This happens when USB ports on the computer stop working. In this article we will look at common reasons that lead to such a problem, and solutions. The very first thing you can do is restart your computer, since frequent problems with USB ports are due to an error in the driver. If this method does not help, move on.

Perhaps the settings in the BIOS have gone wrong motherboard. If the corresponding USB controller is disabled for some reason, it must be enabled. When you start the computer, press the Del or F2 key to enter the BIOS. Next, in the Integrated Peripherals or Advanced section, we will find a similar item on the USB Controller and see what position it is in (Enabled - enabled, Disabled - disabled). So, if you have the Disabled mode set, change it to the opposite one. To save the changes, press the F10 key and agree by pressing YES. After the reboot, the ports should work, if that doesn’t help, then follow the steps below.

Reasons why USB ports on a PC do not work:
- Any USB device is faulty: I recommend turning on the computer, having first disconnected everything (mouse, keyboard, printer, webcam, etc.). Leave only one working flash drive. If the flash drive starts working when you start the computer, then the peripheral devices are to blame. You can determine which one is faulty by connecting it to the computer one by one.
- ports may not work due to faulty software code. Go to the “Task Manager”.

We look carefully in the “USB Serial Bus Controllers” section; if there is a device with an exclamation mark, this indicates that it is not working properly. Double-clicking the mouse will open it, and in the window you can read information about the fault.
- Alternatively, you can remove all controllers responsible for USB, and then reboot the system. After launch, Windows will automatically install them again. After this, it is likely that the USB ports will work.
- If the problem with the ports arose due to a failure in the program code, then you can try to restore the operating system, that is, roll it back to the last checkpoint. Go to the Start menu - Control Panel. Here we find the “Recovery” section.

Next, click the “Start System Restore” button. A recovery window will open and following the prompts you can roll back the system.

- Also, a similar problem may occur due to the lack of a driver for the motherboard chipset. In this case, you need to enter this data on the manufacturer’s website. After downloading and installing the driver, you should restart your computer.

- To make sure the problem is in the system or hardware, you can boot from any Live CD. If after booting from such a disk/flash drive the ports work, then the problem is clearly in the operating system and there is only one way out - reinstall Windows. If USB does not work in the virtual system, then the problem is in the hardware. In this case, we do what is written below.

There was a case with one friend when the USB ports stopped working. Replacing the 3-volt battery on the motherboard solved this problem.

- Alternatively, you can update the BIOS. This solution helps many users. To update the BIOS, go to the official website of your motherboard manufacturer and in the “Download” section, find the latest BIOS version. There you will find detailed instructions by update.

- If you experience frequent problems with USB ports, I recommend installing a PCI-USB controller. A good thing that will be independent of your built-in ports.

- The last option is to have your PC repaired, where professionals will probably make an accurate diagnosis.

That's all, friends! Thank you for your attention!

Have the USB ports on your Windows computer or laptop stopped working? The first thing you need to do is check each port on the computer; if all of them do not work, you need to determine the reason.

The easiest and most reliable way is to connect a USB keyboard, turn off the computer, turn it on and try to go to the BIOS in a way familiar to you. If you can’t get into the BIOS using just one port in a way you couldn’t before, the reason is technical.

In this case, you need to open system unit and check the connection of the USB connectors to the motherboard. If everything is in order, you need to install a discrete USB card in the PCI slot and check whether the ports from it work (maybe your motherboard is burnt out).

If you can get into the BIOS, but USB ports do not work in the operating system, you should check for installed drivers, reinstall them, update to the latest version.

Sometimes USB ports do not work when equipment is connected to them new version(before USB 1.0 or USB 2.0, connect a flash drive or external HDD with USB 3.0), so it’s worth checking the equipment for compatibility.

Remember that USB ports, in addition to transmitting information, are also power ports, so it often happens that due to a weak power supply, they may also not work correctly.

If your computer or any application does not work correctly after connecting the device to USB port, then there may be several reasons for this. Before pinpointing the source of the problem, you need to check the operation of the peripheral device, USB port, or USB driver. Below we will list a few simple steps that will help you identify the problem and fix it yourself without contacting a computer technician.

To reset the USB driver and software that are conflicting, you simply need to restart your computer. Very often this helps fix the problem.

Sometimes a different order can help. Turn off the computer and disconnect any devices connected to the USB ports, including the keyboard and mouse. Turn on the computer again and when the operating system boots, one by one, connect all the peripheral devices that were previously disconnected to the USB ports. If a problem occurs when connecting a specific device, such as USB RAM, make a note of which port it happened on. Try connecting this device to another free port. If the problem goes away, then the specific USB port is faulty. Otherwise, the problem must be looked for either in a peripheral device or in the USB cable.

USB cable and connector

When a USB port does not work, very often the cause of the malfunction may be a damaged cable or connector. Carefully inspect these connection elements for damage such as cracks, chips or cuts. Look inside the USB connector and connector and check for dirt, dust, or other small objects. You can clean the connectors yourself using a dry brush or an air compressor (vacuum cleaner). This must be done with the cable disconnected. If the interface cable is severely bent or broken, you should replace it immediately - a new cable costs a penny.

