USB ports lock up laptop!

Hi,

i'm currently using a Compaq Presario notebook running Windows XP Home edition. It's 2 years old and I haven't had any problems so far.

I have made no drastic changes to my system, or installed anything extraordinary in the past week.

yesterday, i noticed my wacom tablet light was off, but it was plugged it. i removed it, plugged it back in, and immediately my computer completely froze. no ctl+alt+dlt, no mouse movement, nothing.

I've tried all three usb ports (one on the left side, two on the right) and everytime I plug ANY usb device into ANY port, it freezes the entire computer up completely.

I've used Device Manager to uninstall the USB devices, and tried a few system restores. The ports don't work when booted in safe mode either.

I'm confused, because I figured if the hardware were just dead, they wouldn't react at all. It's surprising to me that they are apparently causing some sort of reaction, albeit undesirable.

Any ideas? I'm happy to provide any other info to get to the bottom of this. just please bear with me as my computer knowledge is very limited.

Thanks!

 

i'm using a compaq presario v2000.
they seem to have a number of different chipset drivers. i cant seem determine which one is correct.

 

hey pete,

sorry about that. i didn't realize i didn't address your other comments
i did indeed uninstall the drivers and reboot. windows reinstalled the usb drivers upon said restart, but still no luck.

i also had read about making sure my service was "automatic." I rechecked and everything was set as it should be. still no luck.

i'll try those chipset drivers and see if that works at all.

appreciate your help and patience!
cheers
oliver

 

Pete C,

I tried those chipset drivers, and get an error that interrupts. It reads:

"The Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility requires a supported chipset platform running on a supported operating system. "

Since these are the chipset drivers for my model of laptop...I would assume i have a supported platform and operating system?

thanks,
oliver

 

Thanks Pete. I'll keep an eye out, and hopefully something works! If it is a hardware failure, do I have any options or do I just need to buy a new computer? eek!

 

Yes you do. Most specialized laptop repair facilities handle this sort of thing on a regular basis.

My wife's Averatec was in need of a motherboard repair and the shop that fixed her onboard video problem also replaced a USB port while servicing her machine. I used Fremontek in California because they are the authorized Averatec repair facility. Her machine was out of warranty but I found them to be quite reasonable and they did top quality work.

 

From that message I don't think the original chipset drivers are installed. Here are the instructions for installing the original drivers:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00400062&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&product=443425
I had problems installing drivers when I formatted and reinstalled Win XP on a friend's series 3000 Compaq notebook. It required the drivers from the "Driver Recovery CD ".

There are 50 or so models in the 2000 series. Use this to find the actual model:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&product=212728&lc=en&dest_page=product&cc=us

As mentioned, it may still be a problem with the hardware. Maybe a workaround should be to get a PCMCIA USB adapter, BUT, also get a self-powered USB hub to run with it, in case the hardware is overloading the USB system.

Matt

 

I can't seem to locate my recovery CD. i've looked on HP's site, but i cant seem to find if they offer a download of the CD content, in case of misplacement of the disc.

I've located my actual model number (v2630us) and looked at the offered list of driver updates. I dont see anything relating to USB or chipset. perhaps i'm not at the correct page?

i'll look into that USB adapter that you mentioned and see if it looks like something that will fit my setup. I'll price that, and the repair of my usb problem at a laptop shop to see how to best safe some money!

 

Mmmmm...the first chipset drivers you tried were for an Intel based system. The V2630US is an AMD based system, but the product specifications do not say which motherboard chipset it has. There are no chipset drivers for download, so I expect they are incorporated into the original image or recovery disk/s.

Do your best to find those original disks. You have one other opportunity, that is, to "Create a set of recovery discs or a recovery DVD ", see here:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...856&lc=en&cc=us&os=228&product=1838816&dlc=en
If it is like a Compaq desktop I worked on, you can make the disk/s once only, after that, you will need to purchase them from HP/Compaq.

Something that will signify that the correct USB drivers are installed is to look Device Manager under the heading Universal Serial Bus Controllers (where you were uninstalling the drivers) and look for a controller with the term "Enhanced ", that will mean you have the correct drivers and since you reinstalled them, they should be working correctly (we hope ).

Something that I might warn you about is the possibility that whole USB system has been burnt out. The most economical way to actually repair it may be to replace the motherboard. Talk to the technician first, see if he/she will charge you for finding the problem, then ask about them testing and selling you a PCMCIA USB adapter in preference to replacing the motherboard if that is solution. That might get you a free quote and avoid a large bill.

Find out the costs and any alternatives before you submit it for inspection. If they see that you understand there may be alternatives, they may not just recommend that it (automatically?) needs a new m/b.

You can find HP/Compaq authorised repairers from the link on their main Support webpage:
www.hp.com/support

Get that self-powered hub

Matt

 

thanks for all the help!
I talked to a HP/Compaq technician to see if they could offer any other ideas as well. He sent me all the necessary files to reset my BIOS and he sent me the correct AMD appropriate chipset drivers. After that, I still have no USB response besides freezing my system.

I will check out all the options you discussed and see what saves me the most. Apparently the repair through HP would take about 2 weeks and cost around $300. So, we'll see what I can do.

Thanks again to everyone for all the help. I really appreciate it!
Cheers,
Oliver

 

That's a painful figure. HP charges these kind of rates (even on parts where a $40 motherboard will cost one $300 plus an exchange) because they really don't want to fool with repairs or replacement parts.

I'm going to assume you are not under warranty. For what its worth, I just paid $185 for a laptop motherboard repair (onboard Nvidia video failure), a keyboard replacement and a USB port replacement including return shipping. Most specialized repair facilities will give you an estimate for a flat fee in the neighborhood of $75 and this charge is waived if you go ahead with the repair. Shop around, I think you can easily cut that HP figure in half if they actually have to replace the controller and all three USB ports.

And, the alternative as Matt suggested, just buy a PCMCIA USB card or a PC Express USB card (whichever the architecture of your laptop calls for).