Usb port stopped working

  • Thread starter Thread starter RoseW
  • Start date Start date
R

RoseW

A friend just reported that the USB port stopped working after she had
transferred some files from a memory stick. She used the 'safely remove
hardware' routine on Xp. Its a relatively new machine, still under
warranty. Her husband had brought files from his machine to her for transfer
which was done but afterwards the port would not respond.
I suggested she uninstall the usb listings in the device manager, reboot and
let Windows reinstall those drivers. She reported there were no
Orange/Yellow ! marks beside the devices and the various Services were not
disabled.
I found the Microsoft Kb articles but I wondered if there were any other
websites that have 'troubleshooting usb suggestions'
Its difficult when its a long distance friend who reports minimal detail by
e-mail when something goes off other than the port is not working now <grin>
Rose
 
Windows will/would probably use drivers from 01.Try going to run,type:
Msinfo32 Locate youre pc board chipset numbers,once thru,install the chip
set installation utility from the mfg (intel/amd,etc),get the utility for
that chip
set,the latest utilities arent always the best if you run an older
board...The
utilities have the usb drivers.
 
Andrew E. wrote:
| Windows will/would probably use drivers from 01.Try going to
| run,type: Msinfo32 Locate youre pc board chipset numbers,once
| thru,install the chip set installation utility from the mfg
| (intel/amd,etc),get the utility for that chip
| set,the latest utilities arent always the best if you run an older
| board...The
| utilities have the usb drivers.
|
| "RoseW" wrote:
|
|| A friend just reported that the USB port stopped working after she
|| had transferred some files from a memory stick. She used the 'safely
|| remove hardware' routine on Xp. Its a relatively new machine, still
|| under warranty. Her husband had brought files from his machine to
|| her for transfer which was done but afterwards the port would not
|| respond.
|| I suggested she uninstall the usb listings in the device manager,
|| reboot and let Windows reinstall those drivers. She reported there
|| were no Orange/Yellow ! marks beside the devices and the various
|| Services were not disabled.
|| I found the Microsoft Kb articles but I wondered if there were any
|| other websites that have 'troubleshooting usb suggestions'
|| Its difficult when its a long distance friend who reports minimal
|| detail by e-mail when something goes off other than the port is not
|| working now <grin> Rose
||
|| --
||
|| http://rwgallery.gogax.com/index.html

Thanks for the suggestion Andrew.
The friend isn't at this level so if the simple routines don't work I'll
second her thought to take it to the shop to have it checked out.
I did find other forums with people reporting the same 'stops working'
incident and it might just be the power management on the USB. Turning off
that facility appears to be a recommendation.
Rose
 
RoseW said:
A friend just reported that the USB port stopped working after she had
transferred some files from a memory stick. She used the 'safely remove
hardware' routine on Xp. Its a relatively new machine, still under
warranty. Her husband had brought files from his machine to her for
transfer
which was done but afterwards the port would not respond.
I suggested she uninstall the usb listings in the device manager, reboot
and
let Windows reinstall those drivers. She reported there were no
Orange/Yellow ! marks beside the devices and the various Services were not
disabled.
I found the Microsoft Kb articles but I wondered if there were any other
websites that have 'troubleshooting usb suggestions'
Its difficult when its a long distance friend who reports minimal detail
by
e-mail when something goes off other than the port is not working now
<grin>
Rose
Click to expand...


Rose:
These USB non-recognition problems have been vexing all of us for some time
now. Hardly a day passes where queries similar to yours are posted to this
and other newsgroups dealing with XP issues.

We've become increasingly convinced that the relatively large number of
problems in this area involving the non-recognition of USB devices that
we've all been experiencing is an indication that there is something
seriously flawed with respect to either the USB 2.0 specifications, possibly
involving quality control issues affecting the manufacturer of these USB
devices as well as supporting components such as motherboards and other
USB-related components. Then too, we've become increasingly suspicious of
the XP OS as it relates to its recognition of and interaction with these USB
2.0 devices.

We have encountered far too many unexplained problems affecting
detection/recognition of these devices and their erratic functioning not to
believe that something is seriously amiss in this area.

