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Computer crash when I plug in USB flash drives? READ THE WHOLE DESCRIPTION!?

My computer keeps crashing when I plug in my or any other USB flash drive. By crashing i mean it completely shuts off and restarts from the POST. This problem doesn't happen with my USB headset and mouse, it only seems to happen with USB storage devices. I think it maybe because of USB 2.0 drivers or something. I checked all the drivers for the USB controller and their fine. Motherboard and system details below.

Motherboard: Intel D845GBV

OS: Windows XP Professional SP3

All my USB devices are attached via the rear ports (I don't have headers) and yes, the motherboard does support USB 2.0 and it is enabled in the BIOS.

Update:

ALSO:

The motherboard worked for years before since this last clean install I did, so its not a problem with a faulty USB controller, it's most likely drivers but w/e.

1 Answer

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  • 1 decade ago
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    I had a similar problem using the headers on one of my system boards. Whenever I unplugged a flash drive from the port without first telling Windows to disconnect, the computer would reboot. After several posts on different tech sites and many, many phone calls to the manufacturer's tech support we determined that the USB controller itself was faulty. This is likely the same for you and the only way to test this to be sure is to get an add on USB card and try to insert your USB drives through it. If it still reboots when you put the drive into the card, then I am at a loss. Either way, I recommend you replace the system board.

    EDIT: So it is your belief that just because something worked once, it will always work? Well, if it is just a driver issue, then buying and installing PCI USB card will not help because it will use the same drivers. But if it did work.... hmmm... when I troubleshoot a computer I tend to test every possibility instead of focusing on one.

    You can ununstall your USB drivers easily and upon reboot Windows will re-install them. If they had gotten corrupted, they will be repaired. To do this, go into the device manager and under USB devices simply uninstall everything. Windows will actually delete the stored drivers for these devices (the ones in the system32 folder) and after your done reboot. When Windows reboots it will detect the USB devices and install the drivers from the drivers.cab file (replacing the old ones with the ones from your first install). If Windows does not automatically detect the USB, simply go into the Device Manager and click any item and then click the Scan for Hardware Icon at the top (but you have to click in the right window before this icon appears).

    This is all I can think of that might help.

    Source(s): Ghowriter
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