USB ports still dead after doing linked tutorial & driver updates

[Vineet Garg]

Good efforts, good analysis & good stuff!

1. I always waited for something to be said about USB 2.0 and/or USB 3.0 ports in the different diagnostics we have run so far. Even if USB 3.0 are dead, nothing was ever said about the well working USB 2.0 port! Did the diagnostics detect & mentioned USB 3.0 and/or USB 2.0 port somewhere ? I fear they have not been considered & tested at all. Do we need to insert some device in the ports to be considered for the testing ? It should not be the case & tests should interactively suggest inserting a device if that is the case!

2.
(a) Do not use any type of cleaning solution, water or even a damp cloth. Disconnect the USB device and the cable before using the can of compressed air to clean the ports and connectors.
Only 'compressed air can' to be used for cleaning USB ports & pc internals, not even vacuum cleaner.

(b) Don't open the laptop, It may complicate the things. Take it to a recognized/registered service center if you suspect any internal damage.

3. Edit Soon!

((( As you are doing things with your laptop, it is right time to note down the retail win 7 key which should be on a sticker somewhere on the laptop body. Note it down before it gets erased. It's in the format : xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx having alphanumeric characters.
Don't share it with anyone. You can enter & verify the key here :
https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/software-download/windows7
You may be lucky enough to have two licenses for the windows 7 edition : OEM (USED) & Retail (Unused)! )))

Thanks & Regards. ...

 

[Vineet Garg]

To be Contd. ...

3. BIOS,etc.
(a) Again hibernate your computer for 2-3 times & check the things. If it is so every time/frequently ? It may be hibernate specific.
(b) You said you have seen the BSOD screen earlier also but the reason may be totally different. I had two BSODs last year with a gap around fortnight. They were totally different, unrelated & never came back. So, its essential to focus when BSODs occur repeatedly and we should try to relate the message & error codes.
(c) If it repeats frequently, we should contact Dell & let them know about it. I think they stop supporting a laptop after five years of product life but enthusiasm can make them answer & help. After all its a qualitative aspect/deficiency which is unrelated to the life of pc.
(d) Previously, we had a look at BIOS driver version & its the latest. Did you install it knowingly ? Sometimes a power outage or other interruptions/corruptions in the middle of the BIOS driver install or saving settings, corrupts BIOS. Did you ever have that knowingly ?
Installing the newest of BIOS is not always good & we may need to revert back to an older version. Dell seems the only authentic source to advise such things.
(e) Strangely there are two types of BIOS driver available for your laptop ? Dell should know about it! I would also look into that.
(f) The link you shared is very informative. It says that apart from an installation, a new device install may also create same problem. Do you remember you shared that a device gets installed & uninstalled again & again in a Dell Utility history. Some driver naming 'pci.sys'. In such situation, i think there are chances that an OS corruption is doing all the thing instead of a BIOS problem.
(g) BIOS is abbreviation for 'Basic Input & Output System'. One can easily check a device out of the OS as we did by booting into the win10 installation media & pre boot diagnostics.
To check a device out of a BIOS, one would need to change the system/pc. One would need to take the USB port functionality out of your laptop & try to use it with some other pc. The pc should have a motherboard (mobo) /BIOS compatible with the USB functionality.
It is all about right testing though i have seen people changing the whole mobo for no reason/ with no gains lol!

Let me know.

Thanks & Regards. ...

 

[AdgeTimick]

Good efforts, good analysis & good stuff!

1. I always waited for something to be said about USB 2.0 and/or USB 3.0 ports in the different diagnostics we have run so far. Even if USB 3.0 are dead, nothing was ever said about the well working USB 2.0 port! Did the diagnostics detect & mentioned USB 3.0 and/or USB 2.0 port somewhere ? I fear they have not been considered & tested at all. Do we need to insert some device in the ports to be considered for the testing ? It should not be the case & tests should interactively suggest inserting a device if that is the case!

1) I'm not sure whether devices need to be inserted during the test, but I never received an interactive suggestion to insert a device. It is confusing that nothing is ever said about the working USB 2.0 port. I tried another device in the USB 2.0 port (Edimax AC-1200 wireless network adapter) and that seems to work too, just like the Logitech Unifying Receiver has been working.

