Ports becoming unresponsive even if off-line

Question

I have borrowed a Dell laptop and am running up against a puzzle no one has been able to solve.

I’m using it as a word processor, never plugged into the internet. Every few months, the USB ports stop working. If I plug in an external drive, the port claims not to recognize it. Everyone I’ve asked—in person or online—is baffled. It just happens that I’ve found a repair person who is apparently smarter than anyone else, and says that the problem is that, even though I’m not using this online, the computer needs to be plugged into the internet periodically for updates. The ports shut done if I don’t humor it, and there is supposedly no way around this.

I find this hard to believe, since there is nothing I’m doing online with this laptop. I’ve never experienced this with my past desktops, but admittedly those are much older.

First, does anyone know about this problem? It makes no sense to me. Why would it force me to get updates I don’t need or want?

Second, I’m concerned about the desktop I’m planning to buy in the future. Is this port shut-down caused by something I can remove or disable? Does it have a name? When did it start being incorporated into products?

I’d be grateful for any help.

anne_droid · Answer

Please can you confirm the Make Model and OS, along with any configuration details like touch screen, backlit keyboard, SFF or tower etc etc.

Derry2 · Answer

First, I don't have all that, and second, it's irrelevant. As it happens, it's an Inspiron, but had no luck there and thought I'd ask here.

This is apparently common to all newer computers, probably even desktops. It's an issue that doesn't come up, though, because it's so unusual for a computer not to be hooked up to the internet.

anne_droid · Answer

''This is apparently common to all newer computers, probably even desktops. '' 'Every few months, the USB ports stop working.' So for the USB ports to shut down every few months, they must be getting reset to keep shutting down. So how did you fix the first shutdown to have the next one occur? Armed with that information I can probably suggest a solution. BYE.

demonru · Answer

If it's not a HW issue it all happens because of Hibernation or Modern Standby you put your laptop in instead of turning it off. You also need to disable Fast Startup in Power options (control panel). Next is to disable USB Selective Suspend for the current power plan. Problem solved. Thank you.

ps. I exclude a physical USB port contacts damage and the fact that at some point this laptop was dropped or a liquid was spilled on it. I also recommend to do `SFC /SCANNOW` and check the Device Manager to see it's all ok. Make sure your OS is not infected.

your script file would be like this:

reg add HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power /v PlatformAoAcOverride /t REG_DWORD /d 0
reg add HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power /v CsEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0
reg add HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power /v EnforceDisconnectedStandby /t REG_DWORD /d 0
reg add HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\USB /v DisableSelectiveSuspend /t REG_DWORD /d 1

And then restart and continue on steps described in the beginning of this post.

XPS

Ports becoming unresponsive even if off-line

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