Targus Port Replicator will not enable use of mouse, keyboard, or printer on Inspiron

I have an Inspiron laptop purchased in 2004. There are no ports available to plug in a non USB mouse, a keyboard, or a printer so I purchased a Targus USB port replicator to enable these peripherals. For a brief time it worked fine, then after a hard drive reformat and a reinstall of my Windows XP Professional operating system, the replicator no longer communicates with the laptop. The laptop mouse and keyboard work fine, but there is no way to use a reguler mouse, keyboard, or printer without purchasing USB peripherals or convertor cords. I have reinstalled the drivers for Targus, I have even contacted Targus Tech Support and reinstalled the most current drivers. No success. I then bought a new Targus replictor of more recent vintage as instructed by the Targus Tech person. No success. I tried moving the power setting to home/desktop without success. I have checed the properties for the mouse, printer, and keybord to see if something was amiss there with no success.

Can anyone think of any other potential fixes I have overlooked. Even the Dell help desk for Inspirion is stumped. Thanks for any suggestions anyone may have.

ridgerunner16

Did Dell ask you reload any Dell drivers?

Do other USB devices work OK?

What is the exact Inspiron model?

No Dell did not request that any drivers be loaded. Which ones do you think would be advisable to try. All of my Dell drivers are on one of the blue labeled disks they sent with the computer.

I have no USB devises to plug in to test the USP ports on the laptop. I will borrow a USB mouse from someone and try that. My desktop is very elaborate, but this laptop is pretty basic (no non USB plugs for mouse, keyboard, or printer - all of my peripherals are designed for the older, non USB connections).

I am not where I can look up the Inspiron model at the moment, but I will do that tomorrow and let you know.

Thanks

http://support.dell.com/

Dell Support. When you put in your exact model you will find what drivers are available.

Look for USB drivers.

Any computer or electronics store will also carry simple PS/2 > USB adapters which is the simple version of what you need. The Targus is a deluxe adapter.

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...e+USB+adapters

Thanks for the input. Good suggestions.