USB ports not working

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

The USB ports on my desktop computer are suddenly not working. I have two at the front and one at the back of the computer. It means I can't do backups on my external hard drives.
I see that Windows Help Centre has a "How to Repair Usb Port Not Working Errors" that you can download and run. My usual tech guy is not available at the moment. I wondered if anyone else has tried this fix. 

[djmills]

Did you try using a different cable to check if the first cable is faulty?

I test by plugging my mobile phone or a printer cable into the USB and see it the computer/laptop finds it.

And the old trick of turning off the computer/laptop, waiting a few minutes, then turning on again, before testing different cables in each USB port. 

[djmills]

And this article might help.
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/dead-usb-port-heres-how-to-diagnose-and-fix-it/

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Did you try using a different cable to check if the first cable is faulty?

I test by plugging my mobile phone or a printer cable into the USB and see it the computer/laptop finds it.

And the old trick of turning off the computer/laptop, waiting a few minutes, then turning on again, before testing different cables in each USB port.

When I plug in the USB stick it makes the usual noise, but it's not showing as a device. I've tried all three ports and it does the same thing. My printer cables are not the same connections and I don't want to mess with them 

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

And this article might help.
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/dead-usb-port-heres-how-to-diagnose-and-fix-it/

I've looked at other fixes but they are a bit complicated and one suggests you uninstall the device, which makes me nervous. I thought the Windows Help Centre might be the best option, but wanted confirmation from someone who has used it. 

[Jeff Tanyard]

USB ports can be finicky.  If you've got a spare port, then I recommend switching to that one and simply not using the buggy one.  Trying to diagnose and fix a faulty USB port can be a hair-pulling experience.

Also, it might be the device itself that is causing the problem.  I had a keyboard that would work for a while but eventually cause the USB port to stop working.  Switching USB ports helped in the short term, but not in the long term.  Switching keyboards solved the issue.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

USB ports can be finicky.  If you've got a spare port, then I recommend switching to that one and simply not using the buggy one.  Trying to diagnose and fix a faulty USB port can be a hair-pulling experience.

Also, it might be the device itself that is causing the problem.  I had a keyboard that would work for a while but eventually cause the USB port to stop working.  Switching USB ports helped in the short term, but not in the long term.  Switching keyboards solved the issue.

Thanks, but all three of my ports are not working, so I think it's some sort of connection problem. They make the 'connected' sound, but don't show up when I look under devices. 

[R. C.]

To help effectively, we need to know a lot more.  Start with which version of Windows 10 or 11?

Also, this may be helpful: USB Not Working

R.C.

[TimothyEllis]

Thanks, but all three of my ports are not working, so I think it's some sort of connection problem. They make the 'connected' sound, but don't show up when I look under devices. 

Is this the same device plugged into all 3 ports? Or are you testing the ports with something else?

3 things come to mind.

The device itself is the problem.
Windows has a corrupted USB driver.
The motherboard is faulty.

If the device works just fine on another computer, then it's not the device.

If no other USB devices (keyboards, mice etc.) work from the USB's, then it could be USB itself is down on your computer, which needs all the USB drivers removed and reinstalled. Might be just the drive's driver is corrupted or lost. Or might be the USB drivers themselves are corrupted or lost.

If that doesn't fix it, then it could be the motherboard itself. That can be tested by a tech.

Honestly, if you don't feel good about deleting drivers and reinstalling them, take it to a computer tech.

[Matthew]

Are you testing more than one USB stick? USB sticks go faulty often, and I would expect that to be the true problem.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

To help effectively, we need to know a lot more.  Start with which version of Windows 10 or 11?

Also, this may be helpful: USB Not Working

R.C.

Thanks. I'm using Windows 10 on a desktop and have tried all three ports with different sticks and my external hard drives, which I use to do a backup. They give the signal noise that they are connected, but nothing shows up. 

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Are you testing more than one USB stick? USB sticks go faulty often, and I would expect that to be the true problem.

