USB failing and preventing PC from booting properly

[GabrielK]

I've been experiencing some strange issue regarding the USB slots on my PC. Whenever i use certain USB slots, my PC will stop booting. The PC boots, and all the fans are running etc, but i only get a black screen, i don't even get a startup screen to get to BIOS or anything, it's completely black. In order to get my PC to start working again, i have to unplug ALL the cables from the PC, hit the power button 2-3 times, re-plug all the cables except the ones that use USB ports, and start the PC. After that, i can try to plug back my mouse and keyboard into the PC again, however if i use any malfunctioning USB slots, the mouse/keyboard will either not work or completely crash the PC to the point where i have to unplug everything again. Also the next time i turn off my PC there's a chance for another USB to stop working.

about two weeks ago i had 2/4 USB ports working on the backside of my computer, a week later it was 1/4, and today it happened again, so 0/4 USBs works on the backside of the PC. I'm now using the front panel.

I don't have another motherboard or power supply to swap out, so i was hoping someone here would maybe know if there's any other solution i could try before doing that.

Best
Gabriel

 

[mrjimphelps]

You could install a USB card, giving you some additional USB ports. This would be your cheapest and easiest option.

Here is an example of a USB card:
https://www.amazon.com/SupaHub-Expr...22416230&sr=8-8&keywords=usb+card+pci+express

This card will work as long as you have a PCI-Express slot available on your motherboard. For $16, you are good to go.

MAKE SURE YOU HANG ON TO THE DRIVERS DISK THAT IS INCLUDED WITH THE CARD! This is a USB3 card, but USB3 doesn't work with Windows 7 unless you have the drivers for it. It is possible you will need the drivers in the future.

Note the power cable. You will need to plug in one of the power connectors from your computer's power supply. A SATA connector will plug directly in; a molex connector will require the adapter cable that is pictured. This will provide power to the USB ports.

 

[GabrielK]

Hi mrjimphelps, thank you for your reply.

Other than getting a USB card, is there anything else that is causing my USB ports to fail? It feels odd to me that my USB ports just die like that. I can understand that they might stop working, but why do they prevent my PC from booting at all, not even to the BIOS screen?

 

[mrjimphelps]

You could go into Device Manager and uninstall those USB listings that have the error triangle next to them; then right click on the top item and choose "Scan for hardware changes", or something like that.

But the fact that the problem has increased over time tells me that there is a USB hardware problem, which won't be fixed by uninstalling/reinstalling the driver.

The random and varied types of problems you are seeing on the computer suggests another possibility -- your CMOS battery may be dead. This is not a very likely possibility, but if it has been a long time since you have replaced your CMOS battery, you might solve this stuff by replacing the CMOS battery. Additionally, the fact that you remove all power from the computer, including the CMOS battery, and then wait 10 minutes or more before putting power back on the computer, will totally reset the computer. That alone (resetting the computer) might fix these problems.

 

[GabrielK]

I've never changed a CMOS battery and i've had the current one for about 6-7 years, i will try doing that. However, what do you mean by it will totally reset the computer? Are we talking BIOS settings or settings in windows as well?

I'll also try to reinstall the USB's with the triangle on them, i found one of them in the device manager under "other devices".

If none of this works, is my only option in the end to replace the motherboard?

 

[mrjimphelps]

What I mean by 'total reset of the computer' is that you will need to go into the BIOS and reset the date and time, as well as any BIOS passwords that were set, if any. I don't believe any other settings are affected. Also, all of the circuitry in the motherboard, etc., is totally drained of all power, so if any corrupted information is retained in any chip, all of that will be flushed out by resetting the computer in this way. This is what I mean when I say that resetting the computer could fix the problems you are seeing, because it is possible that there is some corrupted information in a chip causing at least some of the problems.

Since you haven't replaced the CMOS battery in 6-7 years, you need to do that. And hopefully you will get lucky and the problems will be fixed.

I doubt you'll need to replace your motherboard. You could install the card I linked to above, or one similar to it.

 

[GabrielK]

Alright thanks, i will get to it in the upcoming week and return with an update!