The USB ports on the back of our laptop stopped working. It is a Dell
Inspiron 1150.

Can anyone help us out?

Cathy L

On Sat, 30 Dec 2006 12:46:13 GMT, Cathy L <bill.lederer@verizon.net>
wrote:

> The USB ports on the back of our laptop stopped working. It is a Dell
> Inspiron 1150.
>
> Can anyone help us out?

It's either a hardware or a software problem.

Software is easy to test and cure. Just use the Device manager to
uninstall the USB devices (right-click My Computer, Manage, Device
Manager, look at the Universal Serial Bus controllers and right-click and
uninstall each Host controller) then reboot. If all is now well it was a
software problem and is now cured.

If still not working it is likely to be a hardware problem. In my
experience that may need a motherboard replacement which takes time and if
the unit is out of warranty may be uneconomical to repair. But you don't
need to replace it, another option would be to get a USB adapter for less
than $20 to put into a PC Card slot. Here's an example of USB + Firewire:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=260070156717


Tony

On Sat, 30 Dec 2006 23:15:52 +0000, "Anthony R. Gold"
<not-for-mail@ahjg.co.uk> wrote:

>On Sat, 30 Dec 2006 12:46:13 GMT, Cathy L <bill.lederer@verizon.net>
>wrote:
>
>> The USB ports on the back of our laptop stopped working. It is a Dell
>> Inspiron 1150.
>>
>> Can anyone help us out?
>
>It's either a hardware or a software problem.
>
>Software is easy to test and cure. Just use the Device manager to
>uninstall the USB devices (right-click My Computer, Manage, Device
>Manager, look at the Universal Serial Bus controllers and right-click and
>uninstall each Host controller) then reboot. If all is now well it was a
>software problem and is now cured.
>
>If still not working it is likely to be a hardware problem. In my
>experience that may need a motherboard replacement which takes time and if
>the unit is out of warranty may be uneconomical to repair. But you don't
>need to replace it, another option would be to get a USB adapter for less
>than $20 to put into a PC Card slot. Here's an example of USB + Firewire:
>
>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=260070156717
>
>
>Tony

You could also try System Restore:
Start,programs, accessoires, System tools, System REstore.

samurai

"samurai" <sammer003******.ca.SPAM> wrote in message
news:3b9gp21gesq46575hp0bbkseu1imosfaa3@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 30 Dec 2006 23:15:52 +0000, "Anthony R. Gold"
> <not-for-mail@ahjg.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 30 Dec 2006 12:46:13 GMT, Cathy L <bill.lederer@verizon.net>
>>wrote:
>>
>>> The USB ports on the back of our laptop stopped working. It is a Dell
>>> Inspiron 1150.
>>>
>>> Can anyone help us out?
>>
>>It's either a hardware or a software problem.
>>
>>Software is easy to test and cure. Just use the Device manager to
>>uninstall the USB devices (right-click My Computer, Manage, Device
>>Manager, look at the Universal Serial Bus controllers and right-click and
>>uninstall each Host controller) then reboot. If all is now well it was a
>>software problem and is now cured.
>>
>>If still not working it is likely to be a hardware problem. In my
>>experience that may need a motherboard replacement which takes time and if
>>the unit is out of warranty may be uneconomical to repair. But you don't
>>need to replace it, another option would be to get a USB adapter for less
>>than $20 to put into a PC Card slot. Here's an example of USB + Firewire:
>>
>>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=260070156717
>>
>>
>>Tony
>
> You could also try System Restore:
> Start,programs, accessoires, System tools, System REstore.
>

In fact that would be the first thing to try. Restore to a time before the
ports stopped working.