windows 7 - USB Ports Not Working

06
2014-04
  • THE DOCTOR

    None of the USB ports work anymore on my HP EliteBook 2540p laptop which is running Windows 7 Pro SP1. By "not working," I mean if I try plugging in a thumbdrive or external HDD it does nothing whereas they work perfectly on other machines. I've tried just about everything and no luck. It gets stuck and doesn't complete the process if I try from the device-manager to uninstall, update, or scan for changes concerning the drivers. I've also tried to use the MicrosoftFixIt tool which just hangs there and does nothing as well. I've left things running overnight with each of these attempts and it just hangs there endlessly. The properties for each port claim the device is working properly. Please, help me figure out how to get my USB ports working again!

    Edit #1 - I have tried booting off my Fedora LiveCD and the USB ports work fine which indicates that it doesn't seem to be a hardware issue. I need to get the ports working again in Windows though.

    Edit #2 - I tried using the Microsoft USB View tool, but don't know how to interpret the output. Anyhow, when I plug in my thumbdrive a yellow circle with an exclamation mark comes up for that USB port and it says "DeviceConnected." Here is the full output in case anyone can make sense of it and determine what problem(s) may exist:

    Device Descriptor:
bcdUSB:             0x0200
bDeviceClass:         0x00
bDeviceSubClass:      0x00
bDeviceProtocol:      0x00
bMaxPacketSize0:      0x40 (64)
idVendor:           0x8564
idProduct:          0x1000
bcdDevice:          0x0100
iManufacturer:        0x01
0x0409: "JetFlash"
iProduct:             0x02
0x0409: "Mass Storage Device"
iSerialNumber:        0x03
0x0409: "VYWCFQTO"
bNumConfigurations:   0x01

ConnectionStatus: DeviceConnected
Current Config Value: 0x00
Device Bus Speed:     High
Device Address:       0x05
Open Pipes:              0

Configuration Descriptor:
wTotalLength:       0x0020
bNumInterfaces:       0x01
bConfigurationValue:  0x01
iConfiguration:       0x00
bmAttributes:         0x80 (Bus Powered )
MaxPower:             0x32 (100 Ma)

Interface Descriptor:
bInterfaceNumber:     0x00
bAlternateSetting:    0x00
bNumEndpoints:        0x02
bInterfaceClass:      0x08
bInterfaceSubClass:   0x06
bInterfaceProtocol:   0x50
iInterface:           0x00

Endpoint Descriptor:
bEndpointAddress:     0x01  OUT
Transfer Type:        Bulk
wMaxPacketSize:     0x0200 (512)
bInterval:            0x00

Endpoint Descriptor:
bEndpointAddress:     0x82  IN
Transfer Type:        Bulk
wMaxPacketSize:     0x0200 (512)
bInterval:            0x00

    Edit #3 - I used the ServiWin tool and discovered that the USBSTOR service is stopped and I am unable to manually start it. It states the error message: "Error 1058: The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it."

    Here are my registry settings for it:

    USBSTOR registry settings screenshot

    Edit #4 - I used the USB Oblivion tool which erases all traces of USB devices from the Windows registry. I figured it might help flush out any corrupted data that might be causing problems.

    • Answers
  • user76732

    On several of our older Dell desktop machines, we have had this same problem. My solution was to go into DEVICE MANAGER and delete all the usb controllers and hubs. Reboot to allow Windows to re-discover the hardware and reload the drivers. This problem occurs maybe twice a year and this procedure fixes it each time.

  • harrymc

    Look in c:\windows\inf (ensure you can see hidden and system files) and see if you can find the two files named usbstor.inf and usbstor.pnf.

    If they are missing, you need to restore/replace them.

    Copies of these files may be found in C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository inside a folder named usbstor.inf_xxxxxxxx. If more than one such folder exists, use the folder with the latest (newest) date.

    Create a System Restore point first and reboot afterwards. If the above doesn't work and the problem is recent enough, you could rollback Windows to a time that the USB ports did work.

    You could also verify using regedit that the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\USBSTOR has an entry named Start whose value is 3.

    See also if there is anything useful in the Event Viewer.

    You could also try the oldest remedy of them all : Uninstall all the USB hubs from the Device Manager and then reboot.

