You may encounter different types of problems on your computer system in day-to-day use. Most of them are very simple and easy to fix. But there are some advance issues that need a lot of time and effort to solve. Users often begin to react panickily to common system problems. This is due primarily to the lack of technical knowledge in casual users. We have collected some of the common issues of Windows OS ecosystem to help these types of users and have tried to solve them as easily as possible. We’re going to look at today’s topic on USB ports that don’t work on Windows 7 issue. This issue has been reported to appear from time to time on various versions of Windows OS. It’s more common on Windows 7-based systems, though.
Now, without wasting any time let’s dive into the solutions for fixing this issue.
Best Ways To Fix The USB Ports Not Working Windows 7 Issue
In an OS and a PC, there are many potential problem sectors that can cause this problem. It happens in most situations due to simple misconfigurations of software. This issue, however, appears in some cases due to hardware problems. But you don’t have to worry about it, as it’s a very simple and common system problem. And, by applying the right solutions, it can be solved. Now, to make efficient use of the fixes, we need to find the major problem sectors that give rise to this problem.
Verification And Elimination Of Problematic Sectors
This particular issue is related to the software and hardware of a system. Hence we need to search both of the sections in order to find the real problematic sector.
Hardware Problematic Sectors
The problematic sectors which are related to the hardware of a system are quite easy to detect and resolve. That’s why we will start their solution quest from there.
Check The USB Cable.
The first thing that you should check is the USB cable that you are using. Most of the time a faulty USB cable creates an illusion of USB ports not working issue. That’s why its workability verification is a mandatory factor.
To do that, connect your USB cable with another device or system. If it is not working at all, then you have found the problem. However, if the USB cable is functioning without an issue then move on to the next solution.
Verify The USB Port
Now, your USB port itself is the next hardware section that can cause this problem on your system. There may be many hardware parts in a standard system that are connected to the system via the USB port. And misconfiguring such hardware can cause problems such as not working USB ports. That’s why one by one we need to check those sections and then apply the solutions accordingly.
Verify The Power Consumption
At times, the USB port is unable to function properly due to lack of power. This thing usually happens with laptops. However, desktop users have also faced this issue due to a poorly functioning PSU.
In order to verify this problem on your laptop, reboot it and then connect the power adapter with it. After this, try to use your desired device once more.
Now, on a desktop, you have to turn it off and then connect a functional PSU in it. Once you have done that, turn on your desktop and verify whether the issue is resolved or not.
Investigate The USB Port Versions
Sometimes the USB port refuses to detect the connected device due to a malfunction of the USB port version. This creates various types of connectivity issues such as the non-functioning USB ports. Now to test if this is the real reason, plug your USB device into the correct USB port version. This means that if you are using a USB 2.0 device and you are attempting to connect it to a USB 3.0 or 3.1 port, this error is very likely to occur. Therefore, the device should be plugged into its legitimate USB port, but if it still shows the problem, then try using the next solution.
Faulty USB Port
If all of the primary problem sectors mentioned in the section above work perfectly, your USB port may be faulty. Connect your USB device to another USB port on your system to check it. If the second USB port works, it was clarified that the culprit is the USB port. Now, with the help of a spare part, if you are using a custom built system, change the USB port. Or, an external USB port extender can also be used. However, those users who work on pre-constructed systems such as laptops or ultrabooks need to contact their device manufacturer or service center to repair their device.
Software Problematic Sectors
After the verification of the hardware sector, you need to shift your solution quest towards the software sector. Most of the time, the software sector start showing different types of issues after an OS update. If your system has gone through such a thing, then there is a very high probability that this issue is happening due to some software misconfiguration.
Check-up The Power Management Settings
We’ve already mentioned the power role in a USB port to you. Now it’s time to explain the importance of proper settings for power management. There is a power conservation feature in the Windows OS ecosystem that switches off a device’s USB controllers when the USB port is not in use. Now, if the user wants to use it, it automatically turns on the power conservation feature whenever a USB port is used. It doesn’t work as it intends to in some cases, though. The system spits out issues like the USB ports that don’t work in those situations. But in portable Windows OS systems such as laptops and ultrabooks this feature is primarily found. This solution can therefore be skipped by desktop users.
- To rectify the power management settings, first, open the Device Manager by using the Run dialogue box. To do that, tap on the Windows Key + R together. Then on the Run Dialogue Box type, “devmgmt.msc” and hit the OK button or Enter key.
- On the Device Manager page, expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers option by double-clicking on it
- After that, double click on the first USB hub option from that list.
- A pop-up window will appear on your screen. On that window, tap on the Power Management tab.
- Inside that tab, you have to uncheck the box beside ‘Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power’ option. Then hit the OK button in order to save all the changes.
Once you have done this, close everything and check for the existence of the issue. Now, if your system possesses multiple USB ports and this issue is occuring in all of them. Then you have to repeat this method for all of them one by one.
Verify The USB Port Drivers
After an OS related update, the first things that generally get affected are the system drivers and apps. At such instances, they suffer from different types of issues like drivers corruption, OS incompatibility, etc. Hence, we need to move their focus towards them.
Reinstall The Problematic USB Port Drivers
If your USB port drivers are facing the file corruption problem, then the best solution for them would be driver reinstallation.
- To perform it, launch the Device Manager with the help of Windows Search Bar. Tap on the Windows Start Icon and the type “Device Manager” in the search section.
- Now on the result area, you will find the Device Manager shortcut option. Click on it to open the same.
- On the Device Manager page, you need to expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers option. Double-click on it to do that.
- Then locate the USB Host Controller and right click on it. A pop-up menu will arise on your screen. There you have to hit the Uninstall Device option.
- Now, wait until the uninstallation process gets completed. Once it finishes, reboot your computer.
- After that, connect your USB device on your system. This action will force your Windows OS to install a fresh version of USB port drives.
Now, you can use your USB port once again as a new one.
Update Your USB Port Drivers
Another problem that usually appears after an OS update is app and driver incompatibility. This is a very common problem and can be fixed very easily.
- To do that, launch the Device Manager page.
- There you will find the Universal Serial Bus controllers option. Double click on it.
- Now on the expanded section, you will get the USB Host Controller option. Right-click on it and open up the context menu.
- On that menu, you have to click on the Update Driver option.
- A pop-up window will appear on your screen. There you have to click on the ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’ option.
Now, if any new version of USB port drivers is available then Windows will start downloading and installing it.
Conclusion
We hope that with the USB ports that do not work with windows 7 issue, their solutions and suggestions will help you. If you need more information about this topic or other things related to tech, follow our articles.