We continually encounter situations where a USB 2.0 device - generally
involving a flash drive or USB external hard drive, will work perfectly fine
in one machine and not in another. And, in far too many cases, we're unable
to determine why this is so since we're unable to detect any
hardware/software problem in the balking machine that would cause this
non-recognition effect.

I realize none of the above will solve your friend's problem as it now
stands. We have, however, put together a more-or-less checklist for
troubleshooting these rather common USB non-recognition problems that
(hopefully) may be of some value to users encountering this type of problem.
(I realize most of the items will not specifically apply to your friend's
problem but I'm listing them in case they may be of some value to others
experiencing similar type of USB non-recognition problems)...

1. Access Disk Management and see if the USB device is listed. If so, and
there's no drive letter assigned, see if you can assign a drive letter to
the device.
2. If the USB device is listed in Disk Management with an assigned drive
letter, right-click on its listing and select Explore from the submenu.
Hopefully, Windows Explorer will open and the device will be listed.
3. Connect the USB device *directly* to a USB port on the computer, not via
a USB hub. Try different USB ports should your computer have multiple ports.
4. Avoid using a USB extension cable.
5. Try connecting a USB device (that does not contain an auxiliary power
supply) to a USB port both before and after the boot operation.
6. Where a USB (or Firewire) external HDD is involved, access Device
Manager, highlight the Disk drives listing and click on the Action menu item
and then the "Scan for hardware changes" sub-menu item. Do the same in Disk
Management > Action > Rescan disks.
7. Try alternate powering on/off methods. If the USB device contains its own
power supply, try booting up with its power on, then try powering on only
*after* the system has booted to a Desktop.
8. Try a different USB cable.
9. In the USB controllers section of Device Manager, uninstall all the USB
controllers listed and reboot.
10. If the device in question is not a commercial USB external HDD but
rather one in which you installed a PATA HDD in a USB enclosure, jumper the
HDD as Master (or Single if the HDD is a Western Digital disk). A number of
users have reported that jumper configuration corrected their
non-recognition problem. In my own experience it didn't seem to matter how a
USB external HDD was jumpered. But it may be worth a try.
11. If the device in question is a USB external HDD, first check out the HDD
with the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility. If it checks out OK,
and you can remove the HDD from its enclosure (without voiding any
applicable warranty), do so and install the HDD as an internal HDD to
determine if there are problems with the drive.
12. If the USB device is connected to a USB 2.0 PCI card, try changing the
card's PCI slot.
13. Access the website of the manufacturer of the USB device to determine if
there's any firmware update or info re the problem you're experiencing or
there's any possibility that the USB enclosure itself might be defective.
14. Determine from the manufacturer of your motherboard whether there's a
BIOS upgrade affecting USB device recognition.
Anna

P.S.
A number of posters have reported they've found useful information re
troubleshooting USB devices on this site...
http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html
 
