Sometimes when I start my PC, one of the USB ports stops detecting a device such as my keyboard. Restarting does not always fix it, and I have to move the device between ports until one works. Later, a completely different port may stop working too. What could be causing this, and how can I troubleshoot it?
2 Answers
This sounds more like a USB controller or driver problem than several individual ports failing. In Device Manager, expand “Universal Serial Bus controllers,” uninstall the USB controller entries, and restart the computer so Windows can reinstall them. You can also disable USB selective suspend under Power Options. If the issue continues, update the motherboard chipset drivers and BIOS from the manufacturer’s official website. Persistent failures after that could point to a motherboard or USB power problem.
A similar problem can happen with wireless mouse receivers during startup if the driver or USB controller does not initialize correctly. Since you’re having trouble with multiple USB devices, I’d start with the motherboard chipset and USB drivers rather than a keyboard-specific driver. Download them only from the motherboard manufacturer’s official support page, then reinstall the USB controllers and restart. Turning off USB selective suspend is also worth trying. If the device only works after rebooting or reconnecting it, that further suggests a startup or controller initialization issue.
I uninstalled the USB controller drivers and let Windows reinstall them after restarting. I also disabled USB selective suspend, so I’m hoping that resolves it.
Could you explain the Device Manager steps a little more? I’m not very experienced, and the problem port itself doesn’t appear there.