Recognising USB device

[ChrisR]

It used to work!
When I plug a memory card or similar into a usb port I get the bom-bim noise to say it has seen something, sometimes "New Hardware" but it doesn't recognise it as a thing with data in.

Is this a driver thing? I've seen advice like "delete the drive and let windows replace it", but haven't a clue how to do that.
Wiindows XP.

Usb mouse works, in the same port.

 

[Igorian]

Is it the device that is not recognised or the card you are plugging into the device?

 

[bennythehandyman]

Go:

Start
Settings
Control Panel
System
Hardware
Device Manager
expand the entry for Universal Serial Bus Controller

and tell us what you see

 

[ChrisR]

WHat I see is:

I tried an old 4Gb memory stick, and it does see and can read that, but only displays the contents (Drive G after a long wait, about 20 seconds.

Now I found it will "see" a usb adaptor with an sd card (1Gb) plugged in, but not its contents. That worked before though.

Eh?

 

[NeilyH]

Have you tried

start
settings
control panel
add new hardware

Failing that. try to update the serial bus controller devices.

have a look at driverguide dot com

 

[foxhole]

Are you using a memory card reader?, it may see the reader but not the card if it's a faulty memory card.

 

[Space cat]

First of all, you can get more information about what's where by switching your device manager view to "view by connection" (or something similar depending upon OS). When you plug something into a USB socket it should appear in that list of USB devices that you posted. Even if Windows doesn't recognize what you've plugged in it should still appear as an unknown device.

I had a similar problem to yours in the past though in may case nothing was being recognized. The answer was simple; a dodgy external USB hub had overloaded the 5V line and blown a track clean off the motherboard. The USB controller chip survived thanks to its built in 1A current limit but the motherboard designer clearly never allowed for this limit to be reached! (I repaired the track with some extreme electronic microsurgery using a single strand of wire from coax braid.) Since yours is an intermittent problem it might be a case of poor contact leading to insufficient voltage at the socket.

PS: If you're tempted to try and measure the voltage at the socket, take care not to short it with your meter prod. Thar's how I blew a second track clean off the motherboard!