When Your Windows XP Plug and Play USB Is Not Working - Fixes for the Problem

There can be many reasons for the feature of Windows XP Plug and Play USB not working! The database of Windows XP holds definitions for most of the known plug and play devices. Microsoft introduced the plug and play feature with its Windows 98 operating system, where the USB ports supported numerous devices without having to install device drivers for each of them. The list of devices was increased in Windows 98 SE and currently Windows XP has the largest support for plug and play devices. I have not checked the more unusual instruments such as the Kodak DVC on Vista and Windows 7 so I cannot comment on the plug and play support of these latest operating systems.

There are not many reasons why Windows XP won't detect a plug and play USB device. Please remember that if a USB device needs any drivers to be installed in order for the device to work on XP, it won't be categorized as a plug and play device. An example of such a device would be your USB wireless broadband stick or a locally manufactured cell phone. Such devices need related drivers to be installed prior to their functioning on any computer.

The most common reasons as to why sometimes Windows XP plug and play devices do not work are listed here:

1. Malfunctioning Devices;

2. Incorrectly Configured Hardware;

3. Mismatched USB Cables;

4. Outdated Firmware; and,

5. Problems with USB Root Hubs.

If you find a plug and play device that should be detected automatically but is not being recognized by Windows XP, you can troubleshoot Windows XP, keeping in mind the above possibilities

The first step to take when you find that Windows XP is not recognizing your plug and play device is to take the device to another computer running on Windows XP and plug the device into it. If the device is detected, the first computer has some sort of problem with the USB ports. If the other computer also fails to detect the device, the plug and play device has problems that need to be fixed.

You should also check whether the computer is asking for any device driver or for the location of any file. This means that the USB device is not in the list of Windows XP plug and play devices. Contact the manufacturer of the device for the drivers to make it work on Windows XP.

In the next sections, we show how to proceed with troubleshooting when your Windows XP plug and play devices are not working.

 If the plug and play USB device is working on the other computer and not on your computer, the first recommendation is to download the latest updates for Windows XP, including Service Pack 3. Use the Windows Update option under Tools Menu of the Internet Explorer to get the latest updates. If you are using another browser, you can use the Automatic Updates icon in the Control Panel to get the Windows XP Updates. See the image to identify the exact icon for automatic updates.

Create a system restore point before you download and install any updates you may be missing, or before installing Service Pack 3, if it is not on your computer.

The system restore point is created using the System Restore option. Click on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore. Once you get the System Restore Window, select "Create a Restore Point" and click on Next. The next page will ask you for a name to identify the system restore point. Once you enter a unique name that you can remember, click on "Create" button and finally on "Close". All the current settings of your computer will be saved so that if anything goes wrong, you can use the system restore to undo the changes done to your computer.

Using System Restore to Fix the USB Plug and Play Issue

If the USB plug and play device was working previously and has suddenly stopped working on your computer, chances are that something went wrong with the settings of the USB hub or with any system file associated with your device. In such a case, you can use the system restore to fix the issue. Open the System Restore Dialog Box and select "Restore my computer to an earlier time". This will present you with a list of restore points in a calender format. You need to recall the restore point prior to which the USB plug and play device was working. Once you find it, click the restore point and then again click on the "Next" button. This will restore the previous settings so that you can use the USB plug and play device again.

Note: If you are using system restore, you may lose any custom settings and software installed after the creation of the restore point you selected to restore your computer.

As explained in the earlier sections, there are four more potential reasons where Windows XP is unable to detect plug and play devices. We will be checking out these on the next page.