USB port not working because of short circuit

My USB port is not working because I am a genius and shorted the wires. I got an over voltage warning and stopped. I haven't tried anything yet.

How can I fix this?

3 Answers

Generally, you don't need to do anything. USB ports must be protected from overcurrent by specifications, so a USB compliant device should recover electrically.

However, your USB controller might require "user intervention" to get the port functionality back. Either your system should give an option to "reset port" or controller, or you disable and re-enable the entire USB root, or simply reboot the computer.

Is it just one USB port that is not working or are all of your USB ports not working?

USB ports are usually protected from over currents by fuses (sometimes a single fuse will be responsible for protecting 2 USB ports). These fuses work by generating heat. When the fuse gets too hot, the fuse opens up and stops all power going to the USB port. When the fuse cools down, it closes and allows power to go back to the port.

When you short circuited the USB port, you likely destroyed the fuse completely. However, if all of your USB ports are not working then the USB controller is likely dead. But either way, your USB port(s) are not fixable as both components are part of the motherboard.

Most probably it's a fried USB controller, and since it's most likely soldered to the motherboard, you can't do much (if anything at all). If it's a desktop machine, you can buy a PCIe USB controller.