Tried a stick and both the external hard drives I use for backups. None working, but they make the connection noise. I guess I should wait for my tech guy to be available 
I've just spent a week trying to sort out why I was no longer getting sms notifications from my bank when transactions were made on my account. After speaking to numerous people at the bank and my phone provider I discovered there is a spam folder in my phone and they were suddenly being directed there  . I had checked my blocked numbers but didn't know about the spam folder on the phone. Don't want to mess up the computer by pressing another wrong button 

[R. C.]

Some brain-dump thoughts...

Seriously... Have you turned off the PC? I mean, all the way off, unplugged from the wall for at least 30 seconds?  Often, the Windows restart will return power to the devices turned off to "save power."

Do you have a flash drive you know was working? If so, is it recognized by any of the ports?  (If not, buy a cheap one and test the ports.)

On this page Fix USB, METHOD 3 is not too complex but it will ensure Windows is not defaulting your USBs to "no power."

METHOD 4 on the page is the last best answer, update the device drivers.

R.C.

 

[Matthew]

METHOD 4 on the page is the last best answer, update the device drivers.

Given the previous information, this would be my number one suspect as well.

As a first recommendation, I would check for Windows Updates (it will do it itself, but you can manually go into the settings and search for the "Update" section to make it search immediately). It may be as simple as there is a new update that will download the drivers for you.

I will say as a sort of Catch-22, Windows will often break drivers itself through a Windows update. It's possible Windows updated one day and installed a faulty/incorrect USB driver which caused the problem so suddenly.

Now, for someone who's a bit cautious or inexperienced with the detailed workings of computers, I would say don't go looking for drivers yourself. Your tech guy should know how, but the short version is you can go to the manufacturer's website for the computer (or motherboard, if you built it yourself) and search the model number to find the most up-to-date drivers to install.

If you have critical files on the USB drive you must access, it would probably be fastest at this time to borrow a friend's computer and email the files to yourself.

I see that Windows Help Centre has a "How to Repair Usb Port Not Working Errors" that you can download and run.

I have personally tried looking and did not find such a page with such a tool. If you have a link to the page we could double check. If the website is from Microsoft.com, the tools are generally safe to run.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Some brain-dump thoughts...

Seriously... Have you turned off the PC? I mean, all the way off, unplugged from the wall for at least 30 seconds?  Often, the Windows restart will return power to the devices turned off to "save power."

Do you have a flash drive you know was working? If so, is it recognized by any of the ports?  (If not, buy a cheap one and test the ports.)

On this page Fix USB, METHOD 3 is not too complex but it will ensure Windows is not defaulting your USBs to "no power."

METHOD 4 on the page is the last best answer, update the device drivers.

R.C.

Thanks. It started giving trouble a few days ago and I switch everything off at night, so it's had plenty of time to think what it is doing 

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I see that Windows Help Centre has a "How to Repair Usb Port Not Working Errors" that you can download and run.

I have personally tried looking and did not find such a page with such a tool. If you have a link to the page we could double check. If the website is from Microsoft.com, the tools are generally safe to run.

I should have bookmarked it. Will have to try to find it again 

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I have personally tried looking and did not find such a page with such a tool. If you have a link to the page we could double check. If the website is from Microsoft.com, the tools are generally safe to run.

Finally found the link 
https://secure.pcsystemfix.com/fix-windows-errors/?error=Usp%20Port%20Errors&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6J-SBhCrARIsAH0yMZiSXSZbrQ9_4p9Y8MTqx_XyvYsE_t95g55paqEtStL1dPu9tdJLh_8aAktJEALw_wcB

[Matthew]

Notice that page is also mentioning "Usp" not "USB" ports. That's not a tool directly from Microsoft. This website and many like it are most likely scams in a loose sense. Usually they promise you the world in terms of problems they can solve, and once installed, demand some form of payment for the software to fix any of the problems they purport to find--and many times those "problems" weren't the reason you downloaded the program in the first place. Otherwise they are often full of ads and may install other tools such as extensions and search bars you may not want.

