Just thought I'd contribute my experience. I started getting the "USB Device has malfunctioned" error only after I started using the Airlink101 802.11G USB adapter. However when the error occurred, only one of my USB devices is affected: my Microsoft USB optical mouse. Luckily I could still browse the internet using my keyboard. I typed the error message into Google and was lead here. I tried adding the HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USB key and DisableSelectiveSuspend DWORD to no avail. What did seem to work is shutting down the PC and unplugging my power supply unit (Antec NEOHE 550w) for a few seconds. Plugged it back in and voila, the mouse works again. I think I'm going to leave that registry key in there even though it seems it didn't help. Here are my system specs:
 
Abit AW8-D Intel 975x chipset with current chipset drivers from Intel.com
Pentium D 3.0ghz
MSI Radeon x1900xt 512mb running custom Omega 3.8.360 drivers
1gb RAM
300gb SATA
Airlink101 AWLL3026 802.11G adapter with up-to-date "bare" drivers from their website (they have another set of drivers that includes a configuration utility but I prefer to use Windows to set it up so it automatically connects after I log in)
Microsoft Optical USB Mouse (this is the device that Windows was saying malfunctioned)

I have had this same problem too. I did the DisableSelectiveSuspend key trick, and it worked for a few weeks(sort of- everything functioned, but I would still get random error balloons). Anyways, as of this morning it no longer works. I noticed that the DWord value is set to Hexadecimal when it should be Decimal, but if I change it, nothing actually happens (the change to decimal doesn't save). Does anyone have any clue on how this might be fixed?

Just thought I'd chime in here and let y'all know what worked for me...
 
1) Shut down computer
2) Unplug power cable
3) Press button on computer to discharge power
4) Plug in and boot up
 
Problem fixed.

It worked for me.....
 
4 port USB HUB "Device Unknown - USB Device Malfunction."
 
I removed the HUB from the computers USB port I had it plugged into and plugged it into another USB port. (where I had my mouse plugged into)
 
It worked ! No problems.
 
The USB port that was causing the problem with the HUB is now running an external HD without problems.
 
The computers USB port the I had the HUB plugged into appears to be only able to handle one device and not a HUB.
 
It's worth a try.
 
Best of luck.
 

I'm starting to have this same problem as well with my laptop and USB printer. I don't think it's the USB ports themselves because I've tried plugging another device into the port where the malfunctioning device would always be and there are no problems. The thing is I've kept that malfunctioning device unplugged for a while which is what probably caused the problem. I've tried adding the USB key in the registry and that didn't work (unless I did it wrong?), and I've also unplugged my laptop and even pulled out the battery but still the problem persists. I haven't tried uninstalling the USB root hubs though. Do you just uninstall the ones that say USB root hub? I'm confused, any help is really appreciated.

USB Device Not Recognized. I had this problem after installing driver/software for SAMSUNG YP-F1 XB. Worked fine as memory stick previously. You name it, I tried it - all failed to cure problem.
Then I shut system down, unplugged it and shorted the L to the N on the plug, an old trick but worth a try. Power back on and start up - problem solved.
The SAMSUNG does not like being removed when powered up either - some devices don't seem to mind! So if you do this out of habit or just plain forget, this might just get your system reset.
 

I have a similar problem with my USB Crystal Optical Mouse and the mouse is working erratically only and frequently is not recognised by Windows.
 
I tried the option with the USB key in the registry without any avail.
 
Are there any other options one could try?
 
System Information:
MSI Megabook GX700 Notebook
Intel Core2Duo T2300 2.0GHz
DDR2 RAM 2GB
Windows Vista Home Premium
 
Regards
 
Pete

I found this forum after experiencing the same issue and I think I've found my problem. I have a Samsung CLP-510 Laser Printer and an external LG Super Multi Drive GSA E10L. At first the samething would happen my dvd writer would bring up the USB malfunction error, well I decided to try and unplug the printer and that appears to have caused the issue or so it appears. If it comes back again I'll let everyone know.
 
System Info:
Dell Dimension 4700
Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz Dual Processor
Windows XP Media Center Edition
 
Thanks,
Luis

One more post won't hurt.
 
Dell Inspiron 700m running WinXP Pro SP2. My Garmin Quest has not been recognized off and on for about a year. In August it stopped being recognized at all. All other USB devices (USB Flash Drive, Sansa e250 MP3 PLayer, ATT 3125 Smartphone, flash card reader) work fine.
 
Interestingly, the Quest DOES work on this machine using a Targus USB hub. It DOES NOT work using direct connections to either port or to my IOGear hub nor my Startech hub (they may be the same internals)
 
This weekend I'm going to try the following in the order listed:
 
1: Spray some contact cleaner into the USB ports
2. Do the complete list compiled by amrita.
3. Buy another Targus hub.
 
My belief is this a combined hardware/software problem with neither side assuming the responsibility. Garmin tech support tried but it was over this fellow's head and they haven't had enough complaints to justify a full scale research project. They wrote the drivers. Somewhere along the line something is sitting on the margin and is just too damn sensitive.
 
