usb port not working

For some reason one of my usb ports is not working.I think its because my friends kept unplugging and plugging in they ipod's,cell phones etc.
The other usb port works with no problem though.Is there anyway I can fix this?I think one of my friends broke something when he kept unplugging and plugging over and over again.
Is there anyway that I can fix this problem??


I have windows xp

 

Is that a front port? How many ports do you have on front?

This doesn't sound good. I suspect you do, indeed, have a defective port now. If so, and if you really need additional ports, you could either get a USB hub or you could install a USB PCI card. See my post #8 in http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?p=1086681#post1086681

 

It was the port in the front on the side.Not the port in the back where the power plug and all that is at.I bought a USB 2.0 travel hub for the other usb port.
I plugged the usb hub in the good port and it works.Only problem I have is that when i plug something in the usb port it hangs halfway out.I think its because my friends did the same with both usb ports.Anything in general I plug in the usb port it works but its halfway hanging out.

Is there anyway I can fix this problem

Edit:another thing I noticed when I went to device manager is that there's an yellow exclamation point by PCI serial port.I right clicked it and tried reinstalling it but I got an error message saying:The hardware was not installed because the wizard cannot find the necessary software.

could that problem be related to the usb problem?

 

well does anyone know??:confused