All of a sudden my USB ports aren't working - why is it so?? one day they do, next day they don't

nothing works in them so i figure it's a problem with the USB ports.

BIOS has USB ports enabled. do i need a new motherboard or something?? current m/board is ECS K7VZA

help....please

First off - welcome aboard!

Does anything happen before the usb failure? Which OS are you using? DO you have any advanced power saving modes enabled?

I've noticed that USB ports can fail under XP sometimes when using power management features - I assume it is because XP uses a HAL (hardware abstraction layer) instead of taking notice of the bios. As XP takes over the assignment and configuration of all things connected, it is only to be expected that it falls on it's backside now and then - if the controls are all software, it is easier to fail than if the controls are hardware.

try powering off the system and rebooting - this may help the problem.

Unlikely you need a new mobo. Most likely is that you have added or changed something. Has anything on the pc been changed / added recently?

If you haven't already done so, check out your USB Controllers in Device Manager too....Question marks or exclamation points may offer a clue- (IE a driver problem etc. and may offer a means of correcting the problem via the "troubleshooting" tab).