Added more RAM now USB ports not working

I have an Emachines running windows XP sp3. I added 1GB ram to bring me up to 1.5GB total. (manufacturer says 2GB max for my system). When I restarted the computer none of the usb ports were working. This is what I have done so far

1. Checked device manager for any warnings. There were none.
2. Checked for driver updates and I am current there. (no updates needed)
3. Checked usb ports for power. There is power (ie. can charge my cell phone)
but no devices work or are recognized..printer, scanner, mouse, etc.
4. Went to universal serial bus controller in device manager and uninstalled everything in that file. the computer automatically reinstalled the drivers and recognized the hardware and all was working.

5. When I restart the computer,after shutdown, none of the usb hubs are working and have to go through the process again(#4 above) and every time I boot up.

When I perform this task, the hardware(mouse printer, etc.) are plugged in and The system finds them as "new hardware" almost instantly after it re-installs the Items I uninstalled under universal serial bus controllers.

What am I doing wrong that does not allow the "fix" to be permanent?

 

Greetings, Blaise42, and welcome to MajorGeeks...

Strange symptoms. I was going to suggest checking to see if you might have physically knocked something loose (cable, connector, header, etc.), but then I reread your post...

Have you looked in your machine setup (BIOS) to see if anything is amiss there? Maybe reset everything to defaults just to toggle any legacy USB settings, something like that...

As far as Windows goes - doesn't seem like something could have changed just by adding RAM, but the place to check would be in Device Manager > USB Device > USB Root Hub > Power Management (I don't have an XP machine available, but the path should be similar to that)...look for any settings such as "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power", etc. Toggle anything you can find there to see if you can change some symptoms.

 

Thanks for the input Caliban.
I've done the power management in the usb root hubs already to no avail. Since my first post I've re-installed the usb drivers from the manufacturer. no luck with that).

I haven't checked in BIOS yet. I will do that this evening, although I performed every other possible scenario I could think of. The usb's seems to be in conflict with something. I did notice the last time I booted up the mouse worked for a couple seconds then froze. ( had my hand on the mouse and was moving it when windows opened)

I've done a system restore to a date two weeks before this issue . I'm thinking of resetting the system back to the default settings (?)

This is indeed a very strange thing. I will do some more checking and let you know what I find. Thanks.

 

Quick questions: are your mouse and keyboard USB? For that matter, do you have anything else USB (printer, speakers, camera, etc.) plugged in? If so, see if you can get your hands on a PS/2 mouse/keyboard and unplug anything else - at least for troubleshooting purposes...

Also, from left field: in a strange way I could believe this to be a power supply problem. Something to put on the back burner...

Do check your BIOS, just to get that out of the way.

 

One more quickie: make sure any sort of memory card (SD, SM/SMC, MMC, etc.) is not hiding in a slot somewhere - I've read that bad flash cards or cards forced into a wrong slot can cause weird USB problems...

 

Ok, checked my BIOS and didn't find anything there.
My mouse is usb but keyboard is PS/2. I replaced the usb mouse with a PS/2 mouse and that doesn't work either.:banghead

Perhaps this info may help you help me:
As stated in my OP, if I uninstall the "standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller" and let the computer reinstall, this is what is in the usb's (in device manager) before and after that procedure:

At boot up before doing anything:

Universal Serial Bus Controller
-Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
-Standard Open HCD USB Host Controller
-Root Hub
-Root Hub

After I uninstall Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller and system auto. re-installs:

Universal Serial Bus controllers
-Standard Open HCD USB Host Controller
-USB Composite Device
-Mass Storage Device
-Root Hub

The only thing plugged in to a usb port was the mouse. No memory sticks or memory cards or disks either.
I'm stumped and running out of things to try. I went through the Device Manager again and checked everything and found no warnings and everything says "this device is working properly". I'll keep researching and let me know if you come up with any new ideas at your end. I'll try anything at this point.

 

Solved!!

I installed a new CMOS battery, reset BIOS clock and rechecked all other BIOS settings and everything is working perfectly again.

I found it strange that I did not get any warnings. Apparently the battery was just beginning to fail. Either way, I'm happy to have resolved this issue.

Thank you Caliban for your help. You were correct that it was a power issue.

 

Hi, Blaise42...

Good job! Glad it turned out to be a cheap and simple fix, and thanks for the feedback.