None of my 4 USB ports on my laptop are being recognised - I have a sneaky feeling that this is following a recent Windows Update (but that could be a coincidence).
It doesn't matter what I plug in, nothing is recognised. A bit of Googling gave me this solution:
Locate the file INFCACHE.1 in C:\Windows\inf
Right click on the INFCACHE.1 file, select Properties >Security > Edit, >and give your username full control.
Rename it to INFCACHE.1.BAK
Reboot your PC and it should reinstate the USB driver files.
Unfortunately, it did not work.
So, I posted the problem on another forum that I frequent, and I got offered this solution:
Forum: Go to You Device Manager...<--just type this in the start search field in the start menu...go down to universal serial bus controllers and click the plus sign...all your USBs will drop down...right click on all of them and uninstall all of them...if there are yellow triangles next to them then you may have to go to the manuf. website and update them or do a recovery if you have some kind of corruption.
My reply: No yellow triangles, all drivers are up to date...
Forum: uninstall them anyways
My reply: Done this, problem solved! As I started Uninstalling them, it started reinstalling them, and hey presto! problem solved.
Unfortunately, that seemed to be only a temporary solution, as the next day the problem re-presented itself.
I have since tried the following:
Suggestion: Download and burn a linux distro to CD/DVD. Install linux.
Result: Did this as a Dual Boot. I've so far plugged in an external hard drive - lights up, but nothing comes up on the system. Same with my Nokia N900.
Now here's some interesting points:
* My USB fan works when plugged in.
* My N900, when plugged in, says "Not charging. Insufficient power." Even though "Connect as mass storage mode" appears, it doesn't work
* The external hard drive is obviously receiving some power, but it is not recognised by either Windows or Ubuntu.
* The laptop is a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo LI1718, running Windows Vista.
* The drivers for the USB ports are from 2006, but I cannot for the life of me find an update anywhere online.
* The ports have recently taken a knocking - the USB fan was plugged in, my wife picked up the laptop but not the fan, the fan tugged on the USB port. But that was just one of them.
I'm totally stuck, and you only realise how much you use your USB ports when you can't use them anymore...
Additional help from online:
Sounds to me like the USB ports are physically *****, like maybe one or more solder joints inside the laptop have cracked and the connection is intermittent. Consistent power (e.g. to power your USB fan) doesn't necessarily mean it has all it needs for normal USB data transfer.
If your laptop isn't under warranty any longer, and you're somewhat handy with electronics, you could crack open the laptop, examine the USB port area with a multimeter to check for a short, and if possible re-solder any bad joints. If the mainboard is cracked, you might need a more exotic fix (like trying to bridge the gap with wire, or obtaining a new mainboard).
Haven't opened it up yet, but not really sure if I can handle soldering... not that I have any gear to do it with anyway...
So. Has anyone experienced anything like this? Has anyone any idea what I could do next?