This is a really weird one, I find.
This laptop worked just fine until, while recording a CD-RW, it crashed. Once the computer was restarted, no input worked. That is, the keyboard, the touchpad and all USB ports just don't work, not even before POSTing, so not BIOS nor boot menu can be accessed.
The catch is: using a Linux live CD keyboard and touchpad do work. No sign of life from the USB hub, however.