2.
(a) Do not use any type of cleaning solution, water or even a damp cloth. Disconnect the USB device and the cable before using the can of compressed air to clean the ports and connectors.
Only 'compressed air can' to be used for cleaning USB ports & pc internals, not even vacuum cleaner.

(b) Don't open the laptop, It may complicate the things. Take it to a recognized/registered service center if you suspect any internal damage.

2a) I have not used anything to clean the ports yet, cleaning solution or otherwise, but I will follow your advice of using compressed air ONLY.
b) I have not opened the laptop and will not do so. I do have some experience replacing hard drives in laptops before, but I haven't done that in this particular laptop. I've looked at the service guide for this laptop, and it sounds like a difficult process of taking things apart, so like I said, I'll leave it alone.

3. Edit Soon!

((( As you are doing things with your laptop, it is right time to note down the retail win 7 key which should be on a sticker somewhere on the laptop body. Note it down before it gets erased. It's in the format : xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx having alphanumeric characters.
Don't share it with anyone. You can enter & verify the key here :
https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/software-download/windows7
You may be lucky enough to have two licenses for the windows 7 edition : OEM (USED) & Retail (Unused)! )))

Thanks & Regards. ...

Is there somewhere else I can find the Windows 7 key other than on the sticker? Some of the numbers/letters are very difficult to read on my sticker. Please let me know when you can. Thank you.

 

[Vineet Garg]

Hi,
Greets,
Excellent, Keep the momentum going!
But I think you have not gone through my subsequent post where I talked about BSOD,BIOS,etc. Is it confusing ? The BSOD came back ?

1) Insert a pen drive ( with no important stuff) in USB 2.0 port, Boot into Preboot Diagnostics & check whether USB 2.0 or the connected pen drive appears in the test.
Repeat with USB 3.0 ports.
2) The things are critical when dealing with pc internals. Even a touch, just a soft touch, on a wrong point/circuit may make the things horrible. There are many things that come into play : Friction, Static Charge, Heat, Grounding,etc.
In the process, Laptops are further complicated than desktops.
3) Sorry, you would not get the key anywhere else. Keep in mind that they are printed in capital letters & either a numeric or alphabet. Try the key one after another on that Microsoft site & get the right key. Good Luck!
You can try a utility but that should give you the 'OEM' key for '' Dell : win 7 Home Premium 32/64'' which is ''6RBBT-F8VPQ-QCPVQ-KHRB8-RMV82''.
( You are having ''Win 7 Home Premium'' )
Try 'Produkey' portable from 'nirsoft' here : https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/produkey-x64.zip
( Some antivirus detect it as infected but it is all well )

Let me know.

Thanks & Regards. ...

 

[AdgeTimick]

To be Contd. ...

3. BIOS,etc.
(a) Again hibernate your computer for 2-3 times & check the things. If it is so every time/frequently ? It may be hibernate specific.
(b) You said you have seen the BSOD screen earlier also but the reason may be totally different. I had two BSODs last year with a gap around fortnight. They were totally different, unrelated & never came back. So, its essential to focus when BSODs occur repeatedly and we should try to relate the message & error codes.
(c) If it repeats frequently, we should contact Dell & let them know about it. I think they stop supporting a laptop after five years of product life but enthusiasm can make them answer & help. After all its a qualitative aspect/deficiency which is unrelated to the life of pc.
(d) Previously, we had a look at BIOS driver version & its the latest. Did you install it knowingly ? Sometimes a power outage or other interruptions/corruptions in the middle of the BIOS driver install or saving settings, corrupts BIOS. Did you ever have that knowingly ?
Installing the newest of BIOS is not always good & we may need to revert back to an older version. Dell seems the only authentic source to advise such things.
(e) Strangely there are two types of BIOS driver available for your laptop ? Dell should know about it! I would also look into that.
(f) The link you shared is very informative. It says that apart from an installation, a new device install may also create same problem. Do you remember you shared that a device gets installed & uninstalled again & again in a Dell Utility history. Some driver naming 'pci.sys'. In such situation, i think there are chances that an OS corruption is doing all the thing instead of a BIOS problem.
(g) BIOS is abbreviation for 'Basic Input & Output System'. One can easily check a device out of the OS as we did by booting into the win10 installation media & pre boot diagnostics.
To check a device out of a BIOS, one would need to change the system/pc. One would need to take the USB port functionality out of your laptop & try to use it with some other pc. The pc should have a motherboard (mobo) /BIOS compatible with the USB functionality.
It is all about right testing though i have seen people changing the whole mobo for no reason/ with no gains lol!

