Five Ways to Fix USB Ports Not Working
By Steve Flores
There are many PC users like you who are complaining that their USB ports are not working
because their computer can't detect one or all of their USB devices. We will consider five
proven ways to fix this USB port trouble, both the basic practices of PC users and the options
that you can consider if your USB port problem turns out to be device driver related.
You must first pinpoint the source of your problematic USB ports. It can be due to your
USB device (any damage/dent on its physical parts, especially the connector and USB port) and
it can also be due to the required USB device drivers. Your USB ports can also be the source
of the problem (any physical damage or disabled ports) and it can also be device driver related.
Now, let us consider the ways to fix "USB Ports Not Working" trouble in a succeeding
order, from the basic practices to the options involving device drivers.
1. Check for Any Physical Damage:
Examine your USB device including a USB cable and connectors for any dents or cracks. Check
if the ports are intact and not loose, and make sure that your USB device is not physically broken.
2. Connect Your USB Device to Another Computer
This is another option to make sure that your USB device is not physically broken. Try
to connect it to another computer and see if it will be detected this time. If the problematic
device requires a USB cable, you can also try to use another cable just to make sure that the
cable is not the one at fault.
3. Reattach It to Your Computer
If you already tried reattaching your USB device to your PC prior to your USB ports trouble,
then try to connect your device using each of the available USB ports this time around. This
option will fix your problem if it's due to incomplete interaction between your USB device and your PC.
However, if you notice that a message (ex. USB device not recognized, etc.) is popping up on
your desktop every time you attach your USB device, then you can check option 5 from this list.
4. Reboot Your Computer
There are also cases where just reattaching your USB device will not let it completely
interact with your computer. This time, reboot your PC and attach your USB device afterward.
In addition, some PC users shut down their PCs, unplug them from the outlet, and wait two to
five minutes before turning on the power. After doing this, they report that their PCs are
able to detect their USB devices again.
5. Check your Device Manager
If you still have USB ports trouble after undergoing the options above, it's now time
to check your Device Manager. Open it by clicking the Start button, right-click 'Computer'
or 'My Computer', click 'Manage', and select 'Device Manager'. Look for hardware devices marked
by red X-mark or yellow warning symbol.
a. Re-enable Your USB Host Controller or USB Root Hub:
If one or more of your USB host controllers or USB root hubs have red X-mark, then these
devices are currently disabled. For each device, right-click the 'device' and click 'Enable'
to allow them to function.
b. Install or Reinstall the Required Device Drivers:
Having devices marked with a yellow warning symbol indicates that you have an unknown
device problem, and it could be due to missing, corrupted, or outdated device drivers.
You can try updating the drivers through the Device Manager, but if it will not fix your
problem, you can try to install/reinstall the device drivers using your installation or backup
CD. You can also try to search online for the required drivers in case you don't have an installation
CD or if the reason for your trouble is due to outdated drivers. In this case, you need to
watch out for the dangers lurking online such as spyware, malware, computer viruses, or the
possibility of downloading and installing wrong or incompatible device drivers.
Another alternative that you can try is to use automatic driver update software that
can aid you to download the correct and up-to-date device drivers not only for your USB device
and USB Host Controller, but for all other hardware devices with missing, corrupted, and outdated
drivers.
As a recap, there are several ways to fix "USB Ports Not Working" trouble, but the most
important thing is to pinpoint the reasons of your USB ports problem. You can check your USB
device and USB ports for any physical damage, re-establish a complete interaction between your
PC and a USB device, and you can always view your Device Manager to check if your problem is
device driver related.
USB Ports Not Working
driver related problems keep on bugging PC users because aside from taking away lots of time and
energy, some PC users also end up installing wrong/incompatible device drivers and their computers
are being infected by malicious programs. But you can always try an automatic option by using
sophisticated and reliable driver update software that will also fix all of your Unknown Device driver problems.
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