USB Ports Stopped Working

I have this old Dell that I use for music and that's part of my redundant back up scheme until I build a dedicated server. https://www.dell.com/support/home/e.../0-eG90bk84K2orcU1jR3ZUT3hWUzhrdz090/overview

It's been working fine all these years and with the Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse until all the USB ports suddenly stopped working. So after connecting my PS/2 keyboard and mouse I followed the advice here. https://www.dell.com/community/Opti...-USB-Ports-Stopped-Working/m-p/8184510#M58378

I used a public library pc to download the Intel 875p motherboard chipset and burned it to a CD. It installed ok on my pc fine but didn't solve the problem.

Then Startech.com's support tried to help saying that the BIOS (Dell version A07 which was the last revision and which I had installed long ago) has its own USB drivers. So if they said if I reconnect my wireless USB module for keyboard and mouse and hit F2 before Windows loads and if Set Up then opens that would prove that the USB hardware is likely not the problem.

Unfortunately, when I hit F2 Set Up didn't open. So does this mean that there is likely a fault in the USB hardware? If yes, then should I might as well junk the pc?

If not, then should I do this? https://www.techrepublic.com/article/get-it-done-troubleshoot-usb-problems-in-windows-xp/

Go into Device Manager, right click on each USB controller and Uninstall the driver.
And do the same for each USB Root Hub.
As uninstalling the drivers will NOT delete them then next restart XP which should then recognize
the USB ports as new hardware and look for and install the drivers. Do this now, yes?

 

yes, but there is a problem if setup does not open, when you either restart or turn on your pc, immediately start tapping F2 to get to setup.

 

That is, there is a USB hardware problem because with my PS/2 keyboard disconnected and only the wireless USB keyboard connected setup didn't open when I hit F2?

 

But if this still doesn't get the USB ports working what to do next?

However, please FIRST explain this VERY strange situation:

I have another Dell 8300 which I had also originally ordered from the outlet Dell store, though its service tag 1J0LW41 not found at Dell support. That pc works fine but I noticed that when I go into Device Manager and
scroll down I see a folder called Storage Drives folder. But that folder does not appear in Device Manager on
the bad pc. Could that be because XP could be a slightly different build than the XP on the bad pc?

In any case, in that folder there's a tab that when clicked says Generic USB Driver. And a page within that page gives the apparent location of the driver file windows/system32/drivers/volsnap.sys . So I then went there and saw that file.

Then thinking that since Dell support said the XP USB drivers are unavailable why not copy that volsnap.sys file from the good pc to a flash drive and burn it to a CD to load into that same place on the bad pc? Windows will then ask if I want to replace the bad volsnap.sys driver file with that one, I would click yes, restart the pc and maybe Windows will recognize the USB ports.

But when I first searched online to see if Dell 8300 owners did this for the same USB problem I found that volsnap.sys is apparently a Trojan virus! But then why do the USB ports and everything about that pc work fine?

Was that instead actually a driver file called usb.sys and did it get renamed to volsnap.sys when it apparently
got hit with a not really malicious Trojan?

But if I can't find and download the correct USB driver from some where, then if the good pc doesn't
have a usb.sys file and if I instead copy the volsnap.sys file from the good pc to a CD and load it into the system32/drivers folder in the bad pc and restart XP will it likely then recognize the USB ports-since even if
that was a USB driver that got hit with a Trojan it still obviously still works fine as a USB driver in the good pc?

Please advise.

 

I am not sure about a wireless keyboard, some may not load until windows loads, I am using a usb connected keyboard and I can get to my setup by pressing F2

I do not have a storage drives folder in my device manager, I have a dell dimension 3000.

you do not have to burn the driver to a cd, you can just download to a flashdrive and then install from the flashdrive, once you find the correct driver then burn it to a cd if you choose.

a chipset driver has to be installed first, then video audio network and then any others you want.

https://www.helpdrivers.com/desktops/Dell/Retired_Models/Dimension_8300/

lots of 8300 drivers listed here, maybe you should download and install the driver reset tool.

but first uninstall the usb drivers from device manager and restart the pc then check to see if the usb ports are working

 

No, uninstalling all the USB ports and root hubs drivers and restarting didn’t get XP to recognize my flash drive.

About that driver website, why are all the driver descriptions blacked out there?

Is that because I'd first have to register there in order to look for the drivers I need?

And do I have to pay for the drivers?