3a) I will try this and get back to you with an update shortly.
b) I'm pretty sure I've had a couple previous "BIOS is not ACPI compliant" BSOD notifications, as I remember searching for that message before to see what it meant. Is there a way to see the logs of previous BSOD codes? I am reviewing my "System History" in Dell Support Assist to look at the "Critical" System Events and "Warnings" about System Events. Is there any way to export this information from Support Assist so you can see it too?
c) I'm probably going to have to contact Dell to see if they can help with my Windows 7 key, so I'll let them know about the BSOD too. I am definitely out of warranty, but I'll beg them for some help.
d) I remember knowingly updating the BIOS version to A11 a while back, and there were no interruptions that I can recall.
e) Where does it say there are two different BIOS driver types? I will let Dell know but I want to be able to send them a link they can refer to.
f) I'm assuming if you think it's an OS corruption, that's why you asked about my Windows 7 key and you are thinking of having me reinstall it? I have my original Windows 7 installation CD still, and I seem to remember there being some "repair OS" options on it. Is that something we should look into while I'm trying to track down my product key?
g) I'm not sure what you're expressing here. How do you "check a device out of the OS"? Are there other words you can use to explain what that means? Is that like skipping BIOS and loading directly into Windows? And how do you take USB port functionality out of one laptop and "use it with some other pc"? Short of taking the USB port out of the laptop and putting it into another computer, I'm not sure what you're asking me to test here or how to test it.

Thanks,
A.J.

 

[Vineet Garg]

Hi,
Well done!
Sorry, I complicated the things. I try to clear & answer all one by one.

1. BSOD
(a) It's very essential to check whether hibernation is all the reason for BSOD.
(b) BSODs are never straight forward to understand. They often talk about a driver but ....!
Though in your case it's a little clearer & Dell should help with that. They actively provide & update support for a model for 5 years after launching the machine in the market. Besides, this is a qualitative aspect & no where related to pc life. Don't beg its your right!
Additionally, here is a dedicated sub forum for BSOD help & support. You can get some good advice there as well. I would try to help you interactively with what those genius ask for.
(d) You were talking about events & logs. I would like to point you towards the OS's in built 'Event Viewer' utility. You can widely get support for its error codes & messages than a Dell utility.
besides, I think Dell utility is just an hijack of that default utility.
(e) I still have to get those arrows in my armour! I have this link : gerrys template
( It talks about BSOD, Event Viewer & so many tricks/guides )

2. Windows 7 KEY & Activations : This was an EXTRA.
(a) Even Dell can't help you with the windows 7 key. Its the problem with win7 & earlier OS with all manufacturers. The product keys were printed only on the stickers & got erased with the time.
(b) You will no where find that key even with the Dell recovery OS/media.
(c) I am not intending a clean install at all. Instead it would be better to make a factory reset. That will bring your laptop/OS exactly in the condition when you bought it.
(d) No worries for activations! while trying factory reset or install from recovery OS/Media. It would be activated automatically with the 'Dell Win7 Home Premium oem license'
( Future : Once you make the factory reset & the OS is activated, backup that OEM activation. In case you plan a clean install with the original/retail win7 iso, you can use that backup to activate it )
(e) But you have lost an extra key! Why to give up so soon, try to make it out. The key should be in all capital letters or all small letters, with alphabets ( A to Z) & numericals ( 0 to 9) only.

3. The two type of BIOS drivers :

(a) Old Version : A 10 : Access Denied

New Version : A 11 : Access Denied

(b) Old Version : A 02 : Access Denied

New Version : A 03 : Access Denied

4. Confusions :
(a) We have already tested USB 2.0 & USB 3.0 ports out of the OS. We booted into Win 10 installation media. Consider win 10 Installation media as a small OS. There we used USB port drivers from win 10 installation media.
'Pre boot diagnostics' is also a mini os with special abilities & we tried to test USB ports there as well.
(b) One can never test anything out of the BIOS without changing the laptop. While we are booting in win 7 or Pre boot Diagnostics or win 10 or anything else, Laptop's BIOS & BIOS settings always come in play first.
(c) We are not able to take the USB port functionality out of the laptop and place & test it in another compatible laptop or pc. We can't open laptop & deal with its internals because it is not so simple.

5. I also asked you to insert a pen drive in the usb 2.0 port, boot into Pre-boot diagnostics & try to check USB port if it says something about USB port ??
Repeat with USB 3.0 ports.

6. USB 2.0 is working all fine from within the current win 7 installation ?

Let me know.

Thanks & Regards. ...

 

[AdgeTimick]

Please bear with me below as I am going to try to catch up with everything in one single post.

Hi,
Greets,
Excellent, Keep the momentum going!
But I think you have not gone through my subsequent post where I talked about BSOD,BIOS,etc. Is it confusing ? The BSOD came back ?

The BSOD has not come back as of yet. I will keep hibernating to test it (see below for a little more information).

1) Insert a pen drive ( with no important stuff) in USB 2.0 port, Boot into Preboot Diagnostics & check whether USB 2.0 or the connected pen drive appears in the test.
Repeat with USB 3.0 ports.

1) I have done this and the Preboot Diagnostics did not even mention there being a USB drive being attached to any of the USB ports, whether they were 2.0 or 3.0 ports. One note: I redid the Speccy analysis (within Windows 7 64bit) with a pen drive in all the USB ports, and Speccy only seems to register the drive as being plugged in when the drive is in the USB 2.0 port. Nothing comes up when it's plugged into either USB 3.0 port.

2) The things are critical when dealing with pc internals. Even a touch, just a soft touch, on a wrong point/circuit may make the things horrible. There are many things that come into play : Friction, Static Charge, Heat, Grounding,etc.

In the process, Laptops are further complicated than desktops.

2) I understand. I will not open the computer.

3) Sorry, you would not get the key anywhere else. Keep in mind that they are printed in capital letters & either a numeric or alphabet. Try the key one after another on that Microsoft site & get the right key. Good Luck!
You can try a utility but that should give you the 'OEM' key for '' Dell : win 7 Home Premium 32/64'' which is ''6RBBT-F8VPQ-QCPVQ-KHRB8-RMV82''.
( You are having ''Win 7 Home Premium'' )
Try 'Produkey' portable from 'nirsoft' here : https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/produkey-x64.zip
( Some antivirus detect it as infected but it is all well )

3) I contacted Microsoft to see what to do with the key since I tried about 60 variations on the key verification page you sent me, and none of them worked. Microsoft wanted to do a remote support and they tried to do a couple tests to obtain the key, but the tests did not work. They tried the "Command Prompt" and "PowerShell" methods listed here. When they were unable to get the key, they went ahead and entered a valid key one so I could download a 64bit Windows 7 ISO, which I did, but I don't think that helps the situation given you are thinking of a factory reset rather than a clean install as mentioned below.

Hi,
Well done!
Sorry, I complicated the things. I try to clear & answer all one by one.

1. BSOD
(a) It's very essential to check whether hibernation is all the reason for BSOD.
(b) BSODs are never straight forward to understand. They often talk about a driver but ....!
Though in your case it's a little clearer & Dell should help with that. They actively provide & update support for a model for 5 years after launching the machine in the market. Besides, this is a qualitative aspect & no where related to pc life. Don't beg its your right!
Additionally, here is a dedicated sub forum for BSOD help & support. You can get some good advice there as well. I would try to help you interactively with what those genius ask for.
d) You were talking about events & logs. I would like to point you towards the OS's in built 'Event Viewer' utility. You can widely get support for its error codes & messages than a Dell utility.
besides, I think Dell utility is just an hijack of that default utility.
(e) I still have to get those arrows in my armour! I have this link : gerrys template
( It talks about BSOD, Event Viewer & so many tricks/guides )

1a) I will keep trying the hibernation test. I think the BSOD only occurs when I hibernate for an extended period of time (like a day or two) without powering back up.
b) I have yet to contact Dell, but I will do so regarding the BSOD
c) Are you talking about the SevenForums BSOD subforum? If so, I will check that out once I have figured out the BSOD details.
d) I have heard of the Event Viewer utility but haven't used it much, so I will check out your link that you provided in section "e)" above.

2. Windows 7 KEY & Activations : This was an EXTRA.
(a) Even Dell can't help you with the windows 7 key. Its the problem with win7 & earlier OS with all manufacturers. The product keys were printed only on the stickers & got erased with the time.
(b) You will no where find that key even with the Dell recovery OS/media.
(c) I am not intending a clean install at all. Instead it would be better to make a factory reset. That will bring your laptop/OS exactly in the condition when you bought it.
d) No worries for activations! while trying factory reset or install from recovery OS/Media. It would be activated automatically with the 'Dell Win7 Home Premium oem license'
( Future : Once you make the factory reset & the OS is activated, backup that OEM activation. In case you plan a clean install with the original/retail win7 iso, you can use that backup to activate it )
(e) But you have lost an extra key! Why to give up so soon, try to make it out. The key should be in all capital letters or all small letters, with alphabets ( A to Z) & numericals ( 0 to 9) only.

2a & b) I understand. I was hoping Dell kept a record, but I guess they do not.
c) The factory reset does require the Windows 7 product key that I am unable to read or it does not require the product key I am unable to read?
d) FUTURE: When you say "backup that OEM activation" do you mean for me to just write the OEM activation key down and save it with my computer so that I have a backup of the product code? Or am I actually supposed to do a backup, like a system image?
e) I have not given up, but I have to wonder whether the product key validation site is actually working. I have a couple photos of my Windows 7 product key, one from a few days ago with a flash enabled on the camera and one from about four years ago without the flash enabled on the camera, but I am still not able to get anything but an error message from the Windows 7 product key verification site no matter what I enter. (I showed one of the pictures to the Microsoft Support tech while they were doing their remote tests. Should I not have done that? I saw you said not to share the key with anyone, but does that include technical support at Microsoft?) Additionally, I am considering trying this method of dabbing a small amount of acrylic paint on the sticker to see if I can get the letters to show up more clearly. What do you think?

3. The two type of BIOS drivers :

(a) Old Version : A 10 : Access Denied
New Version : A 11 : Access Denied

(b) Old Version : A 02 : Access Denied
New Version : A 03 : Access Denied

3 a & b) Okay, I was actually able to find this information myself yesterday after I posted asking you about it, but wouldn't the A11 be considered the newest version since it is newer than the A03? I am as confused as you as to why there are two versions. This is on my list of things to ask Dell about.

4. Confusions :
(a) We have already tested USB 2.0 & USB 3.0 ports out of the OS. We booted into Win 10 installation media. Consider win 10 Installation media as a small OS. There we used USB port drivers from win 10 installation media.
'Pre boot diagnostics' is also a mini os with special abilities & we tried to test USB ports there as well.
(b) One can never test anything out of the BIOS without changing the laptop. While we are booting in win 7 or Pre boot Diagnostics or win 10 or anything else, Laptop's BIOS & BIOS settings always come in play first.
(c) We are not able to take the USB port functionality out of the laptop and place & test it in another compatible laptop or pc. We can't open laptop & deal with its internals because it is not so simple.

4a) I remember doing the Win 10 installation media, so I understand about testing the ports out of the OS there. Pre-boot diagnostics don't seem to recognize the USB ports at all, as mentioned above.
b) So basically "out of the BIOS" means testing using another computer's BIOS? I am still confused on this point.
c) Also still confused here. I know we are not opening the computer up, but what exactly did you mean when you were talking about taking the USB functionality out of my laptop? Were you just mentioning a possibility of another test that we're not going to try for various reasons (it will complicate things and possibly damage the laptop further)?

5. I also asked you to insert a pen drive in the usb 2.0 port, boot into Pre-boot diagnostics & try to check USB port if it says something about USB port ??
Repeat with USB 3.0 ports.

5) This has been completed now. Results that the Pre-Boot Diagnostics did not say anything about USB ports are mentioned previously.

6. USB 2.0 is working all fine from within the current win 7 installation ?

6) As far as I can tell, the USB 2.0 is working within current Windows 7 installation. I haven't tested the port by connecting a larger USB external hard drive yet for fear of knocking out the USB 2.0 port functionality, but if you think I should try that to see if it works, please let me know. As of now, the USB 2.0 port recognizes an 8GB pen drive, a Edimax AC-1200 Wifi adapter, and my Logitech Unifying Receiver, so it seems to be working well.

