USB Problems

[abchutch]

I have been having a long problem with my usb slots in my HP Desktop.  It started out with not recognizing flash drives in the front usb slots and progressed to not recognizing other storage devices and my cell phone or hp printer.  I ended up uninstalling everything and unplugging everything but now even with nothing plugged in, I keep getting a message that USB Device is not recognized and it keeps coming up until eventually the computer freezes up.  I have to reboot the computer and quckly get into the device manager and disable all usb hubs including the unknown device and mass storage device so that the computer doesn't freeze up

I have uninstalled several times and they just keep reinstalling by themselves, even if I have nothing plugged in.

[dahlarbear]

1.  You can try the HP troubleshooting steps located here although it sounds like you've already tried some of them.

2.  You can download the USBDevice utility from www.nirsoft.net to view everything you'd ever want to know about all current and previously connected USB devices on your system.  The utility can also be used to uninstall both current and previously used USB devices from your system (presumably this cleans up the Windows "registry").

3.  You can try to power reset the chipset firmware:
    o  Turn off the computer and unplug the power cord from the power outlet.
    o  Reset the power: with the power cord unplugged, press and hold the power button on the front of the computer for 5 seconds.
    o  Plug the power cord into the power outlet.
    o  Press the power button to turn on the computer and note what happens.