USB Orgy -- Or Lack Of

This is a long run, but I guess we'll try this.

What this fix does:

Sometimes when using multiple usb ports, registry keys in Windows XP get confused. What this fix does is deletes the registry keys for all the usb devices that you have plugged into your usb ports (since Windows gives a name for each device that uses the USB port ONCE, meaning that it uses the same name in EVERY port, for EVERY device, but only references it once. Doing so over time can confuse windows into thinking that it can't recognize the device (especially if you switch usb ports with the device alot, like I do)


1. Make sure nothing is plugged into the usb ports.

2. Click "Start", choose "run" and type "regedit". Without quotation marks.

3. Click "File" choose "export", save this file on the desktop called "backupregistry" without quotations.

NOTE: Before deleting some entries you will have to change the Permissions. You do this by highlighting the entry you want and going to the EDIT Menu and select Permissions and give everyone full control.

4. Then, back in Registry Editor, I want you to go to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\USB\".

5. Delete every key under the "USB" folder that begin with "VID_###". (Where ### represents a number, for example "VID_0781&PID_6100")
Again, make sure nothing is plugged into the USB ports, or it wont let you delete the key. Also, if you have any SATA drives, it wont let you delete the keys for those if the drives are in use (since they show up as USB.)

Once you're done deleting all of those keys, restart the machine. Login to your account (if you have to login), then one by one, try plugging in a device.

If that doesn't work, double click your "backupregistry" file, to restore the system to the state it was in before, then restart the computer.

Jam it back in, in the dark.