USBs not working on a Acer Aspire 7741z laptop

I just bought an Acer Aspire 7741z laptop from someone and found out the 3 USB 2.0 ports on the sides not work. They are being picked up by the device manager saying "This device is working fine" but when I plug in a mouse in either of the USB ports, nothing happens, its not picked up. I tried Windows updating, Acer updating (they don't offer a whole lot) restarting, uninstalling USB drivers and reinstalling. I also updated the BIOS with no results. I also tried updating the drivers but it keeps saying the driver installed is the best driver. Does anyone what the problem is and how to fix this?

This laptop came with Windows 7 Home Premium but I installed Windows 7 Professional and have got all Microsoft Updates and SP 1.

Thanks.

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Vince53

Were the USBs working before you changed the Operating System? If you don't know, I would contact the seller and find out if the USBs were working when he sold you the laptop. If so, then you might have messed them up by changing the Operating System. Laptops are more finicky than desktops: the hardware, Operating System, and drivers are built around each other.

There is a possibility that it's a hardware failure. Your rig has a large 17.3" monitor and yet comes at a budget price. How do they do it? According to some of the online reviews I found, they put in cheap hardware in other places.

Still, you might be lucky.

1) Go to Control Panel and hit "Add New Hardware." MAYBE your rig isn't spotting the ports

2) If you can figure out how to get into BIOS, see if "Disable USB Device" is checked.

3) Go to control panel > System > Hardware >Device Manager. In the list go to the bottom and find "universal serial bus controllers", click the plus sign next to it and for each item listed , right click and choose Uninstall. When all are done reboot the PC. Windows will start and will refind the USB controller and reinstall it.

4) Incredibly, I found two people who claim that they turned off their computer, removed the power cord and battery, and waited ten minutes (I recommend that you also hold the power button down for one minute after you have removed all the power) and then it worked. This procedure SOMETIMES cures BIOS problems.

oversite2112

Thanks for responding to my laptop problem;

Yes, I contacted the person I got it off of and said the 3 USBs were working before. A wine cooler had been spilt onto the keyboard of this laptop and I got a new OEM keyboard and had cleaned it up and installed Windows 7 Pro with all updates and SP1. Everything is working fine, but the USBs ports. In the BIOS, there is nothing showing or listing USBs. The BIOS even seems like its generic, doesn't show much for a laptop that is only 3 yrs old. IDK

Vince53

There is no telling what effect that spilled wine, new keyboard, and new Operating System had on your rig. Remember that you have a low-cost model that has much of its value (and price) in the 17.3" screen. In reviewing your laptop, I found that it has a history of break-downs up and down the line, and your ports MIGHT be a hardware problem.