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Yesterday I installed Ubuntu 14.04. I got to mess around with the OS a little bit, but I then got curious and decided to plug in my USB charger for my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 in one of my back USB 3.0 ports. I wasn't paying attention, so I accidentally touched the wrong end to the USB port for not even a second, when I got a screen with red and pink stripes.

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I then had to force shutdown my computer. As it was turning on, I pressed F9 a couple times so I could boot into Ubuntu again, only coming to realize that my wireless keyboard doesn't work. I waited for a little until it got to the usual Windows 7 login screen, now finding out that my wireless mouse doesn't work either. They were both plugged into 2 of the 4 USB 3.0 ports in the back as mentioned earlier.

I finally found my PS/2 keyboard, which works fine, and I plugged in the mouse into one of the front USB ports, only one of which worked. Now I have no open USB ports, my computer has no wireless card (I use PDAnet for internet connection), and my phone can't connect to the computer (no open ports that will recognize it), so no PDAnet. I cannot update the drivers now because of this. I've tried what I can (checking USB root hubs in Windows Device Manager, checking registry, etc.), but nothing is working. What can I do now?

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  • Sounds very like a OS-independent hardware problem to me. As a first step, unplug your computer and open the case. (Ground yourselves to prevent any electrostatic discharge) Search for any molten cables or plugs/sockets and remove dust, especially from blank connectors.
    – s3lph
    Jan 25, 2015 at 17:38
  • I'll try that. Actually, now that I think about it, I might've fried the ports because I think I was holding onto the USB side of the charger when this happened.
    – James Lynch
    Jan 25, 2015 at 17:52
  • If it's a laptop, there is one last thing you can do: remove all power cords, remove the battery, push the power button (yes, without the battery, without the power cord) for 3 seconds, plug everything back in and try again.
    – Fabby
    Jan 26, 2015 at 15:48

1 Answer 1

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If you can't fix it and your computer is a desktop computer, get a 4-port PCI Express USB expansion card. I don't think you can get one of these cards anymore in a brick and mortar store, because these cards were mostly available back when motherboards without built-in USB ports were still being manufactured, but you can get PCI Express USB expansion cards online.

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  • Any low-cost recommendations? I'm lost on which one to choose that will be minimal cost.
    – James Lynch
    Jan 25, 2015 at 17:53
  • I checked the prices for USB expansion cards online and found that they're quite cheap. I have no idea about the relative merits of particular models or brands of USB expansion cards.
    – karel
    Jan 25, 2015 at 17:57
  • Okay. I will mark your answer as accepted for now. Unless someone else answers my question with a method of fixing this without spending money. I do still like your answer though, it's just that I'm low on funds and I am looking to fix it today if at all possible.
    – James Lynch
    Jan 25, 2015 at 18:03

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