What is the deal with one usb port not working?

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Level 1

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What is the deal with one usb port not working?

I have a early 2011 13 inch macbook pro and Im not sure when one usb stopped working but its driving me cray. I can plug anything into one port and it works fine but the one closest to the sd port doesnt work. When I plug my mouse into the one that doesnt work the mouse lights come on for a few seconds then go off but no response is read from the mouse. I've reset pram and sm(something), restarted many deferent ways and still nothing. What now? Is there a software issue that prevents that port from reading devices? Am I going to have to go to the apple store? I know that other people have had this issue and it's very frustrating. This will prolly be the last mac I own 😟

Mac Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)

Posted on Jan 29, 2014 2:20 AM

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Answer 1

a brody

Level 10

82,925 points

Jan 29, 2014 6:27 AM in response to MonoTheShark

USB is fragile regardless of platform. See my guide*:

http://www.macmaps.com/frayguide.html

If you aren't pulling it or pushing it in wrong, and have not had any accidents that would have forced it out wrong, is the problem only with the mouse? Have you tried any device with its own power? Frequently one USB port is lower powered than others, and they will only accept self-powered devices. You can find that out through the System Profiler application. The other thing that could be at issue is Energy Saver. Many non-Apple devices are not aware of the low power mode the computer goes into after it goes to sleep or the lid is closed. Plugging the computer into power, or restarting the Mac can frequently solve that problem.

The wire of the mouse itself may be partially damaged. If it is bending with any severity from the mouse itself, that could be causing problems. A low powered port would only exacerbate the problem in that it wouldn't be able to get through a frayed cable. It is worth trying another compatible mouse. Steermouse and USB Overdrive are both drivers that help understand third party mice.

Lastly, double check your system preferences for keyboard & mouse to make sure no checkbox is forcing the trackpad to be used instead of the mouse.

None of these are Apple specific issues, even Dells use low powered USB ports.

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