Differentiating the problem - port or device

If a program or computer stops working normally immediately after connecting a new device to the USB port, then you should try connecting another device to it. If the computer continues to operate normally, the problem is in the peripheral device. Do you have a second computer? Try connecting a suspicious device to it and recheck its functionality. If the situation repeats, it definitely needs to be changed. If you used a USB hub, remove it from the connection circuit. In case of problems, the USB device should be connected directly. In addition, problems may arise if you connect a lot of peripherals at the same time or connect several devices of the same model at the same time, for example, two smartphones or printers.

Reinstalling the driver

Windows usually displays a message if a problem is detected with the USB driver. If this happens, open the “Control Panel” through the start menu operating system. Find the “Device Manager” item in it, open the utility and in the list installed equipment Find the subsection “USB Controllers” or “Universal Serial Bus Controllers”. Expand this item and find in the list of USB devices the item that is marked with an exclamation mark on a yellow background. If you find such a device, right-click on it and select the “Delete” context menu item. Reboot your computer. After this, the operating system will automatically reinstall the remote driver immediately after loading. If reinstalling the driver does not solve the issue, you should try updating it.

Driver update

If the USB port does not work, you can try to manually update the USB device driver. To do this, open the “System and Security” section in the “Control Panel”, where you will find the “Device Manager” subsection. Enter administrator credentials if prompted by the system. Next, find the problematic USB device in the “USB Controllers” list and double-click on it to open the settings dialog box. Open the “Driver” tab, and in it click the “Update” button. To begin updating the driver, enter your system administrator credentials again. After the update, restart your computer and check the functionality of the problematic device.

What is the difference between the USB ports located on the back of the computer and on the front? The difference is that those USB ports that are located on the back connect directly to the USB controller, which is located on the motherboard itself and is an integral part of it. But the front USB ports go through a USB hub and are connected via a cable, and here it may be that the cable is of poor quality, and problems with the ports may appear.

If you connect two power-hungry USB devices (such as a portable hard drive and a phone) to the two USB ports on the front panel, one of those devices will run out of power and either not work properly or not work at all. Why you ask? The USB controller provides the device connected to it with a power supply of 500 mA at 5 V. If the USB interface device does not have an additional power adapter, then it should work from the USB interface, without additional power, that is, 5 V should be enough, but if to the controller Two devices are connected using a USB hub.

The USB ports on the front of the computer are USB hubs that have one 9-pin input connector for connecting to the motherboard on one side and multiple USB ports for connecting devices on the other. The USB hub cable transmits information to the connected device, and also supplies it with electricity, but if there are two devices, and the power to the hub is still supplied at 500 mA at 5 V, then of course there is not enough power for the devices.

You can connect a mouse, keyboard and flash drive to the USB hub, and if you want to use other devices such as a smartphone, an external hard drive etc. , you must use a USB hub with an additional power supply supplying 5V to each of its USB ports.
USB ports don't work

If you suspect that the USB port on your computer is not working, check the device you are connecting to on another computer. After all, it also happens that it is not the USB port that does not work, but the device that you are trying to connect, but it also happens the other way around. Check the device on another computer. In Award BIOS, find the Integrated Peripherals parameter, and in Ami BIOS, the Advanced parameter, go into them and see the USB Configuration item, press Enter, our USB Controller or USB Controller 2.0, should be in the Enabled position, that is, enabled .

USB ports don't work

It also happens that the USB port works and the device is working properly, but there is no connection between the computer and the device...... here the fault may be in the USB cable. And there are cases when the USB ports on the front panel are not connected at all.
Maybe the USB hub is faulty? Try using a different USB hub with a good shielded cable. Connect it to another 9-pin connector on the motherboard.

Sometimes the USB ports on the front panel are connected using pin cables (they also say in bulk), it may well be that the cable is faulty or the pinout has been mixed up.

Also, the cause of malfunctioning USB ports may be a low-power, or possibly faulty, power supply.
Or it might be faulty south bridge. You should also not forget about updating drivers, both for connected devices and for the motherboard chipset.

You can overload the USB hub and the connected device will stop responding to you; this can be cured by simply restarting the computer. Almost all USB hubs have power management and Windows can turn off the device to save power.

Firstly, if when you connect a flash drive to a computer or some other equipment, the port does not work quite correctly or the device connected to the computer is not detected by the system at all, then in this case you should make sure that the controller is turned on PC motherboard.

Quite often, users forget to turn on the USB controller. It seems like a simple, but still common problem when the user starts the PC, but the device is not detected. It is possible to fix everything here; to do this, you need to go into the BIOS and enable the appropriate parameter. By the way, if you don’t know what a BIOS is, then I recommend that you definitely read the article

So, go to the BIOS and find the item “Integrated Peripherals - this applies to the Award BIOS,” or to the Ami BIOS - Advanced.”

