Flash drive not recognized by front ports

[mike12]

I have a Dell Dimension 4600 Pentium computer (4 months old). I just bought a 128 meg. Flash drive. The back USB ports on the computer recognize the flash drive, but the two front USB ports do not. I posted this problem on a Dell forum but the only reply was that maybe the cables were never hooked up to the front ports. I removed the side cover last night, but really could not see much. Will try again tonight to see if there are any un-attached cables. Any one else out there with this problem ???

[QuickSilver]

Most likely the cables are just not connected.

[Confused]

Either or both of two things could be problem.

Cables not connected as stated earlier.
Cables connected but the header they are connected to hasn't been enabled in BIOS.

Chas

[rasputinj]

I ran into a similiar problem with a customer and the USB was not connected on the 8300 Dimension, It was pretty easy to see it was not connected and I just plugged it in.

[mike12]

There are two cables coming from the front USB ports. Each cable has about 6 small wires inside it. The both cables ARE connected to the motherboard. I pulled each cable out from the motherboard, and re-set them. No difference. The computer does not recognise the front ports.
Confused - mentioned that maybe the BIOS is not enabled for these front ports. How do I fix that ?

[Confused]

No experience with Dell. On my Epox board there was a setting in BIOS to enable USB for the two onboard headers that the wires connect to. I have the option to enable neither/either/or both. Default was none and I had to change that to get my front USB ports working after connecting the wires to the header.

Best advice I can give is to go into BIOS and look around for USB controllers.

Also does the cable connected to the front USB ports have a single connector for the header or multiple connectors to attach to the pins? Header has to be connected correctly for the ports to work.
Chas

[mike12]

Additional info. I tried headphones in the front jack, and they work. I then connected my digital camera to the front USB port, and it also works !!! I guess I should have tried another device in the front port instead of only the flash drive. Sooooo it appears that the computer is recognizing the front audio jack, and the front USB ports. The question is then---why doesn't the computer recognize the flash drive when I put it in the front port. It only recognizes the flash drive when inserted in the rear ports ?

[mike12]

This is a response from Dell :


Dear Mr. Wargo,

Mr. Wargo, I would like to inform you that the Lexar USB jumpdrive does
not works in the front port because there is not enough power in the
front ports of computers for USB flash drives to work, this is the
reason it requires itself to be plugged into the back USB ports that are
much more powerful then the front ones.

****** For more information you can refer the below forum that talks
about this issue :-

http://www.everythingusb.com/forums/...?threadid=4416

Some email programs will wrap this address to a second line so you will
have to copy each of the lines directly into the address bar of your
browser with no spaces between the two sections.

Thank you again for choosing Dell.

Respectfully,

Vance Khattri DTC36031
Dell Online Technical Support
http://premiersupport.dell.com

[Confused]

Originally Posted by mike12 This is a response from Dell : Dear Mr. Wargo, Mr. Wargo, I would like to inform you that the Lexar USB jumpdrive does not works in the front port because there is not enough power in the front ports of computers for USB flash drives to work, this is the reason it requires itself to be plugged into the back USB ports that are much more powerful then the front ones. http://premiersupport.dell.com

That sucks. It wouldn't have added that much cost to provide enough power. All my USB devices work on my front USB ports using Asus and Epox boards.
Chas

[glc]

I think they are full of p00p - unless Jump drives are power hogs. I use my generic 64mb key in Dell front ports all the time.

[mike12]

I think they are full of poop also ! If I go into Device Manager, and left click on Universail Serial Bus Controllers, I see ten items listed :
Intel (R) 82801EB USB2 Enhanced Host controller - 24DD "Listed 1 time"
Standard Universal PCI to USB host controller "Listed 4 times"
USB Root hub "Listed 5 times"
None of the items have that highlight mark when there is a problem.
Is the above any help ? If not, many thanks to all who offered suggestions. I also posted this problem on a DELL forum. lets see if they come back with anything.

[mike12]

Hi all, problem solved. I ordered a USB extension cable so I could plug it in the back of the computer and just plug the jump drive into the other end of the extension cable when needed. Well, when I got the cable, I noticed that the metal tab was longer than the one on the jump drive. So, just for the heck of it, I plugged the extension cable into the FRONT port, and then plugged the jump drive into the extension cable. Works properly now !! Guess the tab on the jump drive was not quite long enough to make good contact.
So, that statement from the Dell tech guy that "their is not enough power in the front ports" was a bunch of crap, or as glc said pOOp

[Confused]

Should have thought of that as I have that problem with my sisters PC. I often load things on a USB drive when I go visit her. Because of her case construction the USB drive will not fully seat and to resolve the issue I purchased a 3 inch USB cable.
Chas