usb devices not recognized

[emaledave]

After many months of no problems, suddenly none of my external devices
including my mouse are recognized. All four of the USB ports seem to
have stopped working. I have a Dell 9200 laptop with XP Pro.

A few days ago, I was using my new Maxtor One Touch HD when suddenly my
computer just shut down. When I booted up again, none of my usb devices
were recognized. I haven't received any messages like others who have
the same problem. Device manager shows four controllers and four root
hubs and it says all are working fine. Nonetheless, I deleted all of
the and let windows reinstall them. I have also tried the suggestion of
shuting the system down, unplugged it and removing the battery. I have
gone to the Dell site and downloaded and installed any new updates even
fllash bios. I don't know what else to do. It's clearly something
specific to my laptop because the devices work fine on my desktop.

I know there are many extremely knowledgeable people out there that
know much more about these things than I. I am hopeful some of you can
help me as well as the many other people who seem to be having the same
problem based on the results from my Goggle search. Being forced to use
this damn touch pad is driving me bonkers! Help!

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

At this point you've probably done all you can. Call Dell (and let's hope
it's still under guarantee)

 

[Chuck]

Sounds like the Laptop USB port hardware to me. Or, perhaps, the laptop Bios
settings may have been inadvertently changed to disable the USB ports. If
power management is involved, and or a "new" device driver recently added,
it would also be a potential cause.
(Power management settings concerning USB may disable USB devices after
standby or hibernate.)
One thing to try is to connect the devices via an external powered USB hub.
This has a small chance of allowing you to avoid returning the Laptop for
repair. There may be diagnostics included with the Laptop that will confirm
the USB Port failure.