XPS L501X USB Problems

Hi Lauren 

Sorry I don't have a clue and neither does anyone else on this forum it appears but try this.

If the problem is that when you try plugging in devices such as USB thumb drives you don't get any sign that it has been detected, you may need to check the power management on the USB controllers. 

Go to: Start > Control Panel > System > Hardware Tab > Device Manager > navigate down to USB Root HUB (all of them) > Right Click > Properties > Power Management Tab > Un check "allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".

Retry your USB device...It should work now...

At least that was voted the best answer on Yahoo thanks to Migs http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081127064251AAKgN9G

Fingers crossed

Ps. at least I am better looking than Migs

Thanks very much for your help but that didnt work :(

I presume they have power as theyre lighting up but arent being found by windows

Any help again is really appreciated.

Thanks

Lauren

Have you tried all three usb ports? Another option is to delete the USB controllers from Device manager and then restart the computer. After a restart it should rebuild the registry entries for all those devices and may fix your issue. Every device in Windows is represented in the registry and sometimes the registry entries for those devices get messed up.

Thank you for the suggestion but it didn't work either.

I tried USBDeview which didn't detect anything until I tried a new Kingston DataTraveler. Windows also detected it and installed the USB mass storage device driver  but it still didn't show up as an accessable drive. I have just done a windows update which has installed a few irrelevant things (Windows live essentials, Excel bugfix etc.) but the drive is now working.

The older drives still will not work though although they work fine in my old(er) laptop running vista.

Thanks again

Lauren

Open up the Device Manager (right-click My Computer, click on Manage and select Device manager from the left pane).
Select the View Hidden Devices from the View menu, to see invisible (unplugged) devices too.

See if you can spot any devices (especially USB controllers) with exclamation marks or cross marks.
Reinstall the drivers for those devices and make sure all devices are enabled.

Just a hunch, but you should make sure that the USB ports are enabled in the system BIOS.
Reboot, and press F2 (or Fn+F2, if that doesn't work) immediately to enter the BIOS.

I forget the exact section, but you can toggle certain USB settings there. If you see an option for Legacy USB support, try enabling it.
It is better to note down the existing BIOS settings before changing them. You can revert the BIOS to setup defaults, if something gets messed up.

While still in the BIOS, I would recommend changing the Function Key behavior option to Function Key First,
rather than Multimedia Key First, as it is more convenient for common usage.

One more thing you can do is use the eSata port on the right side of the L501x notebook. Not many people know that it is a combo port,
and doubles as a eSata/USB port. However, it is USB2.0 only, so for the newer USB3.0 devices, you will need to use the blue USB ports on the back and left.

Remember, some of the newer USB devices need more power, so it is recommended to use the blue USB 3.0 ports for such devices, as they are powered ports.

Hope this helps.

I don't know if you've resolved this yet, but I had the same problem.  Some of my USB drives (e.g., an HP v125w) would work in all of the USB slots, but some (e.g., an HP v115w) would only work in the 2.0 combo slot on the right side.  Does anyone know if there is any fix for this, such as updated drivers for the 3.0 USB slots?

I just had the same issue. I know it's been 3 years, but maybe someone knows more now??  Same two USB 3.0 ports on the back and left corner on my xpsl501x...

I tried all fixes except the BIOS one... sounded scary.

My eSata/USB 2.0 works for now.

Same issue here. Drivers from Dell are bad, windows can't find drivers, none of these solutions work. I have 3 usb drives and only one works.