usb ports short out after a while

[watermelonwolf]

My usb ports short out after a while, especially if I move the connected cables. Currently, I have a usb hub connected to my laptop along with my HDD backup in another USB port.

 

[Bighorn]

My usb ports short out after a while, especially if I move the connected cables.

Sounds like the USB plugs are too loose in the USB ports. Repairing it may require a new motherboard but before that I'd assure the USB Hub is self-powered so as to relieve the load on any good ports. Both a Notebook and Desktop would require a new motherboard but the Desktop may be able to use an Add-in PCIe card to gain up to 4 ports, I'd go for USB 3 as it is backward compatible to USB 2.