Computer Question--USB

[Otherguy Overby]

My just off warranty DELL computer went on the fritz over the weekend.  It's an XPS 410 desktop.

The USB died.  It still powers accessories but doesn't communicate with them.  No keyboard (failure message) and no other USB action.  No beeps, no nothing.

So, for who knows how long I've installed an accessory USB board to get the thing running again.  I still get the keyboard error message too.  Other than sending it and money to DELL, can anyone think of anything to make this work again?

[lacoochee]

If it's a bad board you could pull the numbers off of the board and see if you can pickup a replacement on e-bay or failing that check your components - cpu, ram, etc and find a compatible motherboard and build out a "new" machine using old components and new board.  Make sure you check the form factor of the old board e.g. AT, ATX etc so that you buy the right size new board for your case or replace the case if you want.

That's about all you can do, trust me if you send it in for repair it will cost you almost as much as just buying another equivalent machine.

[never_retreat]

If the ports are on the front of the computer they are usually attached to the motherboard via a cable that may have multiple connectors. Check to see if they are all still connected to the MB.
You weren't playing with bios settings were you? sometimes they can be turned off in bios.

[Nick1911]

USB PCI expansion card.

[GigaBuist]

USB PCI expansion card.

Yep.  Shouldn't be more than $20 to get one.

[RocketMan]

USB PCI expansion card.

Yep.  Shouldn't be more than $20 to get one.

Based on his OP, he's already done that, and he's still having problems with the keyboard warning.

Putting a new motherboard in a Dell machine can be...problematical.  Depending on the vintage, some Dell machines had proprietary power supply schemes.  Mixing a Dell power supply with a non-Dell motherboard, or visa-versa, often results in the escape of the factory installed smoke.
After about 2002 Dell moved away from this.  However, many Dell machines also use a proprietary connection scheme for the front panel do-dads, switches, USB connectors, indicators and the like.  That can make it difficult to install a standard mATX board in a Dell case without some serious modification.

Many of the Dell motherboards are standard Intel boards with modifications that make them unique to Dell.

There are a number of companies on the web that sell working replacement Dell motherboards.  Depending on the model, they run anywhere from ~$80 to $250.  Google can help.

[Harold Tuttle]

most of the bigger motherboard sellers maintain an ebay shop

what does your device manager think about the accessory USB boards status/driver?

[Gewehr98]

The keyboard error message is probably coming from the BIOS. My last Dell Precision workstation had a USB keyboard/mouse setting in the BIOS that one could disable/enable fairly easily.  My current IBM workstations have the same option. 

The PCI USB card will quite easily handle your USB keyboard and mouse, and get you running with a faster V2.0 USB connection for cheaper than replacing a motherboard.   

I've done the same for a couple of my IBM workstations, because they run power to the USB mice and keyboards when the computers are turned off.  That drives folks nuts, because the mice and keyboards can really light up a bedroom with those blue LEDs and so forth. I also have several USB-switched power controllers, which turn off parasitic power to monitors, sound amplifiers, and so forth (Get a Kill-O-Watt meter and see how much juice an LCD monitor's power supply in standby draws over time!)  They wouldn't work when the USB connection stayed live when the computers were powered down.

So I put PCI USB cards in them, and ran the keyboards, mice, and power controllers to those particular USB connectors.  When the computers are powered down, there is no voltage from the PCI USB cards to the USB accessories.  Voila'!

[Firethorn]

One way to get the BIOS to shut up would be to disable the USB in it.

As for getting USB to work again - maybe, maybe not.  Fixing it short of a new motherboard is iffy.

[Brad Johnson]

Run a BIOS update or install some new app, by chance?

Brad

[Otherguy Overby]

An update...

I ran recovery and set the date prior to the fault.  It then restarted without the USB and I had to reload the respective drivers for them.  It sure looks like I will have to get a second USB card because I need more than four ports. 

Thanks for your advice so far. 

[Gewehr98]

If you still have at least some USB connectivity, you can always get a USB hub to create more ports from the existing ones.