i feel dumb but any USB that i put into a Dell laptop that i am working on is not working ... in the device manager USB interface is good but nothing ever pops up ... i feel that my brain is fried ... can anyone point me into the right direction.

More specs and symptoms please

Just what are you trying? External drives? Memory sticks? Card readers?

Is this XP or Vista? Are the USB drivers loaded?

Did it ever work? Was there a catastrophic event that happened which made them unresponsive?

Sorry for all the ???s but inquiring minds just want to know e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g-! :p