Ports at front of desktop comp not working!

Libby101 · 01-06-2012, 02:10

Hi to ev1 reading this

I have a ten year old desktop comp

and I have replaced with new or 2nd hand, many parts lol.

There are two usb ports at the front of the tower + mic, headphones etc. None of these work now! The usb ports at the back still work.

I have 'googled' and done all suggestions like switching off & taking the power plug out. I have also taken off the side to have a look inside to see if I know what's wrong (LOL).

Any ideas on what I need to buy which doesn't cost much lol

Thanks for reading.

Libby

LSainsbury · 01-06-2012, 06:16

Are they plugged in? There hould be a couple of wires from the front panel that go to the system board. Make sure they are plugged in.

**Kymmy** · 01-06-2012, 07:44

As Lee says the motherboard should have one or two header plugs (they will be labeled on the board or in the manual USB1 or USB2..) the front panel needs to plug into one of these plugs.. Also the same with any front panel audio connections which will need to plug into the audio header though this can vary from motherboard to motherboard and might entailt he removal of a couple of jumpers... The USB ones though are straight forward..

**Rob** · 01-06-2012, 09:56

Occasionally, particularly for Audio, you might also need to enable a motherboard connection socket in the BIOS, as well as checking those jumper settings.

progers · 01-06-2012, 11:06

It's worth trying to reinstall all the USB drivers, open control panel, click on device manager then expand the entry "Universal Serial Bus Controllers"

Right click each entry and click uninstall ( if you have a USB mouse, leave it till last)

Now reboot the computer and it should find the hardware and reload the drivers

Libby101 · 07-06-2012, 23:31

Hi all

I have done all that's suggested here but alas....no good.

However the back usb ports are now NOT working for my camera and mp3 player! They are okay for mouse and keyboard, so no idea what is going on. Would be time for a new comp if I had some dosh, anyone any other ideas plz? Would greatly apprecate some help.

Thanks in advance.

Libby

---------- Post added at 23:48 ---------- Previous post was at 23:45 ----------

ps. All of the ports show as working in device manager.

---------- Post added 08-06-2012 at 00:31 ---------- Previous post was 07-06-2012 at 23:48 ----------

pps. I have tried the keyboard etc in the front usb ports and they DON'T work.

So to sum up (lol) all ports at front of comp not working......all ports at back of comp ARE working except for when I plug in MP3 player and digital camera........

jempalmer · 07-06-2012, 23:44

Hi Libby, it seems that you have at least two problems:
1) Front USB ports don't work at all
2) Rear ports work for certain devices

The front port problem is most likely, as suggested in prior posts, that they are not plugged in to the motherboard headers. If the rear USB ports work for mouse and keyboard but not for your MP3 player or camera then you may not have the drivers installed for those. Try plugging the MP3 player in and open Task Manager to see if you have an unrecognised device showing.

Libby101 · 07-06-2012, 23:58

Hi Jem

Thanks for replying.

The front ports are plugged in to the motherboard headers, I have checked it all, there are no bent pins either.

This is really odd because when I plug in the MP3 player or camera the comp freezes, the mouse stops working and I have to switch off!!

---------- Post added at 00:58 ---------- Previous post was at 00:53 ----------

So I've just had a thought. If I can get the front sorted then I don't have to worry about the back becoz it's working for what I need it for assuming I can get the front fixed.

Would a new PCI card be of any help?

jempalmer · 07-06-2012, 23:59

In which case you have a hardware or software problem affecting the front USB ports, as opposed to a physical connection issue. When you say that the PC freezes if you plug in MP3 or camera do you mean the front or rear ports?

---------- Post added at 00:59 ---------- Previous post was at 00:58 ----------

It's more likely to be the front ports causing the problem.

Try unplugging the front usb headers and see if that helps.

Libby101 · 08-06-2012, 00:17

The pc freezes when trying both front and back ports!

I will unplug the front usb headers, see what happens.

jempalmer · 08-06-2012, 00:24

Let me know if unplugging the front ports helps. I had a similar problem with a friend's PC.

Libby101 · 08-06-2012, 00:31

Sorry....do you mean unplugging them and trying the back ports?

jempalmer · 08-06-2012, 00:33

Yes, unplug the front ports from the motherboard and see if the rear ports work properly.

Libby101 · 08-06-2012, 02:29

Hmmmm well this is getting more complicated! The MP3 player works but the dig camera doesn't!

Need a win on the lottery lol!

---------- Post added at 03:29 ---------- Previous post was at 02:05 ----------

Oh kewl..............the camera will work as long as I switch it on first.............that's a new one on me but hey whatever works.

Now then what exactly does this mean that the back ones work as long as the front is unplugged? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

jempalmer · 08-06-2012, 09:40

Possibly the front ports are damaged. I had a friend with pretty much the same problem. It turned out that her toddler son had been poking crayons or similar into the usb ports. The pins were bent and it killed the front outputs.