Hi,

I have a dell optiplex GX 620 with 2.8GHZ processor and 2GB of memory. It has Windows XP Home installed. The computer has 4usb ports in the rear with two additional in the front. My problem is that only a mouse and keyboard are recognized when plugged in those ports. A hard drive was tested and it powered it up, but it was not recognized as a device. I've checked the bios settings and everything to do with usb is activated. Also, checked Widows XP device manager shows that all drivers and usb devices have no errors. Last, I have checked inside the computer and found all connections to be secured via ribbon cable in the rear and soldered down in the front panel. I am stuck at this point. Any help will be appreciated.


Thanks,

IB4GAINS

have you tried unpluggin the mouse/keyboard and test the HD in that port? Are they USB 2.0 ports? and errors in your event viewer?

ib4gains:

I have a question concerning this statement:


I an confused about the "… and it powered it up …". Is a USB powered drive or a normal 2.5" or 3.5" IDE disk drive in a USB drive enclosure with an independent power supply? What is the make and model of the drive?

The reason that I am asking is that it has been reported that some USB ports are marginal in supplying 500 mA @ 5 volts and could affect a USB powered drive.

Most usb External drives have their own power supply, and not many usb ports could fully power an external drive. Even in a drive enclosure, they have external power.

I have unplugged those devices an put that HD in those ports and the same occurs. It powers up, but its not recognized as a device on a usb port. They are 2.0 and the HD is a 2.0 device. This HD also does not need external power supply. It uses usb power.

Thank you. Do have the make and model? I would like see if I can find some specs on the product to see if there is possibility that it may be that current draw is close to the 500mA maximum allowable.

I have a dell optiplex GX 620 with 2.8GHZ processor and 2GB of memory. It has Windows XP Home installed. Also, no usb device is recognized such as a memory stick. Thank you for the help.

I actually meant the make and model of the hard drive, but since "... no usb device is recognized such as a memory stick", the problem does not appear that it is related to the current limitations of the USB port that I was attempting to pursue.