What’s that “driver reset tool”? You said that I should download and install that first? But what does that do that uninstalling the USB drivers and restarting Windows didn’t do?

Is that because when I uninstalled the drivers that Windows may not have properly reloaded them?

If I try installing and launching that driver reset tool and it doesn’t help then what?

Do I then download and install ANY and ALL USB driver files?

 

I am not sure, the driver reset tool info is below, it is not blacked out on my pc
Description

Dell Driver Reset Tool, v. 1.02L (DiRT - External Zip) , A01
Information

Driver Reset Tool is an application that will scan the system for malfunctioning drivers and reset such drivers to the original drivers available in the system.
Operating System
Windows XP
Version
1.02L (DiRT - External Zip), A01
Size Driver
637.13 KB
File Name
r92578.exe
Date
15 Aug 2013

is the flash drive compatible with xp?

hopefully some of the other posters will help out, I have only had this issue once, and uninstalling fixed it. Not really sure what to do after that, do you have a tower, and are the usb ports in back and/or front both not working?

 

I guess because it's not an especially common problem others here have not chimed in.
https://www.xpforums.com/threads/usb-not-recognizing-usb-device.932855/ I did everything suggested at the thread I created at the Dell forum but of course that didn't work.

Yes, both of my Seagate USB HDD and the generic flash drive I was using have always worked fine with this pc.

BUT there is more that I can try here:

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/get-it-done-troubleshoot-usb-problems-in-windows-xp/

When Windows XP won’t recognize any USB device, regardless of which port it’s connected to, there is likely a BIOS or Windows configuration problem. On some computers there is a configuration option in the BIOS that asks whether an IRQ should be assigned to USB. Although the option’s actual wording varies among BIOS manufacturers, you must enable this option by setting it to either On or Yes (depending on your BIOS manufacturer and BIOS version). Otherwise no USB devices will work on XP.


AND I think more specifically I found this 8300 user with a similar problem

https://www.dell.com/community/Insp...-recognize-my-newer-USB-keyboard/td-p/7680220

who said to do this in the A07 BIOS:

This machines's BIOS is the most recent version A07, but also 2004. I am using a motherboard USB port, with only the bare minimum of peripherals connected.


The BIOS has a pair of USB settings, both of which are set to "On":
"USB Emulation" (On/Off/No Boot)
"USB Controller" (On/Off)

So i will make sure the BIOS has both ON too.

BINGO?? Using a public library computer none of that text was blacked out at
https://www.helpdrivers.com/desktops/Dell/Retired_Models/Dimension_8300/ I had no problem downloading
that driver reset tool to my Seagate HDD. Who knows why the text at that site was blacked out on my iphone.

Tomorrow or sometime this week I will use my sister's pc to burn it to and CD-RW and DVD-RW and to insure
a compatibility with the drive in the pc.

If checking none of the above settings fixes the problem then I will install that driver reset tool.

But other than that I don't see any actual USB drivers at that site.

 

no I did not either

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...ver-2008-725a5678-7e4f-2f2a-b0cd-763f2421ea8b

you could also try the above usb driver update from microsoft.

 

I went there but don't see anything like like that to download. Maybe you sent me the wrong link??

Meanwhile, I hope that driver reset tool that I just pasted to a Verbatim DVD +RW will get recognized by the Plextor drive in my bad pc; can't understand why it said that the Verbatim DVD-RW disc I had the at exe file on was "corrupted". It's practically a brand new drive and it plays DVD movies fine.

 

I did not see a download option either and windows xp cannot access the microsoft update catalog

one person fixed his by accessing the bios, see HERE, but you already stated that you cannot access your bios. so I am not sure where to go from here if the driver reset tool does not work.

 

No, I can access the BIOS fine but not with my USB wireless keyboard and mouse; only with PS2. And in the BIOS it showed that USB Emulation was ON. I'm going to the public library now to see if I can use that same drive to burn the reset tool on it-and also to a DVD-RAM disc I also have and which I think my Plextor drive supports. I think DVD-RAM discs are supposed to be a lot easier to burn to than practically any other optical media.

But I will also check out what that person did with his BIOS if the reset tool doesn't help.

 

okay, will keep checking back.

 

The fact that you're not able to get your USB keyboard to access BIOS is a bad sign - it's looking more and more like hardware failure rather than a driver issue. A screenshot of device manager from the bad PC would be helpful.

Also XP builds for both PC's (XP version/32bit/64bit/service pack etc.)

