Usb stops working after startup

[jbourne84]

this is a combination of issues but basically, as my PC boots up my usb optical mouse lights up its little red light but when it gets to windows it is completely off, none of the usb ports seem to be active.

a little background that leads up to this-
I've been trying to get a hard drive to work, using different sata ports, it is seen in bios with details but cant do anything with it. upon messing around with this, everytime i boot up my startup runs a "memory check" that takes like 15 min, then will not boot into windows.
I pulled the HD out so only the main HD is connected and i continue to have to go through this memory check (there is a key option to skip but the keyboard is not yet enabled at this point) but at least now it will boot into windows. however when i get there, the mouse is not working which i am confident is from the usb connection not being active.

I am really just trying to upgrade from Vista to Win7, i could prob navigate the menues without a mouse and hope it is all fine after doing the clean install but im afraid to get it going without being sure.

Vista home premium (trying to upgrade to Win7 home premium)
Abit IP35 pro xe
4 gb Gskill ram
Q6600@ 2.4
seagate 320GB harddrive
seagate 500gb harddrive(this is the one that isnt working)

 

[buwish]

The problem could be that the USB controllers are a bit out of whack. To see if this is the case, update the chipset and see if that fixes the issue. Typically a chipset update will reset the USB controllers, hence the recommendation (it can't hurt).

 

[mhelm1]

If your mouse came with the ps2 adapter try it out and plug the mouse into the PS2 (round)port. Having a mouse will make your update so much easier.

 

[jbourne84]

will updating the chipset happen on its own if i reformat/install Win7?
If not, where can i get instructions to do this since im not familier with it

 

[mhelm1]

You should go to computer manufacturer or motherboard manufacturer's web site to get
drivers for your hardware. have your model numbers handy.

 

[Mugsy]

It is almost certain that your Windows USB drivers are screwed up, but the simplest way to verify it's not a hardware problem is to try another OS. Go to Ubuntu Linux and download the Live CD. Boot with the CD. If your USB devices still work, you'll know you have a driver problem.

Your best bet if that's the case: do a Windows Recovery re-installation from the Windows CD.