Anna wrote:
| || A friend just reported that the USB port stopped working after she
|| had transferred some files from a memory stick. She used the 'safely
|| remove hardware' routine on Xp. <snip>|| Rose
|
|
| Rose:
| These USB non-recognition problems have been vexing all of us for
| some time now. Hardly a day passes where queries similar to yours are
| posted to this and other newsgroups dealing with XP issues.
|
| We've become increasingly convinced that the relatively large number
| of problems in this area involving the non-recognition of USB devices
| that we've all been experiencing is an indication that there is
| something seriously flawed with respect to either the USB 2.0
| specifications, possibly involving quality control issues affecting
| the manufacturer of these USB devices as well as supporting
| components such as motherboards and other USB-related components.
| Then too, we've become increasingly suspicious of the XP OS as it
| relates to its recognition of and interaction with these USB
| 2.0 devices.
|
| We have encountered far too many unexplained problems affecting
| detection/recognition of these devices and their erratic functioning
| not to believe that something is seriously amiss in this area.
|
| We continually encounter situations where a USB 2.0 device - generally
| involving a flash drive or USB external hard drive, will work
| perfectly fine in one machine and not in another. And, in far too
| many cases, we're unable to determine why this is so since we're
| unable to detect any hardware/software problem in the balking machine
| that would cause this non-recognition effect.
|
| I realize none of the above will solve your friend's problem as it now
| stands. We have, however, put together a more-or-less checklist for
| troubleshooting these rather common USB non-recognition problems that
| (hopefully) may be of some value to users encountering this type of
| problem. (I realize most of the items will not specifically apply to
| your friend's problem but I'm listing them in case they may be of
| some value to others experiencing similar type of USB non-recognition
| problems)...
|
| 1. Access Disk Management and see if the USB device is listed. If so,
| and there's no drive letter assigned, see if you can assign a drive
| letter to the device.
| 2. If the USB device is listed in Disk Management with an assigned
| drive letter, right-click on its listing and select Explore from the
| submenu. Hopefully, Windows Explorer will open and the device will
| be listed.
| 3. Connect the USB device *directly* to a USB port on the computer,
| not via a USB hub. Try different USB ports should your computer have
| multiple ports.
| 4. Avoid using a USB extension cable.
| 5. Try connecting a USB device (that does not contain an auxiliary
| power supply) to a USB port both before and after the boot operation.
| 6. Where a USB (or Firewire) external HDD is involved, access Device
| Manager, highlight the Disk drives listing and click on the Action
| menu item and then the "Scan for hardware changes" sub-menu item. Do
| the same in Disk Management > Action > Rescan disks.
| 7. Try alternate powering on/off methods. If the USB device contains
| its own power supply, try booting up with its power on, then try
| powering on only *after* the system has booted to a Desktop.
| 8. Try a different USB cable.
| 9. In the USB controllers section of Device Manager, uninstall all
| the USB controllers listed and reboot.
| 10. If the device in question is not a commercial USB external HDD but
| rather one in which you installed a PATA HDD in a USB enclosure,
| jumper the HDD as Master (or Single if the HDD is a Western Digital
| disk). A number of users have reported that jumper configuration
| corrected their non-recognition problem. In my own experience it
| didn't seem to matter how a USB external HDD was jumpered. But it may
| be worth a try.
| 11. If the device in question is a USB external HDD, first check out
| the HDD with the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility. If it
| checks out OK, and you can remove the HDD from its enclosure (without
| voiding any applicable warranty), do so and install the HDD as an
| internal HDD to determine if there are problems with the drive.
| 12. If the USB device is connected to a USB 2.0 PCI card, try
| changing the card's PCI slot.
| 13. Access the website of the manufacturer of the USB device to
| determine if there's any firmware update or info re the problem
| you're experiencing or there's any possibility that the USB enclosure
| itself might be defective.
| 14. Determine from the manufacturer of your motherboard whether
| there's a BIOS upgrade affecting USB device recognition.
| Anna
|
| P.S.
| A number of posters have reported they've found useful information re
| troubleshooting USB devices on this site...
| http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html

Thank you for the summary report. I have forwarded it to my friend as well
as keeping it as future reference for myself.
In her case its a flash drive (memory stick) but I have an external drive
and on a laptop a hub. The external drive will work on a direct port in the
laptop but not in the hub
Rose
 
| || A friend just reported that the USB port stopped working after she
|| had transferred some files from a memory stick. She used the 'safely
|| remove hardware' routine on Xp. <snip>|| Rose