  • techie007

    Assuming the BIOS does not provide a way to disable USB, and you have checked to ensure they've not been disabled in the BIOS...

    Boot to a 3rd-party OS (a current Linux LiveCD of some kind should do it) -- Do the USB ports work? If not, then you have a hardware issue and you need to get your notebook repaired.

    Also, the BIOS should detect, and will most likely show you (bootable) USB drives in the boot-order menu. If they don't show up there then, again, it signifies dead USB ports -- a hardware issue -- time to take it in for repair.

    If these ways can detect the USB drives, and they work, then your Windows is messed up and it's probably best/easiest to back it up and try a fresh install.

  • Huntsman

    Have you found a solution yet ? if not let's get down to basics..You need to run the System File Scan (SFC /SCANNOW) in case you have Win7 System file damage. If that doesn't fix the problem, & you'd lose too much with System Restore (which is usually the situation) to an earlier date/time, you really do need to reinstall Windows. But wait! You don't need to do a fresh install. It's a lengthy process (not as long as a fresh install) but, do what many call a 'REPAIR' install. This option will keep your programs & data without loss. Have your MOBO Driver disk handy, or know where to locate the Drivers in your download folder, you may need them. I've used it many times for this type of problem, which is usually system file or Registry damage with no apparent solution. It can be a tedious process, with several Microsoft gotchu's, so you need to Google 'Windows 7 repair installation' for detailed instructions, before you start & print it for reference during the process. The variations are almost endless & Microsoft don't make it easy! I checked this Forum for links for this process, but couldn't find one! Microsoft confuses most & call this option an 'UPDATE'. It's both in fact. It refreshes the Registry & scans ALL the hardware during the repair/update. The repair will ask for your Windows 'Key' and when done, 'Authentication' again. Be sure to do a Mirror of your System disk, & make a Repair Disk if you don't have one already, before you start, for recovery in case of problems. Making the Windows 7 mirror/backup is easy & fast. You will need a 2nd HDD already installed, for the Mirror, since you can't connect a USB. Or use any offline backup software with an Image capability. Don't bother trying to use DVD's for the Mirror. You need way too many. Also be sure to run a full anti virus (AV) scan using Windows Defender Offline, (it's actually MSE) AND the FREE OFFLINE Malwarebytes or Kaspersky's free full OFFLINE scan (with the Network connected for the latest updates) in case you've picked up a root kit which the online versions of most AV's won't find with Windows running. Run TWO versions of an AV scan since very few will find all infections in one pass on their own! You can find all the software I've referenced, using Google or your preferred search engine. If a virus has infected the system, & you don't run an AV scan, the Windows 7 Repair will also be infected. It's also a good move to run a full chkdsk (all 5 passes), on the disk(s), to make sure there's no logic problems or sector damage after the AV scan & before the Win7 repair. The Repair option will of course necessitate a SP re-installation & all Win7 patch updates again. During each of the above steps, before the Repair is started, check to see if the USB's are working again. It's a long shot but you never know ! You will need a fair bit of spare System HDD empty space. The Repair creates a backup in a C:\windows.old folder to recover things that might have gone missing after the Repair. If everything looks OK, you can delete this folder.

  • James

    Couple resources from MS

    If these don't cover you please provide a little more information on your system and mention any recent updates or driver changes.


    • Related Question

    External USB attached drive works in Windows XP but not in Windows 7. How to fix?
  • irrational John

    Earlier this week I purchased this "N52300 EZQuest Pro" external hard drive enclosure from here.

    I can connect the enclosure using USB 2.0 and access the files in both NTFS partitions on the MBR partitioned drive when I use either Windows XP (SP3) or Mac OS X 10.6. So it works as expected in Windows XP and Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

    However, the enclosure does not work in Windows 7 (Home Premium) either 64-bit or 32-bit or in Ubuntu 10.04 (kernel 2.6.32-23-generic).

    I'm thinking this must be a Windows 7 driver problem because the enclosure works in Windows XP and Mac OS X Snow Leopard. I do know that no special drivers are required to use this enclosure. It is supported using the USB mass storage drivers included with Windows XP and Mac OS X. It should also work fine using the mass storage support in Windows 7, no?

