Problem with XP recognizing a USB connexion

December 27, 2003 8:34 AM

My computer (Windows XP) will not recognize the USB connection I've added to it. [more...]

I got a kind of cheap MP3 player for Christmas (RCA Lyra 1080). It came with installation software for the USB connection. The back of my PC has two USB slots. I've tried both, I've tried installing the software with and without connections in place, and every iteration of rebooting, installing, and plugging to no avail. I have also tried "Add New Hardware" from the Control Panel. I know barely enough about computers to be dangerous, so if any solutions can border on the non-technical that would be great. Thank you all for your help.

posted by vito90 to computers & internet (3 comments total)

Go into your System Properties (WindowsKey-Break) and look at your device manager-->usb controllers. See if those are working correctly; sometimes I've had to uninstall them and my system re-finds them when I reboot. Don't know if it can permanently mess anything up, but it's worked for me. Does other stuff work with the USB?
posted by gramcracker at 8:44 AM on December 27, 2003

You may want to check your BIOS settings as well.

Some motherboards disable USB by default, to prevent any issues in the event of a non-supportive OS install (NT4, Win95/98 R1 or Netware 4.11).
posted by Smart Dalek at 9:06 AM on December 27, 2003

THANK YOU very much, both of you. I followed gramcracker's advice, went in there and there were like 8 things listed under USB - one of them was "Mass Storage Device" so it seemed to know it's there but didn't show it in Explorer - then I rebooted and it was there and I can now transfer files. Damn thing I sweated over it for 2 hours yesterday. I appreciate the help.
posted by vito90 at 9:23 AM on December 27, 2003