Next, press “Enter” and go to “Onboard Devices Configuration” and make sure that the “USB Function” and “USB 2.0 Controller” items are in the “Enabled” position. If everything is so, then everything is included. Otherwise, the parameter can be turned OFF, position “Disabled”. If the option is disabled, you should enable it. Next, save the changes, then reboot the PC system and check the functionality of the USB port. Be sure to check whether the USB ports on the front panel of the system unit are connected to the motherboard itself using the so-called connector.

If the port still doesn’t work, then we move on.

Secondly, maybe the problem with the port not working is completely hidden in the USB extension cable? For example, there are situations when the computer does not recognize a peripheral device (printer), for the simple reason that the USB cable itself is simply damaged. The reason for cable damage can be very varied, for example, you accidentally placed a chair on the cable or some heavy object and simply pinched it. Therefore, do not be lazy to check the cable itself.

Thirdly, it is quite rare to encounter such a problem when the USB port does not have enough power. I'll give you specific example. Imagine that you have connected a flash drive and a printer to the front of the system unit case in the USB connector. As a result, the operating system, when sending data for printing, informs us that the document could not be printed. In general, your computer simply does not see the printer. And if you restart the computer, the printer is detected by the system, and you can easily print a document. However, after a while, the computer again loses connection to the printer and the printer does not print. Do you know why?

This seemingly trivial problem at first glance is due to the fact that there is a lack of power for the USB port. As a result, the USB port refuses to function properly. Basically, such an incident associated with a lack of power occurs when connecting several devices to the front panel of USB ports.

Of course, not always, but such situations still occur. These USB ports are connected to the motherboard using a cable. In addition to transmitting data, this cable also powers the USB hubs themselves. It is possible that the power supplied simultaneously to two devices connected to the USB hub may not be sufficient. In this case, I can recommend that you connect the printer to the built-in USB port, which is located on the PC motherboard.

You can also change the CMOS battery on the board. It happens that the problem completely disappears after replacing the battery on the motherboard. What kind of battery is this and where it is located, you can find out in this article:

In general, if your USB port, which is located on the front panel of the system unit case, does not work, then try replacing the USB hub itself. Who knows, maybe it is the one that is faulty.

You can also try plugging the cable into another USB connector on the motherboard.

Fourthly, if the USB port controller, which is responsible for identifying and starting the device itself, has failed, then things are, of course, bad. There is, of course, the opportunity to take and resolder the controller itself on the motherboard, but this takes time, you need to have the controller itself, and, of course, the soldering station itself. From a time-cost point of view, it is not entirely advisable. Another option is to entrust it to specialists, although this also has its pitfalls, price, quality of work, as well as the competence of the specialist who specifically works on this problem.

Fifthly, peripheral and mobile devices may not be recognized on your computer due to the lack of drivers and special software. It cannot be ruled out that if you have been using your operating system for quite a long time and the system has not been updated at all, and in general the Windows build is not the original version, then in this case it may be that the drivers are considered outdated and therefore in the system Freezes happen all the time.

Sometimes Windows disables the USB hub altogether to save power. To prevent the USB device from being disconnected, you will need to do the following.

Open “Device Manager” by right-clicking on the “Computer” shortcut and selecting “Properties”.

After the Device Manager window has opened, double-click with the left mouse button on “USB Controllers” and expand the branch.

Now all you have to do is go to the root USB hub and in the “Power Management” section uncheck the box, as shown in the figure below.

Sixth, sometimes reinstalling the operating system helps fix the problem when the USB port does not work. Although, of course, first try to roll back the system to its previous state. Here is an article that will tell you how to do this:

Seventhly, perhaps your system contains some faulty equipment, which is precisely the obstacle to the normal operation of the USB port.

This problem is very relevant in our time. After all, quite often users directly encounter this. So, there is a solution. USB ports on a computer may become stuck, contacts may short out, and many other additional problems may occur when working on a computer.

We find a way out of our situation, check all devices for connection and disconnection. You will need to disconnect all devices and connect one at a time, for example, connect the keyboard first and see if it works, then connect the next device, let it be a mouse and so on. Connect additional USB devices, if they don’t work, then the problem is solved or you need to look in peripheral devices, maybe there’s something shorting there, but who knows.

Eighth, they completely forgot to enable the serial bus controller in the device manager. There are times when you don’t pay attention to the operation of USB devices, turn on the computer, download music, listen and enjoy new works of art. True, everything comes unexpectedly, suddenly you need a USB device, and then there is silence, it doesn’t work. The thought immediately comes to mind, maybe the controller is not turned on, let me take it and check, it is so.

Each PC has a device manager that shows which devices are connected, whether all drivers are installed and updates made.

In general, I think that you probably already know that if any driver is missing, the system automatically marks it with a yellow exclamation mark, this means a malfunction, as a result, with two clicks of the mouse you open an additional window, information about the code is displayed here malfunction and the possibility of its restoration.

