USB Unknown error

I have a Toshiba satellite A135-S2276 running windows vista home premium. None of my usb ports work. if i plug something in it says unknown device or the that the device is malfunctioning i've tried the devices on different computers and they work with no problem. I've tried uninstalling the usb and reinstalling and that didn't work. i've tried system restore that didn't work. I do not know what else to try.

 

What does Device Manager show when nothing is plugged in to the USB ports? Are there any problem devices?

If the hubs and host controllers are OK then I wonder whether there is a problem with the USB port power. This could then mean that devices plugged in to USB don't work properly.

John

 

They worked fine up to a couple days ago then they all just stopped working. There are four of them 2 right next to each other and the other two are seperate from each other so there are three different usb root hubs. when there is nothing connect its just the three controllers and the three hubs but when something is connected the new device shows up as a unknown device under usb controllers. the devices ive tried are flash drives, usb hard drives and a wired mouse same out come

 

OK. So the hubs and controllers are fine. I am trying to think how to test my power problem hypothesis. If devices aren't getting power then they won't be able to communicate properly. The USB connector has 4 contacts. 2 are for data and 2 are for power.

Do you have any USB device which has an external power supply? If that works, then it would suggest a port power problem. This could be caused by a problem on the power module in the notebook or by overload. However, computers should have USB power overload protection.

John

 

the same thing happens if the device has its own power supply also i am able to charge my psp slim through the usb i just can not connect it to the computer so i don't think its a power issue.

 

1. Do you have / can you make a Linux Live CD?

If you can see USB devices in Linux then we know Vista has got its lines crossed. If Linux can't see the devices then it must be hardware.

or

2. Can you set up a flash drive to be the equivalent of a bootable floppy disc than then boot from it? (As a way to test if USB is working OK at the BIOS level).

John

 

I created a knoppix disk and tried to mnt a usb drive and nothing happen linux also finds the usb ports but not the device thats plugged in. i did the same on an older laptop and it worked there so i guess there is something not software related thats messing this up. thanks for you help john.

 

My last suggestion would be to go into the BIOS and reset to the defaults. I doubt this will fix the problem, but it's worth a try. Stranger things have happened.

John

 

i just tried that still nothing. guess this is one more major issue with this thing. again thank you for your help

 

Is it still under warranty? If so, then it's time to contact them.

If not, there's a small chance that a USB hub with external power might be able to by-pass the problem. However, that might not work if the hub electronics run on the computer's USB power and the hub's power only feeds its ports.

John

 

Its out of warranty. I'll look into the hub i was thinking there is a slim chance that might work. its not a power issue i've charged devices though USB.

 

Recently had a customer with the same model with the same issue - System board had to be replaced. The system board price was not terrible - ran them around $200 for parts and labor.

 

Hahaha this laptop is done with usb i've already had to get that changed about 4 or 5 months after i bought it. I don't see the point in getting another one put it.

 

I have a Satellite L30 model Laptop from Toshiba with two usb ports. The back usb ports works well but the side usb port shows USB device not recognised error message and in the device Manager it displays unknown device with Device Status: no drivers are installed for this device. I have tried to connect several USB devices including one with external power supply into the side usb port but no success .I have also tried to reinstall drivers and the same error appears please advice.