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Hi-
I just found this forum. This is an awesome site!
I have an Acer Aspire 3100 with Windows XP Home Edition Ver 2002 (Service Pack 3) installed. When any USB devices is plugged in, the screen freezes (computer freezes). All my USB works fine in another computer. I have checked Device Manager and all USB ports indicate that is is "working properly". Could someone direct me to resolve this problem? Thanks for your help.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by HelpingHands-IT

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Quick summary and next steps that go beyond the ideas already posted by .

First, isolate hardware vs Windows. Boot the laptop from a clean, non‑Windows environment (for example, a Linux Live CD/DVD) and then plug a USB device. If the system still freezes while running the live OS, the fault is almost certainly hardware (power rail, port short, or motherboard). If it runs fine under the live OS, the problem is in Windows (drivers or third‑party software).

If the fault looks OS/driver related: try Safe Mode to see whether the freeze still happens. Look in Event Viewer for errors that appear just before a freeze. Run System File Checker (sfc /scannow) to repair corrupted system files. Obtain and install the latest chipset and USB controller drivers from the laptop maker rather than generic driver update tools. Look for software that installs low‑level filter drivers (security suites, syncing utilities, USB utilities) and temporarily remove them.

If the fault looks hardware related: test from AC power and on battery separately, and try a self‑powered USB hub (this rules out a weak USB power rail). Run a memory test (Memtest86+) from boot to exclude RAM corruption. Inspect the physical ports for burn marks or loose pins and check the motherboard for swollen capacitors. Before attempting firmware/BIOS updates or hardware repair, back up important data and follow Acer’s official update instructions exactly; flashing BIOS with low battery or interrupted power risks a bricked system.

These steps will narrow the cause and point to either a Windows-side driver fix or a hardware repair/replacement.

Member Avatar for HelpingHands-IT

I take it you have not been playing in the BIOS area of your machine!
If you have please return there and return the settings to defaults for now.

If not there are three possible options for you

1. Via the control panel uninstall all the relevant components for the USB BUS and Hubs and restart you machine - you may need to uninstall some of them a couple of times.
2. Disable the USB in the BIOS and use an external USB card which should fit into the expansion slot on your laptop, mind you I have seen quite a few "cheaper" machines recently which dont have expansion ports. If you decide to follow this route you will need to ensure you either know the type of expansion slot you have or take the laptop with you when you go to buy the replacement and seek the advice of a local computer shop, dont bother with the local PC World as they will probably not know what your talking about and try and sell you a replacement machine instead.
3. Look into the USB ports and check that there are no hairs or other nasties lurking within which could be "shorting" the electrical current.

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