USB 2 Ports not working

[Coach17]

I am going by what my son-in-law tells me on this one.

The four USB 2.0 ports on the back and the two on the front are not working. A flash drive was put into the front ports and did not work. After that it was plugged into the back and again it did not work. Under Device Manager it shows all ports with a yellow yield sign.

He has Windows XP 2 installed. I would appreciate it if anyone can help me out on this.

Thanks

[SuperSparks]

Ask him to right-click on the entry with a yellow splat, and choose Properties, and then post back with what it says please.

[Coach17]

Ok, after a fews days of waiting here is the answer I received. I don't know if this is correct but here is the response
Under General tab,
Device type: Universal Serial Bus controllers
Manufacturer: (Standard USB Host Controller)
Location: PCI bus 0, device 19, function 2
Device status: This device cannot start. (Code 10)
Device usage: Use this device (enabled)

Under Driver tab:
Driver Provider: Microsoft
Driver Date: 6/1/2002
Driver version: 5.1.2600.0
Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows Publisher

Let me know if he needs more information.

Thanks for your help again.

[SuperSparks]

Uninstalling and reinstalling the USB controller drivers is usually the easiest fix for that:

http://www.pchell.com/hardware/usbcode10.shtml

[bulletmonk]

hi. i hope its ok to post here, i did a search first and this seems close to the problem i have and i didnt want to start a new thread.

some friends are having problems with a printer and digital camera. they are just not responding/working with the computer. both items seem to be ok but when they are plugged into the computers usb, nothing happens. i know when i plug my camera into the pc at the very least i get a message box asking what i want to do, they get nothing. the same with the printer. the printer shows up, they can go through the printing options, all the software is there, but when they click print nothing happens. they have two usb cables so i dont think thats the problem. if it was just the printer then it could be anything, but with the camera doing the same i thought it might be a problem with the usb ports.

i did have a look in device manager on their computer and i checked the usb section but i dont remember if any had yellow marks. i have just read the link about usb devices. it suggests uninstalling and removing them, then restarting and letting the computer install them again. this sounds like something we could try, but is it safe to try?

cheers

[SpywareDr]

Yes, I've done it often on many different computers. And not for just USB, but with most any hardware device with a yellow splat ("!"). More often than not, after a reboot Windows rediscovers the "new hardware", auto-installs whatever it needs, the yellow splat is gone and the device works.

[bulletmonk]

thanks for that.

when i call round to my friends we will give it a try, cheers.

[bulletmonk]

hi

we gave it a try and unfortunately it didnt solve the problem, so i can only assume the front usb ports are broken. so for the short term they are going to use the one spare usb at the back. their computer is a bit different as its all in the monitor, cd rom at the side, connections tucked away round back, with a few at the front. but as they need at least three usb ports i told them i could either try to replace the front two or they could pick up a usb hub.

there is little difference in the price so i suggested they try the hub. to be honest i dont really want to open their up, as it seems to be working ok. so i just wanted to ask are these hubs ok? i have seen a few for around £10 with 4 usb slots. they dont need to have the best one or the quickest but i want it to be ok for them. i forgot to say it will be mainly used for the printer/digital camera and maybe their external dvd drive.

cheers

[SuperSparks]

Yes hubs are fine, I use one all the time (however many ports the PC has, it never seems to be enough ). Get a USB2 hub, as they are fully backwards compatible, and powered hubs are more useful than non-powered.

[bulletmonk]

thanks for that.

what difference is there between the powered/non powered? for example if they only use one of the connections to say use a printer, will it be ok? they wouldnt be using more than one connection at a time, but if a non powered one cannot handle the printer then it is something to consider. cheers

[SuperSparks]

For something like a printer a non-powered hub would be fine. The problem comes if you plug in several devices to a non-powered hub, as they all have to share the 500mA maximum current of the USB port that the hub is plugged into.

[bulletmonk]

thats great


thanks very much

[SuperSparks]

You're very welcome

[bulletmonk]

my friends have just emailed to say they have picked up a usb hub, connected it up and so far everything is working fine.

thanks again