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My USB and PS/2 ports stopped working - probably for good


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#1
cyangamer

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Hi all. I have a Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L (details here) motherboard in my desktop system. Last night, Windows XP displayed a popup message in its system tray. The bubble said something about Power surge and USB, and then the next second, both my mouse and keyboard stopped working. I powered down the system (sorry I did not write down the exact message), and I rebooted. Now, there aren't even categories for Keyboard and Mouse in the device manager, and I keep getting errors in the USB category. I tested the 4 USB ports - none of them are functional.

So obviously my $48 mobo is probably on its last leg. There's only a 30-day return policy for this mobo, and I got it 6 months ago. Should I invest $100+ on a new mobo and hope that one lasts longer, or should I try and do something about this one?

If the former, which do you guys recommend? I obviously need a mobo that won't lose its USB and PS/2 ports 6 months in. If it's the latter, what should I do?
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#2
Neil Jones

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A initial course of action may be to find out why there's been a power surge on the USB in the first place because it's pointless replacing the board if you're going to use the same item that caused the surge again, as it may take out the new board too. This may be caused by a USB device or a power supply issue, or you've had a general surge on the power itself.
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#3
cyangamer

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Well, good point: weather was fine, so it shouldn't have been an electrical surge to the power. The only USB device hooked up was my printer. With the way I had my system hooked up, it possible that the USB cord could've moved in a way that scratched the inside of the port and created a really small spark.

Yeah, that was a random guess.

Also, if I leave the computer off for a few hours and then turn it back on, everything works for the first 5 to 10 seconds. This probably means the mobo isn't fried beyond belief, but whatever happened really messed the mobo up.

Is there anything else that could've caused it? Do you think the mobo was just faulty?

Edited by cyangamer, 17 December 2009 - 11:46 PM.

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#4
Neil Jones

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Boards go faulty and if there was a fault out of the box with it you'd have known about it.
Anyway if you really wham and wiggle something into a USB port you can break it and short it out and potentially the rest of the system too.
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#5
cyangamer

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I searched the 'net some more, and found the actual error: "Power Surge On Hub Port. One of the USB device has exceeded the power limits."

Anyway if you really wham and wiggle something into a USB port you can break it and short it out and potentially the rest of the system too.

So it would have to take "effort" so to speak? That couldn't have been the cause then.

Boards go faulty and if there was a fault out of the box with it you'd have known about it.

Well, the only USB device hooked up was a printer, and before this desktop, it was hooked up to the USB port of a Laptop for over a year with no problems. Thus, I don't believe the error actually has to do with USB. Also, the desktop won't turn on at all now - as if there's no power. The power cables are all secure, and the PSU is the PC Power and Cooling brand - very high quality and only 6 months old. I think the only explanation is that there was a fault in the board, but I just didn't pay enough attention to it.

So I guess I have some shopping to do. Of course, I really want to know if there's something I'm missing here, or if someone else has had this problem and found the specific cause. Thanks for your help, Neil.
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