 

[Vineet Garg]

Hi,
Good inputs again! (Thanks)
I am ready.
1. Need not dialing BSOD, it will come back when it wants
If its true source is BIOS Driver, it won't differ whatever you do with the OS. Whether you repair it, make system image restore, do a factory reset or make a clean install.
And if it is due to OS, it will solve with the OS. So, we have 'Birds in both hands'!
Let Dell know & suggest.
Yes, i was talking about the BSOD sub forum here @ SevenForums

2. I feel something is missing in between. USB 2.0 is working well & should have been detected in pre boot diagnostics. It should have detected the inserted pen drive as 'Removable Storage' or some other term.
I suspect some hardware problem with USB 3.0 ports & give only 2% chances to recover USB 3.0 ports anyway.
I am quite sure the USB 2.0 is all well.

3. I contacted Microsoft to see what to do with the key since I tried about 60 variations on the key verification page you sent me, and none of them worked. Microsoft wanted to do a remote support and they tried to do a couple tests to obtain the key, but the tests did not work. They tried the "Command Prompt" and "PowerShell" methods listed here. When they were unable to get the key, they went ahead and entered a valid key one so I could download a 64bit Windows 7 ISO, which I did, but I don't think that helps the situation given you are thinking of a factory reset rather than a clean install as mentioned below.

(a) In your case ( you are using OEM license ), you can't find that key except from the sticker.
Did you run Produkey ? you will get 6RBBT-F8VPQ-QCPVQ-KHRB8-RMV82.
(b) My only objective to point you to that MS site was to enter & verify your Retail key to recover it from the sticker.
All genuine/original downloads can be made here without the key : TechBench by WZT (v4.1.1)

4. I think the BSOD only occurs when I hibernate for an extended period of time (like a day or two) without powering back up
Keep an eye If hibernation is the problem. If it is so, i think when computer comes out of the hibernation, it needs some input from the BIOS where the driver is not working well.

5. I have heard of the Event Viewer utility but haven't used it much, so I will check out your link that you provided in section "e)" above.
That link talks about BSOD, Event Viewer & so many things.
( For any problem, Pros start with 'Event Viewer' )

6.
(a) Factory reset don't need the Retail key you are unable to read. Because it focus on activating OEM license & not a Retail license. It will be activated automatically.
(But you have lost an additional Retail License )
(b) OEM activation backup is totally different than a normal system image or backup. It is done with dedicated utilities like : 3 Tools to Backup and Restore Windows 7 and Vista OEM Activation License • Raymond.CC & DISM++
(c) I don't think sharing the product key should matter there but try to avoid!
(d) sorry. I don't know & can't say anything about 'acrylic paint method'

7. Wouldn't the A11 be considered the newest version since it is newer than the A03? I am as confused as you as to why there are two versions.
What you said is logical but still strange!
I saw on other manufacturers product support sites & always found a single BIOS section. Always all the releases were listed under the same section.
The three versions A 02 , A 03 & A 10 were all last updated on '7th July, 2012'. I think its poor workmanship.

8.
(a) So basically "out of the BIOS" means testing using another computer's BIOS?
Right, One can't escape BIOS on any pc. It will always come into play first before any OS,Pre boot diagnostics,recovery media & installation media. If one thinks BIOS is the issue, certainly he has to change the testing pc. But thinking about BIOS corruption is an extreme & it's not even easy to corrupt the BIOS I don't expect anything here.
( Don't change BIOS settings if you are not sure. Don't update BIOS as per the regular update schedule or as directed by the physician!)

(b) what exactly did you mean when you were talking about taking the USB functionality out of my laptop?
It's nothing different than the 8. (a). Just think if you have to try a device on a different pc, you will detach it from the one & fix it to the other to test. Same is the case with USB 3.0 port functionality. I don't expect anything here.

9. Results that the Pre-Boot Diagnostics did not say anything about USB ports are mentioned previously.
As said previously, USB 2.0 port is working all well. Something is missing in between. Anyway, No need to run Pre boot Diagnostics again.
No need to insert & check devices in USB 2 port in the current installation.

Let me know.

Thanks & Regards. ...