Usb connections dropping in and out.

[tdutiel]

Hi,

I have a dell inspiron 530 desktop, running windows XP with all the latest windows updates, 4gb RAM, aftermarket G-forge 1gb video card.  It has 8 usb ports, 4 in the front, and 4 in the back.  Recently any devices I plug in drop connection and the reconnect constantly.  In the past I have filled all 8 ports without any issues, and this problem does not affect my usb keyboard, mouse, and printer.  However plugging in a second usb mouse will cause this issue on the second mouse but not the original one.  It doesn't seem to matter what the 4th device is.  I have also tried both the front and rear usb ports with the same results, and all the devices I am trying to use have worked in the past with no issues.  I have not made any changes to hardware since the problem started, so I am lost on this one.  I have done a full wipe and re-install of windows.  Any ideas?

[truenorth]

Get yourself a mug of your favorite beverage and then peruse this site to see if any of it applies (and solves) your USB issue.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310575
goodluck,truenorth

[tdutiel]

Well, nothing there has seemed to make a difference.  Going to tear the whole thing down, clean it out, check connections, then reload from scratch.  I'll re-post as soon as I am done whether I got it going or not.

[Geek-9pm]

Whenever large measure are made to restore software and a problem persists, it often forebodes a hardware flaw.

Get a good PCI USB card and install it. The built-in USB may have mechanical and electrical issues.

[recovering disk space - old attachment deleted by admin]

[tdutiel]

Well, full reload and still have a problem.  I am willing to get a pci card, however since I have 3 devices working fine regardless of which usb port I use, I am starting to think I may be lacking power.  I did recently put a nvidea gt 430 1gb video card in to replace my 256mb card, it required a 300W power supply, however I think my 300W PS may not be enough.  When I load World of Warcraft now, as soon as I "zone in" in the game the video shuts off, and the computer hangs.  Also last night I plugged my wifes phone into the usb to charge which will still work, but get less than half a charge in 8 hours.  Can anyone confirm that this sounds like I need a bigger power supply, or that mine is weak?

[tdutiel]

Small update, I went back to my old video card and that solves the problem with wow, still able to unplug the printer and use another device, just can't use more than 3 total devices.  I did crack open the psu and found one capacitor that is swelled on the top, so I think I may need to upgrade my psu.  Will update again when I can get a new psu.  Advice/opinions still welcome.

[Geek-9pm]

Good hob! So the PSU had a problem. 
That makes sense. A faulty capacitor can reduce the quality of the power, making the rails 'Wobble'* and 'sag' and provoking failure of some USB devices.
Still, you might want to do more that replace the capacitor. A new 450 watt PSU can be had for a price that makes it more piratical l to retire the old PSU as a backup.

*Wobble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE_64SdD27w

[tdutiel]

Yeah, I am not feeling up to replacing a single capacitor.  I have not done any soldering on boards with those yet, so I will just update my psu, I'm thinking more towards a nice 850 watt or so psu though so I will support more upgrades in the future.  Also now even with my older video card I freeze and lose video even just trying to watch a small video online, so I am pretty convinced at this point that my psu is creating all my problems.  Going to go ahead and mark this one as solved for now.  Thanks everyone for the help and support.