HP 270 has been sitting a couple years. Starts up, monitor comes on, but none of the USB ports work

[Manger]

It's been sitting a couple years.  It came on, monitor shows the home screen, but can't work any type of keyboard or mouse through any of the USB ports.  Tested the devices on a different computer.  Tried a couple hard starts but can't get it past the home screen.

[Raj_05]

Hi @Manger,

Welcome to HP Support Community.  

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

If your HP Slimline Desktop is not recognizing any keyboard or mouse through its USB ports and you've already tested the devices on a different computer to confirm they are working, you can try the following troubleshooting steps.

• Check USB Ports: Make sure there are no physical issues with the USB ports on your HP Slimline Desktop. Inspect them for any damage or debris. If you find any damage, you may need to have the ports repaired.
• Try Different USB Ports: Plug the keyboard and mouse into different USB ports on the computer. Sometimes, one port may have issues while others work fine.
• USB Hub: If you have a USB hub, try connecting your keyboard and mouse through it. Sometimes, the hub can bypass issues with individual ports on the computer.
• BIOS/UEFI Settings: Restart your computer and enter the BIOS/UEFI settings by pressing a specific key during startup (usually, it's F2, F10, or Delete, depending on your computer's manufacturer). Check if there are any USB-related settings that might be causing the issue. You might want to reset the BIOS/UEFI settings to default if you're unsure.
• Check for USB Power Management: Sometimes, power management settings can disable USB ports to save power. Go to your computer's power settings and make sure USB power management is turned off.
• Check for Driver Issues: If your computer recently updated or installed new drivers, it's possible that these drivers are causing conflicts. Try booting into Safe Mode (you can usually do this by repeatedly pressing the F8 or Shift+F8 key during startup) and see if your keyboard and mouse work there. If they do, it may indicate a driver issue.
• Update USB Drivers: If possible, update your USB drivers. You can do this through the Device Manager in Windows. Right-click on the USB devices and choose "Update driver."
• System Restore: If the issue started recently after a software or driver update, you can try using System Restore to revert your computer to a state when it was working correctly.
• Hardware Issue: If none of the above steps work, it's possible there's a hardware issue with the USB controller on your motherboard. 
• External USB Card: As a last resort, if the USB ports on your motherboard are indeed damaged or malfunctioning, you can consider using an external USB card to add additional USB ports to your computer.

I hope this helps. 
 

Take care and have a good day.

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Alden4
HP Support