I'll let you know how the weekend work goes.
 
Thanks to everyone for their input to this very useful thread. It's helped to know I'm not alone.

I know it has been two months since any1 has posted on this topic but I had a problem similar to this my computer would freeze whenever I entered a USB device, after re-installing drivers, windows and among other things, had no luck. Then i opened my tower up and cleaned everything and unplugd main power cable and that as some1 ealier suggested, and also saw the small cables for the power for the usb and unpluggd and repluggd them back in. Restarted the computer after my problem was solved. It may just solve some people's problem. So i suggest you try it.

I've had the "USB device not recognised" problem with USB hard drives, and after struggling for some time tried the extremely simply solution suggested by someone here- turn off the PC, UNPLUG FROM MAINS, leave for 30 mins and re-start. I could hardly believe that it would work, but it did. (However, see PS at bottom of this post.)
 
More details of my case:
 
XP machine with service pack 2.
Problem first occurred when I had been using a 500GB LaCie USB hard drive happily from port on front of PC, and plugged a pen drive into an adjacent USB port. Suddenly Explorer showed the folder I had been working in (containing large number of folders containing a very large number of RAW & jpeg pictures) as empty- disaster!
On re-load, PC reported this USB hard drive as an unrecognised device.
I tried the drive in other USB ports on the same machine- same result.
I tried another LaCie USB hard drive in the same ports- also now unrecognised.
I tried other USB devices (eg mouse) and they worked fine. Seemed XP had turned against this particular device type.
I tried these hard drives on my laptop- no problem, worked fine.
I went into Control Panel / System and deleted all USB devices and hubs. Re-loaded. Problem unchanged.
Then found this forum, and the various suggestions people had had (like re-building system from scratch, and editing catalogue). Found the one about switching off, unplugging, and leaving for 30 mins (actually I left it a couple of hours).
Did nothing else (eg didn't this time delete the devices).
It worked! And it continues to work- the machine has been off and on since with no problem.
 
Two of us who have worked in computing all our lives are left amazed, and thankful to the person who came up with the idea. Still don't understand how it worked, but it did.
 
PS. However-
 
In a spirit of testing that everything remains fine, I've just now used "safely remove hardware" and unplugged the original drive, left a couple of minutes, then replugged and switched drive back on. I have the dreaded "device not recognised" again. Hopefully I now have the solution (will report back!)

Following on from the post above, I've now again recovered from "USB device not recognised" by switching off my PC and unplugging it from the mains, leaving it for more than 30 minutes, and switching on again. This has now worked twice and with two different USB drives. After recovery I've used the drives quite intensively to top up my backups.
 
One conclusion I've drawn from this experience is that unplugging and re-plugging USB hard drives (even when using XP's "Safely remove hardware") is a risky business. So I've ordered a PCI USB card which will give me four more USB ports, and mean that I can leave my USB drives permanently plugged in and leave vacant USB ports for plugging in stuff like my photo card reader and USB memory sticks.

Hello everyone. I am very frustrated with this issue and I hope someone can help me.
After my laptop caught the dreaded New Win32 virus, I realized that it was beyond my control and so I reinstalled my OS. Now I tried to install devices that used to work before the reinstallation. Now they don't work.
(The only devices that work correctly are my Western Digital external HDD and my IRiver mp3 player.)
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Before I move on, here are my Laptop specs.
I have a Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop
with Windows XP Media Center Edition version 2002 with
service pack 2
 
Intel Pentium M processor 1.60 GHz
1.60GHZ, 1.00 GB of RAM
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
Ok so, I follow installation guides correctly but these usb devices still don't work. For example, with my Dell printer, everything goes well with installation (its recognized correctly) until all of a sudden, the Found New Hardware wizard appears. I try to follow it but that doesn't work. I try to exit out of that and when I did, I get the problem with the Device occured. and that the device has malfunctioned and its not working properly. Now, the printer shows up as Hid instead of Dell 922 printer.
 
With my microsoft wireless mouse,you are supposed to be able to plug it in, sync it, and it starts to work. Instead, the found new hardware wizard appears (when it should not have) and it messes up the mouse by giving me the malfunction message. (In Device Manager, it shows up in Other devices as the correct mouse name. But there are no drivers on it (When plugged into my brother's Dell desktop, it works correctly and has two drivers on it). I copied those drivers into my laptop (one was not found on my laptop) and then tried to set those drivers up. Now I get Device Could not Start Code 10."
Other devices that required the software install first and then, when plugged in are supposed to work without the found new hardware wizard do not work.Once I plug it in, the laptop freezes for a good 2 minutes and the the Found New Hardware Wizard pops up.
I talked with Dell twice and installed the BIOS and Chipset and tried updates too. But my devices do not work even when I uninstall and try again. I tried everything that other people on the topic suggested but no luck. (I have not replaced the motherboard or bought a usb hub though).
 
I'm sorry if this was very lengthy, but I do hope I can get some help with this. I am very worried and stressed out. ANY help would be tremendously appreciated! Thank you

UPDATE:
I was searching the web some more and I found this post by n10city
that I believe fixed my usb problem. (except for the microsoft mouse that was plug and play). Had to buy a new mouse but no problem.^^ I hope this helps others as this vital solution has helped me.
http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread7700.html
 

Hi everybody!
 
