All four USB ports in my Toshiba Satellite A105 laptop fail to work with a USB flash drive
I have Toshiba Satellite A105 laptop. I have never used any USB devices before and today I bought a new USB flash drive. For some reason, when I plug it into the laptop, it doesn’t work. I’ve tried all 4 USB ports without any luck. The drive works fine with my desktop computer. Do you know what is wrong with my laptop?
I think I know what is wrong with your laptop. Last Friday I fixed Toshiba Satellite A105-S1013 laptop with exactly the same problem. The laptop didn’t recognize my USB flash drive. Apparently the device was detected by Windows because as soon as I plugged it in, a balloon pooped up and it said “USB Device Not Recognized”. I tried to plug in three different devices and always got the same error. I found that this laptop is running BIOS v1.20 not even listed on Toshiba website for this model. I downloaded and installed the latest BIOS v1.90 and fortunately it fixed the problem. You can download the latest BIOS from Toshiba support website and install it right from the Windows environment.
February 9th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
not related except it is a usb problem – have a 128 usb stick that is formatted as a boot drive with dos – works perfectly in my main pc – boots to a dos prompt – in my Dell laptop it simply will not work – - can tell the laptop to boot from usb but all i get is boot drive not found – have had a couple of other dells pass through and just the same – is it a dell laptop problem or just a laptop problem
January 24th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
My problem was different – But the BIOS update fixed it too. Thank you all so much.
My Laptop (A105-1013) was working fine with USB drives for over 9 months and then it stopped recognizing any USB drives one day. I played with all possible actions with the Device Manager – but none worked. I was on the verge of re-icing the machine, when I came across these posts. That saved me a lot of pain. Thank you all again.
January 24th, 2007 at 7:27 am
i have 250 GB portable hard disk plugged into my Sony VAIO VGN-A497XP and it comes up as G: on the drive list. However when i plug a usb flash disk/MP3 player into the machine it does not show up as a drive. Can the two not work together ? I want to transfer files from y portable hard disk to the flash disk/ MP3 player.
January 16th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Updating BIOS worked like a charm for USB ports on my Toshiba. Thank you very much.
January 3rd, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Vince,
First of all test the USB drive with another working computer. You might have a bad device.
When you install an USB flash drive into a laptop it will give you an option witch application to use for viewing files on the USB drive. One of the options is “Do nothing” (something like that). I believe if you chose this one, next time the list of applications will not pop up when you plug the drive but you still should be able to access the drive through My Computer.
Did you check if the device appears in My Computer?
If the flash drive will not appear in My Computer and updating the BIOS will not help either, you might have either a software related problem or an issue with the motherboard. To make sure it’s not just bad software, reload the operating system using the recovery DVD. Make sure to back up all personal files before you run the restore. If you still cannot access the USB drive, probably you have a bad motherboard. It would be replaced under warranty. Satellite A105-s4384 is one of the latest models and I most likely it’s still under warranty.
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:20 am
i have a toshiba A105-s4384, and all its four usb ports are not working,when u plug in a flash drive with leds they go on but it dose not show that its seen anything…what could be the problem?
December 24th, 2006 at 9:51 am
You freaking rock! Thank you so much!
December 19th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
I want to hug you, But not brokeback like
Worked fast and easy
December 10th, 2006 at 5:06 pm
I have a Toshiba A105-S1014 laptop and have also been through 3 mice in less than a year and failed to install or keep installed two printers. I never could use a storage device. I was about to call the Geek Squad or Toshiba (I know nothing about how my computer “works”) when I read your advice to update to BIOS 1.9. The download was simple and a complete success! Thanks so much.
December 7th, 2006 at 11:29 am
Thank you so much. I have a Toshiba Satellite A105, which had been exhibiting new USB issues. I have a memory card reader and a printer that were no longer recognized by my system. Though they previously worked for 9 months. I’ve called Toshiba support and they had no clue. I tried updating all drivers, even doing a factory restore. Nothing worked. After updating the bios to 1.90 everything is fine. Thanks for the help, and for posting this information online!
November 29th, 2006 at 10:10 pm
I have a toshiba satellite a105-s171. I have been using a sandisk ultra II 1g card that “transforms” into a usb drive while using the side usb port for 9 months with no problems ….then i started to get an error “One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it. For assistance in solving this problem, click this message.” I tried using all the different ports, nothing worked. I tested the card in another computer and it worked fine. Sandisk offered to replace the card, i found this site and downloaded the BIOS v1.90 from the toshiba website and now my card works fine. Thanks for your help.
November 26th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
I downloaded BIOS v1.90 and it made all my USB ports functional. Thanks a lot for posting this solution.
November 25th, 2006 at 8:03 pm
Kyle,
You cannot upgrade laptop USB posts. You can buy and use a laptop PCMCIA USB 2.0 card. You insert this card into a PC slot and get 2 USB ports, I think that would be the best solution because the card is not expensive.
It’s necessary to open up the laptop case and resolder the ports. I’m not sure if you want to go this route because it can be very pricy, I would go with a PCMCIA USB card.
November 23rd, 2006 at 12:41 pm
I have a Toshiba Satt 1905, it has regular speed USB, but i am working with video and an external Hard drive and would like to upgrade to a high speed USB, can i? and the plastic parts that fit inside the USB external parts are gone, so the cables wont fit properly.
is there any thing i can do to fix this?
