Question Neither USB ports nor onboard USB headers work. Any ideas?

[stealing_society]

Here's my build:

• Motherboard: ASRock H310CM-DVS
• CPU: Intel Core i3 9100-F
• GPU: ASUS Radeon RX 580
• RAM: 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX

Recently, I took apart my system for some long overdue maintenance. After throughly cleaning everything up and putting it all back together, I noticed my peripherals stopped working.
After some investigation, it seems that none of my USB ports work. They do pass current through them, but nothing I connect to them seems to work. I tried out different keyboards and mice to no avail.
I'm certain this is a hardware issue, since I can't even get into the BIOS. None of my other components seem broken, since the PC did boot completely fine to Windows.
Here's what I tried:

• Resetting the CMOS battery (and now I can't get into Windows :c)
• Booting with a different set of RAM sticks, even switching them around and booting with only 1 stick
• Connecting an onboard USB header to try to circumvent my broken ports
• Disconnecting everything from the motherboard except for components needed to POST

What's strange is that even the onboard USB headers have the same behaviour as the ports on the back. Seems unlikely to me that, if the ports somehow got short circuited, the pins for the onboard header would have too.

If anyone knows something I could try to do, I would appreciate it. If there are any questions, I'll try to answer them as quick as possible.

 

[Misgar]

First thing to sort out in the BIOS is the drive boot order to get back into drive C:. Also check the USB ports are not disabled in the BIOS. In Windows go into Device Manager and check the USB ports have a valid driver and are not disabled. If this fails, buy an LCD USB tester and plug it into the ports on the rear panel. At the very least it will show if 5V DC is present.

 

[stealing_society]

First thing to sort out in the BIOS is the drive boot order to get back into drive C:. Also check the USB ports are not disabled in the BIOS. In Windows go into Device Manager and check the USB ports have a valid driver and are not disabled. If this fails, buy an LCD USB tester and plug it into the ports on the rear panel. At the very least it will show if 5V DC is present.

The thing is, the USB ports stopped working altogether - as in, I'm not able to get to the BIOS settings by pressing, in my case, F2 or DEL. That also extends to Windows - can't do anything without peripherals as far as I'm aware. I can't buy a USB tester anytime soon, however I'm pretty sure electric current is present, since any mice with built-in LEDs light up when connected.

As for drivers, I tried plugging the HDD that I have Windows installed on into another system and everything was fine. Device Manager showed nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[Misgar]

If the computer boots into Windows but you can't get into the BIOS and you're willing to experiment, try starting the computer with no RAM fitted. Then, switch off and replace the RAM, but leave all drives disconnected.

Obviously you won't be able to boot into Windows, but it might force the BIOS to return to the point where pressing Del/F2 gets you back into the settings. I've occasionally had systems where fitting no RAM or just one DIMM has restored manual control of the BIOS.

I assume you've already removed the CR2032 battery in an attempt to reset the BIOS?

 

[stealing_society]

Yes, I did previously remove the battery and put it back in after a 20-ish minute break.

No luck, unfortunately. I did precisely what you asked - still stuck on the "Press [key] to continue/run setup" menu, taking no keyboard input whatsoever.

There's always the chance that it's a hardware issue, I suppose. If you think it'd help, I could take some pictures and link them here - just tell me what you'd like to take a look at.

 

[Misgar]

It's a shame the motherboard doesn't have the old fashioned PS/2 6-pin mini-DIN mouse and keyboard ports.

Have you tried a different USB keyboard? Are all the ports on the mobo USB3.0 or do you have any legacy USB2 ports (better for keyboard compatibility).

If you have a multimeter, check the voltage on the CR2032 terminals. Above 3.00V is good. Below 2.00V is bad. I usually replace them when they drop below 2.80V. At some point, the CMOS real time clock loses the time when the voltage gets too low and a new battery fixes it.

