for all the computer people out there

[mangledmaille]

i have an issue with my computer........yesterday while transfering some files from a thumb drive to my harddrive my computer rebooted. When i got it back up and running i keep getting a message from windows that it doesn't recognize the usb device. none of my thumb drives work, ipod doesn't charge and my wireless mouse quit working. does anyone have any advice on what this could be? i tried the windows troubleshoot windows but no luck. i did reads something about updating the BIOS ??? whatever the he11 they are. I am at a loss any help would be appreciated.

[Brian Park]

What operating system are you using? (I assume Win XP or Vista?). If you are using either of these, the thumb drives should work, without needing to load drivers. For Win98SE, you need a driver for each type of thumb drive you have.

If you are using XP or Vista, I suspect some sort of system damage has occurred. The safest thing to do is to re-install Windows (hope you have the original CD). Before doing this, you might want to test the thumb drives on another machine (and virus scan the contents while you are at it). Also virus scan the PC. (Do you put that PC, or the thumb drive, on the Web? Did you share files, via the thumb drive, with someone else before this incident happened?)

[migsopt]

Hello,
Most computers have multiple USB ports, so you should first try plugging into any other available port and see if it works. Try it with both the jump drive and the mouse. The jump drive could have gotten corrupt as this is common with these devices and then won't be recognized by the system. If nothing works it would seem you may have a hardware issue since you claim your USB mouse, Ipod, etc is not working either. Try plugging in a PS2 mouse and see if that works. That is the mouse that has the round connector, usually green in color. Your USB ports could be fried. I doubt that a bios upgrade will help. Bios is the system that controls the hardware on the computer. You are able to get into it when you start your computer by pressing a certain key. Depending on your bios it will be anything from F1 to F10 and will say so on the screen when the computer starts. If your USB ports are fried you will need a new computer as it will not be cost effective to have a tech put in a new motherboard. Hope this helps.

[mangledmaille]

yeah, i tested the drives on another computer and they work fine, checked all of the usb ports and none work. looks like a will be doing a system overhaul

[rbaker]

If you are using XP or Vista do a system restore. Reinstall the OS only as a last resort.

[jmnewell]

Well, sounds like it could be a driver problem to me, open up the run prompt in the start menu, type in devmgmt.msc and scroll to the bottom where the usb controllers are located. If there is any exclamation points on a usb controller, then that is the problem and you should just have to go to your computer manufacturer's website for the driver. If not, try uninstalling all the usb devices and restarting. After restarting they should reinstall themselves. If its not the usb drivers, there is something corrupt in the system, or the usb plugs are kaput.
Good Luck,

Josh

[mangledmaille]

okay, weirdest damn thing. today my computer locked up on me and would do a damn thing.............. ctrl alt del no worky............let it set for like 10 min, no luck. tried hitting power button, no luck..........held in power to turn off, no luck..........said screw it and hit the switch on the power supply. rebooted and now my usb's work. what the crap???????????? oh well, atleast i got i working again. thanks for all of the advice guys

[migsopt]

Wow, now I remember one of the many reasons that I got out of the computer field. Glad you are up and running. Happy new year.
:D

[DragonLensmanWV]

Yeah, stuff like that will drive you crazy. I was going to suggest uninstalling all the USB controllers in Device Manager, then rebooting.
I upgraded a puter for one of our Opticians. Everything worked really well (Note: You should know this already, but if you have an Intel processor, only replace with another Intel, same with AMD. This will save you from doing a complete Clean Install) and I got everything updated and defragged before sending it home with her. She called me at home and said it wouldn't even turn on, no beep, no fans, no lights, nothing. After telling her to check the switch on the power supply, it still wouldn't turn on. At work I looked at it again and determined that the main case power switch had broken off the extension to the button. Never had a power switch break before.:hammer: