Why is the USB socket not working? How to disable or enable USB ports in Windows

13.06.2024

Hello, dear readers! Every time you start the computer, all devices installed in the computer are initialized, data about drivers and various utilities is read. But sometimes there comes a time when a device connected to a personal computer is not detected by the operating system.

It is at this point that we have an anxious moment and wonder why does not workUSBport? What exactly is the matter and what needs to be done to make the port work? In the end, as they say, there is a way out. But first, let's figure out how everything works and what the essence of this material is.

So, many of us use the USB port constantly when working on a computer, as if it is impossible to do without it, although in fact it is so. In computers, as you know, USB ports are present not only on the front panel, but they can also be seen on the front panel of the system unit case, for example in the card reader.

So, at present, the USB port is the heart of the system, so to speak, the exchange of information that can be transferred at any time to the PC system available at that time. I am already silent about the fact that using ports it is possible to enter data into a computer (mouse, keyboard). The location of ports on a personal PC is always different; it is worth adding that in advanced systems and gaming platforms, additional USB ports are installed.

As always, as it usually happens, one fine day a moment comes when the USB port does not work, that is, the USB port simply hangs, glitches, is not detected by the system, or rather, it does not work correctly. In today’s article, I suggest you consider the reasons, as well as solutions, for a non-working USB port.

We wonder why the USB port does not work?

Firstly, if when you connect a flash drive to a computer or some other equipment, the port does not work quite correctly or the device connected to the computer is not detected by the system at all, then in this case you should make sure that the controller on the PC motherboard is turned on .

Quite often, users forget to turn on the USB controller. It seems like a simple, but still common problem when the user starts the PC, but the device is not detected. It is possible to fix everything here; to do this, you need to go into the BIOS and enable the appropriate parameter. By the way, if you don’t know what a BIOS is, then I recommend that you definitely read the article

So, go to the BIOS and find the item “Integrated Peripherals - this applies to Award BIOS”, or to Ami BIOS - Advanced”.

Next, press “Enter” and go to “Onboard Devices Configuration” and make sure that the “USB Function” and “USB 2.0 Controller” items are in the “Enabled” position. If everything is so, then everything is included. Otherwise, the parameter can be turned OFF, position “Disabled”. If the option is disabled, you should enable it. Next, save the changes, then reboot the PC system and check the functionality of the USB port. Be sure to check whether the USB ports on the front panel of the system unit are connected to the motherboard itself using the so-called connector.

If the port still doesn’t work, then we move on.

Secondly, or maybe the problem is that the port is not working and is completely hidden in the USB extension cable? For example, there are situations when the computer does not recognize a peripheral device (printer), for the simple reason that the USB cable itself is simply damaged. The reason for cable damage can be very varied, for example, you accidentally placed a chair on the cable or some heavy object and simply pinched it. Therefore, do not be lazy to check the cable itself.

Third, it is quite rare to encounter such a problem when the USB port does not have enough power. I will give you a specific example. Imagine that you have connected a flash drive and a printer to the front of the system unit case in the USB connector. As a result, the operating system, when sending data for printing, informs us that the document could not be printed. In general, your computer simply does not see the printer. And if you restart the computer, the printer is detected by the system, and you can easily print a document. However, after a while, the computer again loses connection to the printer and the printer does not print. Do you know why?

This seemingly trivial problem at first glance is due to the fact that there is a lack of power for the USB port. As a result, the USB port refuses to function properly. Basically, such an incident associated with a lack of power occurs when connecting several devices to the front panel of USB ports.

Of course, not always, but such situations still occur. These USB ports are connected to the motherboard using a cable. In addition to transmitting data, this cable also powers the USB hubs themselves. It is possible that the power supplied simultaneously to two devices connected to the USB hub may not be sufficient. In this case, I can recommend that you connect the printer to the built-in USB port, which is located on the PC motherboard.

You can also change the CMOS battery on the board. It happens that the problem completely disappears after replacing the battery on the motherboard. What kind of battery is this and where it is located, you can find out in this article:

In general, if you have does not workUSB port, which is located on the front panel of the system unit case, then try replacing the USB hub itself. Who knows, maybe it is the one that is faulty.

You can also try plugging the cable into another USB connector on the motherboard.

Fourth, if the USB port controller, which is responsible for identifying and starting the device itself, has failed, then things are, of course, bad. There is, of course, the opportunity to take and re-solder the controller itself on the motherboard, but this takes time, you need to have the controller itself, and, of course, the soldering station itself. From a time-cost point of view, it is not entirely advisable. Another option is to entrust it to specialists, although this also has its pitfalls, price, quality of work, as well as the competence of the specialist who specifically works on this problem.