Sometimes you can change the position of a link on the mobo to disconnect the battery and "short out" the BIOS chip. This is not quite the same as simply removing the battery. If you don't have this link on the mobo, it might be worth leaving the battery out overnight (at least 8 hours) to see if this clears the BIOS.

 

[Moonstick2]

It's a shame the motherboard doesn't have the old fashioned PS/2 6-pin mini-DIN mouse and keyboard ports.

It does, or at least that model does on the Gigabyte website. To be honest I thought all motherboards still include one such port (half green half purple, used for either mouse or keyboard) as a just in case.

Whether the OP has a PS/2 keyboard is another matter.

 

[stealing_society]

Have you tried a different USB keyboard? Are all the ports on the mobo USB3.0 or do you have any legacy USB2 ports (better for keyboard compatibility).

If you have a multimeter, check the voltage on the CR2032 terminals.

I tried out 3 different keyboards, no luck. Those keyboards do work - connected them to both my laptop and my other rig and they work just fine. I have both 3.0 and 2.0 ports.

I'll update you when I'll have a multimeter on hand.

Whether the OP has a PS/2 keyboard is another matter.

Just got a hold of a PS/2 keyboard. I successfully got into the BIOS using it, but everything seems to be in order there. All USB ports are enabled.

 

[Misgar]

Excellent news that you're back in control of the BIOS. Is there a setting in the USB section of the BIOS to all legacy compatibility mode?

Does Windows 'Control Panel' show "working" USB ports with valid drivers or is there a yellow ! mark next to these ports, implying there's something wrong. Have you tried the USB drivers in the mobo website?

I normally turn off power saving mode for USB ports in Windows to keep the ports active all the time. No point chancing failed recovery when the ports wake up from sleep mode.

Do you have a separate PCIe dual or quad port USB card you could try, preferably with a different chipset to that on the mobo?

 

[Misgar]

Check to see if USB Power Management is switched on or off by entering Control Panel. Double click on 'Universal Serial Bus controllers' and expand this section. Right click on all 'USB Root Hub' entries in turn and select Properties, then 'Power Management' tab. Uncheck 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'.

I doubt it will make any difference but it's worth trying.

 

[stealing_society]

Excellent news that you're back in control of the BIOS. Is there a setting in the USB section of the BIOS to all legacy compatibility mode?

There is, it was turned on when I just checked the BIOS. Turning it off seems to make no difference either.

Does Windows 'Control Panel' show "working" USB ports with valid drivers or is there a yellow ! mark next to these ports, implying there's something wrong.

By 'Control Panel' I assume you mean Device Manager. The 'Universal Serial Bus controllers' section only lists:

• Intel(R) USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.0 (Microsoft)
• USB Root Hub (USB 3.0)

Both of them, according to Windows, are working properly. I'm guessing that ideally, the USB 2.0 controllers should show up as well.

Have you tried the USB drivers in the mobo website?

The manufacturer's website doesn't seem to have any generic or legacy USB drivers, only a 'USB Patcher' driver for Windows 7, as well as a USB 3.0 driver under the "Windows 7 64 Bit" section. Do you believe installing either one of those would help?

Do you have a separate PCIe dual or quad port USB card you could try, preferably with a different chipset to that on the mobo?

Unfortunately not, and I'm not sure I could get one soon.

Check to see if USB Power Management is switched on or off by entering Control Panel. Double click on 'Universal Serial Bus controllers' and expand this section. Right click on all 'USB Root Hub' entries in turn and select Properties, then 'Power Management' tab. Uncheck 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'.

I doubt it will make any difference but it's worth trying.

Yep, that made no difference.

 

[Misgar]

I'm running out of ideas here, but would recommend trying a PCIe USB card next. If you're lucky, Windows should immediately recognise the new USB chipset and install a working driver.

If the card isn't recognised, you might have to install a driver supplied on a mini-CD, which could be difficult if you don't have a SATA DVD drive. You could share a DVD drive over your LAN if you have another suitably configured computer.

