Possessed USB Ports

[VachelliaT]

Hi all,

I've had the worst go of laptop hardware problems of late, the most recent and frustrating being my brand new Victus randomly deciding to switch off the USB ports on an unpredictable schedule. Both ports do work, they just at times stop working for a few mins to an hour, and then start working again as if they've taken a lunch break.

I have tried upgrading drivers through the device manager, and switched off the unbelievably annoying option to save battery power by disabling the USB ports (mind you this issue happens even while it's fully charged and on charge).

I usually work off of a hard drive and am too attached to my wired mouse to switch to a wireless, either way, I need my USB ports to stop acting like they're possessed  and work all the time.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[NonSequitur777]

@VachelliaT,

Welcome to our HP Community forum!

Yea, that definitely is not normal behavior for a new HP Victus, especially if both USB ports intermittently stop working and later recover on their own.

Since:

• multiple devices are affected,
• the ports eventually come back,
• and you already disabled the basic Device Manager power-saving option,

this points more toward:

• USB controller resets,
• chipset/firmware issues,
• EC (embedded controller) power management problems,
• or possibly a hardware defect.

A few things worth checking:

1. Disable USB Selective Suspend (important):

Windows has another USB power-saving layer beyond the Device Manager checkbox.

Go to:

Control Panel -> Power Options -> Change plan settings -> Change advanced power settings

Then:

• expand: USB settings
• set: USB selective suspend setting to Disabled

Do this for both:

• battery
• plugged in

This setting is notorious for causing intermittent USB disconnect behavior on laptops.

2. Update chipset and USB controller drivers from HP:

Do NOT rely only on Device Manager’s "Search automatically for drivers".

Instead, install:

• Intel chipset drivers
• Intel Serial IO drivers
• USB controller drivers
• BIOS updates

directly from HP Support for the exact Victus model.

On many modern HP laptops, the USB subsystem is tightly tied to:

• chipset firmware,
• BIOS,
• and embedded controller firmware.

3. Update BIOS:

Several HP gaming laptops have had:

• USB instability,
• sleep/wake USB failures,
• and intermittent port resets

but have since been resolved through BIOS updates.

If the laptop shipped with an early BIOS revision, updating may help significantly.

4. Check Event Viewer during disconnects:

Open:

Event Viewer -> Windows Logs -> System

Look for:

• USBHUB errors
• Kernel-PnP warnings
• WHEA events
• controller reset messages

around the exact time the ports stop working.

This can reveal whether:

• Windows is resetting the USB controller,
• the controller is crashing,
• or devices are losing power unexpectedly.

5. Test whether ALL USB devices disconnect simultaneously:

This is important diagnostically.

If:

• both ports die at the same time,
• mouse and external drive disconnect together,

then the issue is likely:

• the USB controller itself,
• motherboard power delivery,
• or firmware.

If only one port fails intermittently, it could instead be:

• a damaged port,
• solder issue,
• or physical wear.

6. Avoid using external HDDs without supplemental power:

Portable hard drives can draw significant current during spin-up.

If the USB power rail is unstable, the drive may trigger:

• controller resets,
• overcurrent protection,
• or temporary shutdown of the USB hub.

Testing briefly with:

• only the mouse attached,
  or:
• a powered USB hub,

can help isolate this.

7. Possible hardware issue:

Because the laptop is brand new, intermittent USB failures should also raise concern for:

• defective motherboard USB circuitry,
• unstable EC firmware,
• or failing USB power regulation.

If:

• BIOS/chipset updates do not help,
• multiple operating systems show the issue,
• or the ports continue randomly disappearing,

I would seriously consider warranty service or exchange while still within the return period.

A brand-new gaming laptop should not randomly lose USB functionality for minutes at a time, period.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777