USB Ports NOT WORKING? Let's Fix Them!

A very common issue on modern motherboards is that the Intel based USB ports suddenly stop working. Reasons behind it can vary, but it happens often especially if you use the motherboard on subzero cooling and you have insulated it with vaseline or similar. It can anyhow happen even in just normal daily use with only air or water cooling.

Usually the reason behind that USB ports stop working is a blown fuse after each of the USB ports. A fully working fuse will have a resistance very close to zero ohms, but a blown one can have an infinite or very high resistance. One way of fixing the issue is to replace the blown fuses completely or just shorting them so that there is no fuse at all anymore per port. A reminder however is that you should not charge any device anymore from those ports that don't have a working fuse anymore. If something goes wrong you could damage the actual device or just the port. This fix allows you to use a mouse and keyboard properly again and you can use USB keys and similar devices properly again.

On this guide video I will show you the damaged fuses and how I just short them to make the ports working again the fast and easy way. On the EVGA SR-3 DARK there are 8 Intel based USB 3.0 ports in total at the rear IO, and one USB 3.1A port connected to third party Asmedia controller. The Asmedia ports always work, they usually don't have this issue and it still works fully on this motherboard as well, having around 0.4ohm resistance across the fuse.

All of the Intel fuses are pretty much blown so we will just short them, put the heatsink back on and run the motherboard as usual. REMEMBER that you are doing this on your own responsibility so be careful if you short the fuses with liquid metal or solder!

Thanks for watching and share this video if someone else has this same issue with a modern motherboard!

#usb #pcrepair #computer

[Null_Experis]

Back in the mid-2000s, it was actually common to use resetable fuses.
In fact, I just repaired a Socket 754 motherboard that had a catastrophic fuse failure. The fuse was reduced to ashes, and the pads were nearly pulled off the board, but it was still possible to carefully clean it up and replace it with another fuse from a junk board I had, and superglue the pads and SMD fuse into place.
Manufacturers could go back to them, but they cost more, don't act as fast, and when they fail, they tend to burn up.

[Christmas-dgxc]

I never heard a PC sound like a running car. How cool is that!

[chronoshd]

Question here: is the fuse fried, if I connect an external powered USB hub and the motherboard USBs work again? None of them work otherwise. Asus/Intel mobo.

[hrep]

Thanks, I think you just solved a problem I’ve had with an old PC that’s been sitting for a few years because of the exact problem. I spent hours and hours on it years ago and gave up.

[Limeayy]

Never had this issue with my z87, thanks for the fix.

[sabastianleisek]

Does this apply to last gen AMD boards? Building a computer for a friend, and the usb plugs just stopped on an AM3 socketed board.

[tacticalcenter]

Motherboard manufacturers could fix the situation but seems like they don't care. Also why not add a new larger fuse instead of shorting it? I used to do this with laptop motherboards when I repaired them for a job.

[colin]

Just found your video. Arround 5 years ago I started with a Maximus VII Hero Z97 that had PCI Express failures and other small things not working right. Moved the next year to a Gigabyte G3 Gaming Z97 and everything worked for a while like a dream. But the last (3) years from now, I'm facing these issues. I mean, USB is working but behaves weird. My docks are not working via USB 3.0 anymore, and when they did, devices such as keyboard and mouse wouldn't be recognized when replugged or even after reboot. Currently, my pc's USB 2.0 ports are doing that job flawlessly. And with these issues, I mostly got the Windows warning: USB not recognized/unknown.

When I did make it work with the USB 2.0 as described, I tried to make it work with my VR headset that I bought recently. The outcome is that it did work as supposed to be, even with another USB 2.0 port. Now, it doesn't work at all on nothing but the front port of the pc case. But it would be possible that it can work on another day for example.. Possibility also is if it works, SteamVR fails to recognize it so it would be a false positive end result.

I'm waiting for a chance to grab parts of the next generation to replace all of this piece of shit pc.

[woltergrant]

Have an EVGA 750i FTW board I prize because it was from my first build. Board is mint except all USB and USB headers are dead so I have to use PCI card. Info here doesn’t seem to apply…any suggestions?

[edgebz]

I have MSI laptop maybe same thing has happened all USB ports except one works half way. My video hdmi port usb c port and sound are all out.

[Crazggs]

My pc turns on and everything in the pc runs I don’t get any display on my monitor and usb don’t work also when I turn on the pc I can use the same button to turn it off I have to flip off the power supply

[CreativeCommons]

for some reason my rgb keyboard gives light but it just doesnt function in that mobo

[Synthematix]

For blown USB voltage lines i always use 1.5A fuse wire, alternatively you can bridge from the 5v line of the ATX connector

[vipingkumar]

i have this issue due to i plugged my powerbank into the front panel usb 3 and two of the usbs ports are dead now. later came to realise that we shud not plug any high current charging devices into any of the normal usb sockets.

[zenniz]

I have a shorted back rear io USB. The PC will shutdown if i plug moderate power consuming device like RGB keyboard etc

[We_shall_try]

How fo i know which fuse should i shorted ?

[IEMedia]

Hey I think this could be my problem because one of my USB3.0 ports has gone completely and the one next to it now has less power as if the voltage has halved but My PCI USB expansion works fine so it is just the Intel ones as you explain but my problem is my board is MSI Z77A G41 and it looks very different so I cant even identify the fuses at this point 😆 There is only one that I think could maybe be a fuse but I must be looking at the wrong thing, Hoping someone could point me in the right direction.

[ActionTale]

I purchased brand new asrock motherboard and mass usb ports on it doesn't work but peripheral devices like keyboard works... Is there a fix for this?

[HappyHands.]

My USB 3.0 ports on my Gigabyte b450 are failing one after another. apparently due to poor quality components they just wear out.

[amstechworlditalia]

Hi i have the same problem with a aorus gaming g5. I have "P-L" and "P-U" fuse. Do you know where i can buy them? Or wich model is compatible?