USB ports stop working?

[rosss]

What I've done so far.

All on board USB's stop working.
Did a restore of OS.
No error msg, No sound, but the thumb drive light up for 1 sec then go's out.
The thumb drive is good. Works on other PC's.
Tried an Ext-HD which did not work also but works ok on other PC's.
And the Device Manager shows no problems.
It's a Gateway running Win XP Media Center.
2GB RAM, AMD Athlon 64 x 2 dual CPU.

[DIY Guy]

The controller on the motherboard may have failed, even if it doesn't reflect a problem in the device manager.

Do check your BIOS to make sure it hasn't been disabled.

Check the physical connections insode the PC, to the motherboard and to the USB ports.

If you can't find the problem, you may have to install a USB card. Choose one that you can connect the front panel ports to.