Windows 7 USB slots on PC connect and disconnect on random intervals

Ma-dazz

Member
I got 2 fairly old (I'd say around 8 years old) USB slots on the front of my PC that don't function normally lately. Most of the time, mostly when I insert a big external HDD, they are connected and disconnected from my PC for even 10 times in half a minute, in which case I remove them to prevent any damage to the HDD. I tried with some USB slots on the back, connected via a USB hub, and it was even worse, the one I connected was making clicking sounds so I got it out immediately. None of my external HDDs or flash drives have a problem, in fact they work completely normally as they should (but only half the time when they are connected to this PC) and I have almost never had problems like this in my Ubuntu OS (dual-boot on the same PC) during the same time-frame. Moreover, the external HDD that showed the most problems was a brand new one which I used about 3 times. Now I'm completely abstaining from connecting anything but flash drives on my PC which is a big nuisance.

What's at fault here? Will I need to make a new purchase?
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Sounds like something is up with the USB ports as well. I would bet a new case perhaps or could be a motherboard USB issue or its grounding out somewhere. Need to figure it out though.
 

Ma-dazz

Member
If it's clicking it's dead. RMA it.
It's not dead, I tested it and it still works. Again, this is not the only external HDD that has had these problems on it (by "these problems" I mean weird but otherwise not permanently damaging behavior).

Sounds like something is up with the USB ports as well. I would bet a new case perhaps or could be a motherboard USB issue or its grounding out somewhere. Need to figure it out though.
It's a fairly new motherboard, less than 2 years old. Do USB ports like this come only with new cases? Can I buy them separately? What's the search term for these?
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
It's a fairly new motherboard, less than 2 years old.
That don't mean anything. Onboard chips can die at any time. The case USB's could be shorting out because of a metal piece inside of them or for some other reason. If you are having the same issue with the USB's on the back of the motherboard then its definitely a motherboard issue.
 

Ma-dazz

Member
That don't mean anything. Onboard chips can die at any time. The case USB's could be shorting out because of a metal piece inside of them or for some other reason. If you are having the same issue with the USB's on the back of the motherboard then its definitely a motherboard issue.
The thing is, I didn't directly use the USB ports on the back since my external HDD's cable is too short, so I used an old USB hub to facilitate connectivity. That's how it started clicking and I almost immediately removed it. I could assume it was the hub having the problem, so I didn't bother again. Otherwise, the mouse, keyboard and printer that I have connected on the back work perfectly. So I still can't be sure if it's the motherboard that has the problem or just that random USB hub I've seen laying around and used only once.
 
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