| Rose:
| These USB non-recognition problems have been vexing all of us for
| some time now. Hardly a day passes where queries similar to yours are
| posted to this and other newsgroups dealing with XP issues.
|
| We've become increasingly convinced that the relatively large number
| of problems in this area involving the non-recognition of USB devices
| that we've all been experiencing is an indication that there is
| something seriously flawed with respect to either the USB 2.0
| specifications, possibly involving quality control issues affecting
| the manufacturer of these USB devices as well as supporting
| components such as motherboards and other USB-related components.
| Then too, we've become increasingly suspicious of the XP OS as it
| relates to its recognition of and interaction with these USB
| 2.0 devices.
|
| We have encountered far too many unexplained problems affecting
| detection/recognition of these devices and their erratic functioning
| not to believe that something is seriously amiss in this area.
|
| We continually encounter situations where a USB 2.0 device - generally
| involving a flash drive or USB external hard drive, will work
| perfectly fine in one machine and not in another. And, in far too
| many cases, we're unable to determine why this is so since we're
| unable to detect any hardware/software problem in the balking machine
| that would cause this non-recognition effect.
|
| I realize none of the above will solve your friend's problem as it now
| stands. We have, however, put together a more-or-less checklist for
| troubleshooting these rather common USB non-recognition problems that
| (hopefully) may be of some value to users encountering this type of
| problem. (I realize most of the items will not specifically apply to
| your friend's problem but I'm listing them in case they may be of
| some value to others experiencing similar type of USB non-recognition
| problems)...
|
| 1. Access Disk Management and see if the USB device is listed. If so,
| and there's no drive letter assigned, see if you can assign a drive
| letter to the device.
| 2. If the USB device is listed in Disk Management with an assigned
| drive letter, right-click on its listing and select Explore from the
| submenu. Hopefully, Windows Explorer will open and the device will
| be listed.
| 3. Connect the USB device *directly* to a USB port on the computer,
| not via a USB hub. Try different USB ports should your computer have
| multiple ports.
| 4. Avoid using a USB extension cable.
| 5. Try connecting a USB device (that does not contain an auxiliary
| power supply) to a USB port both before and after the boot operation.
| 6. Where a USB (or Firewire) external HDD is involved, access Device
| Manager, highlight the Disk drives listing and click on the Action
| menu item and then the "Scan for hardware changes" sub-menu item. Do
| the same in Disk Management > Action > Rescan disks.
| 7. Try alternate powering on/off methods. If the USB device contains
| its own power supply, try booting up with its power on, then try
| powering on only *after* the system has booted to a Desktop.
| 8. Try a different USB cable.
| 9. In the USB controllers section of Device Manager, uninstall all
| the USB controllers listed and reboot.
| 10. If the device in question is not a commercial USB external HDD but
| rather one in which you installed a PATA HDD in a USB enclosure,
| jumper the HDD as Master (or Single if the HDD is a Western Digital
| disk). A number of users have reported that jumper configuration
| corrected their non-recognition problem. In my own experience it
| didn't seem to matter how a USB external HDD was jumpered. But it may
| be worth a try.
| 11. If the device in question is a USB external HDD, first check out
| the HDD with the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility. If it
| checks out OK, and you can remove the HDD from its enclosure (without
| voiding any applicable warranty), do so and install the HDD as an
| internal HDD to determine if there are problems with the drive.
| 12. If the USB device is connected to a USB 2.0 PCI card, try
| changing the card's PCI slot.
| 13. Access the website of the manufacturer of the USB device to
| determine if there's any firmware update or info re the problem
| you're experiencing or there's any possibility that the USB enclosure
| itself might be defective.
| 14. Determine from the manufacturer of your motherboard whether
| there's a BIOS upgrade affecting USB device recognition.
| Anna
|
| P.S.
| A number of posters have reported they've found useful information re
| troubleshooting USB devices on this site...
| http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html
Anna wrote:
Click to expand...


RoseW said:
Thank you for the summary report. I have forwarded it to my friend as well
as keeping it as future reference for myself.
In her case its a flash drive (memory stick) but I have an external drive
and on a laptop a hub. The external drive will work on a direct port in
the
laptop but not in the hub
Rose
Click to expand...


Yes, it's not uncommon by any means that frequently a USB device will not
work (or work erratically) when connected via a USB hub, but will work
perfectly fine when connected directly to the PC's USB port. Yet another USB
device will encounter no problem when connected to the same USB hub.

We've also encountered a number of situations where a USB device connected
to a desktop's PC front panel USB port will not work but have no problem
when connected directly to the motherboard's USB port at the rear of the
case. And this occurs even when we find the front panel's USB connections
have been properly installed.
Anna
 
Back
Top