USB Port Issue

I just dropped my laptop (Inspiron 9400) and now all the USB ports on my laptop no longer work.
This is a longshot, but has anyone experienced this before and is there a fix (i know it's unlikely)?
My warranty ran out a couple of months ago.

I've tried uninstalling all the usb drivers then reinstalling them but that didn't work, im guessing it's a hardware issue but it's strange that every single usb port would stop working. Lucky i backed up all my data a couple of days ago.

 

If you can open up your laptop and access the USB ports, you can probably see where exactly the problem is. It could be a wire snapped or something, which in that case you can fix up without too much trouble. Or there could be a crack in the circuit board where the USB ports are, or something, which you can attempt to fix by using a pencil and marking the circuit lines where the break is with some force to make a good dark mark.

Regarding backup, at least you still have the optical drive.

 

Yeah, you broke the motherboard. Drops do that, you know.

 

That must have been quite a drop. There was one time when someone decided to knock my E1505 off the table and it fell to a hard, flat, granite floor. Luckily it didn't have any dents, scratches, and worked perfectly.

Someone else I know who had an HP wanted to take advantage of their warranty to get a new system by throwing their HP off of the third story of a building... not smart. Though it did chip away a corner of a notebook, it miraculously worked fine and because of the shock of its amazing durability.. he decided to keep it.

 

The usb ports are soldered to the motherboard. This solder is really weak and can break from just inserting and removing a thumb drive over and over. Unless you are amazing with solder, you will have to buy a new motherboard if you want to gain those usb ports back.

 

If it is solder, it really isn't hard to fix at all. Just be careful since the soldering iron is very hot.

If you can live with it, leave it be. Though if you really want the USB ports to work... you can try out soldering.

I wonder if Dell will still cover you with the warranty from fall damage if you are under it. You might want to look into that as well.

 

Nah the laptop is a bit skabby now anyway, i've dropped it twice in 2 weeks.
The first time i dropped it my headphones where plugged in and it landed on it's side causing the audio and microphone ports to cave in, completely breaking them, so i have a large hole in the side of my laptop. The i dropped it last night and it broke the USB ports.
Coming home very drunk from a night out then trying to take my laptop to bed so i can watch **** wasn't my best idea, i didn't even make it 2 steps away from my computer desk when i fell over, the laptop did break my fall though.
Time for a new, lighter, laptop i think.
Anyway, thanks for the help.

 

Yeah, sorry we couldn't be of much help. That is very unfortunate with all the dropping and all. Hopefully you handle with more care next time.

How does your rep show up as red with "Skawtish has a little shameless behavior in the past". Surely the board can't detect the word "****" or what you do in bed. XD

 

I've got a profile warning for "insulting other members", can't remember what i done. =]
I give my sincere apology to whoever it was.