Acer Aspire 5100 not reading USB ports

Hello all, I have an Acer Aspire 5100 that I cannot get to read any USB thumb drives or portable hard drives that I plug into it. Simply says that windows was unable to recognize the device. All of the devices work perfectly on other pcs. Could anyone tell me which drivers I may need to reinstall or install period that may be effecting the usb ports?

Thanks
-Wes

 

Does it work with other USB devices like printers, mice and such?

 

Nothing I try to plug into the usb ports seems to work. I tried a keyboard and a mouse and I get the same message,
"USB Device Not Recognized. One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it. For assistance in solving this problem, click this message."

If I click the message it simply brings up a USB device not responding window.

For the record all of these devices work perfectly on my other laptops.

 

If the device is powered i.e. mouse lights up it's not a hardware problem but a Windows issue.

 

southbridge is probably failing. common issue on 5100's

 

The lights are coming on for the devices, so they are getting power. Any suggestions for a fix?

 

bump for suggestions.

 

Make sure you have all drivers installed- chipset drivers included (if drivers like that are even available).
If you can't find any missing drivers or anything suspicious- reinstall Windows.
If if still doesn't work then- it's a hardware issue- techiediva is right that 5100s have had lots of issues with mobos.