Secondly, I ran the tool through an online virus scanner. The report is available here: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/5762460f0bfcab208369d22ddffe0270b34596499c353a0c03d0356804ea7907

It doesn't appear to be necessarily directly harmful, but here are a few quotes for the reasons this program is classified by a few antivirus vendors:

"PUP.Optional.AdvancedSystemCare is Malwarebytes’ detection name for the system optimizer called Advanced System Care by IObit, which is considered a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP)." (and an explanation of what that means in more detail here: https://www.malwarebytes.com/pup )

"Riskware/AnMalPro is classified as a type of Riskware.
Riskware is any potentially unwanted application that is not classified as malware, but may utilize system resources in an undesirable or annoying manner, and/or may pose a security risk.
The Fortinet Antivirus Analyst Team is constantly updating our descriptions. Please check the FortiGuard Encyclopedia regularly for updates."

In short, I would not recommend downloading and running this particular tool. I would wait for your tech guy if you can.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Notice that page is also mentioning "Usp" not "USB" ports. That's not a tool directly from Microsoft. This website and many like it are most likely scams in a loose sense. Usually they promise you the world in terms of problems they can solve, and once installed, demand some form of payment for the software to fix any of the problems they purport to find--and many times those "problems" weren't the reason you downloaded the program in the first place. Otherwise they are often full of ads and may install other tools such as extensions and search bars you may not want.

Secondly, I ran the tool through an online virus scanner. The report is available here: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/5762460f0bfcab208369d22ddffe0270b34596499c353a0c03d0356804ea7907

It doesn't appear to be necessarily directly harmful, but here are a few quotes for the reasons this program is classified by a few antivirus vendors:

"PUP.Optional.AdvancedSystemCare is Malwarebytes’ detection name for the system optimizer called Advanced System Care by IObit, which is considered a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP)." (and an explanation of what that means in more detail here: https://www.malwarebytes.com/pup )

"Riskware/AnMalPro is classified as a type of Riskware.
Riskware is any potentially unwanted application that is not classified as malware, but may utilize system resources in an undesirable or annoying manner, and/or may pose a security risk.
The Fortinet Antivirus Analyst Team is constantly updating our descriptions. Please check the FortiGuard Encyclopedia regularly for updates."

In short, I would not recommend downloading and running this particular tool. I would wait for your tech guy if you can.

Thanks so much for the warning  . I will wait for the tech guy. I only need the USB ports to do backups.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Notice that page is also mentioning "Usp" not "USB" ports. That's not a tool directly from Microsoft. This website and many like it are most likely scams in a loose sense. Usually they promise you the world in terms of problems they can solve, and once installed, demand some form of payment for the software to fix any of the problems they purport to find--and many times those "problems" weren't the reason you downloaded the program in the first place. Otherwise they are often full of ads and may install other tools such as extensions and search bars you may not want.

Secondly, I ran the tool through an online virus scanner. The report is available here: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/5762460f0bfcab208369d22ddffe0270b34596499c353a0c03d0356804ea7907

It doesn't appear to be necessarily directly harmful, but here are a few quotes for the reasons this program is classified by a few antivirus vendors:

"PUP.Optional.AdvancedSystemCare is Malwarebytes’ detection name for the system optimizer called Advanced System Care by IObit, which is considered a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP)." (and an explanation of what that means in more detail here: https://www.malwarebytes.com/pup )

"Riskware/AnMalPro is classified as a type of Riskware.
Riskware is any potentially unwanted application that is not classified as malware, but may utilize system resources in an undesirable or annoying manner, and/or may pose a security risk.
The Fortinet Antivirus Analyst Team is constantly updating our descriptions. Please check the FortiGuard Encyclopedia regularly for updates."

In short, I would not recommend downloading and running this particular tool. I would wait for your tech guy if you can.

My tech guy thanks you for being vigilant on his behalf.  He is still stuck finishing off a job that has been delayed because of the horrendous flooding in Durban - no or intermittent power and lost connectivity etc. (amongst many other problems)