Ninth, if all of the above methods did not give a positive result, then I recommend that you install a USB PC controller on the motherboard.

If your computer has a low-power power supply, for example 300 W, then it is likely that the cause of all the troubles is hidden in it, install a more powerful power supply, say 500 W, and check if the USB ports are working.

Concluding today's article, I would like to say that it is not always possible to easily find the culprit of all problems, sometimes it is not enough to simply reinstall Windows to find out what really happened.

If there are no drivers for serial bus controllers and the controllers themselves are marked with an exclamation mark, in this case you should either install drivers for the controller, or you can remove all controllers and restart the computer. After the computer boots, the system will try to install them again, and perhaps all USB ports will work properly again.

Restarting the computer
If all USB ports for some reason stop functioning and USB devices are not detected, then to begin with it will only be enough to reboot the system unit. Perhaps this procedure will be eliminated immediately. This can happen if there were no problems loading the drivers.

In Device Manager, update the hardware configuration
A situation may arise when restarting the computer is not possible because it is performing some important operations. That is why, without rebooting the entire computer, you can reboot just the driver. This can be done through Device Manager. To take this action, just right-click on the “My Computer” shortcut and select “Manage.”

In the window that appears as a result of this, you need to click on the “Action” tab, after which you need to click “Update hardware configuration”. If as a result of this procedure the “USB Controllers” section appears, then the problem is completely resolved, and USB will continue to function.

Disabling the USB controller
There is one great way to make USB ports work. To do this, you need to disconnect and reinstall the USB controllers. You should immediately launch the same “Device Manager”. A list of equipment will appear in a new window, and from it you need to find the USB controllers section. Next, you need to select and delete each of these devices. After all devices have been removed, you must restart your computer. This will reset the controllers so the USB ports will be available again.

USB controllers: driver update
The USB controller drivers may be damaged, therefore, the USB ports will not work. In such a situation, the only correct solution is to find and reinstall the correct drivers. To do this procedure correctly, you should find out the manufacturer of the USB port, because you need to download the appropriate driver. If you manage to complete this task, then installing the driver will solve the problem in an instant.

Disabling other USB devices
Of course, situations may arise when many USB devices are connected and the laptop will simply be overloaded. There may not always be enough power for all connected devices.

Entering BIOS settings

To start changing the configuration, you need to go to the corresponding menu. It can be opened while turning on the personal computer - before the start Windows boot from the hard drive.

Turn on your PC. In case it is already running: reboot. Wait sound signal Speaker: A short single beep indicates that all internal components necessary for the computer to operate have been detected.

Now you need to click hotkey to call the configuration. This must be done before changing the screen. If you don't have time and Windows starts loading, reboot. The keys depend on the model of the installed motherboard and the BIOS firmware version. You can find it in the user manual that came with the motherboard, on the manufacturer’s official website, or look at it on the screen of your PC when it boots:

PC screen at boot

If you don't know the board model, it's okay. Just try pressing the following keys: Tab, Delete, Esc, F1, F2, F8, F10, F11, F12. One of them will definitely do.

You don't have to try just 1 option at a time. You can quickly press all the buttons from the list without any problems. One of them will come up and launch the BIOS settings, and the rest will be ignored.

Entering the BIOS/UEFI settings of the latest PCs

Many modern computers boot up so quickly that you won't be able to access the keystrokes when you turn them on. This is also true for laptops. That's why latest versions Windows OS has acquired new feature launch. Let's show it using Windows 8.1 as an example.
Swipe your mouse from top to bottom or bottom to top along the right edge of the screen and click “Options” in the window that appears.
Click on “Change computer settings”
Click "Update and Recovery".Reboot in special mode
Next: “Recovery.”
Under Special Boot Options, click Restart Now.

Your computer or laptop will reboot into setup mode. After restarting your PC, you will also be able to choose the option to start from a USB drive or DVD.

Menu navigation

Almost all BIOS versions do not have a graphical interface. This means that you will have to work only using the keyboard, like in the Windows console. Navigation is carried out using the up-down and right-left arrows. To open any section, use the Enter key to go back - “Escape”. A small reminder of the keys used is always shown on the screen.

The UEFI firmware package is installed on the most expensive and powerful motherboards. It supports more drivers and can work with a mouse. Its interface will be familiar to users of Windows and other modern operating systems.

Each version has its own interface and sets of options. Even the names of the same parameters may differ. The following article describes several popular BIOS releases.

A very common option that can be found on many modern computers. The main menu is divided into 2 parts: a list of categories and various actions, like exit or save. You will be working on the left side.

You need to go to the section called “Integrated Peripherals”. There is no Russian version of the interface, so all commands are only in English. Use the Down arrow to highlight this item and press Enter.

Here you need to enable (Enabled) 4 options:

USB EHCI controller – main controller. If the motherboard has version 3.0 ports, this item will be divided into 2 parts: “Controller” and “Controller 2.0”;
USB Keyboard Support – support for keyboards;
USB Mouse Support – mouse support;
Legacy USB storage detect – works with external data storage: flash drives, disk drives, smartphones and digital cameras.

