PCFormat Forum Archive

I have 2 usb ports on my pc that has just stopped working. Well they actually work when I plug a usb mouse or keyboard into it, but refuses to work with my usb modem or flash drive. The modem and flash drive works in other ports but not in the two mention. I have not installed any new hardware of software on my pc. I even restored my backup and still it is not working.

When I do boot into linux, and plug a flash drive into the ports that is not working, I can see that the flash drive is plugged into a port, using the disk utility, but I cannot access the flash drive.

Does anyone know how to fix this.

Does anything show up in device manager when the modem is plugged into one of the ports? Maybe a exclamation mark on one of the USB ports?

are these the front extended or rear on-board?

could be power related.

It is my back ports. I have 6 ports at the back grouped in pairs. When I plug the modem of flash drive into the ports that is not working, nothing comes up on the device manager. There is no exclamation marks. It is if the device manager is not even detecting that something is plugged into that port. But when I plug my usb keyboard into that port, it detects it as an usb composite device and it works fine. The modem and flash drive do work on other ports.

modem and flash require more power than a mouse or KB. how old is the mobo?

are you coastal? any rust?...

The mobo is 2 years old, no rust, Im from JHB

what do we know:
1) The modem and flash drive are working, just not in those specific ports
2) The ports are responsive, but only up to a certain power draw
3) the USB hub is still operational

aside from dodgy mobo, the only other thing i'd suggest is scrubbing *ALL* installed USB drivers...

• device manager
  view>show hidden devices
  uninstall all USB entries
  shutdown
  remove all USB devices
  restart
  start plugging back in...

As rusty suggested, I sometimes find it helps to just remove all the USB items from the device manager and restarting.

If it is say a power problem, will it help if I unplug my spare HHD that I do not use?