Just recently, my external mouse on my laptop (Gateway) won't work. I took the computer to a repair man and he insisted that I don't have enough memory. However, I have deleted every program I could, and now the external keyboard won't work. The repair guy insists I need more memory, but the computer itself works just fine. It seems that the connections from the USB ports aren't working properly. I even called Logitech regarding the new external mouse that I purchased, and they said that there is a problem within the motherboard. To me, that sounds more logical than a memory problem that all of a sudden came up. I only use the computer for e-mails and some word documents and one Excel spreadsheet. The repair man wants me to install more memory, but I hate to spend more money on this computer. Is there any way to fix these USB connections, so far the printer is still working, but I fear that will start going out. As I said before, the mouse problem has been going on for a month, and tonight the keyboard went out, and the only thing left connected into the computer is the printer. Thank you for your help.

reinstall the usb hub under device manager

Although disk space is a form of memory, the repair guy is talking about RAM or random access memory, not disk space. So removing installed programs has no effect on the amount of available RAM.

Did this mouse ever work? If it did, then that is a sure sign it has nothing to do with memory and I feel that repair guy is simply trying to make you buy something you may not need.

Did you mean external keyboard? Do the laptop's own keyboard and touchpad work?

You did not tell us anything about your computer, except it is a Gateway laptop, to include how much memory you so it is hard for us to tell. You may very well need more memory, but not for this problem.

It does sound like the USB controller or hub is failing and uninstalling the hub in device manager, then rebooting may resolve it.

Or take it to another shop.