In some older versions there are only 2 items “USB controller” and “Legacy USB storage support”.

When you're done with the settings, press the F10 key to save your changes and restart your computer.

Phoenix AwardBIOS
Another popular version that can often be found on modern laptops. Doesn't have home page, like AMI, but with convenient thematic tabs at the top. You can move between sections using the left and right arrows, and between items using the up and down arrows.

Go to the "Advanced" section using the "Right" arrow. In it, find the “USB configuration” category. All items in this section must be set to “Enabled”. In some versions, the “USB configuration” category may be in the “Peripherals” tab and not in the “Advanced” tab.

To exit the menu, press F10 and confirm exit.

AMI BIOS for Asus
AMI version used on Asus laptops. Externally it is very similar to Phoenix - a similar bookmarks bar. USB settings are located in the "Advanced" section. Go there, enable all options and exit using the F10 button.

UEFI
Contrary to popular belief, UEFI is not part of the BIOS. It can rather be called a more advanced, but less popular competitor. There are a large number of different versions, each with their own interfaces. However, here the controls are similar to the usual Windows, so you can easily find the options you need.

Windows Settings
If at the BIOS level all ports and controllers are enabled, but the USB ports still do not work, there may be a problem in the settings of your Windows system.

First, try simply disconnecting and reconnecting the device. This will check if the drivers are correct. If there's something wrong with them, Windows will try to reinstall them.

If nothing happens when you reconnect, try turning on the controller Windows registry. To do this you need to do the following:

Call the “Run” dialog using Win + R (or through “Start”: in XP and 7 by left-clicking on it, and in 8 and 10 versions by right-clicking). enter regedit
Enter
regedit
and click OK.
Go to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM CurrentControlSet Services USBSTOR" Registry Editor
Double-click on the “Start” entry to open the editing window.
Change the value to "3". With any other parameter value, the USB ports will not work.

The reasons for problems due to which USB ports on a laptop do not work can be completely different - from hardware failure to “lost” motherboard drivers or the controllers themselves.

However, usually the user can cope with most problems on his own, without turning to specialists - if he knows how to do it.

If there are a lot of USB ports on the laptop (for example, 3 or 4), the problem may not be so critical, and its solution can be postponed.

But if there are only 2 connectors or there is a constant need to use connected devices - flash drives, and even printers - the issue should be resolved as soon as possible.

Moreover, some methods will take no more than a few minutes.

First Troubleshooting Steps

A message that appears on the screen about the USB ports stopping working or the laptop not responding to a drive installed in the corresponding slot may indicate.

Sometimes you can solve them with a simple reboot - there is a small chance that the fix will happen automatically.

Increase the likelihood of the positive effect of a reboot, which actually sometimes helps, You can do it in a not quite usual way:

1 Completely disconnect the laptop from the power supply (if it was, for example, charging);

2 Remove the battery and leave the laptop in this state for about 5 minutes;

3 Insert the battery back and turn on the device.

If no messages about non-working ports appear on the screen, but the flash drive is still not readable or a peripheral device cannot be connected to the laptop, it is possible that the problem lies with this equipment.

The assumption is tested by connecting gadgets to other ports of the laptop - or to another computer.

Other USB devices

Another problematic situation with USB ports occurs when simultaneously connecting to a laptop. large quantity external devices.

For example, a user has already connected three gadgets to four ports ( , and ), and then tries to install a flash drive as well.

Sometimes such a drive simply will not be detected by the system - and turning off 1-2 peripheral devices allows you to check the assumption.

Most often, this situation occurs not when connecting peripherals directly to the laptop, but when using a “hub” (USB hub that increases the number of connections).

You can solve the problem by reducing the number of connected devices - or even better, by removing the hub and connecting all gadgets directly.

Incorrect BIOS configuration

You can find a list of ways to solve problems with USB ports.

Sometimes using this interface it is possible to enable self-disabling controllers on the motherboard.

To activate, you need to perform several steps:

• Reboot the system while simultaneously pressing the function keys to enter the BIOS (for some laptops this is F1 or F2, for others - Del or Esc).
• Select the Advanced or Integrated Peripherals section.
• Go to the USB Configuration menu item and change the parameter value in the USB Controller section (there may be several of them with different names) to Enabled.

After a reboot, the hardware configuration on the laptop will change, and USB ports that were not previously recognized by the system may appear to be working.

System settings

A laptop running on battery power can automatically turn off some controllers to save energy - especially if it approaches critical values.

In this situation, first of all, you should connect the laptop to the network, and then change the power settings, by following these steps:

1 Open Device Manager.

2 Select the branch indicating serial bus controllers.

3 Find and open the USB root hub subkey.

4 Double-click the properties of the hub and go to the power settings.

If the problem was incorrect power consumption settings that caused the laptop to automatically turn off the ports, there will be a check mark here to allow the hub to turn off power.