Is there a problem with your network that prevents you from copying files from good PC to bad PC via ethernet/WIFI?

 

I certainly wouldn't be using either pc online with their ancient hardware and running
XP, which presumably would be highly at risk for online viruses, spyware, et al. Nor do I have any kind of LAN where both pcs could share data. I am using both pcs strictly as redundant file backup.


My 12 year old Sony laptop died when the system drive had audible hardware crash a few months ago, just as I was beginning plans to build a desktop HTPC to replace it. I'm nearly done now; just have to decide on the video card. https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,132831.0.html

That pc will also have a Xeon cpu and ECC RAM-as will the server to be built immediately afterwards, which will then become my primary backup system.

But even before that crash my only internet connection was via iphone, where I would USB tether it to my laptop. I have no TV cable TV or streaming service, so I have no modem or router.

Will be loading that USB driver reset tool tonight, but as you say about not being able to access the BIOS via my USB keyboard, I won't be expecting success.

I can supply XP build info for both PC's (XP version/32bit/64bit/service pack etc.). And I can try doing a screenshot of Device Manager, save it to an MSWord file, burn it to a DVD-RW and then use my office computer to upload it here. But i don't see an icon anywhere here for uploading the Word file.

 

bottom right of post, next to post reply, upload a file and more options,

 

I didn't realize you had no internet or LAN. Ugh. Having to rely on optical media is awful. I have PTSD from the times I've burned CDs/DVDs that worked perfectly in one computer but refused to be recognized in another, Then there was the DVD-R/DVD+R and the confusion with that. What a godsend USB flash drives were. No more coasters/wasted time especially when bootable USB support was added to computers. I no longer have any blank DVDs or CDs and if anyone asks me to burn something for them the answer is a hard NO. USB flash drives or cloud storage. OK that's the end of my rant.

I have something you could try to help you determine whether it's your hardware or Windows drivers. Slax. It is a bootable ISO that loads a tiny version of Linux that runs in RAM, no install required. I just booted my Compaq V2000 laptop which as 512 MB ram with it.

Download the ISO (191 MB so it will easily fit on a CDR) and burn it at the slowest speed possible to ensure maximum compatibility.

https://ftp.sh.cvut.cz/slax/Slax-11.x/slax-32bit-11.3.0.iso

Boot from the CD and you should see the following screen:



Select the first option and wait a bit since loading from optical media is much slower than a hard disk and you should eventually see the Linux KDE desktop:

Once Slax is finished loading plug in one of your USB flash drives and you should see a popup like this:



If you click on open in new window and are able to view the contents of your flash drive you will have narrowed it down to Windows drivers issues. If you don't see anything then it's probably time to put that computer to pasture.

Before I had a LAN and wanted to transfer files between 2 computers I used an ethernet cross-over cable.

https://wiringschemas.blogspot.com/2019/08/crossover-cable-make-ethernet-rj45.html

This allowed me to directly connect 2 computers via their ethernet without a switch, router or hub. I would then setup ftp server on one PC and ftp client on the other. You could also use Windows networking to share/transfer files. Much better than optical media. You will need a crimper tool to make your own. If you don't have one Amazon/Ebay sell pre-made ethernet crossover cables in varying lengths.

 

Both good and bad pc's have the same OS: Windows XP Pro, SP2, Version 5.1.2600,
Build 2600. Both pc's have a c:\windows\system32 folder, so I assume both are 32 bit systems.

Please see the NOTE on both pages of the uploaded file.

 

Thanks, and it's a great and simple tool; they're always the best kind. However, even if the tool shows that the pc's USB hardware is good then the fault points to the Windows USB drivers as the problem. But if the drivers are damaged and need to be replaced they seem no where to be found, neither here
https://www.helpdrivers.com/desktops/Dell/Retired_Models/Dimension_8300/ or at the Dell support page for my pc's service tag #, or anywhere else at the Dell support site. And when calling Dell support I was told that as XP support has long ago ended they no longer have those drivers.

I'd gladly run this tool but shouldn't we first try to determine if the driver's on the pc are damaged, or at least if they are, in fact, accessible to Device Manager and/or Hardware Wizard?

 

Process of elimination. Your PC symptoms point to either hardware or software failure. If it's a hardware failure you are wasting your time trying to install drivers. At the minimum device manager in the bad PC should show a bunch of unknown devices where the drivers were missing (you didn't include screenshot of bad PC's device manager so I'm left scratching my head).