Big bang problem

felixthecat

A while ago when i turned my computer on it went bang and smoke came out of the back. Despite not being a techie type I considered this to be bad news. A bloke at work swapped the power thingy at the back and all seemed okay.

Only problem is now none of the usb's work. have looked in device manger and the usb hub cannot load the driver properly. Is this a software or hardware problem? Have tried various things to update or replace the driver but it just wont do it. System is running windows xp.

Any help??

Thanks

gaming_guy

have you got the motherboard make/model or the disk for the motherboard

felixthecat

Unfortunately the bloke who gave me the computer no longer has the disks. Not sure how to find the motherboard make??

mfboss

the motherboard make and model number should be right at the start when you boot up the pc. should be at the top left. Or just google a program called cpu-z. It should tell you the relevant info.

Bad-Boy-Button

Hi there if you download this: http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/AIDA-Download-6969.html
It does not need to be installed but will run and tell you your motherboard details etc but may also point to the problem. Its free and its safe to use.

HTH, BBB

felixthecat

Thanks for all responses. Will check when at home and post tomorrow.

gavsto2005

Directly addressing your problem it sounds like whoever fitted your power supply perhaps knocked the cable out for the front case or didn't plug a power connector in (some cases require the four pin power connector). I doubt it has anything to do with drivers, ask him to open the case and have a look for you. The other option is that your power supply spiked and blew the USB ports!

felixthecat

Sorry it took a while to get this info. Hope someone might be able to help. Motherboard is an intel 11 440bx/440gx.

Another strange thing is when the computer boots up there is power at the modem and the usb mouse. it then dissapears when windows starts up so i am presuming that the power can still get there.???

thanks in advance

felixthecat

kat21

sounds like the power supply damaged windows hives, you could try to do a system restore but, if that doesnt work re installing the operating system or trying to find software that would repair the registery.
do a search on windows hives
I had a simlar problem when somebody brought a toasted computer in for repair, re installing windows solved the problem.

kat21