# Unknown Device, no USB ports working, tried everything I could find online



## Zhei (Dec 17, 2006)

Computer: Laptop, Samsung r780.
OS: Windows 7 64-Bit

I have a wireless mouse and USB headphones that worked fine up until a few days ago when they both periodically stopped functioning. 2 days ago they stopped functioning entirely. They work on other computers and nothing connecting to a USB port works with this computer. There is an Unknown Device listed under Universal Serial Bus Controllers.

Here's what I've tried:


Did a system restore
Reinstalled all 64-Bit drivers available for my system on the Samsung drivers page
Right-clicked and uninstalled all drivers from Device Manager, then restarted computer
Took laptop battery out, waited 15 minutes, then put it in and started computer
Downloaded USBDeview and uninstalled all drivers listed (curiously, the Unknown Device is listed as not connected and not safe to unplug), then restarted computer
Ran Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor with mouse and headphones plugged in. No problems found.

Does anyone know what else could be done?

Thank you for your time

*EDIT* - The mouse lights up when its plugged in, even though Windows doesn't acknowledge it and moving and clicking doesn't work.


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## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

In Device Manager click on View at the top. In the dropdown show hidden devices then uninstall all listed usb items.

turn the computer off and unplug all usb devices.

reboot twice

replug in the usb plugs


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## pip22 (Aug 22, 2004)

Please update your profile as it currently tells us you are a Windows XP user.

The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor tool scans for incompatible hardware or software. It cannot detect faulty hardware because the tool was not designed for that purpose.
As long as the actual device is present, that is all the tool needs to compile a compatibility report.

So it does sound to me as though the USB hubs or ports are faulty.


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## jenae (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi, Vista and Seven store external devices INF details in a file called Infcache.1 This can become corrupt and some or all USB devices will not be recognized.

To fix:-

Log into your computer as your normal log on account (one that has admin privileges) 
Go to start, search and type :- control folders, open the returned control folder select “view” and put a check in “show hidden files and folders” and uncheck “hide protected system files and folders(recommended)” DO not forget to undo this when finished.

Next open windows explorer (the file manager) and navigate to:-
c:\windows\system32\driverstore…. look for Infcache.1, we will right click on this file and select delete, windows will not allow saying you do not have permission, to gain permission:-

Go to start, search and type:- cmd right click on the returned cmd.exe and select “run as administrator” at the prompt type:- (copy paste) 

```
takeown /f c:\windows\system32\driverstore
```
(press enter) you should receive a message that the file is now owned by your user name.

Next type:- 

```
icacls c:\windows\system32\driverstore /grant vistatest\paul:f
```
 (press enter) substitute your user name (from the first cmd) for vistatest\paul (my user name) be sure to add the :f at the end (syntax important)

Now you will be able to delete Infcache.1, after this Restart your computer and plug in a USB device (not the one you were having problems with) windows will rebuild the cache and now your device should be recognised Let us know how you get on.


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## alfarom (Nov 11, 2011)

Try booting from a cd or usb with a copy of something like Linux Mint or similar. This will give you a working Operating System and if the usb connected work then you know that the problem is a Windows issue. If nothing works via the USB ports then it's a hardware issue and will need to be looked at by somebody who knows how to troubleshoot motherboard issues.

Have you tried an external USB Hub to see if that gives you a workaround?

You can download a copy of Linux Mint from here. Just download and burn the .iso to a cd..

Download - Linux Mint


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