Could really use some help with my USBs

[Cosmicchalie42]

I am new to this site and just getting my feet wet in the computer world. I have a Dell dimension 9100 which completelty stopped working couldn't even turn it on out of the blue. After much investigation I found out how to jump start it with a paper clip. Then it turned on but USB ports were now dead. I grabbed a buddies ps/2 keyboard was able to boot it up and save essential data on an external. I then reformatted it with windows xp. Finally everything seemed to be in order reinstalled some drives for video card ect upgraded bios. Then after a day or so the usb ports starting acting up. They come In and out of working. Sometimes you'd see the lite from mouse and still wouldn't work sometimes nothing at all. Now I'm back to square 1. All 7 USB ports 2 in front and 5 In back are out of order. Any help would be greeatly appreciated. Thnxs

 

[Archean]

Check Device Manager, for any hardware incompatibilities/issues. If device manager is not showing any such issues, then probably your motherboard's USB Controller is the culprit; in that case you will be left with one option; i.e. to buy a USB controller card (they are usually cheap) and try that route.

To go to Device Manager, please right click on My Computer, then to Hardware Tab and click on Device Manager (if get something wrong here I guess I'm starting to forget XP ). I think, you can also type devmgmt.msc in Start, Run.

 

[captaincranky]

Just out of curiosity, exactly how do you "jump start" a Dell Dimension with a paperclip...?

Do you have to shove you head under the dashboard to get to the ignition switch or anything like that....?

 

[Archean]

I though he was talking about opening CD/DVD ROM drive; but it is a wild guess

 

[SNGX1275]

Sounds like bad motherboard to me.

I assume by jump starting with a paperclip he means shorting the 2 pins that the power switch usually is connected to on the motherboard. Of course this also assumes somehow the power switch itself is broke, which is pretty rare.

Initially when reading I guessed that when he was removing the connector on the pins for the power switch that the USB ones got screwed with by accident. But then I read it was working for a bit in XP and then died (all of them at that). So that makes me think that its a hardware issue rather than a software issue. This could be verified by booting off a live linux cd...