Fifthly, peripheral and mobile devices may not be recognized on your computer due to the lack of drivers and special software. It cannot be ruled out that if you have been using your operating system for quite a long time and the system has not been updated at all, and in general the Windows build is not the original version, then in this case it may be that the drivers are considered outdated and therefore in the system Freezes happen all the time.

Sometimes Windows disables the USB hub altogether to save power. To prevent the USB device from being disconnected, you will need to do the following.

Open “Device Manager” by right-clicking on the “Computer” shortcut and selecting “Properties”.

After the Device Manager window has opened, double-click with the left mouse button on “USB Controllers” and expand the branch.

Now all you have to do is go to the root USB hub and in the “Power Management” section uncheck the box, as shown in the figure below.

At sixth, sometimes reinstalling the operating system helps fix the problem when does not workUSBport. Although, of course, first try to roll back the system to its previous state. Here is an article that will tell you how to do this:

Seventh, perhaps there is some faulty equipment in your system, which actually serves as an obstacle to the normal operation of the USB port.

This problem is very relevant in our time. After all, quite often users directly encounter this. So, there is a solution. USB ports on a computer may become stuck, contacts may short out, and many other additional problems may occur when working on a computer.

We find a way out of our situation, check all devices for connection and disconnection. You will need to disconnect all devices and connect one at a time, for example, connect the keyboard first and see if it works, then connect the next device, let it be a mouse and so on. Connect additional USB devices, if they don’t work, then the problem is solved or you need to look in peripheral devices, maybe there’s something shorting there, but who knows.

Eighth, they completely forgot to enable the serial bus controller in the device manager. There are times when you don’t pay attention to the operation of USB devices, turn on the computer, download music, listen and enjoy new works of art. True, everything comes unexpectedly, suddenly you need a USB device, and then there is silence, it doesn’t work. The thought immediately comes to mind, maybe the controller is not turned on, let me take it and check, it is so.

Every PC has a device manager that shows which devices are connected, whether all drivers are installed and updates made.

In general, I think that you probably already know that if any driver is missing, the system automatically marks it with a yellow exclamation mark, this means a malfunction, as a result, with two clicks of the mouse you open an additional window, information about the code is displayed here malfunction and the possibility of its restoration.

Ninth, if all of the above methods did not give a positive result, then I recommend that you install a USB PC controller on the motherboard.

If your computer has a low-power power supply, for example 300 W, then it is likely that the cause of all the troubles is hidden in it, install a more powerful power supply, say 500 W, and check if the USB ports are working.

Concluding today's article, I would like to say that it is not always possible to easily find the culprit of all problems, sometimes it is not enough to simply reinstall Windows to find out what really happened.

If there are no drivers for serial bus controllers and the controllers themselves are marked with an exclamation mark, in this case you should either install drivers for the controller, or you can remove all controllers and restart the computer. After the computer boots, the system will try to install them again, and perhaps all USB ports will work properly again.

So, to summarize today’s article, we can only note that if the USB port on the computer does not work, then the cause of all the troubles may lie in both hardware and software. In general, I have said everything I wanted to tell you about today.

How do you like today’s article and what can you add to everything said above? In the next issue you will find out =>

Probably, many users, when connecting a flash drive or other peripheral device, have encountered a problem when the computer does not see them. Opinions on this matter may vary, but provided that the devices are in working order, most likely the problem is the USB port. Of course, additional sockets are provided for such cases, but this does not mean that the problem does not need to be solved.

You don't have to be a computer genius to perform the actions described in this article. Some of them will turn out to be completely banal, others will require some effort. But, in general, everything will be simple and clear.

Method 1: Checking port status

The first cause of malfunctioning ports on a computer may be that they are clogged. This happens quite often because there are usually no plugs for them. You can clean them with a thin, long object, such as a wooden toothpick.

Most peripheral devices are not connected directly, but via a cable. It is this that can interfere with data transmission and power supply. To check this you will have to use another cord that is known to work.

Another option is a breakdown of the port itself. It should be excluded before performing the actions described below. To do this, you need to insert the device into the USB socket and slightly shake it in different directions. If it sits loosely and moves too easily, then most likely the cause of the port's inoperability is physical damage. And only replacing it will help here.

