Windows 7 Usb Ports Not Working

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Renau Sheard

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Aug 3, 2024, 11:16:18 AM8/3/24

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None of the USB ports work anymore on my HP EliteBook 2540p laptop which is running Windows 7 Pro SP1. By "not working," I mean if I try plugging in a thumbdrive or external HDD it does nothing whereas they work perfectly on other machines. I've tried just about everything and no luck. It gets stuck and doesn't complete the process if I try from the device-manager to uninstall, update, or scan for changes concerning the drivers. I've also tried to use the MicrosoftFixIt tool which just hangs there and does nothing as well. I've left things running overnight with each of these attempts and it just hangs there endlessly. The properties for each port claim the device is working properly. Please, help me figure out how to get my USB ports working again!

Edit #1 - I have tried booting off my Fedora LiveCD and the USB ports work fine which indicates that it doesn't seem to be a hardware issue. I need to get the ports working again in Windows though.

Edit #2 - I tried using the Microsoft USB View tool, but don't know how to interpret the output. Anyhow, when I plug in my thumbdrive a yellow circle with an exclamation mark comes up for that USB port and it says "DeviceConnected." Here is the full output in case anyone can make sense of it and determine what problem(s) may exist:

Edit #3 - I used the ServiWin tool and discovered that the USBSTOR service is stopped and I am unable to manually start it. It states the error message: "Error 1058: The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it."

Edit #4 - I used the USB Oblivion tool which erases all traces of USB devices from the Windows registry. I figured it might help flush out any corrupted data that might be causing problems.

On several of our older Dell desktop machines, we have had this same problem. My solution was to go into Device Manager and delete all the USB controllers and hubs. Reboot to allow Windows to re-discover the hardware and reload the drivers. This problem occurs maybe twice a year and this procedure fixes it each time.

Copies of these files may be found in C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository inside a folder named usbstor.inf_xxxxxxxx.If more than one such folder exists, use the folder with the latest (newest) date.

Also, the BIOS should detect, and will most likely show you (bootable) USB drives in the boot-order menu. If they don't show up there then, again, it signifies dead USB ports -- a hardware issue -- time to take it in for repair.

While still in Device Manager, go to "Action" and then click on "Scan for hardware changes". After the system installs clean drivers, you may have to manually install the USB 3.0 Extensible Host Controller on Dell laptops.

In my case, the two Safenet USB authentication keys stops working after a reboot, and further checks show that all USB ports have stopped working. In devmgmt.msc, both PCI USB Host Controllers have alert signs on them, and the Intel USB 3.0 Extensible Host Controller also have warning signs. Keyboards, USB drives, etc... Nothing works.

Apparently this has nothing to do with a specific USB device driver.I tried uninstall, reinstall, update the USB host controllers drivers, and rebooted various times. I also updated the EMI driver out of despair. Nothing worked.

From there I noticed all the other files have been signed, and only one entry, USBPcap.sys, is not a signed driver. Someone installed a Wireshark USB sniffing driver onto the development server. After removing this driver in appwiz.cpl, a quick reboot solved everything.

I still don't know how Wireshark's driver survived all those uninstall reinstall cycles, and got loaded as usual. These software drivers don't have an device entry in devmgmt.msc, and it's very easy to neglect their existence.

Have you found a solution yet? If not let's get down to basics...You need to run the System File Scan (SFC /SCANNOW) in case you have Windows 7 System file damage. If that doesn't fix the problem, and you'd lose too much with System Restore (which is usually the situation) to an earlier date/time, you really do need to reinstall Windows. But wait!

It's a lengthy process (not as long as a fresh install) but, do what many call a 'REPAIR' install. This option will keep your programs & data without loss. Have your motherboard driver disk handy, or know where to locate the drivers in your download folder; you may need them. I've used it many times for this type of problem, which is usually system file or Registry damage with no apparent solution. It can be a tedious process, with several Microsoft gotchu's, so you need to Google 'Windows 7 repair installation' for detailed instructions, before you start and print it for reference during the process. The variations are almost endless and Microsoft doesn't make it easy! I checked this site for links for this process, but I couldn't find one!

