When you say 'XP will reinstall them' I don't know what this means.  If you mean the 'New Found Hardware Wizard' I have had a ton of trouble with this utility...it does not reinstall ANYTHING...it will not (or cannot) automatically reinstall from a disc, a folder location, or anything else.   Removing USB ports (as recommended by a Dell technician) and then rebooting to reinstall the ports was the start of all my trouble two months ago...I removed 3 (or 4?) USB Root Hub ports and then rebooted but THEY DID NOT RETURN  OR REINSTALL.

Since then I have tried everything to get them back....downloaded chipsets (which reinstalls fine for the remaining USB controller ports, but does NOT bring back the Root Hub ports (which are now (I suspect) listed as 'Unknown Devices' under Other Devices in Device Manager.

I have cleared the NVRAM, Dell replaced the motherboard, and I have spent hours online troubleshooting with Dell technicians, etc. etc. but I still don't have USB ports to connect my USB ports.  Frankly, I do think there is still something else wrong (which may require an OS reinstall) which is preventing me from solving this problem.  I am desparately trying to avoid a reformat reinstall, but I am fast running out of options.  Thanks for your help....maybe you have an idea why the XP reinstall is not working.

Open Device Manager and expand the list under USB. Right-click each item, one at a time, and select uninstall. Do the entire list. Reboot and XP should reinstall them. If your system has USB2, one entry should say 'enhanced'.

Ron

Thank you for the suggestion....I DID do a repair/Install and it seemed to be successful except for ONE little error message in the middle of the repair concerning a 'ShowIcons' file that did not load...I continued o n to the end but found that I could not reboot....when I contacted Dell they told me that it sounded like a spyware and said that I would have to do a clean reinstall....several hours later I did the clean reinstall and it DID clear up the problems I was having in loss of the USB ports....but I am now faced with the huge task of reinstalling many many applications and (forturnately) the backup of 3.5 GB  of personal data which I stored both on Zip Discs, and an internal CDRW drive.  I am having some difficulty with a restore but at least I do have the data...just have to find a way to restore it now.   Thanks for the suggestion.

I have the same problem as Woodbear99. 

My USB ports also did not work, and no driver could be found.

DELL had me uninstall the USB devices, and XP is "supposed" to recognize/reinstall the USB devices at the next login.  This did not happen.  Then DELL suggested to replace the motherboard, which was fine unless they swapped it for an old one when I sent it in for warranty repair.  I refused to accept that as a reason, as the USB mouse works fine in the Diagnostic tool outside of windows.  Now they say to reinstall everything.

I am going to try the partial reinstall/repair first.   I'll post it here if it works.

Meister der Jagd

Before you uninstalled USB in Device Manager, you were supposed to unplug all USB devices except keyboard and mouse, if you use those. Then reboot and let XP reinstall the USB ports before you reconnect USB devices. If USB devices are already connected when XP reinstalls USB, it will detect the devices as "new" and load what it things are correct drivers. If it's a printer, that's a route to problems because XP rarely has the right printer software and typically installs the printer as a mass storage device. If that's what you did, you might try a System Restore to a date before you uninstalled USB. Then unplug and uninstall USB...

I'd also try a system file check before doing the repair/reinstall.
Click start>run
type in: sfc /scannow
(space between sfc and /)
click ok

sfc will replace any damaged/missing XP system files. Insert your XP CD if sfc prompts for it.

Dell does not install "old" parts. They install "refurbished" parts which usually come with a limited warranty. Refurbished parts can be quite good because they are supposed to be be individually tested to assure proper function before being released. Dell installed refurbished motherboard in my 8400 under warranty about 3 months ago and it has worked perfectly.

I don't see a "showicons" file on my system with XPpro SP2, and I see no reason why a repair/reinstall would call for a spyware file so that bit of info from Dell may be bogus.

Ron

Yes, we did have similar problems....Not only did the USB ports not reinstall when I rebooted the computer, and I spent 3 months trying to get them back (chipsets reinstalled, and various other troubleshooting methods suggested by Dell including replacing the motherboard...also failed), but the Repair/Reinstall failed too for reasons unknown and I wound up doing a clean reinstall.   This solved the problem of the missing USB ports but created another huge problem when not one, but TWO backups also failed and I stood to lose 3.5 GB  of personal files.  My only salvation was retrieving about 75% of those important files from my old computer (actually about 90% of the more irreplacable files).  Lessons learned: backup, check backup, backup again with another media, check that backup.