i have 2 usb ports at the front and 2 at the back. i cant get either one to work correctly. whenever i add a usb device, it doesnt recognise it. so i uninstalled the drivers and let windows redect them, which it did. and then the same thing. nothing would happen when adding a usb. so i went into the bios, and enabled the usb 2.0, which seemed to work... only to appear stating a malfunction when connecting a usb item. and in device manager said that usb 2.0 was unknown. so i uninstalled the drivers, rebooted again and let windows detect them, which now i have the following:

usb 2.0 root hub
usb root hub
usb root hub
usb root hub
via rev 5 or later universal controller
via rev 5 or later universal controller
via rev 5 or later universal controller
via usb 2.0 enhanced controller

that i now only have 4 usb ports (2back and 2 front). however, the manual to the mobo states it has 6xusb/1.0 /2.0 ports (4 by cable). if so i cant find the other 2.

my chipset is via 4in 1 and i have a giga-byte GA7VAXP mobo. The front 2 usb from the case i have put into the slots on the mobo which state usb 1.0 and usb 2.0. should maybe i put both the connectors into the usb 2.0 slot? i need help, so any advice appreciated.

thanks

If your pc is a locally assembled one and if you are comfortable opening the case, plzzz open it up and verify that the cables from the front panel usb outlets are connected to the motherboard. Its becuz sometime dumb/over-smart vendors don't do that.
If its OK, then your system(os) might need usb patches from ms or the driver vendors.

And if its not too much for you, plzz provide more tiny infos like which OS, motherboard you're using.

Hope this helps.

Like curator said pretty much. More than likely, you can have 4 usb ports in the back of your box, and two up front. On the mobo, there will be two USB connectors, one for a set of front USB ports, one for a set of back USB ports that usually are attached to a long metal plate that is inserted into a pci slot. This is the one that maybe was not installed. When I set up mobos, I often do not attach these, as the two in front and the other two in back (see next sentence) are sufficient for my needs. The third set of usb ports are already in place next to where you plug in your mouse, keyboard, and stuff. They are built-in, so to speak, into your mobo.

ok

i have windows xp, and using a gigabyte ga7vaxp motherboard. i have 2 ports on the board that say usb1 and usb2. they both have 4 pins at the bottom and 5 at the top. i have put both the front usb into usb1 on the board and placed them up correctly to each other. when i put a usb port into the drive now it installed the drivers, but then stopped, and said I/O error. which went away and now when i attach any usb it detects it, but wont let me actually use it. i have an mp3 player and it wont let me transfer songs to to because it says the song is not being copied to anywhere. i think the port maybe broke on the board. will try in the other available port later.