Microsoft confuses most and call this option an 'UPDATE'. It's both in fact. It refreshes the Registry & scans ALL the hardware during the repair/update. The repair will ask for your Windows 'Key' and when done, 'Authentication' again.

Be sure to do a mirror of your system disk, and make a repair disk if you don't have one already, before you start, for recovery in case of problems. Making the Windows 7 mirror/backup is easy and fast.

You will need a second HDD already installed, for the mirror, since you can't connect a USB. Or use any offline backup software with an image capability. Don't bother trying to use DVDs for the mirror. You need way too many.

Also be sure to run a full anti virus (AV) scan using Windows Defender Offline, (it's actually MSE) AND the FREE OFFLINE Malwarebytes or Kaspersky's free full OFFLINE scan (with the Network connected for the latest updates) in case you've picked up a root kit which the online versions of most AVs won't find with Windows running.

Run TWO versions of an AV scan since very few will find all infections in one pass on their own! You can find all the software I've referenced, using Google or your preferred search engine. If a virus has infected the system, and you don't run an AV scan, the Windows 7 Repair will also be infected. It's also a good move to run a full chkdsk (all five passes), on the disk(s), to make sure there's no logic problems or sector damage after the AV scan & before the Windows 7 repair.

The Repair option will of course necessitate an SP re-installation and all Windows 7 patch updates again. During each of the above steps, before the Repair is started, check to see if the USB devices are working again. It's a long shot, but you never know!

You will need a fair bit of spare system HDD empty space. The repair creates a backup in a C:\windows.old folder to recover things that might have gone missing after the repair. If everything looks OK, you can delete this folder.

I was working on my computer, and all of a sudden the wireless mouse stopped working. I thought it was a battery issue, but it ended up being a driver issue. In Device Manager, there is no longer the Universal Serial Bus Controllers tree. Instead, under Other devices, I get USB xHCI Compliant Host Controller with the exclamation point. I did a system restore to when everything was working fine, to no avail. Then I noted the computer had set an earlier restore point when a critical update was installed. So, for the heck of it, I tried another system restore, and OMG! it worked. My USB ports were back to operable, and the Device Manager showed a Universal Serial Bus Controllers tree with 7 items under it! I then installed the Intel Chipset Installation and Driver Utility v. 10.1.1.8 (as my HP Support Assistant software was suggesting I do), and everything went back to not functioning. Cool, i'll just do another system restore. But the restore point that resulted in success was no longer available. I did do a manual restore point when everything was back to working, but restoring back to that point did nothing. As i attempted in vain to resolve this issue, i had Device Manager show the Hidden Values, and found that everything was there, but Intel(R) USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.0 (Microsoft). Great! I go to Intel's site to download the thing, and guess what? Windows 10 will not accept (install) it because it's made for Windows 7. So here i sit. No ability to backup my hard drive because no plug & play capabilities (ports can't recognize, thus can't read, USB flash drives); relegated to the laptop mouse, which is unbelievably slow & uncomfortable; and, another thing it got rid of was my bluetooth capability and the installed camera no longer works... I attach pictures of what Device Manager looks like when things are working, and what it currently looks like, with the hidden items revealed. If anyone can help me get the driver needed to make everything go back to ok, i would be MOST appreciative! Thank you...

I then began to think, perhaps I could install a similar driver from amongst the drivers (in Device Manager) listed under the "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer" option. But which to select? None had the name (or any name near): Intel(R) USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.0 (Microsoft). So...I started googling...

From googling, I figured out that my chipset was of the 100 series (family). Which helped me better determine which of the drivers (in Device Manager) listed under the "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer" option I might be able to substitute for the missing driver. I noted if I got close, it would install the driver, move it from Other Devices to Universal Serial Bus Controllers, and give me a Code 10 (device cannot start). But (still) no functionality.

As I stared in despair at Device Manager, I (finally) noticed the reason it was giving for the problem (upon uninstalling the driver, and then clicking on Scan for Hardware Changes - to reset the device info displayed, if you will): Code 28. I googled that, and found it indicated: The device driver may have become corrupted. I never thought to look at the situation through that lens (I thought rather that the driver was gone). But that perspective did fit why I was able to regain functionality when I was able to restore back to before the critical Windows Update. And it fit my plea to you about how it would be nice if there was the ability to rollback the driver, which was greyed out.