USB help needed

Can anyone please help me, I had a friend in my class that put a fake toy dog that moved in my USB drive i guess it was some kind of toy that he had purchased that fits in USB drives and plugging it in activates motion. Ever since this has happend my computer keeps flashing like a neon sign reading... USB Device Not recognized. I have tried restarting the computer as well as wiping out the entire hard-drive and reinstalling windows but the message keeps flashing, can anyone give me any insight on what to do?

 

I've seen the toy online... I think your USB port has been shorted and that, in turn, shorted the USB controller. It could be that the USB controller chip is ruined, in that case, your friend will be paying for the repair. I'd recommend buying the cheapest USB device you can find (like USB mouse for example; generic ones are under $10 at any PC store, a used one shouldn't be more than $4-$5) and plug it into a USB port and see if that resets it. There's a chance (a small one) that the USB device will be damaged, that's why I suggest using something really inexpensive. There's also a small chance that plugging in a USB device will cause further damage to the PC. You didn't say if this is a laptop or tower, but in either case, you could try to disable the on-board USB in the BIOS, then use a USB expansion card: a PCI card for the tower or a PCMCIA expansion card for the laptop. However, some newer laptops do not have standard PCMCIA slots, so that may or may not work.... just be sure you keep receipts for everything so that this "friend" can reimburse you for any and all expenses incurred from his stupid toy. If I'm not mistaken, this is the toy: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=161896 (scroll down a bit and you'll see it)

GOOD LUCK!

[dlb]

 

yes, that is either the exact toy or one very similar, i am using a laptop, the strange thing is i have a usb mouse and it seems to work fine when plugged into that usb slot but i still get the strange USB not recognized flashing at the bottom and whenever i close it, it flashes again. It just becomes annoying, i have tried to uninstall the driver, update it, i have tried to disable it, but just doesn't seem to want to stop flashing. Sometimes it doesn't do it but other times it just goes nuts so i have to restart and sometimes it will still continue to do it.