By removing it, you can restore the functionality of the ports.

The steps are repeated for each hub if there are several of them on the laptop.

Driver problem

The problem may be - and in most cases it is - in problems with USB drivers.

You can find the problem by going to Device Manager(via computer properties or by typing in mmc devmgmt.msc).

It is possible that one of the ports is marked in the list with a special icon - a yellow triangle with an exclamation point, indicating that the equipment is not working properly.

You can try the problem solve in one of 2 ways:

• Try updating the drivers (preferably an Internet connection) in the properties of the USB controller.
• Remove the device marked with a yellow triangle from Dispatcher And restart laptop.

When using the second option, the system rebooted will try to install new software for discovered “new” equipment. Sometimes this will restore port operation.

For the first option, you may need to find out the ID number by which the corresponding driver is searched on the Internet - this identifier is located in the device properties on the details tab.

The problem, which is the motherboard drivers not working properly (this usually happens with outdated laptops released several years ago), is solved by downloading and installing the appropriate software.

To do this, the laptop user first needs to find out - for example, use the AIDA64 application, which is paid, but works without entering a key confirming payment for a certain trial period.

The name of the device will help you identify and msinfo32 command, entered in the “Run” form (called by the Win + R keys).

You can try to find drivers for the corresponding board on the website of its manufacturer - or on the resource of the company that developed the chipset.

You should know: If you don’t have the time and experience to find and update drivers, you can use the DriverPack Solution utility. After installation on the laptop, it will independently check and update all the necessary software. The disadvantage of using this method is that if you do not choose to manually configure updates, the application will automatically replace drivers for almost every part and even update some programs - this usually takes several hours.

Rice. 8. A utility for searching and updating control programs and other applications.

Today, USB is one of the most common data transfer protocols between a computer and a connected device. Therefore, it is very unpleasant when the system does not see devices connected to the corresponding connector. Especially many problems arise if interaction with a keyboard or mouse occurs on a PC via USB. Let's figure out what factors cause this problem and determine methods to eliminate it.

In this article we will not discuss problems with the visibility of the device associated with its inoperability, because in this case this equipment should be replaced or repaired. The article will concern cases where the problem is caused by malfunctions or incorrect settings of the system or PC hardware. In fact, there can be many reasons for such a malfunction, and each of them has its own solution algorithm. We'll talk about specific ways to fix this problem below.

Method 1: Microsoft Utility

In many cases, a specially created utility from Microsoft can solve the problem with the visibility of USB devices.

Method 2: "Device Manager"

Sometimes an issue with USB hardware visibility can be resolved by simply updating the configuration in "Device Manager".

1. Click "Start". Click "Control Panel".



2. Come in "System and safety".



3. Now open "Device Manager" by clicking on the corresponding inscription in the block "System".



4. The interface will launch "Device Manager". The problematic device in the list can either be displayed in a block "Other devices", or absent altogether. In the first case, click on the block name.



5. A list of devices will open. Problematic equipment may be indicated there either under its real name or listed as "USB Mass Storage Device". Click on its name with the right mouse button ( RMB) and select "Update configuration...".



6. Device search will be activated.



7. After it is completed and the configuration is updated, it is quite possible that the system will begin to interact normally with the problematic device.

If necessary equipment doesn't show up at all "Device Manager", click on the menu item "Action" and then select "Update configuration...". After this, a procedure similar to that described just above will occur.

Method 3: Update or reinstall drivers

If the computer does not see only a certain USB device, then there is a possibility that the problem is due to incorrect installation of drivers. In this case, they need to be reinstalled or updated.

If this option does not help, then there is another method.

1. Click in "Device Manager" by device name RMB. Select "Properties".



2. Go to the tab "Driver".



3. Click on the button "Roll back". If it is not active, click "Delete".



4. Next, you should indicate your intentions by pressing the button "OK" in the dialog box that appears.



5. The procedure for removing the selected driver will be performed. Next, click on the position in the horizontal menu of the window "Action". Select from the list "Update configuration...".



6. Now the device name should appear in the window again "Device Manager". You can check its functionality.

If the system was unable to find the appropriate drivers or the problem was not solved after installing them, then you can use the services of specialized ones. They are good because they will find matches on the Internet for all devices connected to the PC and perform automatic installation.

Method 4: Setting up USB controllers

Another option that can help solve the problem under study is setting up USB controllers. It is still performed in the same place, that is, in "Device Manager".

If this does not help, then you can reinstall the drivers for the group elements listed above "USB Controllers", using the same methods that were described in the presentation Method 3.

Method 5: Troubleshooting the port

It is possible that your computer does not see USB devices simply because its corresponding port is faulty. In order to find out if this is so, if your desktop PC or laptop has several USB ports, try connecting the equipment through a different connector. If this time the connection is successful, it means that the problem is in the port.

