Static shock mayhem

[Neesh]

Hi everyone, I'm desperately seeking guidance on this doozy of a problem.

Tonight, as I plugged my friends camera into my front usb port, a static shock jumped from my finger into the usb. I got a pop up that said something like "an error has occurred with the usb'.

Then, after trying to re-plug in the camera, I found that my mouse, then my keyboard weren't working. I became quite nervous because I've previously fried an entire mobo with one little shock.

I've yet to get any peripherals to work and I've got some strange symptoms:

1. The pc will boot and get to the log in screen (of course I can't sign in with no working mouse or keyboard)

2. The mouse and power do seem to be getting some kind of power as the wireless mouse dongle charger light is on and my wireless keyboard receiver has lights as well. It even seems to acknowledge my keyboard when I try to reconnect it.

3. When I plug in a backup wired optical mouse, it doesn't work and there is no flashing light from the optical sensor.

4. I've plugged my keyboard receiver in via the green plug instead of the usb. It received power that way as well but still doesn't work.

5. I've unplugged and replugged everything and I've reset the cmos to no avail.


Can anyone shed any light here? Could the usb controller be fried without frying anything else? IF so, how can I fix it when everything else (boot-wise) seems to be fine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Nick

 

[o1die]

When I changed out boards recently that were almost identical (different brands, same chipset) I had the same issue. I had to try various usb ports on the back for the receiver to get my wireless stuff going. I used the reset button to reboot a few times and the wireless devices were finally detected so I could log in. Otherwise, find another board with the same chipset. And to prevent this issue from happening again, get an esd device for your wrist or strap for your boots. I worked at dell and they use the boot straps now to prevent esd damage.

 

[gracefully]

You must have fried the USB controller. You can either get a new motherboard, or a USB add-on card.

 

[Neesh]

So the USB controller can be fried and things plugged in the USB can still get power?

I still can't believe a little shock can destroy all this.

 

[Neesh]

And here's a question: what about the fact that I plugged my keyboard receiver into my pc via the green plug with the pins and not the usb and it still didn't work? What does that mean?

 

[o1die]

The ps2 keyboard goes into the blue plug on my motherboard. Try it.

 

[marsman]

I had a problem years ago where the pc speed slowed down.I unpluged the pc from the power overnight do discharge static must have locked something up and it worked fine after that.Try that if not you might have fried it easiest way if you have get a pci usb card.

 

[Neesh]

I suspect the entire southbridge is fried. That's the only conclusion I could come to considering the ps2 keyboard didn't work either.

I've already taken the board to the shop for confirmation and replacement. Always get the warranty!

 

[Neesh]

Best answer selected by neesh.