The simplest, most popular and one of the most effective methods for troubleshooting all kinds of computer problems is to reboot the system. During this process, the memory, processor, controllers, and peripherals are given a reset command and, when executed, are returned to their original states. Hardware, including USB ports, are rescanned by the operating system, which can make them work again.

Method 3: BIOS Setup

Sometimes the reason lies in the motherboard settings. Its input and output system (BIOS) is also capable of enabling and disabling ports. In this case, you need to go into the BIOS ( Delete, F2, Esc and other keys), select a tab "Advanced" and go to point "USB Configuration". Inscription "Enabled" means the ports are enabled.

Method 4: Updating the Controller

If the previous methods did not bring a positive result, updating the port configuration may be a solution to the problem. To do this you need:

The absence of such a device in the list may cause a malfunction. In this case, it is worth updating the configuration of all "USB controllers".

Method 5: Removing the controller

Another option involves deleting "host controllers". You just need to take into account that in this case the devices (mouse, keyboard, etc.) connected to the corresponding ports will stop working. This is done as follows:

In principle, everything will be restored after updating the equipment configuration, which can be done through the tab "Action" V "Device Manager". But it will be more effective to restart the computer and, perhaps, after automatically reinstalling the drivers, the problem will be solved.

Method 6: Windows Registry

The last option involves making certain changes to the system registry. You can perform this task as follows:

File "Start" may not exist at the specified address, which means it will have to be created. To do this you need:

All the methods described above really work. They were tested by users whose USB ports once stopped functioning.

If the USB ports on your PC are not working, and Windows settings and driver updates do not help, the controller may have been disabled in the BIOS. In this case, you will need to go to the configuration menu and turn everything back on.

There are many different versions BIOS with its own interfaces and subtleties of operation. Also, a more modern complex can work on your computer - UEFI, which supports a full GUI interface. This article discusses the distributions that are most often installed on motherboards.

Entering BIOS settings

To start changing the configuration, you need to go to the corresponding menu. It can be opened when the personal computer is turned on - before Windows starts loading from the hard drive.

Turn on your PC. In case it is already running: reboot. Wait for the speaker to beep: a short, single beep indicates that all internal components necessary for the computer to function have been detected.

Now you need to click hotkey to call the configuration. This must be done before changing the screen. If you don't have time and Windows starts loading, reboot. The keys depend on the model of the installed motherboard and the BIOS firmware version. You can find it in the user manual that came with the motherboard, on the manufacturer’s official website, or view on your PC screen when loading it:

If you don't know the board model, it's okay. Just try pressing the following keys: Tab, Delete, Esc, F1, F2, F8, F10, F11, F12. One of them will definitely do.

You don't have to try just 1 option at a time. You can quickly press all the buttons from the list without any problems. One of them will come up and launch the BIOS settings, and the rest will be ignored.

Entering the BIOS/UEFI settings of the latest PCs

Many modern computers boot up so quickly that you won't be able to access the keystrokes when you turn them on. This is also true for laptops. Therefore, the latest versions of Windows OS have acquired a new launch feature. Let's show it using Windows 8.1 as an example.

Your computer or laptop will reboot into setup mode. After restarting your PC, you will also be able to select option to run from a USB drive or DVD.

Menu navigation

Almost all BIOS versions do not have a graphical interface. This means that you will have to work only using the keyboard, like in the Windows console. Navigation is carried out using the up-down and right-left arrows. To open any section, use the Enter key to go back - “Escape”. A small reminder of the keys used is always shown on the screen.

Firmware complex UEFI installed on the most expensive and powerful motherboards. It supports more drivers and can use a mouse. Its interface will be familiar to users of Windows and other modern operating systems.

Each version has its own interface and sets of options. Even the names of the same parameters may differ. The following article describes several popular BIOS releases.

AMI BIOS

A very common option that can be found on many modern computers. The main menu is divided into 2 parts: a list of categories and various actions, such as exit or save. You will be working on the left side.

You need to go to the section called “ Integrated Peripherals" There is no Russian version of the interface, so all commands are only in English. Use the Down arrow to highlight this item and press Enter.

Here you need to enable ( Enabled) 4 options:

USB EHCI controller– main controller. If the motherboard has version 3.0 ports, this item will be divided into 2 parts: “Controller” and “Controller 2.0”;
USB Keyboard Support– keyboard support;
USB Mouse Support– mouse support;
– work with external data storage: flash drives, disk drives, smartphones and digital cameras.

In some older versions there are only 2 points " USB controller" And " Legacy USB storage support».

When you're done with the settings, press the F10 key to save your changes and restart your computer.

