On our Dell notebook the USB port began to act erratically. Some items work when plugged in but some - like a Memorex flash memory - are not recognized by Windows. According to Systems, the USB port is working correctly. With my Panasonic mp3 player, I can wiggle the unit in the slot and it begins to load but then it is not recognized.
These used to work perfectly. An SD card reader continues to work normally.

I would like to buy a plug in USB port that goes in the side in the bus slot, rather than spend a lot of money to get the port repaired.

I pretty much a novice with computers.

Thank, John

Welcome to Geeks2Go!

Intermittent problems with USB ports are notoriously baffling and therefore difficult to troubleshoot, but they are generally more reliable if SP2 (Service Pack 2) is installed, so If you don't have this major (free) update from Microsoft I strongly urge you to get it now. You can either download it or order a free SP2 CD from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/default.mspx

I checked and this laptop has all the Windows XP2 updates. I can only assume there is something wrong with the port itself as it is erratic. This is why I would like to know about the plug in ports like the one Lynksys makes.
John

I went ahead and bought a Belkin USB card and installed it with no problem. The USB flash memory works again. Unfortunately, the wireless adapter won't fit with the UAB card in the other slot. Staples said they would take back the adapter and then I will look at a wireless adapter that goes in a USB port.