November 18th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
Johnny,
Most USB2 devices are backward compatible with USB1.1 standard. You can use this external CD-Rom drive with your laptop but I would recommend to contact the seller and make sure that the drive is backward compatible with USB1.1
November 17th, 2006 at 5:58 am
I have a Toshiba Satellite A45-5150 and it has usb1 ports. I need to buy an external cd-rom but all of them on the market are usb2. Is there a way to use this external cd-rom that is usb2 through one of my laptops usb1 ports? and, your site is awesome!
November 8th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
LOL. Yeah, I’m dense enough to not think of that – but no, the mouse isn’t wireless.
Thanks for the advice, though! I’ve had some trouble with Toshiba laptops, so I guess I won’t be buying another one lol.
November 8th, 2006 at 8:05 pm
Have you tried replacing the mouse battery (if it’s a wireless mouse)? It might help, if the battery is old.
November 8th, 2006 at 8:01 pm
To be honest, I hadn’t tried the back ports. I only used the sides for my mouse. I just tried it though, and no, they don’t work either. Each mouse I buy works for about a month, then nothing. I could go buy another LOL, but would rather fix the problem that is making it not work in the first place.
November 8th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
Diane,
You’ve mentioned only USB ports on the side of the laptop but what about USB ports on the back? If ports on the back work fine, then you might have a hardware related issue. Two ports on the back are located on the motherboard and two ports on the back on a separate USB board (www.irisvista.com). So if you have a problem only with two side ports, then you might have a bad USB board or bad cable that connects the USB board with the motherboard.
November 8th, 2006 at 12:43 pm
I’m going to try this. I’ve been through 3 mice in the last 3 months with this laptop. I have an A105-s2101. The USB ports on the side aren’t working, and the bubble comes up that says “not recognized.” I don’t want to screw anything up, so I’ll have the hubby read this post when he gets home and try to fix it for me. I’ll let ya know! Thanks!
October 8th, 2006 at 9:19 pm
Gerryn,
Two ports on the back are connected directly to the motherboard, as you can see on the step 20 disassembly guide for Toshiba Satellite A105 (www.irisvista.com). Two ports on the side are located on a dedicated board (step 21) and connected to the motherboard through a flat ribbon cable.
If you experience a problem only with ports on the back (two ports on the side works fine), then it’s most likely a motherboard related problem and you’ll have to take the laptop to a Toshiba service center (possible motherboard replacement).
If you experience the same problem with all four ports, then it could be either hardware or software related problem. To eliminate any software related problem try upgrading/re-flashing the BIOS first.
It sounds strange to me. Even if you have the same version of BIOS on the laptop, you still should be able to re-flash it. I do not really understand what you mean by “didn’t accept it”. OK, if reflashing the BIOS doesn’t help, the next step would be re-imaging the drive back to factory defaults. Boot the laptop from the recovery DVD you got from Toshiba and follow the wizard.
WARNING: backup all important personal files before you run the restore. During the restore process the hard drive would be reformatted and all personal data erased. If after you re-imaged the drive, the problem still exists, then it’s a hardware related issue. Most likely a motherboard fault.
October 8th, 2006 at 8:48 pm
The two USB ports on the back of the laptop, which is where my connection are for an additional screen, video and net work plug.
Also my PCM port is not working as well so perhaps this is all connected. I tried to load a new bios version off the Toshiba download web site but it was the same version so it did not accep it. I then was told by a technician from Linksys (Router Company) to try to update my chip set software and this did not help.
He thought my next option was to use a back up disk from Toshiba and reload everything??
Does Toshiba have firm ware? Software specifically for the motherboard and then I should reload windows Xp if I have it? All signs show that the hardware is working??
thanks
October 6th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
Gerryn,
Witch USB ports are affected by this problem? 2 ports on the side (located on USB board)or 2 ports on the back (located on motherboard?
October 5th, 2006 at 8:03 pm
I have a Toshiba satellite laptop and just a few days ago my two usb ports failed to lanch the drive boxes when a device was pluged in and my pci port slot is the same. The bell goes off saying something was puged in but you can not access the device and not in explore as well. Device manager says they are all working fine.??
September 28th, 2006 at 6:22 am
I have a A105-S2091 with the same problem. I updated the BIOS to the new v1.90, but still have the same problem. Toshiba tech support couldn’t help.
September 22nd, 2006 at 7:13 am
Thank you very much! BIOS v1.90 really fixed all USB problems on my A105-S1013!
September 5th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
I really think the overheating problems has cause this because the thing shut down on occasion if I dont watch it.
September 5th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
Toshiba Sattelite A75-S213
Growing problems. The usb ports are failing. The one on the right side stop recognizing the mouse. The back to are disconnects for no reason and the mouse goes off and on constantly. Worst the pcmcia port is failing as well. I stuck my verizon card in the port. And it disconnected constantly although the range was full.
August 24th, 2006 at 8:13 am
Have toshiba A105-S171, had problem with usb ports, port not recognized, some new objects like external drives would work even wireless keyboard, anything in belkin hub would not,unrecognized product,flashed bios and repaired just fine, thanks guys, you saved my bacon this time Matt