    FWIW, I have also tried using 32-bit Windows 7 on both my desktop, a Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 with a Pentium Dual-Core E6500 @ 2.93 GHz, and on my early 2008 MacBook. I see the same failure in both cases that I see with 64-bit Windows 7. So it doesn't appear to be specific to one hardware platform.

    I'm hoping someone out there can help me either get the enclosure to work in Windows 7 or convince me that the enclosure hardware is bad and should be RMAed. At the moment though an RMA seems pointless since this appears to be a (Windows 7) device driver problem.

    I have tried to track down any updates to the mass storage drivers included with Windows 7 but have so far come up empty. Heck, I can't even figure out how to place a bug report with Microsoft since apparently the grace period for Windows 7 email support is only a few months.

    I came across a link to some USB troubleshooting steps in another question. I haven't had a chance to look over the suggestions on that site or try them yet. Maybe tomorrow if I have time ... ;-)

    I'll finish up with some more details about the problem.

    When I connect the enclosure using USB to Windows 7 at first it appears everything worked. Windows detects the drive and installs a driver for it. Looking in Device Manager there is an entry under the Hard Drives section with the title, Hitachi HDT721010SLA360 USB Device.

    When you open Windows Disk Management the first time after the enclosure has been attached the drive appears as "Not initialize" and I'm prompted to initialize it. This is bogus. After all, the drive worked fine in Windows XP, so I know it has already been initialized, partitioned, and formatted. So of course I never try to initialize it "again". (It's a 1 GB drive, and I don't want to lose the data on it).

    Except for this first time, the drive never shows up in Disk Management again unless I uninstall the Hitachi HDT721010SLA360 USB Device entry under Hard Drives, unplug, and then replug the enclosure. If I do that then the process in the previous paragraph repeats.

    In Ubuntu, the enclosure never shows up at all at the file system level.

    Below are an excerpt from kern.log and an excerpt from the result of lsusb -v after attaching the enclosure. It appears that Ubuntu at first recongnizes the enclosure and is attempting to attach it, but encounters errors which prevent it from doing so. Unfortunately, I don't know whether any of this info is useful or not.

    Excerpt from kern.log

    [ 2684.240015] usb 1-2: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 22
[ 2684.393618] usb 1-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[ 2684.395399] scsi17 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
[ 2684.395570] usb-storage: device found at 22
[ 2684.395572] usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
[ 2689.390412] usb-storage: device scan complete
[ 2689.390894] scsi 17:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Hitachi  HDT721010SLA360  ST6O PQ: 0 ANSI: 4
[ 2689.392237] sd 17:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg7 type 0
[ 2689.395269] sd 17:0:0:0: [sde] 1953525168 512-byte logical blocks: (1.00 TB/931 GiB)
[ 2689.395632] sd 17:0:0:0: [sde] Write Protect is off
[ 2689.395636] sd 17:0:0:0: [sde] Mode Sense: 11 00 00 00
[ 2689.395639] sd 17:0:0:0: [sde] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 2689.412003] sd 17:0:0:0: [sde] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 2689.412009]  sde: sde1 sde2
[ 2689.455759] sd 17:0:0:0: [sde] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 2689.455765] sd 17:0:0:0: [sde] Attached SCSI disk
[ 2692.620017] usb 1-2: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 22
[ 2707.740014] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2722.970103] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2723.200027] usb 1-2: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 22
[ 2738.320019] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2753.550024] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2753.780020] usb 1-2: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 22
[ 2758.810147] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2763.940142] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2764.170014] usb 1-2: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 22
[ 2769.200141] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2774.330137] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2774.440069] usb 1-2: USB disconnect, address 22
[ 2774.440503] sd 17:0:0:0: Device offlined - not ready after error recovery
[ 2774.590023] usb 1-2: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 23
[ 2789.710020] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2804.940020] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2805.170026] usb 1-2: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 24
[ 2820.290019] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2835.520027] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2835.750018] usb 1-2: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 25
[ 2840.780085] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2845.910079] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2846.140023] usb 1-2: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 26
[ 2851.170112] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2856.300077] usb 1-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2856.410027] hub 1-0:1.0: unable to enumerate USB device on port 2
[ 2856.730033] usb 3-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 11
[ 2871.850017] usb 3-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2887.080014] usb 3-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2887.310011] usb 3-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 12
[ 2902.430021] usb 3-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2917.660013] usb 3-2: device descriptor read/64, error -110
[ 2917.890016] usb 3-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 13
[ 2922.911623] usb 3-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2928.051753] usb 3-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2928.280013] usb 3-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 14
[ 2933.301876] usb 3-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2938.431993] usb 3-2: device descriptor read/8, error -110
[ 2938.540073] hub 3-0:1.0: unable to enumerate USB device on port 2

