Dell inspiron 15: USB not working in 2 of 3 ports

abhishekkumarkhms

Commendable
May 22, 2018
10
1
1,510
Hello guys! Serious issue here: I have dell inspiron 15 3543. Out of nowhere i have problem on 2 usb ports on the left (1 usb 3.0 and 1 usb 2.0).
1 usb 2.0 port on the right is fine. the usb 3.0 port runs my usb 3.0 external hdd perfectly. Other then that they both are pretty much useless suddenly. Everything is unrecognised (code 43 it says device descriptor request failed). plug and play devices like mouse are powered but doesn't work. I have tried these::
-disabled and enabled everything that shows in usb area in device manager. then also tried uninstalling the hub controllers one by one until usb area disappeared in device manager. After restart, same drivers reinstalled by windows but still the same.
-disabled usb selective suspend setting in power options in all power modes.
-in root hubs, disabled the option saying something like usb devices can be stopped for saving power.
-updated bios, chipset, updated/reinstalled every driver wherever possible. also used drivereasy and updated everything.
-finally used ubuntu bootable usb through the one working port. tried the 2 ports in ubuntu then, still nothing.
pen drive shows unrecognised device error, mouse and game controller lights up but nothing works.
HELP PLEASE!!
 

abhishekkumarkhms

Commendable
May 22, 2018
10
1
1,510


@arif1752002m4a1 Thanks for replying. So dell website only has 3-4 new drivers, rest are still 2015/2016 versions but i still installed almost all drivers again to update/reinstall my drivers. This was done AFTER my issue came so any driver update should not be the reason for the problem. I was asked by local engineer to install windows 10, but i dont think thats the solution, especially after the ubuntu flash method that i tried.
I understand this is not a common issue as no one in the repair shops seems to have actually heard of it so i am not actually following their extreme methods (which includes trying another windows or getting straight to motherboard repairs).
All help appreciated.
 

abhishekkumarkhms

Commendable
May 22, 2018
10
1
1,510


What do you mean 'clear bios' ? I have already set bios at factory defaults.
As for windows reinstall, i can manage a reinstall but if i believe that windows reinstall will solve it, dont you think flashing ubuntu should have also worked?
 


Remove your battery and cmos battery too. And press and hold power button for 2 minutes and plug cmos battery and plug battery and your bios will be clear.
 

abhishekkumarkhms

Commendable
May 22, 2018
10
1
1,510

well CMOS battery i cant remove by myself. i have never opened a laptop. i can do software part, so i can install windows. is cmos part necessary?
 

No much.
 
Jul 16, 2019
1
0
10
Ok the USB 3.0 ports on the left side of the Inspiron 15 are very touchy. I can get mine to work if I put the USB drive in at a slight angle, but if I bump it or touch it at all it loses connection and windows makes the hardware unplugged sound. It's not a software issue. I have purchased three of these laptops and they all do the same.

I have not contacted Dell about the issue yet to see if it's a known problem or not. Im sure they will want me to jump through a bunch of hoops like reinstalling the OS and waste a bunch of mine time even tho I can recreate the problem on multiple machines.