# Solved: all dead usb ports....not dying...DEAD.



## bluemoonct (Aug 19, 2007)

hi

sony vaio xp sp2...lots of peripheral usage, we have front and rear usb ports, digital cameras, printers, mp3 players 
one morning when switching the usb printer cable from the laptop back to the front usb port on the desktop, the computer froze and NONE of the usb's front or back, have worked ever since. 

important to note is that we do lots of plugging/unplugging usbs for the above devices

what we have tried to awaken our usb's (keep in mind we are in the early learning stages of computer knowledge...)

static discharge
boot/reboot
safe mode reinstallation of usb root,etc
system restore...didn't work...no matter how far back we went

last ditch chance is a system recovery, so we bought an external hard drive and are backing up ( as with everything we do, not without problems, but that is another post here)
in preparation for the recovery 

any other, clear step by step advice for us? 
thanks in advance!


----------



## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

*First step, Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. Create a restore point and name it something like "Before USB Fix". This is to bail you out if something goes wrong during the following process and makes things worse.*

Create a file with NOTEPAD containing the following lines and save it as FIX.REG

-------------------------- Use text after this line --------------------------------
REGEDIT4
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment]"DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES"="1"

-------------------------- Use text before this line --------------------------------

Double click on FIX.REG and say yes to the Merge Into Registry question.

Unplug ALL USB devices.
Open Device Manager.
View, Show Hidden Devices.
Uninstall all devices under USB Controllers.
Uninstall all devices under Disk Drives that you know are not present.
Uninstall all devices under Storage Volumes. Say no to any reboot prompts until you are finished. Also, if a Storage Volume doesn't uninstall, ignore it and move to the next one.
If you have a yellow ? with unknown devices, uninstall all of the entries there as well.

When this is done, reboot TWICE.

Reconnect the USB devices and see if they're recognized properly.

NOTE: If you have a USB keyboard and/or mouse, you'll have to modify the instructions and leave enough parts for those to function. I don't have one yet, so I haven't had time to modify the instructions.


----------



## bluemoonct (Aug 19, 2007)

hi johnwill

thanks, excellent instructions that I CAN UNDERSTAND! we have posted the same questions on several other tech forums and the answers at the very least have been like "check bios" which are mysterious....our usable computer language/knowledge isn't "check bios" ready yet! 
let me be sure i have it right. 

mouse/keyboard are not usb....so thats good
can you tell me about that registry info you provided? im not sure at what point to use it, and how. do i enter that info into the "run" box and then i will be prompted as you suggested with " merge registry"?


----------



## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

You create that file with notepad and save it with a .REG extension.

You should have 3 boxes on the bottom in NOTEPAD.
1)Filename : fixcd.reg
2)Save as type: all files
3)Encoding: ANSI
If you do not change it from txt type to All files type, then the file will actually be fixcd.reg.txt, this won't accomplish the desired result

Then just double click on it to add that key to the registry. This is done first, it tells Windows to display some hidden devices that wouldn't show up just using the GUI.


----------



## bluemoonct (Aug 19, 2007)

ok, great, we are going to do it right now, i hope you'll be around for a while!
thanks a million...
blue


----------



## bluemoonct (Aug 19, 2007)

ok, then we just click save....? you mentioned double clicking on this file once we have created it... where would we find it? run search and search for the name and then double click it?


----------



## bluemoonct (Aug 19, 2007)

ok, we tried the recommndations of johnwill....with the following possible modification.


first we created the notepad file, found it in "search" and double clicked it, which only seemed to open it as if it were a document. there was never any question about merging into the registry....when i right clicked on the cdfix.reg listing however there was an option to "merge" and so i bravely, and possibly stupidly clicked that and hoped it was the same thing. Nothing obvious happened. and so we went on with the instructions as per johnwill.

there was a highlighted entry in the device manager, yellow triangle with an exclamation point next to "serial". 

other than that, we rebooted twice and the usb ports still do not recognize any peripheral devices...

anyone think that we need to install a new pci card? do you think that part of the motherboard has blown? what's next when you have a computer with all dead usb ports and a business that relies on photo uploading and editing...

thanks.


----------



## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

What appears under USB Controllers in Device Manager? Please post a screen shot:

To post a screen shot of the active window, hold the _*Alt*_ key and press the *PrtScn* key. Open the Windows PAINT application and _*Paste*_ the screen shot. You can then use PAINT to trim to suit, and save it as a JPG format file. To upload it to TSG, open the full reply window and use the _*Manage Attachments*_ button to upload it here.


----------



## bluemoonct (Aug 19, 2007)

here is an image of the device manager


----------



## bluemoonct (Aug 19, 2007)

interesting observation, when we plug in devices that require just power, like an mp3 player, it charges as it always has through the usb port...the ports just don't have any other functionality, so they seem to have power, however useless that is to us right now! just thought it might matter to those of you in the know! they definitely DO NOT interact in anyway with the operating system or work in any other way


----------



## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I think I'd pick up a PCI USB 2.0 card and try that, they're cheap as a test. Here's one with the NEC chipset that I've personally used in several computers, and it has excellent compatibility. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815166002

If you buy a different card, I recommend sticking with the NEC USB chipset, I've had issues with both the ALi and VIA chipset based cards.


----------



## bluemoonct (Aug 19, 2007)

hi johnwill

just wanted to let you know the new pci card that you reccommended worked like a charm, we are up and running. just a question, the pci card had the panel of usb ports on one side, which you can access from the back of the computer, but it also had one port on the front edge of the pci card, which can only be accessed when you open up the computer case...what is that port for? we though maybe it was a bridge by which we could jumper the front usb ports ( this computer has front and rear usbs) to the working pci card, thereby making the front usb ports functional again? just wondering really what that internal usb port is for. thanks so much, you've been a huge help. 

we have another question posted now if you are skilled at networking...we want to be able to print from our wireless laptop to our wired printer...


----------



## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

The port inside is for... Well, I don't really know, since I've never used them!  You could string a cable out a hole in the back for an extra USB connection. That connection would be a lot more useful if it had a header for the many internal readers and front panel sockets on the case. 

Did you post the networking issue in the Networking forum?

*You can mark your own threads solved using the thread tools at the top of the page in the upper right corner.©*


----------



## bluemoonct (Aug 19, 2007)

HI JohnWill

wow! it's nice to hear you say "I don't really know!" i was beginning to think you were all seeing, all knowing omniscient.....just kidding. i thank you so much for this fix, we are back up and running and now can get back to our business of photo editing...

yes, posted the network problem on the networking forum...


----------



## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, I really am *all seeing, all knowing and omniscient*, but I like to pretend sometimes so people aren't intimidated.


----------



## norton850 (Mar 9, 2004)

I wish I could remember this, but I found a 2.0 USB card with an internal port for someone that had some sort of a setup that used the internal port. Whether it was an external drive adapter that slid into the 5.25 drive bay (I think that was it) or some other setup (Card reader?) again I can't remember.


----------



## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

The one with the internal header is an ALi chipset, which I wouldn't touch with your 10 foot pole!  Those have been very problematic for me, and I stick to the NEC chipset boards.


----------