    Excerpt from lsusb -v

    Bus 001 Device 017: ID 0dc4:0000 Macpower Peripherals, Ltd
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               2.00
  bDeviceClass            0 (Defined at Interface level)
  bDeviceSubClass         0
  bDeviceProtocol         0
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  idVendor           0x0dc4 Macpower Peripherals, Ltd
  idProduct          0x0000
  bcdDevice            0.01
  iManufacturer           1 EZ QUEST
  iProduct                2 USB Mass Storage
  iSerial                 3 220417
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength           32
    bNumInterfaces          1
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          5 Config0
    bmAttributes         0xc0
      Self Powered
    MaxPower                0mA
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           2
      bInterfaceClass         8 Mass Storage
      bInterfaceSubClass      6 SCSI
      bInterfaceProtocol     80 Bulk (Zip)
      iInterface              4 Interface0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x01  EP 1 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
Device Qualifier (for other device speed):
  bLength                10
  bDescriptorType         6
  bcdUSB               2.00
  bDeviceClass            0 (Defined at Interface level)
  bDeviceSubClass         0
  bDeviceProtocol         0
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  bNumConfigurations      1
Device Status:     0x0001
  Self Powered

    Update: Results using Firewire to connect.

    Today, I received a 1394b 9-pin to 1394a 6-pin cable which allowed me to connect the "EZQuest Pro" via Firewire. Everything works.

    When I use Firewire I can connect whether I'm using Windows 7 or Ubuntu 10.04. I even tried booting my Gigabyte desktop as an Mac OS X 10.6.3 Hackintosh, and it worked there as well. (Though if I recall correctly, it also worked when using USB 2.0 and booting Mac OS X on the desktop. Certainly it works with USB 2.0 and my MacBook.)

    I believe the firmware on the device is at the latest level available, v1.07. I base this on the excerpt below from the Mac OS X System Profiler which shows Firmware Revision: 0x107.

    Bottom line: It's nice that the enclosure is actually usable when I connect with Firewire. But I am still searching for an answer as to why it does not work correctly when using USB 2.0 in Windows 7 (and Ubuntu ... but really Windows 7 is my biggest concern).

     OXFORD IDE Device 1:
   Manufacturer:    EZ QUEST
   Model:   0x0
   GUID:    0x1D202E0220417
   Maximum Speed:   Up to 800 Mb/sec
   Connection Speed:        Up to 400 Mb/sec
   Sub-units:
 OXFORD IDE Device 1 Unit:
   Unit Software Version:   0x10483
   Unit Spec ID:            0x609E
   Firmware Revision:       0x107
   Product Revision Level:  ST6O
   Sub-units:
 OXFORD IDE Device 1 SBP-LUN:
   Capacity:        1 TB (1,000,204,886,016 bytes)
   Removable Media: Yes
   BSD Name:        disk3
   Partition Map Type:      MBR (Master Boot Record)
   S.M.A.R.T. status:       Not Supported

    • Related Answers
  • Moab

    There is a firmware updater on that page you linked to for the product. Download the zip file and unzip it, read the word document in the "CobraNoMount - WR.rtfd" folder for troubleshooting instructions, and how to update the firmware.

    http://www.ezq.com/docs/200929104804_CobraNoMount%20-%20WR.rtfd.zip

  • zube

    I had a simillar problem and after a quick search, came a cross a site that details numerous problems and solutions. One of which was that it could be a drive letter conflict, it seems my USB drive may have been trying to re-use a drive letter Windows had reserved for another device or network drive, I use virtual clone cd and mount and unmount regular. What I did was assign a drive letter Z in disk management (any letter high enough that windows would not assign) and it instantly uppeared in my computer.