On the hardware side, a damaged or disconnected connection between the USB port and motherboard, power supply issues, or physical damage can cause the port to malfunction. On the software side, outdated or missing drivers, viruses or malware, or configuration issues can cause the USB port to stop working. Below, we have discussed different troubleshooting methods that you can try to resolve the issue.
1. Check if the issue is hardware related
The first thing that we recommend doing is checking if the problem is hardware related. We recommend trying different ports using the device. If the device doesn’t work on multiple USB ports, it’s likely a problem with the device itself. You can also try plugging in another device in the port to check if that works. Inspect the USB port for physical damage or debris. If the port is physically damaged, it’s likely a hardware issue. If none of these steps resolve the issue, it may be a software-related issue, and you should try troubleshooting software-related causes as we have described below.
2. Perform a clean boot
This issue can occur when one or more services or programs in the system are causing a conflict, resulting in issues with the USB port. To check if this scenario is applicable, you can perform a clean boot. It starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. A clean boot will disable non-essential services and programs, eliminating the possibility of software conflicts or compatibility issues that could be causing the USB port to malfunction. Here is how you can perform a clean boot: After your computer restarts, check if the USB port is working. If it is, then one of the disabled services or startup programs was causing the issue. You can try enabling them one by one to determine which one is the culprit.
3. Update USB drivers
Drivers are software programs that allow the operating system to communicate with hardware devices, including the USB port. If the USB drivers are outdated, corrupt, or incompatible with the operating system, it can cause the USB port to malfunction. If outdated drivers are causing the problem, then the easiest way to fix the issue is by updating them in the Device Manager. Here is how you can proceed: If this does not fix the issue, you can also try to manually update the USB driver. For that, follow these steps:
4. Adjust the power settings
You might also be facing the problem because of the USB Selective Suspend setting being enabled on your computer. It is a power-saving feature that in Windows uses unused USB ports to conserve energy by putting them in a low-power state. However, this feature can cause issues with the USB port, especially if the USB device requires a continuous power supply. Disabling the USB Selective Suspend setting will prevent Windows from putting the USB port into a low-power state, helping you fix the issue with the USB port. Follow these steps to proceed: Alternatively, you can also make this change using the Device Manager. Here is how:
