[Bits]

we had a storm a few days ago & the power in pretty much the whole town went out. my computer was off but still plugged in & since them, none of my usb ports have been working.what i mean is, when i plug in the printer/digital camera etc. it just does nothing. i looked in the 'my computer' bit, where it usually says 'f drive' when the camera is plugged in, but it doesnt say that now. everything else seems to be ok. i know nothing about computers, so was wondering if anyone had any idea what the problem could be?<br><br>
thanks in advance <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">

 

[bigdufstuff]

Do you have your computer plugged into a surge protector? I suppose it is possible a bolt of lightning shorted inside your computer leaving your usb ports useless, but I suspect that it would have done more damage than that if that is what happened.<br><br><br><br>
It could be an OS problem. Try using a live cd and plug a usb device in. If the usb device is recognized with the live cd then it is probably a driver issue.

 

[Satyagraha]

Yeah, as he said. Try a livecd, that should help to determine if it's the usb ports or just Windows being the rubbish that it is.<br><br><br><br>
ubuntu.com you can download a livecd from there and burn it with an iso burning program, or you can order the cd's and they'll send them out free, but it will take a while to arrive.

 

[Life2k]

Unplug your usb things that aren't being recognized. Turn on your system. Then plug one thing in and see if your computer recognizes new hardware, then do the other. If they are plug and play, this should correct them. If this doesn't work, get back to us and I'll get my computer repairman spouse online for you.

 

[luisgarciadiaz]

The lightning stuff that satyagraha and bigdufstuff are talking about killed two cable modems in my house. after the firs died, my parents decided not to buy another one and just pay rent to the cable company. then the second died, but it was theirs so they just set up a new one. after each died though, it took them a week to come to our house after we reported the problem, which was a pain.<br><br><br><br>
lightning can be a bummer.

 

[GhostUser]

Your on board USB circuits are probably fried.<br><br><br><br>
USB+excess current=No More USB...<br><br><br><br>
If you really want to confirm the fried USB situation, plug in an optical mouse...<br><br><br><br>
If it lights up the USB is still fuctional, and it's a software issue (unlikely).<br><br><br><br>
No light means you have a fried motherboard (partially), but I heard that Linux can prevent this, because it is a surge proof OS, unlike a Microsoft Product. (that last part is sarcasm).

 

[Bits]

Thanks for all your suggestions everyone, sorry i've taken so long to reply, i'm in the middle of moving house, so have been real busy! i've tried the things you have suggested & the usb things are still not working<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/sad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">...i havent got an optical mouse so i'll borrow one from someone to test out your theory sketchy. thanks again everyone <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">

 

[bigdufstuff]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Sketchy</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
but I heard that Linux can prevent this, because it is a surge proof OS, unlike a Microsoft Product. (that last part is sarcasm).</div>
</div>
<br><br><br><br><br>
Yeah.... because that is what I said. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/thinking.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":think:">

 

[Life2k]

My husband says your USB got it. He said to take you computer to a shop and have an internal PCI USB card installed. Then you will be back in running order. These cards cost about $13.00 USD. so what ever labor fees would be your biggest espense. If you know a computer geek, they could install this for you. He seems to think it is simple.

 

[bigdufstuff]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Life2k</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
My husband says your USB got it. He said to take you computer to a shop and have an internal PCI USB card installed. Then you will be back in running order. These cards cost about $13.00 USD. so what ever labor fees would be your biggest espense. If you know a computer geek, they could install this for you. He seems to think it is simple.</div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
yeah, doing that is dead simple you could probably do this yourself. Just open up the case and push it into a slot. If you get confused just ask and I can give you more assistance. Paying someone to do it for you is a rip off!

 

[Bits]

Thank you life2k & bigduffstuff, my friends brother knows a bit about computers so i'll ask him if he can do what you recomended, hopefully all should be working again soon!<br><br>
thanks again <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">