Pen drive, mouse, keyboard — nothing you plug in is detected, on any port. When every USB port fails together after an install, the ports are rarely broken. The USB controller is waiting for its chipset driver.
✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows 10 / 11⏱️ 15 minute fix
🎥 Watch the full process in the video — all 4 driver methods, step-by-step
USB ports are run by a controller on your motherboard or inside the processor, and that controller belongs to the chipset. A fresh Windows carries only a generic USB driver — enough for most boards, but on many machines the ports stay dead, slow or unstable until the maker's chipset driver package is installed. There is one awkward catch, explained honestly in Fix 1: if your keyboard and mouse are also USB, you may have no way to click anything. Handle that first.
Device Manager — Universal Serial Bus controllers
⚠️ USB xHCI Compliant Host ControllerDriver problem
⚠️ Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)Not recognised
👆 Yellow marks under Universal Serial Bus controllers mean Windows sees the USB hardware but cannot run it properly yet.
1
First Get One Working Way to Control the PC
Try the rear ports on a desktop (directly on the motherboard) — they often wake up when front ports do not
On a laptop, try every port once, including any USB-C port with a small hub or adapter
If a very old PS/2 keyboard is available, it works with no USB at all and can drive the whole fix
Once any keyboard or mouse responds, continue below — and do not restart into the same trap without the driver ready
2
Install the Chipset Driver From Your PC or Motherboard Maker ⭐
This is the main fix. The chipset package carries the USB controller configuration plus several related motherboard drivers.
Find your exact model — laptop model from the bottom sticker, or motherboard model printed on the board and its box
Open the maker's support page (Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and similar)
Download the Chipset driver for your Windows version — if the file must come from another PC or phone, copy it across by any working route
Install it and restart — test every port with a pen drive afterwards
The complete process of locating and installing maker drivers in the right order is demonstrated in the video above.
3
Reinstall the USB Controllers in Device Manager
If the chipset driver is installed but a controller is stuck with a yellow mark, force Windows to rebuild it.
Open Device Manager → Universal Serial Bus controllers
Right-click the problem controller → Uninstall device (do not tick any delete-driver box if offered)
Click Action → Scan for hardware changes — Windows reinstalls the controller cleanly
Also check USB Root Hub entries → Properties → Power Management → untick Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power if devices keep dropping
4
Check the BIOS USB Settings
Restart and enter BIOS setup (usually F2 or Del)
Confirm USB Controller and XHCI Hand-off style options are Enabled
If the keyboard works in BIOS but no USB device works in Windows even after the chipset driver, the Windows installation itself may be damaged — a repair install is the honest next step
🛑 Honest note: if only the front-panel ports of a desktop are dead while the rear ports work, that is almost never a driver — it is the front panel's internal cable or the panel itself. Drivers affect the whole controller, not two sockets on a wire.
🎥 Watch the Complete Process in the Video
All 4 methods to download and install drivers — live demo, step-by-step.
Only the front USB ports are dead but the back ports work. Is that a driver issue?
Usually not. Front ports connect to the motherboard through an internal cable — if only the front set is dead while the rear set works, suspect that cable or the front panel itself. A driver problem normally affects every port on the controller together.
USB devices connect and disconnect again and again. Why?
Often it is USB power management switching the hub off. In Device Manager, open each USB Root Hub, go to Power Management and untick Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. If it continues with a correct chipset driver, test the device on another PC to rule out the device or its cable.
Do USB 3.0 ports need a separate driver on Windows 10 and 11?
Windows 10 and 11 carry a built-in USB 3 xHCI driver, so ports usually work at a basic level without any extra download. The maker's chipset package still matters — it carries the controller configuration and the rest of the board's drivers, which is why ports can misbehave until it is installed.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu driver video • Stuck on any step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply there 🙏