Driver Updater destroyed my USB controller and my computer is completely useless

[sleeper692]

I installed the Driver Updater then I let it do its thing.  I saw a lot of stuff about USB controllers, etc.  Sorry, I can't be more specific.  I didn't think I was going to need to remember what drivers were being updated.

After just a minute of "installing" drivers, my keyboard and mouse went dead.  The program told me to restart to finish the install.  The only way I could shut the computer down was a long press of the power button.  Upon reboot, all of my USB ports are dead.  I have no way to put any kind of input into the computer and I am at a loss of what to do.

Anyone have any idea what I might be able to do to restore my computer without resorting to major surgery?

[r@vast]

Hi,

You can try the following:

1) An external keyboard (in case of a laptop) or a keyboard from another vendor (in case of a desktop)
and/or another mouse from a different vendor could help. Perhaps a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse might also help.
IF it is a general USB problem, you could try a PS/2 keyboard (if you have the ports for it).

2)Try to get into the Windows Recovery Environment (e.g. by holding the power button during the boot logo and forcing a hard shutdown, this will trigger the recovery environment). From here you can select a System Restore Point and go back to the previous driver state.
The Recovery Environment has its own set of drivers, and it is not affected by Avast Driver Updater.
Remember that during boot, you will have to force a shutdown (holding down power button).
That should get you to the "Starting Windows Repair" message.
If that does not work, then you need to hold down the power button during boot again. It is a bit forceful but it will get you into WinRE.
From here you can choose the System Restore Point (in that environment, Windows-only drivers will be loaded, not any new drivers)
If the USB ports do not work in WinRE, then it's a hardware defect.

[Keith185]

On a client's Lenovo desktop computer the keyboard and mouse would work until shortly after the Windows 10 spinning balls started. I could use the keyboard and mouse in BIOS setup but the were dead once Windows started to boot.  Once the spinning balls started the USB ports were dead: the LED indicators on the keyboard and on the mouse went out. Obviously there was no way to log in when you couldn't get the login page to appear. With no PS/2 ports this machine was effectively "bricked."

She told me this happened immediately after Avast Driver Update had run and required a restart: beginning with the next startup the above problems started.

The solution was to install a USB daughter card and connect the mouse and keyboard to it. That let me log in and investigate the Device Manager.Lo and behold, there were two USB hubs with the "danger" yellow triangle in them. I uninstalled both (taking the option to delete the driver files) and restarted. *PRESTO* I had working keyboard and mouse (on all ports) and the USB-connected card reader is functional.

The next step was to visit Control Panels "Programs and Features" and uninstall Avast Driver Upgrade.