To resolve this problem, you need to open the system unit and see if this port is connected to the motherboard. If it is not connected, then connect. If there is mechanical damage or other damage to the connector, then in this case it is necessary to replace it with a working version.

Method 6: Relieving Static Stress

In addition, you can try to remove static voltage from the motherboard and other PC components, which can also cause the problem we are describing.

There is also a possibility that the computer does not see the equipment due to the fact that many USB devices are already connected to it. The system simply cannot cope with such a load. In this case, we recommend that you disconnect all other devices and connect the problematic equipment to the back of the system unit if there is an appropriate connector there. Perhaps this recommendation will help solve the problem.

Method 7: Disk Management

The problem with the visibility of a connected USB device, in this case exclusively a flash drive or external hard drive, can be solved using the system’s built-in tool "Disk Management".

1. Click Win+R. Enter in the field of the shell that appears:

   Apply by pressing "OK".



2. The tool interface starts "Disk Management". You need to monitor whether the name of the flash drive appears and disappears in the window when it is connected to the computer and disconnected. If nothing new happens visually at all, then this method will not work for you and you need to solve the problem using other methods. If changes occur in the list of connected drives when attaching new media, then you can try to solve the problem with visibility using this tool. If next to the name of the disk device there is an inscription "Not distributed", then click on it RMB. Next, select "Create a simple volume...".



3. Will start "Simple Volume Creation Wizard...". Click "Further".



4. Then a window will open where you need to specify the volume size. Since in our case we need the volume size to be equal to the size of the entire disk, then click here too "Further" without making changes.



5. The next window requires you to assign a drive letter. In the corresponding field, select a character that differs from those letters that are already assigned to other drives in the system. Click "Further".



6. The following settings window opens. Here in the field "Volume Label" You can enter a name that will be assigned to the current volume. Although, this is not necessary, since you can leave the default name. Click "Further".



7. The next window will provide a summary of all the data entered in the previous steps. To complete the procedure, just click on the button "Ready".



8. After this, the volume name and status will appear opposite the media name "Fixed". Next click on it RMB and select “Make partition active”.



9. Now the computer should see the flash drive or external HDD. If this does not happen, then restart your PC.

There are situations when when opening a tool "Disk Management", the volume that belongs to the flash drive already has the status "Good". In this case, there is no need to create a new volume, but only those manipulations that are described starting from point 8 need to be performed.

If, when opening the tool "Disk Management" you see that the disk is not initialized and has single volume, which is not allocated, this means that, most likely, this drive is physically damaged.

Method 8: Setting up the power supply

You can solve the problem with the visibility of USB devices by making some manipulations in the power settings. This method especially often helps when using laptops that interact with connected equipment via the USB 3.0 protocol.

1. Go to "Control Panel" and then to the section "System and safety". We discussed how to do this during analysis. Method 2. Go here by position "Power supply".



2. In the window that opens, find the current power plan. There should be an active radio button next to its name. Click on the position "Setting up a power plan" near the named position.



3. In the shell that appears, click “Change advanced settings...”.



4. In the window that appears, click "USB Settings".



5. Click on the inscription "Temporary shutdown option...".



6. The specified option will open. If the value is specified there "Allowed", then you should change it. To do this, click on the indicated inscription.



7. From the drop-down list, select "Forbidden" and then click "Apply" And "OK".

Now you can check whether USB devices will work on this PC or whether you need to move on to other ways to solve the problem.

Method 9: Eliminating the virus

We should not exclude the possibility that the problem with the visibility of USB devices arose as a result of a virus infection of the computer. The fact is that some viruses specifically block USB ports so that they cannot be detected using an anti-virus utility connected from a flash drive. But what to do in this situation, because if the standard antivirus missed the malicious code, then it is now of little use, and you cannot connect an external scanner for the above reason?

In this case, you can scan the hard drive with an anti-virus utility from another computer or use a LiveCD. There are quite a few programs designed for these purposes, and each of them has its own nuances of operation and management. But there is no point in going into detail about each of them, since most of them have an intuitive interface. The main thing when detecting a virus is to follow the prompts that the utility displays. In addition, our website has a separate article dedicated to such programs.

There are quite a few ways to restore the visibility of USB devices in Windows 7, but this does not mean that all of them will be effective in your particular case. Often you have to try many options before finding the right way to solve the problem.

Peripheral devices such as a mouse, keyboard, Web camera, and printer are usually connected to the computer via USB ports. In this case, it often happens that one or more ports stop working. That is, when you connect, for example, a flash drive to a computer, it is not recognized, the keyboard or mouse may freeze, and the printer may not respond or print pages.

There are several likely reasons why some or all of the USB ports on your computer are not working. Let's try to understand this issue and find out what should be done to restore normal functioning of the computer.

Checking BIOS settings

The first thing you should pay attention to is the computer's BIOS settings. To enter the BIOS you will need a working keyboard. If the keyboard is connected to the computer via USB and it does not work, then you need to connect a keyboard with a PS/2 connector. Otherwise, you simply won't be able to do anything.

