USB Controller Not Working In Windows

[Jay Moore]

Hi,

I've been asked to repair a Windows XP SP2 machine that's got an
interesting problem. It'd be a lot better if I could fix it today
which is why I'm posting here.

Apparently the USB controller drivers or something has gone AWOL. My
USB mouse kicks on during boot, and the keyboard works fine in bios,
but once Windows boots, safe mode or regular....USB won't kick on and
I'm left with no real way of working with the system. I don't have any
PS/2 devices and the local stores open on sunday don't have many
options.

Is there any way I can fix this with recovery console? If so, how?

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Hi,

I've been asked to repair a Windows XP SP2 machine that's got an
interesting problem. It'd be a lot better if I could fix it today
which is why I'm posting here.

Apparently the USB controller drivers or something has gone AWOL. My
USB mouse kicks on during boot, and the keyboard works fine in bios,
but once Windows boots, safe mode or regular....USB won't kick on and
I'm left with no real way of working with the system. I don't have any
PS/2 devices and the local stores open on sunday don't have many
options.

Is there any way I can fix this with recovery console? If so, how?

Not that I know of. If you can boot up in normal mode perhaps you can use
RDP from another machine on the network to check out the offending PC.
Presuming it's XP Pro, that is.

 

[susymaka]

Hi,

Also all my USB ports stopped working...........Rest all are working
fine...... Can anybody help pls......Thanks

 

[V Green]

There was a Windows Update recently that
seems to be causing unpredicitable things to happen
with USB - it had to do with disabling autorun on
external drives (which are mostly connected via USB).

Try a System Restore to a week or so ago...

or maybe two.

 

[Jay Moore]

There was a Windows Update recently that
seems to be causing unpredicitable things to happen
with USB - it had to do with disabling autorun on
external drives (which are mostly connected via USB).

Try a System Restore to a week or so ago...

or maybe two.








- Show quoted text -

Well, that's kind of impossible since all I've got lying around are
USB hard drives.

It's XP Home, not Pro, it's also not networked locally...the people
have BPL plugged directly into the system.

 

[Jay Moore]

Well, that's kind of impossible since all I've got lying around are
USB hard drives.

It's XP Home, not Pro, it's also not networked locally...the people
have BPL plugged directly into the system.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I meant keyboards, not hard drives, I had hard drive on the brain.

There's another twist to this. The system is a Dell Dimension 3100.
When i showed up with my PS2 keyboard/mouse i found in my box of junk,
I discovered the computer has NO PS/2 ports of any kind.

My question is, how the eff do I get in to a system...to fix it...when
it is USB only for input devices and USB is what the problem is.

 

[susymaka]

Thanks...........How to restore the system with help of keyboard as my mouse
does not work...............

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Hi,

Also all my USB ports stopped working...........Rest all are working
fine...... Can anybody help pls......Thanks

Hi - please don't post "me too!" messages - post your own questions as new
messages, not replies in an existing & unrelated thread.

I suggest that you start using a news client, such as Forte Agent,
Thunderbird, or even Outlook Express, rather than the pretty clunky web
interface to the newsgroups. It's a lot easier to do nearly everything that
way. You can mark messages to be watched, filter the views so you can see
replies to your posts easily, and search.

The Microsoft public news server is msnews.microsoft.com and you can
subscribe to as many groups as you like; no authentication is required.

The following is from a post by MVP Malke ...

-------------------------------------------------------
Here's information on Usenet and using a newsreader:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page3.html#12-09-02 - a brief
explanation of newsgroups
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlo...ssnewreader.htm
http://rickrogers.org/setupoe.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...wto/default.asp
- Set Up Newsreader

http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

http://aumha.org/nntp.htm - list of MS newsgroups
microsoft.public.test.here - MS group to test if your newsreader is
working properly
http://www.mailmsg.com/SPAM_munging.htm - how to munge email address
http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm - multiposting vs.
crossposting

Some newsreaders for Windows
http://www.forteinc.com/agent/index.php - for Forte
http://www.mozilla.org (Thunderbird does newsgroups)
http://gravity.tbates.org/

-------------------------------------

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

I meant keyboards, not hard drives, I had hard drive on the brain.

There's another twist to this. The system is a Dell Dimension 3100.
When i showed up with my PS2 keyboard/mouse i found in my box of junk,
I discovered the computer has NO PS/2 ports of any kind.

My question is, how the eff do I get in to a system...to fix it...when
it is USB only for input devices and USB is what the problem is.

I'd call Dell. They'll talk to you even if the box is out of warranty.

 

[Jay Moore]

I use google groups because my Sidekick doesn't have a news reader....

Dell wasn't too kind to me. The machine belongs to my cousin who tried
calling dell, and it got him nowhere. I was told it's not my PC, the
warrenty was never transferred and since it was from Rent-A-
Center...that "I've got nothing I can tell you"

Rent-A-Centers words were "it's paid for and you own both halves".

