Gaming HELP! Please.

[Porygon-X]

Well, since last week, my USB ports have been disconnecting and connecting all the time. This wasn't much of a problem so I disregarded it.

However, today, sometimes my mouse gets disconnected for no appearant reason and on the Windows bar it says "Device Malfunction". I'm like WTF? So I mess around with it, vacuuming the dust etc. However the problem did not go away.

Now when I tried to connect several USB drives in my computer it all says "Device Malfunction". I tried on my Dad's laptop and it worked fine.

Is this a virus/malware/spyware? I have AVG Internet Security 9.0 and the scans showed nothing. Running XP professional.

Thanks.

 

[Originality]

It's typically a sign of either corrupt drivers, or not enough power reaching the USB devices. I've seen it happen a lot with those 7 port USB hubs, and also when a 1m or longer USB cable is involved. It's also possible that dirt inside the USB ports is causing it, but then it'd simply work if you tried a different port.

The chances that this is caused by any kind of malicious program is very, very small. I can only think of one case in the past where it actually was because of a small virus, but even that was one of those "joke" programs that got passed around school.