So, let's go to the BIOS, for which, when starting the computer, you need to press the enter key, usually DEL. There may be another key that appears on the screen and is listed in the motherboard manual. After entering the BIOS, find the section responsible for integrated devices (Integrated Peripherals) or the “Advanced” section. Here you should find the “Onboard Devices Configuration” subsection. It contains the parameters responsible for the operation of USB controllers: USB Function or USB 2.0 Controller. These parameters must be Enabled. And if one of them is disabled, then hover over it and press Enter, thereby turning it on. To ensure that the changes you make are not lost, you must save them by pressing F10 and confirm saving by pressing the Y or Enter key.

After restarting the computer, check if the USB ports are working. And if not, then you should look for the reason elsewhere.

USB ports on the front of the computer do not work

How special case USB only on the front panel may not work for you. In such a situation, you need to check whether the necessary connectors on the motherboard are connected and whether the wires are damaged. To do this, open the side cover of the system unit and pay attention to the connector at the bottom of the motherboard. On the board itself there is an inscription USB1 or USB2, as well as on the block itself. The wires from the block go to the front panel, and if they are disconnected or broken in one place, then you have discovered the cause of the malfunction. Damaged wires should be connected or replaced. It would also be a good idea to check the contact in the connector on the motherboard. It is also worth paying attention to the board located on the front panel. There may be a short circuit; by the way, such a short circuit can be caused by accumulated dust. Therefore, be sure to clean the system unit from dust.

Problems with the device itself or the cable

The next source of problems with USB may be the cable with which, for example, the printer is connected. This fault is easy to identify and fix. We connect the flash drive to the connector being tested. If it works, then we try to connect another known-good equipment, for example a USB hub, using a suspicious cable. If it also refuses to work, then the reason is clearly in the cable and it should be replaced.

Power outages

There are situations when there is simply not enough power for all devices. For example, connecting an external hard drive that uses two USB connectors at once may disable the printer or keyboard. In this case, the power of the power supply is not enough to provide energy to all consumers. In this case, the problem may not appear immediately, but after some time after turning on the computer. There are several ways out of the situation. If you have a low-power power supply installed, for example, 300 W, then it would be logical to change it to a more powerful one, 450-600 W. You can also use an active USB hub (with external power). It will allow you not only to increase the number of connected USB devices, but also to power them from a separate power supply.

Another reason that affects USB operation is a dead CMOS battery. But at the same time, every time you turn on the computer, you will observe a lost system time and date. After replacing the battery the problem goes away. But this does not occur often, so you should check other possible sources of malfunction.

Missing or incorrect installation of USB drivers

Causes associated with software problems in Windows 7/10 can be identified using Device Manager. If you notice that one or more devices in particular are not working, regardless of the port used, this may indicate that the problem is in the device itself. Open Control Panel and go to Device Manager. All connected devices will be displayed there. If there are items in the list that have a yellow exclamation mark next to them or the name is Unknown Device, then the problem is with this very device. There may be several possible problems here.

Often USB inputs stop working after reinstalling Windows 7/10. The reason is incorrect installation of drivers or the necessary drivers may not be found at all. You will have to select and install manually.

Often, to fix a problem you just need to update the drivers. So, if automatic Windows update, and the system itself was installed quite a long time ago, the relevance of the software is lost, and system errors may appear. In this case, the device begins to work incorrectly, or even stops functioning altogether. To update (reinstall) USB controller drivers, you can use a CD/DVD with drivers for the motherboard or download the necessary drivers from the motherboard manufacturer's website.

You can also turn off the power saving feature for all ports using Device Manager. Expand the list of used USB devices hidden in the sections “USB Controllers”, “Mouse and other pointing devices”, “Keyboards”. Double-click on the desired device to open the properties window. Now switch to the “Power Management” tab and uncheck the “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” checkbox. Thus, the device will always be activated under any circumstances.

If some equipment is not recognized, then there may be either a problem with the drivers already known to us, or a hardware problem, consisting of a lack of contact, a damaged cable, or a malfunction of the controller. Moreover, it often happens that when a faulty device is connected, the others stop working normally. The keyboard starts to freeze, as does the mouse, and the printer stops printing. The problem is similar to power shortage, that is, all the power consumption goes to a faulty device, which may have a simple short circuit or other malfunction.

USB ports not working due to controller damage

If none of the above actions helped restore the functionality of the USB ports, then you should check the USB controller of the motherboard, which may have failed. In this case, high-quality repairs and diagnostics should be entrusted to specialists service center. As a way out of the problem, try installing an expansion card, the so-called USB PC controller, which is installed in the PCI slot on the motherboard. This solution is noticeably cheaper than repairing the motherboard USB controller, and when using an additional USB hub, the problem with the lack of ports will not be relevant at all.

As you can see, finding and fixing problems with USB ports is quite a troublesome task, and all because there can be a lot of reasons. Consistent search and elimination of obviously incorrect paths will allow you to identify and eliminate the problem.