Laptop Doesn’t Recognize USB Ports:
also look around in the bios to make sure the notebook is not set for track pad only...the D820..has a pointing stick? does that work. I would have to say , off the top of my head I would agree w/ fatback
Yes, the D820 has a "pointing stick." I tend to shy away from the BIOS ... read below.
Here's an update on my original post with a little regression for background:
I have a circa 2006 Dell Latitude D820 laptop that ran fine under WIN XP Pro (as factory-installed by Dell) until it was attacked by a global virus that resisted all corrective measures. So I did a Dell-suggested reinstall of XP Pro.
[BTW … THREE DELL CDS THAT CAME WITH THE LAPTOP: - (1) FOR REINSTALLING CD MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PACK 2; (2) FOR REINSTALLING DELL LATITUDE SYSTEM DRIVERS AND UTILITIES; AND (3) FOR REINSTALLING CYBERLINK POWERDVD 5.7 SOFTWARE.]
Rather than use the cumbersome (for me) D820 touch-pad navigation system … I got a Kensington Pocketmouse Pro Wireless device at the time that was powered by a USB plug-in controller/receiver.
Before the recent XP Pro reinstall … the Kensington mouse worked fine (except for the occasional battery replacement). After the reinstall, it no longer responded at all. I tried it in all three USB ports … nothing. Thinking the mouse had somehow died … I bought a USB-powered wired Microsoft Notebook Optical Mouse 3000 and installed the software. The laptop recognized the software but not the hardware.
Finally I plugged in a SanDisk USB flash drive (that lights up at one end when contact is made). I got no response from any of the laptop USB ports.
Could the XP Pro reinstall have somehow disabled the D820’s USB capability? [CURIOUSLY, I LEFT THE KENSINGTON USB CONTROLLER/RECEIVER ATTACHED WHEN REINSTALLING XP PRO. IN FACT … IT STOPPED WORKING AS I WAS INSTALLING SUCCESSIVE DRIVERS FROM CD #2 ABOVE.]
Not being familiar with such matters … I’m asking for guidance here on hopefully getting USB (and mouse) capability back on the D820. Are we speaking BIOS here? < gasp! > Walk-through steps would be much preferred for this semi-literate in such matters. It’s no fun being “mouse-less.”
Thanks.
P.S. – what is a “powered USB connector”? The D820 has one of these as well.