Boy, YOU ARE A GENIUS! It also worked for me. I had the same problem: inserting two pendrives simultaneously to the front ports on my computer. They worked fine for years, and yesterday they became unrecognizeable by inserting the second one. I also tried everything else you mentioned, and then I switched off mains. After 20-30 minutes my USB recognized my pendrives!
 
I think I have the explanation: frequent use of pendrives causes an electrostatical load to go through the USB port, that cannot be lead to the grounding. By switching off mains this electrostatic load can disperse to the body of the tower. A genial solution!
 
Thanks again!

one more this if it does that sumtimes u will need to returne it and get a new one my wife took my pc in the car with a usb hooked in for my gamepad and brok it i put back together but did that so just for ur fyi

My problem was almost exactly the same as Kain Bloodstones's with one exception his fix did not work on mine. Tried everything listed here.
Everything gets recognized in my USB ports except any drives (USB and Freegate Back UP)
Been fussing for 3 months trying everything. Then today for some reason I tried..
 
Using an expansion adapter - that goes from 1 USB input to 4
Plugged that in and plugged in my USB stick and VIOLA - recognized..
Tried it in the same thing with a different USB port and same results..
 
Catch - the adapters is only USB 1.1 So for some reason by restricting the USB port down to 1.1 it will recognize the USB drives, if left at 2.0 I always get error message.
 
I know this is not a real fix, but it must tell me something. (I'm not computer savy enough to really know what)
 
If someone here knows what that means and how it can be really fixed I'd love to hear.
 
For now I am happy with USB drives at 1.1
 
PS my wife has exact same computer system both running XP Pro, and hers never has had a problem - I can find nothing different on her system from mine.

I've been having the same problem that so many of you have - my USB devices are suddenly "not recognized" or reported as "malfunctioning." I have an iMac with the Intel processor, running Leopard on one side of a partitioned drive (this is also known as "the side that works") and Vista on the other side. Having been raised to be polite, I won't say what I call that side. I have an HP LaserJet 4100 as my workhorse black-and-white printer, an HP Photosmart 8450 to print photos, an HP ScanJet 4070 scanner, and a Maxtor external drive attached to a USB hub. Although everything seemed to work together quite well to begin with, recently I've been having constant problems with my USB devices. Since they work reliably on the Mac side, this has to be a Windows problem in my case. I noticed that the problem frequently occurred after the computer had gone to sleep and been awakened, so I turned off "sleep" and that seemed to help, but it didn't cure the problem completely. I still have trouble sometimes after I've re-started the Windows side. I have read all of the posts on this topic and tried your suggestions. For what it's worth, the only thing that seems to work reliably for me is:
 
1. Shut everything down.
2. Cut the power to all devices (which I do by shutting off the battery back-up to which all of my devices are connected, but unplugging them also works).
3. Disconnect the USB hub from the back of the computer.
4. Wait a minute or so, and then turn the power back on.
5. Re-start Windows, and WAIT until it is completely operational. I find that this is a good time to spend a minute or two contemplating the utter injustice of having spent good money to acquire the hunk of junk that is Vista.
6. Cross your fingers, and plug the USB hub back in.
 
This seems to reset everything that needs to be reset after Vista does whatever damage it does. I hope it helps someone else. If any of you who know more than I do can figure this out and come up with a way to prevent this problem entirely, my blessings on you and all of your descendants.

Hi everyone,
 
Seems this problem has hit me. I came home on Saturday to find my screen frozen. After a hard boot my external HDD was coming up not recognised.
 
Tried all of the remedies, turned off for hours, restacked the USBs, etc. with no luck. Now here's the thing - all my USB ports work at USB 1.1, just not with my HDD which is USB 2.0.
 
If I plug the HDD into the front port I get the message "this device will perform faster in a USB 2.0 port", but it does work. Unfortunately, I don't have the years necessary to transfer hundreds of gigs of data at USB 1.1 speed.
 
Any ideas how I can make USB 2.0 work again or do I just have to buy a new PC?
 
Regards,
 
Antony
 
I have a PC running XP, 3.0 Ghz P4P800-SE with 2Gb RAM

I believe I may be entitled to a 5th of tequila from every XP user who reads this post...hee hee.
 
The problem with the "USB device not recognized" error lies with one or both of the following security updates from Microsoft:
 
Security Update for Windows XP (KB931261)*
Security Update for Windows XP (KB905749)
 
When I uninstalled both of these updates, my usb drive started working again. I put an asterik by the 261 update because you maybe able to get functionality back just by uninstalling that one update.
 
To uninstall the update, go to Control Panel and access "Add or Remove Programs." Once your pop-up populates, check the "Show Updates" box at the top of the window. Scroll down the list and find Security Update for Windows XP (KB931261) and
Security Update for Windows XP (KB905749). Uninstall one, then try your usb device. If it doesn't work, uninstall the other one.
 
Good luck!