Phoenix AwardBIOS

Another popular version that can often be found on modern laptops. It does not have a main page like AMI, but is equipped with convenient thematic bookmarks at the top. You can move between sections using the left and right arrows, and between items using the up and down arrows.

Go to the section " Advanced» using the Right arrow. In it, find the category “ USB configuration" All items in this section must be moved to the position “ Enabled" In some versions the category " USB configuration" may be located in the " tab Peripherals" and not in "Advanced".

To exit the menu, press F10 and confirm exit.

AMI BIOS for Asus

Version of AMI used on Asus laptops. Externally it is very similar to Phoenix - a similar bookmarks bar. Settings USB are in the section " Advanced" Go there, enable all options and exit using the F10 button.

UEFI

Contrary to popular belief, UEFI is not part of the BIOS. It can rather be called a more advanced, but less popular competitor. There are a large number of different versions, each with their own interfaces. However, here the controls are similar to the usual Windows, so you can easily find the options you need.

Windows Settings

If at the BIOS level all ports and controllers are enabled, but the USB ports still do not work, there may be a problem in the settings of your Windows system.

First, just try disconnect and reconnect the device. This will check if the drivers are correct. If there's something wrong with them, Windows will try to reinstall them.

If nothing happens when you reconnect, try turn on the controller in the Windows registry. To do this you need to do the following:

Video: how to configure any BIOS to boot from a USB flash drive

Immediately after installing the Windows 7 operating system, some users notice that the USB ports on their computer do not work. Let's figure out what actions need to be taken to be able to connect devices to a PC using the above protocol.

Let us immediately note that this article will talk about a specific problem after installing, reinstalling or updating Windows 7, that is, about a situation where before installing the operating system everything worked fine, but after performing the specified procedures, it stopped functioning. We will not dwell on other possible malfunctions related to the fact that the computer does not see USB devices. A separate lesson is devoted to this problem on the site.

The problem we are studying has two main causes:

Lack of necessary drivers;
Incorrect entries in the system registry (after upgrading Vista to Windows 7).

Method 1: USB Oblivion

This solution is suitable just in case you upgraded to Windows 7 from an earlier operating system. In this case, entries in the system registry about previous connections of USB devices may be saved, which will be incorrect in the updated OS, which will lead to problems with further connection attempts. In this case, all records of previous connections must be deleted. The easiest way to do this is using the USB Oblivion utility, which is precisely intended for this purpose.

Method 2: Microsoft USB Troubleshooter

Microsoft has its own USB troubleshooter. Unlike the previous utility, it can help not only after installing the operating system, but also in many other cases.

Method 3: DriverPack Solution

After installing Windows 7, it is possible that your computer will not be able to receive and transmit data via the USB protocol due to the lack of necessary drivers. This situation is especially common if USB 3.0 connectors are installed on a desktop PC or laptop. The fact is that Windows 7 was developed even before this standard began to be widely implemented. For this reason, the basic version of the said OS does not contain the necessary drivers immediately after installation. In this case, they need to be installed.

The easiest way to solve this problem is if you have a disk with the necessary drivers. In this case, you just need to insert it into the drive and extract the contents to your computer using the prompts that appear. The functionality of the USB ports will be restored. But what to do if you don’t have the required disk at hand? We will consider the actions that need to be taken in this situation below.

The easiest way to solve the problem is with the help of tools designed to find and install the missing drivers on your computer. One of the best applications in this class is .

Launch the program. When activated, it will simultaneously scan the system for connected devices and detect missing drivers.

Click on the button "Set up your computer automatically".

After this, the program itself will create a restore point in case an error is made during the setup process or you simply want to roll back to the old settings in the future.

After this, the procedure for installing drivers and configuring some PC parameters will be performed.

After the procedure is completed, a message will appear that all the necessary settings have been completed and the missing drivers have been installed.

Now you need to restart your PC. Click "Start". Next, click on the triangular icon located on the right side of the button "To finish work". Click.

After restarting, you can check whether the USB ports are working or not.

Method 4: Manually installing drivers

The necessary drivers can also be installed without installing additional software to search for them. But this will require a little more tinkering.

Click "Start". Sign in "Control Panel".

Go to "System and safety".

In the list of tools "System" click on the item "Device Manager".

The interface will be displayed "Device Manager". The shell that opens will present a list of different types of devices that are currently connected to your desktop computer or laptop. Click on the group name "USB Controllers".

