Unknown USB device

I have a Dell e5440 laptop but recently it has had a small issue that grew to a larger issue. It currently has windows 20H2 installed but every time I try to update it bluescreens with stop code 0x000021a, then reverts to the previous update. Also, I keep getting notifications that the last usb device I connected is not functional, but I don't have any usb devices connected. In device manager it shows the device as VID0000 PID0002. I unplugged all exterior usb devices but I know some devices are connected internally. Is there a way to figure out which part is faulty so I can replace it?

USB\VID_0000&PID_0002 is just a standard USB host controller, not a USB device itself. The driver (usb.inf) is built-in to Windows.

Open Device Manager. You will probably see the Universal Serial Bus controllers tree open showing Unknown USB Device and a failure icon.

Right-click on the Unknown USB Device and choose Update driver.

If that doesn't work then do it again but choose Uninstall device then reboot.

If that doesn't work then use Nir Sofer's USBDeview (using Run as administrator) to uninstall all USB hardware. Windows will remove the USB registry entries then re-enumerate them and rebuild the registry entries after a reboot.

If that still doesn't fix it then you'll need to run sfc /scannow to check whether the usb.inf file is corrupt.

Hope this helps...

<Removed my previous post>

Info supplied was already what I was seeking and RickC already decoded it.

I tried uninstalling and rebooting and it just came back exactly the same, updating says the driver is already the best.

I added some info to my previous post because it occurred to me that this may be the result of a little-known USB enumeration bug rather than file corruption of the usb.inf driver file (or - even less likely - hardware failure):

Try Nir Sofer's USBDeview (using Run as administrator) to uninstall all USB hardware.

From within USBDeview, use CTRL+A to select all then, from the File menu, use Uninstall Selected Devices... then close USBDeview and reboot. Note that if you are using a USB keyboard and/or mouse then you will need to do a hard power-off using the power button because these devices will be temporarily disabled.

Windows will remove the USB registry entries under the following 2 keys then re-enumerate them and rebuild the registry entries after a reboot:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR

(Actually, all you really need is the removal of the contents of the first key for controllers to be re-enumerated. However, the bug appears to be triggered by the total number of USB entries so best to start from fresh. I appreciate it's going to take a while for Windows to grind through enumerating every USB-related hardware device (hubs, controllers then devices) - so any USB keyboard/mouse will be unresponsive at first until properly enumerated/activated - but it's the only way I know to do a clearout. Blame Microsoft for not implementing a first-in, first-out method for the USBSTOR contents when the bug first appeared in Windows 7.)

If that still doesn't fix it then you'll need to run sfc /scannow to check whether the usb.inf file is corrupt.

Hope this helps...

RickC said:

I added some info to my previous post because it occurred to me that this may be the result of a little-known USB enumeration bug rather than file corruption of the usb.inf driver file (or - even less likely - hardware failure):

Try Nir Sofer's USBDeview (using Run as administrator) to uninstall all USB hardware.

From within USBDeview, use CTRL+A to select all then, from the File menu, use Uninstall Selected Devices... then close USBDeview and reboot.

Windows will remove the USB registry entries under the following 2 keys then re-enumerate them and rebuild the registry entries after a reboot:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR

(Actually, all you really need is the removal of the contents of the first key for controllers to be re-enumerated. However, the bug appears to be triggered by the total number of USB entries so best to start from fresh. I appreciate it's going to take a while for Windows to grind through enumerating every USB-related hardware device (hubs, controllers then devices) but it's the only way I know to do a clearout. Blame Microsoft for not implementing a first-in, first-out method for the USBSTOR contents when the bug first appeared in Windows 7.)

If that still doesn't fix it then you'll need to run sfc /scannow to check whether the usb.inf file is corrupt.

Hope this helps...

I uninstalled all devices in USB Deview and I rebooted, and it still came back so I ran sfc /scannow as admin and it found no issues. Should I delete the reg keys manually?

guyman70718 said:

I uninstalled all devices in USB Deview and I rebooted, and it still came back so I ran sfc /scannow as admin and it found no issues. Should I delete the reg keys manually?

No. Instead, run sfc /scannow again. I've read several posts where it's needed to be run twice to be effective.

RickC said:

No. Instead, run sfc /scannow again. I've read several posts where it's needed to be run twice to be effective.

ran it 2 more times to be sure

I'm a bit stumped. You've cleared the registry of any accumulation of USB-related entries and ascertained that the built-in usb.inf system file is OK.

As I understand it a mainboard has a USB controller chip to which one or more USB hubs are connected. Downstream of the USB hubs are the USB ports. If so, then if there was a hardware issue with the USB controller then the hubs (and thus ports) would fail.

Your last screenshot shows port 1 on hub 4 has failed yet port 2 on hub 4 is fine. That suggests a hardware issue with the port itself. Can you check it with a torch/magnifier (or all USB ports if you can't identify which is port 1)?