed the new hub. I just wanted to check.

Anyway - Go to Control Panel, click on System, choose the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button.

You'll see a list of stuff. At the bottom of the list you'll see a heading Universal Serial Bus controllers - if that heading is not expanded click the + sign to expand it. You'll see a bunch of stuff listing there. If you see anything with an exclamation point or a red cross over its icon right click on it and choose Uninstall. If nothing there has a cross or exclamation point uninstall it all. Close Device manager.

Turn off your PC (using the shut down menu - I don't mean just hit the button).
Make sure just the keyboard and mouse are plugged in as before - leave the printer and hard drive off.
Turn on your PC.
All the USB stuff will redetect and reinstall.

Try your external hard drive first.

If that works then try your printer. - You may need the installation disks for those two again - though I expect the HDD doesn't need them.

 

[pablo59]

In your post you said you rearranged everything - you didn't mention turning off the PC except for when you installed the new hub. I just wanted to check.

Anyway - Go to Control Panel, click on System, choose the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button.

You'll see a list of stuff. At the bottom of the list you'll see a heading Universal Serial Bus controllers - if that heading is not expanded click the + sign to expand it. You'll see a bunch of stuff listing there. If you see anything with an exclamation point or a red cross over its icon right click on it and choose Uninstall. If nothing there has a cross or exclamation point uninstall it all. Close Device manager.

Turn off your PC (using the shut down menu - I don't mean just hit the button).
Make sure just the keyboard and mouse are plugged in as before - leave the printer and hard drive off.
Turn on your PC.
All the USB stuff will redetect and reinstall.

Try your external hard drive first.

If that works then try your printer. - You may need the installation disks for those two again - though I expect the HDD doesn't need them.

Thank you very much for replying
I did all that and mouse and k/b came back no problem.
I tried both printer and HDD separately and USB errors again.

Perhaps something altered with the Motherboard USB hub?

Thanks again
P

 

[ManlyBanisters]

Perhaps - forcing Windows to reinstall all of that should have solved any issues at an OS level.

Are there any other items in the Device Manager showing any problems (exclamation mark over icon)?

What exact error messages are you getting?

I'm not sure I have any further bright ideas - maybe someone else will.

 

[Incocknito]

I'm 99% sure that the problem is your power supply.

Your power supply is insufficient to power certain self powered USB devices. I've seen hubs especially cause this problem. The best way to fix it is to replace your power supply with a better one.

Alternatively, buy an external DC adapter for your external hub/s. But that's more of a temporary solution.

If your PC is quite old then its almost certain that the power supply is the problem.

 

[ManlyBanisters]

Maybe that was the original problem with the hub - but it doesn't explain why the original configuration is not working after the hub's been removed.

Edit: sorry - I see what you are saying - It was all working fine before the hub though so while that's a valid point I'm not convinced. Having said that I am running out of ideas...

 

[pablo59]

Perhaps - forcing Windows to reinstall all of that should have solved any issues at an OS level.

Are there any other items in the Device Manager showing any problems (exclamation mark over icon)?

What exact error messages are you getting?

I'm not sure I have any further bright ideas - maybe someone else will.

No other errors

Error Message as follows:-

USB device not recognised. One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows did not recognise it. For assistance in solving this problem, click this message.

Then it comes up with Windows stuff that really doesn't help.

 

[ManlyBanisters]

No other errors

Error Message as follows:-

USB device not recognised. One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows did not recognise it. For assistance in solving this problem, click this message.

Then it comes up with Windows stuff that really doesn't help.

Have you another machine, or a friend's machine, you can test the HDD on? Seems unlikely that the hub fried it, especially as USB keys that never were plugged into the hub are erroring also - but worth checking if it isn't too inconvenient.

 

[JF]

Each USB device draws its power from the USB hub - either the built-in one or the external one - which in turn is powered by your PC's power supply. It could be that the power being drawn by your existing devices is near the limit then the new hub has pushed it over the 500mA limit per hub. Although unlikely, there may have been some damage caused by this additional power surge. You can check the amount of current being drawn by the USB devices by going into Device Manager, selecting the 'USB Root Hub' device, right-clicking & looking at the Power tab. Do this with various devices connected to see what current is being used.

It may not necessarily be your PC's power supply at fault as such, but it could simply be that an externally powered hub (as suggested above), or if you have the room, an internal USB hub might be a better solution.

Hope this helps.

 

[Deno]

simply uninstall the usb devices in device manager and choose the scan for new hardware option, after windows installs the new hardware found they should work.

 

[Incocknito]

Uninstalling them will only repeat the same 'Device not recognized error' because the PC is unable to fully power the device.

I had this problem with a USB card reading hub. It didn't work on a quite new laptop and it didn't work on a ten year old PC (no surprise). On each PC it came up as not recognized.

Now, what leads me to believe that its a PSU issue is that it worked on a newer PC. If it were a USB issue it wouldn't work on any PC.

You could probably do with building a new PC to be honest, or buying one. Four USB ports isn't much anyway and they may not be the new, Hi-Speed USB ports.

Or at least, buy a new power supply. It will fix your USB ports and generally be better for your system as the older a power supply gets the more chance there is of something going wrong with it. And a bad power supply can damage the entire system.

 

[pablo59]

Hey guys, thanks very much for the help.

When I was playing around last night, the HDD did work! However, when I unplugged it and replugged it in, it errored again.
I also uninstalled all the USB devices and let Windows reinstall them. Only the mouse and k/b came back.
I am convinced thaere is nothing wrong with the HDD, printer or 2GB stick. I tested the latter on my laptop at work and it was fine.
(The fact that it started working again just the once is wierd).

Yes, a new PC would be the trick. Mine is quite old but I am looking redundancy in the face right now so very low priority after mortgage and food.