USB Device problems - Help!

bobthedambuilder

I'm having trouble with my computer not recognising some USB hardware (eg new flash drive, new ext HDD, new video capture device) while it continues to recognise other hardware already installed and plugged in (even when disconnect and reconnectt these devices). Searching this forum suggests that I should uninstall and reinstall USB drivers via Device Manager. However mouse and keyboard are both USB and there seems to be no alternative input ports. I cannot recognise in Device Manager which USB ports these are plugged into, and I fear that if I uninstall all USB drivers I will be left with no mouse or keyboard to control the computer.

The computer is a Dell Dimension 9200, new Sep 2007, running XP Pro SP2. Processor is Intel Quad CP2 Q6600. There are 6 USB ports on the back (2 showing + beside the USB symbol), and 2 on the front. There are 21 items shown under USB Controllers in Device Manager - in sequence, 1 identifies one of the connected printers (DOT4), 1 Generic Hub, 5 Intel ICH8 Family Host Controllers (separately numbered), 2 Intel ICH8 Family Enhanced Host Controllers (separately numbered), 2 Composite Devices, 1 Mass Storage Device, 2 Printing Supports, and 7 Root Hubs.

How can I identify the Ports/Controllers being used for mouse and keyboard, and which of the controller items listed should I uninstall (and more importantly not uninstall)?

-TangleFoot-

Entries for the keyboard and mouse are in separate categories, one of which is likely to be labelled HID, or Human Interface Device.

Don't worry too much about removing stuff from the USB section in Device Manager just yet; it's possible you have too many things plugged in at the same time. Detach a few, restart your computer and try again.

bobthedambuilder

Thanks for quick reply, Tanglefoot.
I removed all devices connected to USB ports except mouse and keyboard, switched off and unplugged computer for 5 mins, restarted and connected an external HDD (with ext power supply). The device is initially recognized, and New Hardware Wizard starts, then comes up with message "There was a problem installing the hardware. Desktop USB drive. An error occurred during the installation of the device. The data is invalid." This is what happened before.
Any further suggestions gratefully received.

Strider590

Could be a problem with allocating drive letters?

More than likely however, your trying to connect external storage via a USB 1.1 hub? have you tried the ports at the rear of the machine?

bobthedambuilder

Sorry Strider590, didn't understand the first comment about allocating drive letters.
The mouse and keyboard were connected to the 2 rear ports with + beside the USB symbol - are these the USB 2.0 ports? I tried switching off and reconnecting these to 2 of the 4 other rear ports, but on restarting, neither mouse nor keyboard worked. I switched off again and replaced them in the original ports, and they worked again OK. Then tried the external HDD in one of the remaining rear ports - result was the same message in the New Hardware Wizard as before.

-TangleFoot-

bobthedambuilder wrote: »

I tried switching off and reconnecting these to 2 of the 4 other rear ports, but on restarting, neither mouse nor keyboard worked.

Interesting. Time to start uninstalling things, methinks!

First things first: download and install Double Driver, then run it. Click on 'Scan' to list the drivers installed on your system, followed by 'Backup' to make a copy of them, at which point you'll be asked to choose where you want them to go. Ignore the other options for now - the defaults are fine.

If you've password-protected your user account, remove that password NOW. You can set it again once this is all over. This step might not be necessary, but it's better to be safe rather than sorry where USB keyboards are concerned.

Once you've done that, pop into the Device Manager, delete everything under Universal Serial Bus controllers and restart the system. Press the power button on the front of the machine if the system stops responding to keyboard input.

Once Windows has loaded it should then begin reinstalling drivers for the 'newly discovered' USB controllers, along with any attached devices.

bobthedambuilder

OK Tanglefoot, here we go.
I'm speaking to you from another machine. I did everything you said up to starting to deleting everything under USB Controllers. Every time I right-click on a line, I get the subscreen which includes Uninstall, click this and get a new screen headed Confirm Device Removal, with a warning telling me I'm about to uninstall this device, click OK, and the computer appears to hang up - at least nothing obvious happens, the hourglass symbol appears and eventually I have managed to close that screen from the bottom toolbar and get back to System Properties. I've repeated this a couple more times and while the mouse is still working (so far), I haven't got a keyboard any more. In Device Manager I'm starting to see yellow question mark icons over some devices.
Is it OK to continue?

bobthedambuilder

Update: I deleted one more driver, and lost the mouse. By switching off then on again, I've managed to get both keyboard and mouse back. But so far still nothing else recognised. Do I have to delete/uninstall literally all drivers for this fix to work? If I go through the process again, at some point I'll lose the mouse again - hopefully I can save that uninstall till last.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

if you download and run this it will tell you what drivers need updated.

-TangleFoot-

bobthedambuilder wrote: »

In Device Manager I'm starting to see yellow question mark icons over some devices.

This is where the drivers you've backed up come into play. Right-click a device and select Update Driver to access the Hardware Update Wizard.

bobthedambuilder

OK Tanglefoot, I've followed this through. I completed a full uninstall of USB Controllers, switched off, unplugged, reconnected the devices that previously worked (2 printers and a webcam) and switched on again. Mouse and keyboard are working fine, one of the printers (the newer) was recognised and driver reloaded, but the older printer (an IEEE-1284 device) and the webcam both came up with "Could not load" messages in the Hardware Update Wizard.
Do I now restore these drivers from Double Driver?
I've also plugged in the external HDD again, and get the same error message as before.

Note that all three "problem" devices are listed under Other Devices in Device Manager, all with yellow question mark and exclamation mark icons. The recognised printer is found in USB Controllers as a separate line Deskjet F300 series (DOT4USB).

Hope there's an answer to all this. Thanks for your input so far.