Dual port USB cards are cheap, but my favourites are ex-server HP cards (higher quality build).

Please remind me, have you performed a fresh installation of Windows?

 

[stealing_society]

I'm running out of ideas here, but would recommend trying a PCIe USB card next. If you're lucky, Windows should immediately recognise the new USB chipset and install a working driver.

If the card isn't recognised, you might have to install a driver supplied on a mini-CD, which could be difficult if you don't have a SATA DVD drive. You could share a DVD drive over your LAN if you have another suitably configured computer.

Dual port USB cards are cheap, but my favourites are ex-server HP cards (higher quality build).

Please remind me, have you performed a fresh installation of Windows?

I'll try getting a card, but I'll attempt measuring the voltage and replacing the battery first. USB cards are more-or-less scarce close to where I live.

No, I haven't re-installed Windows. Would that help?

 

[Misgar]

A fresh install of Windows might effect a cure. Some unknown problem in the Registry may have killed USB functionality. Do you have any recent Restore Points?

If you have a spare drive, use that instead of your existing Windows drive. Disconnect all other drives from the motherboard before starting. Use the PS/2 keyboard and later try the USB keyboard. With only one combined keyboard/mouse connection on PS/2, installation of Windows is not going to be easy.

If the fault is not Windows related, USB support will remain disabled, but there might be something turned off in the BIOS than needs to be re-enabled. Check each BIOS function carefully. Are there any "blown" electrolytics on the mobo?

 

[stealing_society]

If you have a multimeter, check the voltage on the CR2032 terminals.

Voltage on the battery reads 3.115V. I also somewhat crudely tested all of the USB ports individually by stripping down a cable and measuring the wires - readings on each port peak at a little over 5V, so nothing seems wrong on that end either I believe.

...there might be something turned off in the BIOS than needs to be re-enabled. Check each BIOS function carefully.

Here are my BIOS settings regarding USB configuration:

• Legacy USB Support: Enabled
• PS/2 Simulator: Disabled (enabling it doesn't seem to do anything)
• XHCI Hand-off: Disabled
• USB Write Access: Enabled

As for the single port settings, all of them are enabled.

Are there any "blown" electrolytics on the mobo?

None as far as I can tell.

A fresh install of Windows might effect a cure. Some unknown problem in the Registry may have killed USB functionality.

I'll look for any restore points, but I'm pretty sure I've got none.

I wonder how I could install Windows without a flash drive. I'll look for an optical drive and see what I can do. Will update ASAP.

 

[Misgar]

On a similar mobo I've got XHCI set to Enabled, but I've no idea what it does.

Just for "fun", connect a bootable USB memory stick with a copy of Windows to the back of your computer with no other drives attached.

There's a vague possibility the computer might detect and boot up from the USB drive, despite USB not working in your current build of Windows. If it boots from USB, shutdown, connect a spare drive and install Windows.

If not, you'll have to find a SATA DVD drive from somewhere and use create a bootable DVD from a Windows ISO. Then connect the DVD to your awkward mobo and try a new installation.

 

[stealing_society]

On a similar mobo I've got XHCI set to Enabled, but I've no idea what it does.

Just for "fun", connect a bootable USB memory stick with a copy of Windows to the back of your computer with no other drives attached.

There's a vague possibility the computer might detect and boot up from the USB drive, despite USB not working in your current build of Windows. If it boots from USB, shutdown, connect a spare drive and install Windows.

If not, you'll have to find a SATA DVD drive from somewhere and use create a bootable DVD from a Windows ISO. Then connect the DVD to your awkward mobo and try a new installation.

Trying to boot from the USB didn't work - it still wouldn't see it. After I reinstalled Windows, however, 6 new "unknown devices" popped up in Device Manager. That's the exact number of USB ports I have. Not sure if that's them, but since there aren't any USB drivers available for my mobo, I'm pretty sure I can't exactly check at the moment. What a headache, haha

Turning XHCI on also doesn't seem to be doing anything.