A list of elements will open. You need to find one of the following names in the list:
- Generic USB Hub;
- USB root hub;
- USB Root Controller.
These are the port types. The list will most likely have one of these names, but it may appear multiple times depending on the number of USB outputs on your computer. Despite this, it is enough to perform the procedure described below with one of the identical elements, since drivers will be installed on the computer for all ports of the same type. If there are several different names of elements from the above list, then for each of them you will have to perform manipulations separately.

So, right click ( RMB) by element name and select from the list "Properties".

A window will open in which you need to click on the name of the tab "Intelligence".

After that in the field "Properties" select an option from the drop-down list "Equipment ID". In area "Meaning" The device ID will be displayed, that is, in our case, the USB port.

This data must be saved. They can be written down or copied. To do the second option, just click RMB by area content "Meaning" and select from the menu "Copy".

Attention! The main thing is that after this, do not copy any more data until the operation to find the necessary drivers is completely completed. Otherwise you will simply replace the information in "Clipboard" about driver IDs with new data. If you still need to copy something else during the procedure, then first paste the data from the equipment properties window into "Notebook" or any other text editor. This way, if necessary, you can quickly copy them again.
Now you can proceed directly to searching for the necessary drivers. Open your browser and go to one of the popular ones - DevID or DevID DriverPack. You need to enter the data that you copied in advance into the search field of the site and click on the button that starts the search.

After this, the search results will open. Select the option that matches your operating system (in our case, Windows 7) and its bitness (32 or 64 bit), and then click on it.

If you use the DevID DriverPack service, you will need to specify the OS name and bit depth there before you start the search.

After you have gone to the driver page, download it, unpack it from the archive if necessary, and run it on your computer, following the prompts that will be displayed on the monitor. After restarting the PC, the problematic USB ports should work. If this does not happen, then look for the origins of the problem in incorrect registry entries, as described above.

There is another option for downloading the necessary drivers - do it from the official website of the manufacturer of USB controllers that are installed on your PC. But in this case, you must definitely find out the address of this Internet resource, as well as the exact name of the controller model.

There are two main reasons why USB ports may not work after installing Windows 7, although before that they functioned normally. Firstly, these are incorrect entries in the system registry left over from the old OS, and secondly, the lack of necessary drivers. Each of these problems can be solved in several ways, which we described in detail in this article. So, after reading the material, users can independently choose the most convenient and acceptable course of action for them.

This article is devoted to the question of how to enable USB support in the BIOS. As it turns out, not all users know that the Universal Serial Bus functions (in the Russian interpretation - “Universal Serial Bus”) can be enabled and configured through BIOS Setup. We will not focus on the circumstances due to which you may need this operation - they may be different. For example, you find that the USB devices on your computer are running slower than they should, and you want to check whether your computer's BIOS supports the latest version of this bus standard.

First, enter BIOS Setup when booting your computer and laptop. A separate article was devoted to how to do this on our website. It is worth noting, however, that the BIOS section with USB functions is not always obvious to the user. In addition, different BIOS manufacturers in different versions may have bus management functions located in different sections. This could be the Advanced, Integrated Peripherals, Onboard Devices, etc. sections.

It may, of course, happen that there is simply no section for setting up USB functions in the BIOS of your laptop or desktop computer. This situation can most often occur in laptops, in which the number of options available to the user is not very large at all. In the BIOS of my HP netbook, for example, I did not find such an option, no matter how hard I looked. Well, that means it’s not fate...

Setting USB options in BIOS

The number and range of USB features you can adjust in the BIOS can also vary greatly depending on the version. Often in Setup you can install support for a USB mouse and keyboard, and attached external drives. You can also disable/enable the ability to connect USB devices altogether or enable support for a specific version, for example, USB 2.0.

List of the most common USB options (may have different names in different BIOS versions):

USB Function – enable/disable the Universal Serial Bus controller
USB 2.0 Controller Mode – switching the USB 2.0 controller to 1.1 mode and back
Assign IRQ For USB – assign IRQ to USB devices
USB Speed – setting the speed of the USB bus
– USB keyboard and mouse support
USB Storage Support – support for external drives on this bus
Emulation Type – setting USB drive emulation modes

Once you have set the option you need, be sure to save it by selecting the BIOS Setup “Exit and Save Changes” option to restart your computer.

When setting USB parameters in the BIOS, however, you should remember that their incorrect setting can lead to the inoperability of any devices permanently connected to the universal serial bus, such as a keyboard or mouse.

Conclusion

In this article, you learned how to enable USB support, as well as set USB options in the BIOS of your computer or laptop. As a rule, this operation is quite simple and will not take you much time.