Device Manager Empty...USB problems, please help

Question

I have a Inspiron E1505 laptop running Windows XP SP2.  About a month ago, I unsuccessfully tried to install SP3.  It gave me an error and stopped installing and I continue to use SP2.  Ever since then, my USB ports have had issues.  My printer (HP 4480) is no longer recongnized in any of my USB ports.  I've removed and reloaded the printer software and still nothing.  My ipod is recognized by my computer as a hard drive, but is not recognized by iTunes.  My thumb drives all work fine on all USB ports.  The weirdest thing is that when I open device manager, nothing shows up.  The 'tree' listing all my USB ports is gone!  What can I do?  I've checked services.msc and I have plug and play automatically enabled.   Thanks.

DELL-Jesse L · Answer

ronny1, Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum. Try reinstalling the chipset drivers back into the system.

ronny1 · Answer

Jesse, I reinstalled the chipset drivers and still no luck.  Device manager is still blank.  My USB ports all still work excpet they will not recognize my printer (HP C4480).  I've tried everything.

BELL BOY · Answer

ronny1   One possible cause is certain AV software running when trying to install SP3   If that is/was the culprit then see suggested fix in MS KB 953791

Windows General

Was this post helpful?