 

[Misgar]

Drivers will be available for your motherboard, otherwise it wouldn't have worked in the past. It's just a question of tracking them down. What's more worrying is Windows didn't automatically install the appropriate drivers when you reinstalled the OS.

To find a driver for each unknown device, right click the entry in Device Manager. Select Properties. Click the Details tab. Under Property click 'Device Description' to reveal a drop down list. From the list select Hardware IDs.

Read off the Value starting with &VID and type it into your favourite Search Engine. This should help to define the type of hardware that needs a new driver, including the manufacturer's name and the chipset part number. Now search for a Windows driver. It can take several attempts but you usually end up with a suitable driver.

Whether or not the USB hardware is still capable of working with the correct driver is a different matter. If the USB chipset has died, now might be a good time to order a PCIe USB card.

 

[stealing_society]

Drivers will be available for your motherboard, otherwise it wouldn't have worked in the past. It's just a question of tracking them down. What's more worrying is Windows didn't automatically install the appropriate drivers when you reinstalled the OS.

To find a driver for each unknown device, right click the entry in Device Manager. Select Properties. Click the Details tab. Under Property click 'Device Description' to reveal a drop down list. From the list select Hardware IDs.

Read off the Value starting with &VID and type it into your favourite Search Engine. This should help to define the type of hardware that needs a new driver, including the manufacturer's name and the chipset part number. Now search for a Windows driver. It can take several attempts but you usually end up with a suitable driver.

Whether or not the USB hardware is still capable of working with the correct driver is a different matter. If the USB chipset has died, now might be a good time to order a PCIe USB card.

None of the entries have any items under "Hardware IDs". I guess buying a USB card is my only option.

 

[Misgar]

Hmm. I'm surprised there's no info under Hardware ID, but if the associated hardware is "broken" I suppose Windows will have a hard time identifying it.

I've had motherboards where the Ethernet chipset "comes and goes" leading to intermittent network. Eventually it came back full time after cleaning the chipset with IPA.

If you can identify whether or not your USB functionality is part of a major chipset, or a tiny stand alone component, you could perform a visual inspection of the area and look for corrosion between pins or miniscule flecks of metal swarf (I'm clutching at straws here). A splash of IPA on a brush with stiff bristles should clear corrosion off chipset pins.

Dual-port USB cards are cheap enough if you buy unbranded Chinese versions. You might end up needing a quad-port board though. Quality branded boards are more expensive. It's certainly worth trying before you consider a replacement motherboard.

 

[Moonstick2]

Trying to boot from the USB didn't work - it still wouldn't see it. After I reinstalled Windows, however, 6 new "unknown devices" popped up in Device Manager. That's the exact number of USB ports I have. Not sure if that's them, but since there aren't any USB drivers available for my mobo, I'm pretty sure I can't exactly check at the moment.

If you go to the download page for your motherboard and select OS as Win7-64, you can download the USB driver v5.0.0.32. On that same page there's an additional Win7 USB patcher v2.0.21. That same patcher appears under Win10-64.

Even if you're on Win11, at this stage I'd be trying the USB driver followed by the patcher.


If you're struggling to do this with keyboard only, press Win + U and in the search box type Mouse Keys. Select (with arrow keys) "Turn mouse keys on or off", and with the On/Off highlighted press the spacebar. (It might be a little slow to respond.) You can now use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the mouse around.

 

[stealing_society]

Sorry for the delayed reply - in the meantime, I had my motherboard checked out by a professional (at a PC repair shop) and they concluded that the motherboard's chipset is damaged. With only one option remaning, as per Misgar's advice, I ordered a USB card for my free PCI-E x1 slot and plugged in a USB hub, getting all of my ports back.

I still have no idea how this problem came up in the first place.

Thanks a ton for sticking with my issue and all the advice provided - it means a lot.