When it comes to computers...

[TheBlackHole]

If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. Some time today the USB ports on the one working computer I have left broke. Normally that wouldn't be much of a problem (just burn everything to a DVD-rw instead of using a flash drive) but since I've been using a tablet instead if a mouse this renders the computer nearly unusable because the mouse I have is broken and PS/2 mice are impossible to find anywhere except maybe eBay or a garage sale. I can't use the computers at my school because they haven't been set up and probably won't be for several weeks and the one computer I have access to there is about five years old and barely fast enough to run XP, let alone TG2.1 (haven't been able to upgrade because no Internet on that computer or on any computer at home), so TG1 would work except no TG1 because I forgot to install it. For the computer at home I've been relying on a pair of USB ports on a card plugged into a PCI slot but those broke too. BTW, posting this from my iPod.

[Henry Blewer]

You can buy a USB card for the expansion ports fairly cheap. Then add a USB seven port hub.
I do not remove flash drives very often. This is not the first time I have heard of the USB controller failing. USB flash drives are often the culprits.

[TheBlackHole]

That's exactly the setup I was using, but with a 4 port hub.The USB card failed, as did the USB ports built into the computer. I'll try to find another USB card, but like I said, I have no luck with computers.

[TheBlackHole]

Found one on eBay for $9, but my dad insists that the ports failed because of something I plugged in. But I plugged stuff in at around 10-11 am and left to eat at 3:30. After that I came back and the ports were broken. I don't think I plugged anything in that broke the ports - just a tablet, a printer, and a flash drive. And it worked fine for a few weeks in exactly that configuration.

[Henry Blewer]

Check the properties of the flash drive. There are two settings. One, allows you to remove the drive anytime. The other, performance, you have to ask to remove the drive. Removing the drive when in performance mode without checking to see if it is safe to remove the drive can damage the USB ports.

I do not recommend sticking your flash drive into public computers. People change things on these, accidentally and sometime maliciously. A setting on a public computer can change the setting on your computer without you ever knowing it happened.

[TheBlackHole]

That may be it, but first is there a way to fix the USB card in the computer?

[Henry Blewer]

You can buy the parts. Then resoider the new parts where the old ones were. It's easier to just replace the card. They are not that expensive.

[TheBlackHole]

Since I won't be able to get a USB card anytime soon I decided to fix my Vista machine with the broken hard drive. I was able to copy my files, most of my programs, and part of Windows over to the new drive, but because part of the OS is missing, I've had to install Ubuntu on a separate partition. I would just install Wine and run my programs under that, but all my programs are on a different partition and Ubuntu won't let me online because the drivers for the built-in wifi are not free software. So until I can get my hands on a Vista installation disk (got thus thing secondhand from my uncle) I'm either stuck with my iPod or playing the Ubuntu version of Minesweeper or drawing stuff with LibreOffice Draw. No TG or anything.

[Henry Blewer]

Try this. It's $12.97 without shipping. http://www.amazon.com/PORT-HIGH-SPEED-480MB-CARD/dp/B002ZKPU1W/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1315329016&sr=1-5

[TheBlackHole]

Good news. I got my Vista computer running, so no more IT lockdown/borrowing computers/using iPod with no capability of running flash.

[Henry Blewer]

Welcome back to the computer world!