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    USB ports not working after Disconnecting from Wireless Network

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by shinshun, Sep 7, 2007.

  1. shinshun

    shinshun Newbie

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    I just installed a WPA-PSK encrypted wireless network at home. I noticed that after I disconnect from my wireless network, my usb ports don't work. My laptop cannot see any flash drives or any USB device (mouse, hub, etc.) that I insert after disconnecting from the network.

    Any flash drive or usb device that was connected to my laptop before I disconnect will still work. I can read the contents of those flash drives. However, I cannot safely remove them because the "Safely Remove Hardware" menu will not come up.

    Finally, when I shut down, my laptop just hangs.

    I have no idea why it is doing this. Does the bluetooth have something to do with this?

    I have a Dell E1505 with Windows XP Media Center.
     
  2. aan310

    aan310 Notebook Virtuoso

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    iv had a similar problem with xp pro, but it was when i remove a flash, the wireless network dont work, idk
     
  3. Dell C.A.

    Dell C.A. Company Representative

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    This is John, a customer advocate at Dell headquarters.

    I must say this is one of the strangest problems I have ever seen. I have looked everywhere, both internally and externally, and nowhere could I find any other report of this particular problem.

    That being said, the most surefire way to make this problem go away is to backup your data, reformat the hard drive, and reinstall Windows. If this doesn't solve the problem, we may have to replace the motherboard and the wifi card to make sure this problem goes away.

    I know that sounds rather drastic, but given how weird this is, and given that the Broadcomm wifi card is in no way related to the USB controller, I am at a loss to explain this problem, and therefore I am at a loss on a simple way to fix it.

    If you need my help, please let me know.

    John
    Dell Customer Advocate
    [email protected]