But I can guess their advice...use system restore which I can because
usb is non-working in windows...or wipe the system and start over,
which they'd lose all their data. I guess I'll have to take a system
over and back up the hard drive the hard way.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

I use google groups because my Sidekick doesn't have a news reader....

Dell wasn't too kind to me. The machine belongs to my cousin who tried
calling dell, and it got him nowhere. I was told it's not my PC, the
warrenty was never transferred and since it was from Rent-A-
Center...that "I've got nothing I can tell you"

Rent-A-Centers words were "it's paid for and you own both halves".

But I can guess their advice...use system restore which I can because
usb is non-working in windows...or wipe the system and start over,
which they'd lose all their data. I guess I'll have to take a system
over and back up the hard drive the hard way.

You could take the hard drive out, connect it in a USB caddy to another box,
back up the data, and start over. Frankly, if this is a "pre-owned" computer
that's the first thing I'd want done to it anyway. You should see whether
you can escalate this up to another level at Dell. I'm not too hopeful about
that (and note that Dimension support sucks - I never buy those, even for
home users) but it's worth a shot. Someone, somewhere can have the
warranty/ownership transferred. Keep asking for supervisors, and ask for a
supervisor in a North American call center.

 

[Jay Moore]

You could take the hard drive out, connect it in a USB caddy to another box,
back up the data, and start over. Frankly, if this is a "pre-owned" computer
that's the first thing I'd want done to it anyway. You should see whether
you can escalate this up to another level at Dell. I'm not too hopeful about
that (and note that Dimension support sucks - I never buy those, even for
home users) but it's worth a shot. Someone, somewhere can have the
warranty/ownership transferred. Keep asking for supervisors, and ask for a
supervisor in a North American call center.






- Show quoted text -

The computer was actually brand new in box still sealed. My cousin
never bothered calling Dell, assuming Rent-A-Center took care of that.

I spent 3 hours on the phone with Dell, demanding to talk to a
supervisor in north america and kept getting slammed. When I FINALLY
got someone, you know what they told me?

"Use a PS2 keyboard"

It's really sad when tech-support supervisors have no idea WHAT thier
computers have...I told him it lacked PS2 ports and he acted like that
was a strange and said he had nothing he could do to help me.

I kept trying to get the warrenty fixed, but they said if it wasn't
transferred within a specific amount of time after purcahse, you
basically surrender it.

So, as expected, Dell was entirely no help and I'm going to have to
spend my ENTIRE Saturday evening (which is the ONLY evening out of 7 I
don't work) fixing someone's computer. Installing XP takes time.

I may wind up trying the on-board system rescue since I just want to
get the thing working and be gone.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

The computer was actually brand new in box still sealed. My cousin
never bothered calling Dell, assuming Rent-A-Center took care of that.
Ha.

I spent 3 hours on the phone with Dell, demanding to talk to a
supervisor in north america and kept getting slammed. When I FINALLY
got someone, you know what they told me?

"Use a PS2 keyboard"

It's really sad when tech-support supervisors have no idea WHAT thier
computers have...I told him it lacked PS2 ports and he acted like that
was a strange and said he had nothing he could do to help me.

That's pretty pathetic. As mentioned earlier I don't buy Dimensions; I buy
Optiplexes. There is a vast difference in the support quality.

I kept trying to get the warrenty fixed, but they said if it wasn't
transferred within a specific amount of time after purcahse, you
basically surrender it.

That's crap. I've transferred ownership on servers that are several years
old.

So, as expected, Dell was entirely no help and I'm going to have to
spend my ENTIRE Saturday evening (which is the ONLY evening out of 7 I
don't work) fixing someone's computer. Installing XP takes time.

Yes. I hope your cousin appreciates this.

I may wind up trying the on-board system rescue since I just want to
get the thing working and be gone.

Understood. I tend to make a point of not helping family out with this sort
of thing - I tell them I'm tired because I do it all week.

 

[Jay Moore]

That's pretty pathetic. As mentioned earlier I don't buy
Dimensions; I buy

Optiplexes. There is a vast difference in the support quality.

Well...I make it a point to never really call tech support for
anything...I've needed it ONCE for an AST 13 years ago.

Yes. I hope your cousin appreciates this.

Understood. I tend to make a point of not helping family out with this sort
of thing - I tell them I'm tired because I do it all week.

Well....im sure someone in that house will. My cousin isn't the
brightest person in the world and if he had asked me about that PC, I
diffently would have said avoid it. But, desite being the ONLY
computer guru in the family, I still do it...they wanted me to fix it
earlier this week but I told them wait till saturday because that was
the only time I'd have to do it, meaning, I get to completely skip the
early st pattys days celebrations because they're paying for internet
for their dead computer.

If I don't. Then the rest of my family starts giving me hell for not
doing it...I love them, I really do, but I'd like to get away from
them so I don't have to clean up their technical messes...but my job
is here so I get to play the role of non-social-life-jay.

One thing I was thinking of....would UBCD4Win be of any help? I've
used it before but only to fix non-booting problems. Maybe it'd have
something that'd let me fix the thing?
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